SARAWAK MUSEUM
The Sarawak Museum Old Building was built in 1891 and was extended to its present form in 1911. The building was especially built to permanently house and display local native arts and crafts and collections of local animals as mainly encouraged by the famous naturalist, Alfred Wallace, who was then collecting specimens in the country.
Since
its inception, the building has undergone several renovations and
alterations. It is rectangular, 44' x 160' with walls and pillars of
bricks and roof of belian and concrete. It has European architecture of
imposing edifice in Queen Anne style (Victorian period). The galleries
are lighted by dormer windows on the roof which thus allow a great area
of wall space.
During
the Japanese Occupation, the museum was put under the direction of a
sympathetic Japanese Officer. As a result, the museum suffered very
little damage and remarkably little looting.
Today,
with carefully planned renovation and proper maintenance, this old
building is used as the centre to exhibit collections on the natural
history of Sarawak. The ground floor of the museum holds the natural
history collection and specimens of Sarawak fauna - reptiles, mammals,
birds, etc, all expertly prepared and mounted for display. The west wing
of the museum houses Shell exhibition - petroleum industries of
Sarawak.The first floor displays exhibits of ethnographic artifacts such as models of longhouses of the various ethnic groups in Sarawak, musical instruments, various kinds of fish and animal traps, handicrafts, models of boats and others.
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