Sibu's King George Memorial VI Grounds

For many people of Sibu, especially when they were attending secondary school in the 60's and 70's, they only knew how nice it was to run on the running tracks of King George VI Memorial Grounds. Named after a king they did not know about, these sports girls and boys enjoyed the facilities.

Sibu, in the days before Malaysia (1963) was still a slow paced colonial town with less than 100,000 people.

(His face is on this Sarawak stamp)



King George VI was the father of the present Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (which is not so united now due to modern political divide). She is also called the Queen of England. King George VI ruled the British Empire, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1895 to 1952. He died in Febrary 1952 when the then Princess Elizabeth was touring Africa.

King George VI is fondly remembered in the film, "The King's Speech" in which Colin Firth acted as King George V! and won an Oscar . King George V! had a stammer and took pains to over the problem. However the shy king was determined to win the hearts of his people and win the war against Hitler.

The entrance of the KGVI Memorial Grounds was decorated by indigenous art put up in panels. It was a grand entrance.

The grounds were put up as part of the welcoming ceremoiny for the Duke of Edinburgh.



In 1964, Sibu people saw the beautiful bitumen tracks and were amazed. The tracks had cost the Sibu Urban Council a sum of RM45,000 according to records. The Sports grounds had been handed over by the Board of Trustee to the Council in 1963. 

The field thus provided the best sports field for schools in the Sibu Division. Schools' inter house sports meets, Third Division Interschool Sports Meets and others were held here.

Almost all the secondary school students in the 60's remember fondly their sports days in the King George VI Memorial Grounds. 

It was also a place Sibu people would bring their out of town relatives to have a walk. Quite a local tourist centre then.

It remained a favourite place for senior citizens to walk in the mornings and evenings.

(Extra Notes: Major improvement occurred to the padang with provision of new synthetic running track by Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), with fund from the Ministry of Social Development in 1991. A new grandstand was completed by the Council in 1992, at approximately RM600,000.

For many years it was known as Padang Sukan Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Haji Bujang.

Later it was completely bulldozed to  make way for the Sibu Town Centre.