The Sarawak Stadium in Kuching built in time for World Junior Soccer cup and saw Brazil team in action.
Modern Indoor Stadium (Stadium Perpaduan) at Petra Jaya, Kuching with the old and new Sarawak Stadia in the background.Older generation of Sibuites might remember the King George VI Memorial Ground or affectionately known simply as Padang or Sports Padang to Sibu folks. The sports ground exists no longer but in its place is the present Sibu Town Square.
Who is King George VI?
King George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1955. He is the father of the present Queen Elizabeth.
There are a number of geographical features, roads, and institutions named after George VI in London and around the world. These include King George Hospital in London; King George VI Highway and King George Station in Surrey, British Columbia; George VI Sound in Antartica; and the King George VI Chase, horse race in the United Kingdom.
In 1955, several years after his death, a statue of the king in his Garter robes was erected just off the Mall and Carlton Gardens. It was announced in 2005 that a statue of his consort Queen Elizabeth would join his at that location towards the end of 2008. Another statue of the King can be found in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.
Old timers would remember the place as a venue for many sports meets such as the Annual Inter-House, Inter-School and even Inter-Divisional Sports Meet. Many races were held and many sports records were also broken here.
It was even the venue for remote controlled plane and kite flying sessions as well as bicycle races. There was a case whereby a cyclist (a secondary student) died after substaining head injury following a bicycle race accident. The padang was even used by some as a venue for dating.
The Ground was later rechristened Padang Sukan Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Bujang following Independence. Today it has made way for development of Sibu Town Square and is replaced by Stadium Tun Ahmad Zaidi at Bukit Lima Road.
I have a very old photo of the padang area before it was built which shows belian plank walk leading to the Malay Kampungs. I will try to scan and post it here later.
The Sibu Town Square with Wisma Sanyan in the background (site of the former King George VI Memorial Ground)
3 comments:
These photos are nice.
Your description of the old padang brings back a lot of memories of old day-Sibu. It is a pity that development erases historical development instead of "fosilising" the past for perpectuaty. It is not that Sibu has no land. It is sad that one era is erased for another era to gain prominence in the same place.
It would have been of great value if one quarter is considered old Colonial Quarter and another area the Post Colonial Malay Quarter. It would be nice to have in Sibu a preserved Foochow Colonists Quarters too. It would be a dream come true if there were an Original Hokkien Settlement. Then the tapestry of Sibu over the ages would display its great history and every one would appreciate the comprehensive historical value of this one of a kind town in the world built completely by mutual respect of races and political will and founded by a unique personality in the person of Rev James Hoover - an American!!
What a unique history!! But it may just be images in my mind and can never become a reality.
Sarawakiana,
Thank you very much for visiting my blog. Manila is probably like what you imagine for Sibu. there is a walled city built during the Spanish era and then you have the Makati and neighbouring areas built during the American times. I do agree the need to preserve the different old quarters. But such thing needs legislation.
In cities like London and paris, the old quarters are very well preserved. If you visit Paris, the Latin quarters is the same year after year. There are laws to protect the heritage.
Cheers!
By their very nature, old landmarks should have a comforting permanence, anchoring the landscape over the decades even as other structures around them rise and fall. In the same vein, newer landmarks, though they may lack the patina of history, carry the mark of timelessness that makes them impervious to fads and trends.
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