SARAWAK  >  2ND DIVISION SRI AMAN  >  Engkilili Town

Engkilili Town
英吉利里
Kuching 156 Km

Engkilili town is 156kilometres (97.0 mi) from Kuching City. A quiet town in the district of Lubok Antu, Sri Aman Division.

 

Engkilili bazaar was first established in 1888. And by 1920, there were 12 attap shop-houses in the bazaar.

The name of  Engkilili was derived from a local fruit which was found in abundance in the olden days the "Engkilili Tree"

The Engkilili tree (Lepisanthes alata) is  commonly known as pokok ceri Terengganu or Malay cherry.

The tree can grow up to 15m high with flowers that come in purple to reddish brown.
 

Engkilili tree can also  found in Sumatra, Java and Peninsular Malaysia.

Hakka Chinese Settlements in Engkilli.

According to history in 1854, a group of Hakka came to Engkilili from Pontianak and Sambas in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Led by Bong Chie, the group came through Tebedu, through Tebekang to Engkilili.
These Hakka Chinese were originated from China's Tapu, Chia Ying, Huilai and Kityang in Kwantung Province of China.
According to Sarawak Gazette, in September 1870 there were 450 Chinese settled down mainly at Marup, Engkilili.
In the 1870s, the gold mining industry was booming in Marup. The gold miners formed the Fifteen Kongsi at Marup to run their daily administration.
Then in 1917, another wave of Chinese immigrants came to Engkilili. They are the Teochews Chinese who profession mainly as traders at the bazaar.
 

SRB Chung Hua Engkilili
英吉利里中華公學

The visit of Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari
The Fifteen Kongsi had a house which also functioned as the administration office, gathering space, as well as guesthouse.
An earliest records of Marup from the 19th century was written by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari.
He lived in Borneo from 1865 to 1868. His three years of Borneo experiences were recorded in his book "Wanderings in the great forests of Borneo, travels and researches of a naturalist in Sarawak (1904)"
Beccari wrote the early description of Marup : “Marop is a Chinese village, placed in a small valley surrounded by low hills. The stream from which it takes its name runs through it, supplying an abundance of cool limpid water, and giving off a minor torrent which dashes merrily amidst the houses. The village was very clean; most of the houses were made with mats or palm leaves, but the big house, or residence of the Kunsi, the headman of the Chinese, in which I took up my quarters, was almost entirely built by wood.”
Beccari also noted that Marop was an excellent station for a zoologist but a poor one for a botanist. This was because the forest in the area had been mostly cleared for paddy planting.
 

Upper Batang Lupar at Engkilili
Batang Lupar flows 275 kilometers from the Klinkang Range to the South China Sea.
It has a large rivermouth and becomes shallow upstream.

The river runs through a number of towns including :
1- Lingga
2- Sri Aman
3- Engkilili

Batang Lupar river is the only river in Malaysia which experiences the tidal bore phenomenon. The Tidal Bore only happen at the Lower Lupar River at Sri Aman town.

Though Tidal Bore happens everyday, it becomes more spectacular at king tide during dry season.
 

Engkilili Town

Tua Pek Kong Temple
英吉利里福德祠大伯公廟


Engkilili Town is 260 km from Kuching (3 hours drive)
This new Engkilili Tua Pek Kong Temple is Rm2 million took 2 years to built. The new temple is an icon in the town centre. The older one more than 100 years ago was by the river bank and can be seen as soon as the boat come into town.
There are more than 70’s Tua Pek Kong temples in Sarawak and these are the earlier Chinese points of worshipping and communal activities when they first settled in Sarawak.
 

The rise and fall of Fort Leonora
Like most settlements built during the reign of the White Rajahs of Sarawak, Engkilili has its own fort.

However unlike most Brooke’s forts which were built for defence purposes, the one in Engkilili was designed as an administration office.

Built in 1924, the fort was named Fort Leonora after Vyner’s eldest daughter, Dayang Leonara Margaret.

Since it was built, the fort served different purposes over the years. When the Japanese took over Sarawak during World War II, the fort was used as the kempeitai’s office.

Then during the colonial period, the British colonial officers used it as their office. Later during Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, Fort Leonora was turned into an army base for the Commonwealth forces.

Despite its rich history, the original building was torn down and was rebuilt. Today it is the Engkilili Sub-District Office.

The only known photo of Fort Leonora belonged to Brian Houldershaw which was taken in 1965.

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