Sarawak Gazette 4 January 1907 Issue No 492/Our Notes
OUR NOTES.
December.
On the 1st the p. s. Kaka sailed for Brooketon, Limbang, etc. and on the 3rd p. s. Adeh left for Sibu.
The s. s. Rajah of Sarawak sailed for Singapore on the 4th. No European passengers.
On the 6th the s. s. Kuching arrived from Singapore with passengers, Messrs. R. Pawle, A. C. Vivian and the Revd. J. Oss.
The same day the s. s. Sarawak came in from Muka with passenger, Miss Dobson.
The p. s. Kaka returned from the North on the 7th, and s. s. Sarawak sailed for Bintulu on the 9th.
On the 11th s. s. Kuching sailed for Singapore with passenger, Miss Dobson, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Butler.
The same day the p. s. Adel returned from Sibu.
On the 13th the s. s. Rajah of Sarawak arrived from Singapore. Passenger, Mr. G. Malcolm of Messrs. Ellis and Co., American Agents of Singapore.
On the 16th p. s. Kaka sailed for Brooketon and Limbang. Passenger, Mr. G. Dalton.
The same day the s. s. Sarawak returned from Bintulu.
Early on Sunday morning, the 16th, H.M.S. Clio arrived from North Borneo Ports and came up river. She dropped anchor just above H. H. S. Zahora, off Ban Hok's Wharf.
H. M. S. Clio is a Screw Sloop of 1070 tons and is attached to the China Squadron. Her full list of Officers is as follows:—
| Commander. | Cecil D. S. Raikes |
| Lieutenant. | R. H. B. Hammond Chambers |
| Do (N) | Neville B. C. Brock |
| Do | J. S. Morrell |
| Staff Surgeon | R. L. Dickinson |
| Paymaster | A. W. B. Messenger |
| Chief Art. Engr. | S. J. Venning |
| Gunner | W. Taylor. |
On the afternoon of the 17th a party of bluejackets landed from H. M. S. Clio and indulged in a game of football on the Mission ground. Owing to the rain which has fallen every day for weeks the ground was very sodden and in places there were pools of water which, however, failed to damp the enthusiasm of the players.
The same evening the Acting Commandant, Mr. Stuart Cunynghame, invited everyone to witness some Dyak dancing, etc. on the parade ground at the Fort. The Hon'ble the Resident, with Commander Raikes and a small party from the Residency arrived about 9.30 p. m. when the proceedings commenced with dances by some of the Sarawak Rangers. A torchlight tattoo by Sepoys proved very effective, but required a little more rehearsing, and another turn by a Sepoy, who whirled fire at the two ends of a cord round in circles so rapidly until there was one complete circle of blaze, called forth much applause.
Amongst those present at the entertainment we noticed the Hon'ble the Resident, Commander Raikes, R. N. and Officers of H. M. S. Clio, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, Dr. and Mrs. Wellington, Mrs. Grove, Dr. J. White Hopkins, Messrs. Lewis, Stilwell, Bryan, Slade, Allman, Gillan, Harington, Etheridge and many others. Fortunately the evening was fine so that it was possible to sit outside and appreciate the Acting Commandant's hospitality.
On the 18th the s. s. Rajah of Sarawak sailed for Singapore with passengers, Messrs. Malcolm and J. H. Johnston.
This afternoon the S. P. G. Old Boys' team played a football match against a scratch team from H. M. S. Clio and won by 4 goals to nil. The heavy rain during the day made the Mission ground worse, than it had been the day before, and it was a perfect swamp.
In the evening Mr. J. M. Bryan entertained the Officers of H. M. S. Clio at dinner at B. M. K.
H. M. S. Clio sailed for Singapore to rejoin the Fleet on the morning of the 19th instant, and we understand that she may return here again about the end of January.
On the 19th the s. s. Sarawak sailed for Rejang, Bintulu and other ports. Passengers, Mr. V. Harington and Revd. J. Oss for Sibu.
On the morning of the 20th Mr. Grove laid the second lot of the Matang Water pipes in the bed of the river from bank to bank. The first lot were laid on the 14th; there are now two lines of pipes in position under the water, so that in the event of anything going wrong with one, the other can be used. Some interesting photos of the operation were taken by Mr. Reutens.
S. S. Kuching arrived from Singapore on the 20th but brought no European passengers.
On the 22nd the p. s. Adeh returned from Limbang and Brooketon. Passengers, Mr. and Mrs. T. Nicoll and Mr. G. Dalton.
Tuesday the 25th, being Christmas Day, the Hon'ble the Resident, Sir Percy Cunynghame, Bart., entertained a large number of guests at dinner in the new Outstation Officers' Rest House. A party of 27 sat down to an excellent dinner, one of the principal items of the menu being "Snipe," which had been shot a couple of days previously by the Resident and Mr. Lewis and kept in the ice house. The table was tastefully decorated, and the gorgeous display of crackers of all sorts and sizes gave the "Christmassy" appearance necessary to the occasion. After dinner dancing and music were indulged in, the last of the guests not departing until the early hours of the morning.
On the 26th the s. s. Kuching sailed for Singapore. Passengers, Mr. and Mrs. T. Nicoll.
The same day s. s. Sarawak returned from Bintulu.
On the 28th the s. s. Rajah of Sarawak arrived from Singapore with passengers―Dr. A. J. G. Barker, Dr. Bruce Low, Dr. Schlechter, Messrs. J. S. Geikie, J. H. Johnston, H. la Chard and Miss Hastie.
Dr. Barker and Mr. Geikie have returned from home leave, Dr. Bruce Low and Miss Hastie join the Medical Department, and Mr. la Chard has come out as a Cadet in the Government Service.
We understand that the puport of Dr. Schlechter's visit to Sarawak was to obtain permission to enlist Dyaks to work gutta, etc. in New Guinea and to teach the Natives there to work it.
On the 29th the p. s. Adeh returned from Sibu with the Revd. Father Halder on board and p. s. Kaka sailed for Sadong with Mr. P. Stewart. The Kaka returned on the 30th, Mr. Stewart returning with her.
MR. J. M. Bryan, Manager of the Borneo Company in Kuching, gave his usual dinner on New Year's Eve at which some 36 guests were present, of whom six only were ladies. Music, dancing and cards helped to pass the time pleasantly until mid-night when a gun from the Fort announced the birth of the New Year, and all joined hands and sung "Auld Lang Syne".
It will interest the many friends in this Country of Mr. G. Hourant to hear that he has entered the bonds of matrimony. Mr. Hourant was married on the 6th November last at Algiers, to Mdlle Camille Neyret, daughter of Monsieur Neyret, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Contragulations.
An old iron gun, which looks as if it were made of a piece of piping, was found by a Malay named Bakri while working silver ore at Simbri, ulu Pansi. The gun still bears the faintly legible inscription in Chinese "General of the Sam Tiow Kew Kongsi". This is the Bau Kongsi which attacked Kuching during the Chinese insurrection.
It is with the greatest regret that we have to announce the death on the 10th November from pneumonia of Mr. B. Bettington. The news reached us indirectly two mails ago and we have no further particulars. Mr. Bettington only retired from the Government Service in November 1904; he was 41 years of age at the time of his death.