Warming up the Club!

We had our first match last weekend at the new Sandakan Rugby Clubhouse. It was the Gilbert President Cup finals organised under the wings of Sabah Rugby Union. The clubhouse is just 85 % ready, a few more touch ups, and we are all set for Nov! Here are some pics!

The Home of the Eagles!

Yup, we are almost done!

Selected Tour Package from Sabah Travel Service

Pls double click to enlarge

Our Valuable Historical Sites

St. Michael's All Angels Church
Sandakan, lying on narrow strip of land between steep hills and the waters of the Sulu Sea, bears little evidence of its early history as a result of war-time bombing. Traces of the colonial period can be seen in the quaint stone church, St. Michael's and All Angels, begun in 1893 and looking like a colonial style building where Christianity is preached.

Tam Kung Temple
This century old temple was built around 1894, and is situated at mile 1.5 Jalan Utara. Its uniqueness lies in its preservation of a temple within a temple. The temple was built just nearby a local primary school and it has been a worshipping place for many people. During the process of conservation, with the intention of preserving most of its internal and external structure, the rebuilding work had been carried out very intensively making it looks like a brand new temple now.

Agnes Keith House
A colonial style house, built on a hilltop at Jalan Istana more than 150 years ago, is now a museum. The two storey building, which has a floor area of 8,500 sq ft, was the residence of author Agnes Keith and her husband, Harry, who was Conservator of Forest and Curator of North Borneo Museum during the time of the British Colonial. The house was destroyed in the Second World War but was rebuilt by the couple in 1948.

Agnes Keith wrote three internationally-acclaimed books on Sabah while living in the rebuilt house. Her first book was about life in North Borneo in the 1930s and was called "Land Below the Wind". The title was supposedly inspired by the constant breeze around her home. Keith's second book, "Three Came Home", was made into a film. "White Man Returns" was her third book.

Sam Sing Kung Chinese Temple
Situated at the edge of the town padang(field), the temple is the oldest building in Sandakan. The three saints are Kwan Woon Cheung- saint of righteousness: the goddess of Tin Hou, worshipped by fisherman for protection, and the Min Cheong Emperor, worshipped by those who seek success in examinations (even to this day!). Four Chinese communities got together and started the temple: the Cantonese, Teochew, Hakkas and the Hainanese. The bell was donated by the first Kapitan Cina of Sandakan, Fung Ming Shan, which can still be seen in the Temple today.

Thee Legged Stone
One of the famous tourist sites, located at the sea front of Sandakan is large stone which is called Three Legged Stone or Batu Sapi (in Malay language). In 1960s, the stone was a landmark of Sandakan. Local people and tourists alike went to look at it because it is so strange and unique. Due to the industrialisation that had taken place in 1970s at the Batu Sapi area, the stone has been neglected since then.

Other Places of Interests

Sandakan Mosque

Sandakan muslim community is served by the Sandakan mosque, built on the edges of the bay next to Kampung Buli Sim Sim, where the town of Sandakan began in 1879. The mosque is the largest mosque in Sandakan town, built in the early 1986. It is served as a holy place for the Muslim community to conduct their praying ceremonies, especially during the Hari Raya celebration.

Pu Jih Shi

Puh Ji Shi is another attraction which tourist should not miss. It is one of the largest Chinese Temple in South East Asia (SEA), which attracts thousands of tourists every year. For an unrivalled panoramic view of Sandakan Bay and a look at its temple, a visit should be made to the extravagantly ornate Pu Jih Shi Buddhist Temple, on the hilltop above Tanah Merah south of Sandakan town centre. Built and decorated in 1987 at a cost of around USD 2 million, the temple is a blaze of red and gold, with writhing dragons, gilded Buddhas, hundreds of gleaming lamps and the fragrance of burning incense.

Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple

This temple devoted to Lord Sri Sithi Vinayagar was built in 1991 at cost of almost RM300,000. The need for a Hindu temple to cater for the religious obligations of the Indian population of the Hindu faith was first realised and initiated by the Sandakan India Association. (SIA). The SIA then allocated a small piece of its land at mile 1 1/2, Labuk Road to site the temple. The SSV temple which held its ground breaking ceremony on 9 of September 1989, was built by artisans and sculptors especially brought from India. This beautiful temple, the only one of its kind in the whole Sabah and Sarawak (East Malaysia) held its first "Kumbabhishegam" or the Consecration Ceremony on 19th May 1991 and has since been an important milestone in the history of Sandakan Indian Community.

The Unforgettable Event : Sandakan's War Memorial Park

The Sandakan memorial park is sited on the original POW (Prisoners of War) camp which was set up during the WWII Japanese Occupation in 1942 - 1945. The camp was set up with 2 main sections; 1 section for the British POWs and the other for Australian POWs . The current size of the Memorial Park is only fraction of the original camp. In 1942 and 1943, the prisoners numbered some approximately 750 British and more than 1650 Australian soldiers and civilians. Many were transferred from Singapore to be used as labour to build the military airfield in Sandakan .

In 1945, the Japanese army on realising that they were losing the war and the allies were closing in, marched the prisoners from camp at Sandakan to Ranau, some 250kms away. There were 3 separate marches, the first one began in January 1945 these marches were known as the Death March.. The last March comprised of the remaining prisoners at camp in Sandakan , numbering 537. Invalids at camp who couldn't leave, were shot. There was no account of what happened at camp after the last march. There simply were no survivors to tell the tale. Those who were sent on the Death March were to trek through thick jungle, treacherous routes and some prisoners had no boots. Those who could walk no further, were killed. The march took almost a year to complete. Of the 2700 prisoners, only 6 survived of which 2 had escaped during the 2 nd march and 4 escaped during their stint at Ranau. No British prisoners survived.

The war memorial has a pavilion dedicated to the prisoners of war that spent their days at the camp. The wall mounted displays of documented accounts of the prisoners' lives at the camp, a model of the camp itself and accounts of the death marches is worth the time. The sufferings of war should never be forgotten and for generations who have not witnessed the atrocities of war, it is a gruesome teaching of what must not happen. ever again.
The Park was officially opened on 15 February 1999 .

The motif used in the Park depicts flowers representing people of the three nations who suffered at Sandakan during the Second World War. The design is taken from the stained glass window within the pavilion and is repeated on the granite memorial and decorative gates.

For more information

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-battles/ww2/sandakan.htm
http://www.sabahtourism.com/en/destination/133-sandakan-memorial-park/