Baram Tales : River Culture

 In 1927 Charles Vyner Brooke allowed a group of 90 Foochows to set up a settlement in Poyut Lubok Nibong .

The Foochow migrants were led by a leader called Hii Nguong Sherng and they had come from various parts of the Min River Valley. After having been granted 2000 acres for the settlement project to plant rice and rubber, the Foochow pioneers quickly set up to develop this part of Lower Baram river valley.

While many of the new pioneers were able to withstand the humid conditions and the swampy peat soil conditions for rice planting several died from fever and diseases or were fatally bitten by poisonous snakes.

The following years saw the hardworking Foochows succeed in their endeavour. The river culture brought by them inherited from their ancestors was an enabling factor.

The river Baram enabled them!! The water brought river resources of fish, and other proteins. It brought them fertile sediments for their paddy fields. In spite of annual floods and normal floods the Foochows were able to over come the severe conditions with grit.

This Foochow built double decker was able to berth in Marudi and Lubok Nibong.

In the 1940's and 50's this double decker was able to travel up to Long Lama and the Bakong roiver too.

River Baram also provide transport means and many of those who lived alongisde Lubok Nibong even made a living out of boat building. Natives started to come by to buy their boats and motor launches were built to serve as trading boats up to the very remotest part of the Baram.

By the 1930's a small bazaar was established. Several shops were set up. A few were Foochow owned while others were Hainanese, Hakka and Hockkien owners. The businesses were enhanced by the indigenous people who came from not only the Baram but from other tributaries. Lubok Nibong was a convenient pit stop.

Rubber was grown fairly successfully and rubber sheets were shipped directly from Lubok Nibong to Singapore in the 1950's. Actually it was less than 30 years since the founding of the settlement that Lubong Nibong was able to establish itself as a rubber producing centre inthe Baram. Besides in 1952 a crepe rubber factory was founded with free water resources from the Baram.

Thus the river culture of China came with the Foochow pioneers and helped establish a thriving Foochow settlement from 1927. Some set backs occured when the timber business declined and the new generation of the Foochows moved out to Miri and beyong.