Encyclopedia of Kuching

Kuching was founded in 1827 by representatives of the Sultan of Brunei. Located on the Sarawak River, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Sarawak under the Brookes, and from 1963 has been the capital of the state of Sarawak in East Malaysia.

The name was long believed to have derived from ‘kucing’, the Malay word for cat, and cats feature on the coat of arms of the City of Kuching North where there is now a Cat Museum. Kuching has emerged as a popular tourist destination with most visitors going to Kuching South, the location of many of the historical sites connected with the Brookes, although the Astana, the residence of the Brookes, is on the north bank of the river.

This book contains more than 600 illustrations, many published here for the first time.