In the 50's most people travelled by coastal boats from one town to another in Sarawak or by the regular steam ships to Singapore and Europe. One could however fly from Singapore then.
The first plane over Sibu was in 1930's which took aerial photos of the town. There was a hangar in Sibu too but it was soon forgotten. Later the Japanese planes came and then the Allied Australian Forces arrived to defeat the Japanese.
The intermediate years of 1945 and 1952 saw frequent landings of the Sunderlands and Catalinas. Today not many people remember those days and not much has been written about them. Then the Dakotas and the Twin Otters started to fly all over Borneo in the 60's.
A Sunderland Model
Sunderland (Museum in New Zealand)
Sunderland
A beautiful painting of a Catalina
Another Sunderland
These flying boats were seen landing with a big splash in the Rejang between 1945 and 1952 . In fact there are several interesting facts related to the Sunderland and the Catalina Flying Boats in Sarawak . Indeed they were actually very famous planes which dominated the skies in the 1930's to 1950's. They made a very significant mark in world aviation history. Aviation museums all over the world have models of them on display. Many paintings of them are lovingly kept by former air force personnel who were involved in flying them. Many paintings were also seen in museums the world over. In fact many documents also record the thousands of lives they saved.
Perhaps not many people today can remember seeing them in Sarawak. My mother and her siblings were teenagers then and they have recollection of the Flying Boats. In Foochow dialect they are called Bui Soon . Exactly - Flying Boats.
Because the Sibu Airport was damaged by the war these flying boats came in handy and at the right time. While the Sunderland were huge RAF four-engined flying boats the Catalinas were twin-engined. Both were used to transport many especially the POW who required urgent medical attention to Labuan after the war.
The Foochows from the villages and the town people crowded on the bank of the Rejang when a Sunderland flew in with the Rajah Sir Charles Vyner Booke and Ranee Sylvia for their last farewell visit to Sibu. Right after the war the people were still quite numbed and they probably did not realise that it was a monumental event which ended 100 years of Brooke Rule.
A Sunderland also brought Rt Hon Malcolm MacDonald in his first visit to Sibu. This was quite an event for many especially the headmen of Sibu. the Malay and Iban leaders lined up to greet him. So did the Foochow headmen. There were a lot of hands being shaken and much English was spoken that day to the delight of MacDonald. He wrote very positively about the local people whom he grew to love.
And sadly Duncan Stewart the second British Governor of Sarawak who was fatally hurt in Sibu by Rosli Dhoby and his friends was flown out of Sibu by a Sunderland to Singapore for treatment. He did not recover from his wound.
When the old Sibu airport was repaired and completed in 1952 these Flying Boats were not seen again in the Rejang River.
Today we can still see Sunderlands in aviation museums in New Zealand for example. The newer versions of Catalinas are still being flown in many islands for transport and tourism purposes.
Sources : 1. Tan Gabriel : Japanese Occupation : Sarawak - a Passing Glimpse
2. http://www.vectorsite.net
3. http :// mikekemble.com/ww2
4. http://alankayutrail.blogspot.com
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