In the 1970's the old wooden house known as the Third Division Resident's Official Residence was home to Mr. Ignatius Angking the first Iban Resident in Sarawak.
He and his wife were good people who entertained many church people in this lovely residence. And I suppose as teachers of the Methodist School and volunteer workers many of my friends and I got invited by Mrs. Angking for tea...rather grand affairs really...nice tea sets and nice cakes and cookies.
I also remember the nice framed photos of former Residents on the shelves. A lovely old telephone sat at a corner on an old antique rattan table.
There was no air conditioning in the house as the river breeze was enough to cool the rooms and the stilted architecture of the building gave the whole house a great green environmental effect. Often the flood water which came right under the house would cool down the house. I think many people have forgotten this kind of environmental effect on houses on stilts. Our ancestors were NOT ignoramous!!
It was a pity that the house was demolished to make way for the Rajang Port Authority Building. A lot of history was thus swept away.
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