Bintulu

Sister cities

• Singkawang

History

James Brooke was appointed the White Rajah of Sarawak (now known as Kuching) by the Bruneian Empire in 1841. In 1861, the Sultanate of Brunei ceded the Bintulu region to Brooke. Bintulu was a small settlement at that time. A wooden fort named Fort Keppel was built in the village, named after Sir Henry Keppel, who was a close friend of the Rajah James and Charles Brooke. Sir Henry Keppel was responsible for crushing the Dayak piracy in the Saribas between 1840 and 1850. Meanwhile, Charles Brooke was a nephew of James Brooke and would later become the latter's successor as the second Rajah of Sarawak. Odoardo Beccari, an Italian botanist, visited Bintulu in 1867. On 4 August, he started his journey on a gunboat named "Heartsease", which was to send $6,000 to Brunei for concessions being made to James Brooke in the Mukah and Bintulu regions. He went to Labuan before coming back to Bintulu. He dropped off at Kemena River on 13 August 1867. His observations of the village were recorded as follows: {{blockquote|The fort of Bintulu which was built entirely of wood, was in somewhat ruinous condition. It stood nearly on the sea-shore, and just behind it, at a distance of few paces, the primeval forests commenced...Some chinamen had settled at the vicinity of the fort and had built a small bazaar; but the village is chiefly formed by the houses of the Melanau beyond the Chinese kampong (village). These Melanaus used to live further up the river, but since the construction of the fort, and the installation of an officer of the Rajah near the mouth of the river, they came to settle near the seaa thing they would never have dared to do in former days for fear of the attacks of the Lanun pirates and Dayak pirates. During World War II, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke ordered the…

Geography

Bintulu is located northeast of Kuching northeast of Sibu, and southwest of Miri. Bintulu is located near the mouth of the Kemena River, in the coastal region of central Sarawak. There are two monsoon seasons in the Bintulu: the northeast monsoon (November to March) and the southwest monsoon (May to September). The calm period between these two monsoons is known as the transitional period. In the coastal region, maximum rainfall occurs in the month of January, while minimal rainfall occurs from the period June to August. Rainfall is more evenly distributed in the inland areas. The annual rainfall of the Bintulu region is about annually. The mean daily hours of sunshine at Bintulu is about 5.0 to 5.5 hours. Bintulu receives on average 14 to 15 mJ/m2 of radiation throughout the year. Bintulu's relative humidity is 85%.

Most-observed species

• Black Hornbill

  Anthracoceros malayanus (Raffles, 1822) · Aves
  37
• Crimson Sunbird

  Aethopyga siparaja (Raffles, 1822) · Aves
  26
• Olive-winged Bulbul

  Pycnonotus plumosus Blyth, 1845 · Aves
  25
• White-bellied Sea-Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucogaster (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  24
• Blue-throated Bee-eater

  Merops viridis Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  23
• Brown Barbet

  Caloramphus fuliginosus (Temminck, 1830) · Aves
  21
• Black-thighed Falconet

  Microhierax fringillarius (Drapiez, 1824) · Aves
  21
• Rufous-bellied Eagle

  Lophotriorchis kienerii (Sparre, 1835) · Aves
  19

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2005-04-19
  90 km SSW of Marudi, Malaysia