The Sarawak Museum is the state's primary venue for displaying the art and history of Sarawak. From a single building the museum has grown into a complex of exhibition halls each displaying a different aspect of the state's cultural heritage. Each of the various building is discussed in detailed in the following pages.
The original building of the Sarawak Museum, housing the ethnology exhibits. The imposing main bulding of the Sarawak Museum houses the main ethnology exhibits, as well as part of the natural history collection. The original structure was built in 1891 on the orders of the "White Rajah" Charles Brooke, and was always intended as a showcase for local arts and handicrafts. The design was based on that of the Normandy town hall in France.
The Natural History Museum in Kuching The Natural History Museum is housed in what was once the administrative offices of the Sarawak Museum. The exhibits were in some disarray when I visited in March 2011, and it seemed some displays were crammed together to make room for an extensive exhibition of petrified wood. The permanent exhibition is mostly of crocodiles, along with a few other local fauna.
The museum is open from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Tun Abdul Razak Hall of the Sarawak Museum The Tun Abdul Razak Hall is located across a busy road from the original building housing the ethnology exhibits. A pedestrian bridge connects the two buildings. The hall was built in 1973 for the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, but only used for that purpose for a short time, and was converted for use by the museum in 1982.
The hall houses a large temporary exhibition space on the first floor, so it may seem empty when you first enter if there's no exhibition on, but just proceed to the second floor to view the permanent exhibition galleries.
The aquarium building at the Sarawak Museum Although housed in a fine wrought iron Victorian styled pavilion in the gardens of the Sarawak Museum complex, the aquarium is unfortunately a rather grim place. The fish are displayed in small tanks with very little done to make them seem natural. Only the names of the various species are displayed, with no information in any language about the fish or its environment.
Sarawak Art Museum The building housing the Sarawak State Art Museum started out as a reading room and library. It was converted to an art museum as part of the Sarawak Museum complex. The galleries mix traditional art works with contemporary creations by Sarawak artists.
When I visited in March 2011, there was also an exhibit of photographs of prisoner camps from the Japanese occupation during World War II.
Chinese graves in the gardens Most of the buildings of the Sarawak Museum sit in a large landscaped garden and arboretum that is an attraction in itself. There are formal grand walkways, the most prominent of which leads up to a pillar called the Heroes Monument. However, if you look off to the side of the stairway you'll see several graves. Some are (or appear to be) Christian, some are Muslim, but the largest and most obvious are the Chinese graves.
The Islamic museum of Kuching The Islamic museum was opened in 1992 as part of the Sarawak Museum complex. The museum is housed in a building originally built as a school, known as the James Brooke Malay College. The school converted well into a museum, as it consisted of several halls organized around two courtyards. Each of the halls now houses a gallery on a different subject. These include the history of Islam in Sarawak, Islamic architecture, science, the arts and weaponry.
