The manner in which Sarawak was governed by the Brooke family
for 100 years was probably
unique in all the annals of so-called 'Colonial' governments.
It was certainly far more
enlightened than any of the contemporary ones, it can perhaps
be described as a benevolent
autocracy, and certainly could not have succeeded if there had
not been the mutual respect
which existed between the leaders of the indigenous population
and the Rajah's Officers. In
this monograph I have endeavoured to make as complete a listing
of them as is possible,
together with the details of their careers
In 1900 there was a total of 38 expatriate officers of the senior
service managing a country
about the size of England, Scotland and Wales combined. By 1940
this had only risen to 87, of
which 33 were field officers and the remainder were in the various
supporting departments
based at Kuching or the Divisional headquarters.
These men nearly all gave long and unstinting service, both to
the Rajah and to the native
people of Sarawak, and yet they are largely unsung heroes. A few
are mentioned in the various
books written about Sarawak, but nowhere is there detail of the
careers of all of them. I am
fortunate to be in possession of a number of the early Civil Lists,
possibly unique in private
hands, a complete set of Government Gazettes and also the Sarawak
Gazette from 1890, again
probably the only runs outside of a few museums. The condition
of the earlier documents is
very fragile, due to the poor quality of the paper on which they
are printed and the effects of the
tropical climate, and they are certainly not suitable for continuous
handling.
By abstracting all the relevant information, and cross-checking
where possible between the
three sources, it has been possible to compile what is believed
to be the only complete listing of
the full careers of all the officers of the senior service.
Copies may be obtained from:-
W. Batty-Smith MBE,
Thorpe House,
Stalbridge,
Dorset DT1O 2LR.
United Kingdom
email: w.batty-smith@ukonline.co.uk
Softback, price £15 inclusive of UK postage and packing,
postage outside Europe £1 extra.
Cheques or money orders payable to W.Batty Smith.