I took a stroll around Kenyalang Park. Not knowing this indented short walking walk turn up to be a half day of down the memory lane walk and seeing great changes.
Kuching has been declared “Garden City” by the State Government on the 21st July 2003 with the availability of abundant natural beauty within and out of the city.
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| Formerly Government Building, now Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus |
9:00 AM I walked along Jalan Simpang Tige passing this former government building. Today the building has turned to a campus of an Australian University with many international students from Asian and African countries. The nearby Spring Mall is a frequent place of these Universities students.
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is a branch campus of Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
This Sarawak campus opened in Kuching in 2000 in partnership between Swinburne Australia and the Sarawak government.
The above building was the former Sarawak State Office Complex.
Swinburne Sarawak will be extensively developed into a city campus with a budget of RM110 million.
The expanded campus will feature several custom-designed buildings to accommodate new courses and the increasing student population.
Construction started at the later half of 2005 and completion is expected in 2008. Upon completion, the campus has a capacity for 5,000 full-time students.
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Jalan Ong Tiang Swee 王長水路
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Pibakat (SARAWAK SOCIETY FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS). An NGO (non government organization)
Pibakat is an organization formed and run by the parents of children with special needs - children intellectually or physically challenged.
The premises is an old government bungalow at Jalan Bisaya off Jalan Ong Tiang Swee in Kuching. It is the headquarters and teaching centre for the children in Kuching.
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Wooden armchair of old government quarter
At Jalan Ong Thien Swee was another abandoned old government staff quarter. Quarter Number: 1. (The quarter of my father was number 66).
These early days government timber house are now been torn down to make way for new development. (unfortunately).
This chair at the balcony is exactly the same style we had when we had in our quarter many years ago. Except that the weaven rottan seating was replaced by plywood.
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When I reach the junction of Jalan Ong Thien Swee, it is Batu 2.75, Jalan Rock Road. In those day, between this point (Batu 2.75) and 3rd Mile (Batu 3) were swampy bushes with a big stream water of tea color with where I cycle several times to fish. Today the stream could not be seen, the landscape completely changed.
These is a new huge office building the Wisma Hong.
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Along Rock Road, there are 2 familiar weathered wooden houses still standing tall as fascinating portrait of life and times long since changed. There is a third wooden house in between but missed out in my snap shoots. The above two wooden houses were dismantled few years later, while the third house in between still remain as in 1-1-2020 however abandoned.
Both are located on the Western side of Rock Road. One before Rock Road Restaurant and after the restaurant. These two wooden are Classical-style of the 1950's of the middle class of those day (a small plot of land with fruits trees and a double story wooden building in the middle) It is the equal vent of today upper middle class who own a semi-detached double story house with a wide garage for two cars).
Today these type of classic disappeared one by one following a routing formula - the cline of the house owner would hand the property to a developer to develop the land in a more profitable way. The developers would usually build concrete double or multi story commercials building or residential houses with bank finance. And in return the land owner get partial of the new development such as a shop lot or a unit of the house.
Some of the old abandoned wooden houses still exist in Kuching are masterpieces of British Colonel wooden architecture. These are token of my environment where I once grew up.
The young generation live in terrace houses or apartments because land is in short supply and expensive. Those who have bungalow houses have probably either inherited them or pay for the house for most of their working lives.
The old Chinese tradition idea of permanent house and emphasis on the long-term land has gone challenged today. In this modern age, young generation routinely relocate their working location , selling their old house and buying a new one. Houses become "disposable" item like old shoe and out of fashion clothes.
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This block of shop houses was build in the 1966-1967 and Rock Road Restaurant was among the first shops opened for business when the shop lot completed. Near by b
Behind the shop block is a terrace housing and the at the left side nearby are Government quarters,
In the 1960s, a shop started operation as a small coffee shop selling kilo mee to the residents. This noodle restaurant has developed in the last 40 decades into today Rock Road Seafood Restaurant that occupied 3 shop lots famous for their fresh sea foods dishes.
One of the shop lot now occupied by this Seafood Restaurant was originally a sundry shop. When this sundry shop first open in the 1960s, the towkay (owner) frequently went from house to house to acutance with the neighborhood and to invite them to visit his newly opened shop. Our house was just 100 meters further down on the left. I was at home that day when he first made his first visit to the government quarters where we stay, he chit chat with my mother in Hockien (or Teochew) telling my mother he is opening up a shop and politely asked my mother to 'support' his 'seng-li' by buying from his shop.
My mother did.
My mother was the one who responsible in acquiring home rations. When ordering heavy item such as rice, the shop would provide delivery to our house through a young shop assistant using a bicycle. Those days rice were packed in 'guni sack' of about 100 kilogram. The 'guni sack' of rice would be placed on the bicycle's main frame bar and the shop boy would push this bicycle with rice sack to our house. There were couple of time the 'towkay' (shop owner) would delivery the rice by himself when shop boy was not available.
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Recall fond memories of bus stop opposite Rock Road Restaurant
Bus stop shelter where I stood under every schooldays morning 1966 to 1971. The shelter old design was green square shape. Today is replaced with a nicer circular shape blue shelter.
There was no Bas Skolah (School Bus) during my time. Most boys cycle to schools. Many of my school mates live in town shophouses and they walk to schools. Only few have family cars. One of my classmate family operate a bicycle workshop beside opposite the Feng Shan Temple at Wayang Street.
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Jalan Ong Tiang Swee 王長水路
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| Sarawak Islamic Centre at Jalan Ong Thiang Swee Road |
Sarawak Islamic Centre
10:00 AM As I turn toward Jalan Ong Thiang Swee I saw a blue roof top of a very unique building under construction. This is the new Sarawak Islamic Centre where the worker are still busy constructing. When this religious center open its doors in August to other faiths, the building will foster a better understanding and appreciation of each other’s belief systems.
Sarawak Islamic Centre in Kuching will be opened to the public on 17th August 2008,
The is a unique architecture featuring a combination of the various ethnic identities, will be the first physical confluence of ethnic designs and matrices – underlying a bedrock of the true Islamic universality
The centre is half kilometer from Swinburne University. Construction of the Centre began in 2003 with a budget allocation of RM2 million.
The Centre will become a resource centre for Muslim converts to get counseling as well as those of other religious background who are interested in the Islamic faith to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Islam religion.
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| The Sarawak Melanau Community Charitable Trust Board |
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| RESCUE 911 |
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| Pertubuhan bagi Ibubapa Kanak Kanak Keperluan Khas Sarawak |
Pibakat is an organization formed and run by the parents of children with special needs - children intellectually or physically challenged.
The premises is an old government bungalow at Jalan Bisaya off Jalan Ong Tiang Swee in Kuching. It is the headquarters and teaching centre for the children in Kuching.
------------------------
 |
| Wooden armchair of old government quarter |
At Jalan Ong Thien Swee was another abandoned old government staff quarter. Quarter Number: 1. (The quarter of my father was number 66).
These early days government timber house are now been torn down to make way for new development. (unfortunately).
This chair at the balcony is exactly the same style we had when we had in our quarter many years ago. Except that the weaven rottan seating was replaced by plywood.
 |
| Wisma Hong |
These is a new huge office building the Wisma Hong.
 |
Old wooden houses along Rock Road
|
Both are located on the Western side of Rock Road. One before Rock Road Restaurant and after the restaurant. These two wooden are Classical-style of the 1950's of the middle class of those day (a small plot of land with fruits trees and a double story wooden building in the middle) It is the equal vent of today upper middle class who own a semi-detached double story house with a wide garage for two cars).
Today these type of classic disappeared one by one following a routing formula - the cline of the house owner would hand the property to a developer to develop the land in a more profitable way. The developers would usually build concrete double or multi story commercials building or residential houses with bank finance. And in return the land owner get partial of the new development such as a shop lot or a unit of the house.
Some of the old abandoned wooden houses still exist in Kuching are masterpieces of British Colonel wooden architecture. These are token of my environment where I once grew up.
The young generation live in terrace houses or apartments because land is in short supply and expensive. Those who have bungalow houses have probably either inherited them or pay for the house for most of their working lives.
The old Chinese tradition idea of permanent house and emphasis on the long-term land has gone challenged today. In this modern age, young generation routinely relocate their working location , selling their old house and buying a new one. Houses become "disposable" item like old shoe and out of fashion clothes.
------------------------------
 |
Rock Road Seafood Restaurant
|
Behind the shop block is a terrace housing and the at the left side nearby are Government quarters,
In the 1960s, a shop started operation as a small coffee shop selling kilo mee to the residents. This noodle restaurant has developed in the last 40 decades into today Rock Road Seafood Restaurant that occupied 3 shop lots famous for their fresh sea foods dishes.
One of the shop lot now occupied by this Seafood Restaurant was originally a sundry shop. When this sundry shop first open in the 1960s, the towkay (owner) frequently went from house to house to acutance with the neighborhood and to invite them to visit his newly opened shop. Our house was just 100 meters further down on the left. I was at home that day when he first made his first visit to the government quarters where we stay, he chit chat with my mother in Hockien (or Teochew) telling my mother he is opening up a shop and politely asked my mother to 'support' his 'seng-li' by buying from his shop.
My mother did.
My mother was the one who responsible in acquiring home rations. When ordering heavy item such as rice, the shop would provide delivery to our house through a young shop assistant using a bicycle. Those days rice were packed in 'guni sack' of about 100 kilogram. The 'guni sack' of rice would be placed on the bicycle's main frame bar and the shop boy would push this bicycle with rice sack to our house. There were couple of time the 'towkay' (shop owner) would delivery the rice by himself when shop boy was not available.
---------------------------------------
 |
| Recall fond memories of bus stop |
Bus stop shelter where I stood under every schooldays morning 1966 to 1971. The shelter old design was green square shape. Today is replaced with a nicer circular shape blue shelter.
There was no Bas Skolah (School Bus) during my time. Most boys cycle to schools. Many of my school mates live in town shophouses and they walk to schools. Only few have family cars. One of my classmate family operate a bicycle workshop beside opposite the Feng Shan Temple at Wayang Street.
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