Berhala Island, Sabah
The Berhala Island (Template:Lang-ms) is a small forested island situated in Sandakan Bay in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
The island is approximately 5 hectares in size and has prominent cliffs at its northern end.[1][2] Many birds of prey can be seen on and around Berhala, including brahminy kites, serpent eagles and sea eagles.[3]
The island has a lighthouse at its highest point.[4]
In the period prior to World War II, the island was used as a quarantine station for labourers coming from China and the Philippines, and was also home to a leper colony. During the war, civilian internees, including Agnes Newton Keith and her husband Harry Keith were held in the quarantine station which served as a makeshift internment camp, before being transferred to Batu Lintang camp in Kuching, Sarawak. After the civilians left, POWs were interned in the camp. A daring escape took place from Berhala Island in June 1943, when several POWs who were due to be transferred to Sandakan POW camp managed to escape to Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines.[5][6]
Plans are currently in development to promote Berhala Island as a tourist attraction.[7]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/destination/berhala%20island.html
- ^ http://www.borneoexpress.com/borneo_interesting_places.htm
- ^ Smythies, B. E., 1960, The Birds of Borneo Publisher: Oliver & Boyd.
- ^ http://www.iczm.sabah.gov.my/reports/Coastal%20Profile%20Sandakan/Ch11/Chapter%2011%20-%20Tourism.htm
- ^ Peter Firkins, 1995, Borneo Surgeon A Reluctant Hero: The Story of Dr James P. Taylor Carlisle, WA: Hesperian Press,77-8
- ^ AWM photograph 121749 caption
- ^ http://www.sabahtourism.com/sabah-malaysian-borneo/en/news/2631-liew-berhala-island-a-budding-tourist-attraction/
External links
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