Jetties of Nang Chong

 Jetties of the Foochows built along the Lower Rajang were works of art.

Made from huge timber logs,a pontoon was made from tying together three or four large logs. Each log would have large hooks nailed into them for tying purpoes. Huge wire ropes were used. It must have been a skilful job to tie the togs together. Huge waves caused by the motor launches nnd express boats would cause the logs to crash against each other, hence the logs must be very skilfully tied together.

A good wooden platform made from good water resistant planks (e.g. belian) was made and nailed to the supporting logs. A jetty like this would last many years. However a huge flood may send a pontoon floating downriver to the river mouth. Some lucky people may pick it up and make full use of it.

A pontoon was usually the length of two planks with a width of 8 planks or. The photo shows a double pontoon.

Pontoons were so well made that they would never sink. Three or four motor bikes would be able to stay on a pontoon and wait for a ferry to arrive. Passengers getting a ride from a motor launch could stand on it and wait. without ever getting their feet wet.

This is a photo from Google, showing a floating pontoon made from logs tied together and a wooden platform to cover them.

The owner of the jetty would have waited for the river currents to bring down the choice logs. When sighted from afar, the owner would row his little boat out to pick up the log using a harpoon like instrument. Then he would pull the log slowly back to the banks. Such logs would be collected, and selected. The unwanted logs would be sawn and made into firewood for both household use and rubber smoking.

My maternal grandfather Lau Kah Chui first built such a jetty for motor launches and passengers to alight. Motor launches in the 1920's right through the 1950's were like country buses. Most folks had to go to Sibu to sell their rubber sheets, which was priority then.

A good jetty would also have a sort of platform from the river bank because the mud on the depositional bank of the river would prevent boats from berthing at low tide. So my grandfather's jetty had a fairly long platform from the bank. A moveable plankwalk would be attached to the pontoon.

A waiting platform on stilts would jut out from the river bank to help make motor launches stop by more easily. This would depend on the differences in tide levels and the kind of river bank the house owner has. Not every home had a jetty.

At high tide, the plankwalk, the pontoon and the platform would be at the same level. It was a lovely sight .

At low tide the plank walk would be far above the pontoon and it was quite hard to walk up the plankwalk. The gradient was more than 60 degrees! As kids we loved to reach grandma's house when the tide was not too high or too low. Low tide also meant that we reached grandma's house slightly faster as the flow would help the motor launch to go faster.

The pontoon was very useful - laundry was easily done by the riverside, bales or rubber could be placed there while waiting for the motor launches to arrive, it was the best place for fishing, and swimming use the platforms for their diving boards. It was often the venue for slaughtering of pigs and chickens.

A jetty was considered a welfare service to villagers who lived around the area. Only some families would build jetties to front their river bank property.

Today these kinds of wooden jetties are no longer found or constructed.

* In the 1970's political parties would give out funds to help villagers repair their jetties. My grandmother did wish that election would come every year so that the village could enjoy more development funds!! Some jetties cost more than RM20,000 to rebuilt.