TAWAU HISTORYThe history of the second largest town in Sabah,
Tawau would depend on where the story came from. The
Tidong community said that it came from the
fishing hook which they called ‘tawau’ which they left for the fish to be hooked. They mentioned this word when the British came to
Tawau River and had asked them the name of the river. As they did not understand the English language they thought that the British had asked what they were doing.
The
Bugis community instead claimed that ‘tawau’ means it is their
‘ownership'.
The
Cocos Islander Community said it came from the word
‘tawar’ which means no taste or no power as when people entered Tawau their power became useless or ‘tawar’.
The other communities like the
Murut may have different meaning to the word ‘tawau’.
Even the herbal leaves that are very bitter is called
‘tawao’ and these leaves are normally taken raw if you have problem with sugar level or diabetic.
It could also have come from the word ‘davao’ after
Davao City in the
Mindanao Island. To me this is more accurate as there is also a place called
Tinagat and in Mindanao Island there is also an Island called
Dinagat in the North East of Mindanao, next to a province called
Butuan.
The
Muruts could also be the oldest residents except that they lived in
Serudong, a village about one hour boat ride from Tawau town after
Walace Bay. There were some old graves of the Tidong community at a place called
Simandalam and some of the graves at fallen into the sea. There is also a new settlement in
Balung called Serudong where most of the communities are Murut and Iban.
As we know it today Tawau is a port and transit point before you go to the famous
Sipadan Island, which is located off Semporna or before you go to
Tabin Wild Life Sanctuary or
Danum Valley Rainforest Lodge in Lahad Datu or even the Madai Caves in Kunak. These are just some of the famous landmarks. Of course you can go to
Tarakan and
Nunukan in Indonesia in a 2-4 hours journey by boat.
The beginning of Tawau started at the
Tawau River, about 2 miles away from Town and this place is called
Tawau Lama or the Old Tawau, where locates many shophouses, factories and houses including the Tawau Lama Housing Esate developed by LPPB or the state owned agency that develops housing for the people.
Tawau Lama or Old Tawau is some 2.5 miles off the
Apas Road to Semporna.
There are no landmarks, except for the Kampong called
Kampong Ice Box or Kg Titingan, after the name of a local leader Datuk Abu Bakar Titingan, who is from the Tidung Community. There are also some Arab communities living at Mile 2 and these people are called the ‘Habibs’. There is a small mosque at the River Bank in front of the house owned by a local leader, Datuk Abdul Ghafur Salleh, who is an Arab from Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Tawau River originated from the
Tawau Forest Reserve at Gudang 4 or the Warehouse 4 where locates a famous waterfall that people go for picnic or take a dip. You have to pass through the oil palm estates that belong to Golden Hope Plantation Bhd.
Tawau is located in the
Tawau Residency which also includes Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu towns in Sabah East Coast.
Most of Bugis community lives in Merotai and Tg Batu to the north of Tawau, the Tidung lives in the area of Balung and Apas, the Bajau in Kinabutan, the Chinese in Sin Onn and Mile 5, also in Kinabutan, the Cocos Islander Community in Balung and the Visayas in Tawau town.
Of course the island that blocks the Tawau town and port is called the
Sebatik Island which is owned by Malaysia and Indonesia. Why it is called ‘Si Batik’ could have the meaning that the man who lived there had always wear a Batik sarong and Indonesia especially the island of Java is famous for its Batik, a colorful textile with local motifs and designs. Batik is mainly produced in the province of Solo, Semarang, Cirebon, each having their own design and motifs. So Si Batik could have come from one of these area or a person who had been to these area.
The
Cocos Islander Community wedding and dance still wear
Batik as part of its costume for the ladies as well as for the men. So you see which direction is it heading now. It is heading to the Cocos Islander Communty who had a famous leader in the name of
Alexander Hare who had a kingdom in
Maluka, an island off
Banjarmasin.
Dont foreget the
Japanese. They had some historical landmark too; a place called
Kubota which used to be their base and
Kuhara as well as the Japanes graveyard in the North Road to BAL Plantations.Who could have given the name to the mountain called
Kukusan, located in the North part of Tawau? Half of this hill has been quarried for aggregates.
So Tawau as we know it today is just another town in Sabah which is famous for its cocoa plantation and cocoa factory operated by the
Teck Guan Group, as well as the plantation owned by
Golden Hope Plantation, formerly
BAL Estates. BAL Estates used to plant
abaca or the
manila hemp at
Table Estate. Manila hemp is used to make ropes especially for the ships and boats.
Tawau is also famous for its
resettlement schemes. They have so many schemes like
Ranggu, Serudong, Gading, Apas, Cocos Islander and the Tidong (Nasib Kita). The old
light house still stands high on the foothill of
Tinagat in
Apas.
Tinagat is where
Batu Payung is and
Batu Payung is a stone located at the seaside that had story of its own in the
Tidong community. This lighthouse was built by the British to facilitate ships coming into the
Tawau Port.
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