Natural History Museum

We decided not to take in the "living" Sarawak Cultural Museum which is out of town and our day began at one of the historical buildings founded by the second Rajah in 1888.

The building was built in 1908 and was known as the ‘Second Ladies Club’. It was once used as an administrative office and now houses the "Natural History Museum". This is due for a "makeover" and they hope to develop it into SE Asia's largest. This seems very reasonable given the incredible flora and fauna on Borneo, including the historical presence of Darwin's contemporary, Alfred Russell Wallace (who independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection). Currently it has about 80,000 specimens, only 4% are on display. These consist of a small collection of Borneo mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, birds, fishes and shellfish which were sent to London for mounting and have resided in their cabinets since 1911! Something in itself to ponder!Read more