Bank Road, Sibu

A gem found on Google.

The Bank Road has a special place in history of Sibu. First it was the address of the first bank in Sibu, the Kwong Lee Bank which was established in 1932. Kwong Lee bank was also a Sarawakian family Bank.

Besides, the first Rubber Middle Man, Wong Sing Kheng also established his first trading shop at his own shop lot at Bank Road. Called Hock Chiong, this import and export business was established because of the growth of rubber exports from1910 until very recently. The Wong Family owned the business for almost a century.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Bank Road was also the centre of Japanese Army activities as the Kempetai established itself in a few of the shop lots and the Borneo Company Building, which faced the Rajang River.

An aunt of mine who was a boarding student at the Yuk Ing Girls School (next to the Masland Church said that she was petrified of the Japanese soldiers who walked from Bank Road to the Island Road and then to the Lau King Howe Hospital on their patrol. She also told us that the bomb craters (created by the Japanese bombs) at the back of the Masland church were filled with water  when it rained. And the local people took the water for drinking and cooking.

The Yuk Ing girl students were asked to go home after 1942 as no one could protect them any more from the soldiers.

Some people were actually shot to death on the road.

There was actually a small island or rather roundabout made from a deisel drum standing in the middle of the cross road and a traffic police would stand on it to direct traffic in the 60's.

Wharf labourers continued to line up the Bank Road, the Wharf Road for a long time as these two roads are the nearest to the go down and the wharf.