Once there was a course

Combo pix showing the Bintulu Golf Course (2nd nine - Hole 10 - 18)

Picture shows the course in various stages of completion.  The 2nd nine course faces the South China Sea

BDA worker mowing the green at Hole 14 - 1988

1988 was a most trying year for me.  I was steeped into the landscaping of the greens, tee boxes, fairways, slopes, bunkers and general landscaping of the Bintulu golf course.  It was my first experience in doing the landscaping and maintenance of a golf course.  There were many visits made to Singapore and various  courses in Malaysia to understand the practical details of landscaping and maintaining  a golf course.  There were staff to be employed and specifications for procurement of  equipments and course maintenance to be written down in technical details for contractual documentation.  The course was to start with the 2nd nine or back nine, i.e. holes 10 -18 and to be opened for play in 1989.  I have shared many stories about the early beginnings of the course as in here and more here.  There were tons of pleasure and joy in doing the job even though it was most taxing in terms of new learning, time schedule and organisational capability.  On reflection I was  indeed blessed with a very supportive team of bosses and subordinates in carrying my responsibilities.  Memories are made of them.  Not many people however knew that we also built a  golf green for our  boss house in Kidurong Residential area in 1986 (see bottom picture).  It was  the only house in Bintulu to have a proper practice green.  At the end of the day I found that doing the course was one of the best adventures of my life.

Happy Malaysia Day, Sarawak!!

(Note:  On the 16th of September, Sarawak will celebrate its independence being a party to the formation of Malaysia.  As part of remembering history I'll create some posts on what  it means to be a Malaysian as I have experienced it.  Check out the rest of the postings by following this link here.)

The picture above shows the golf club building.  In the background is Hole 10 tee box or start of play and at middle  of picture is the Hole 18 fairway and green, the last putting green for the 9-hole golf course.

Picture taken in 1989.

Hole 18 fairway - jungle clearing and burning in progress

Date : 31 March,1986

Hole 18 fairway - turfing works completed to fairways, slopes and green

Date : 4 February 1987.

BDA staff housing at the Kidurong Residential area showing our GM's house with the practice green (at center of picture)

(Re-post from my blog "my Sarawak (3rd Ed.) - http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2014/09/once-there-was-course.html

The Bintulu Golf Course - early beginnings

 The view above was taken in 1988 when the course was partly open for play. In the background is seen clearing works for the first nine hole which is basically an inland route.

There is only one public golf course in Bintulu and is called the 'Bintulu Golf Course'. It exudes many scenic and attractive natural features that makes it a truly challenging and memorable course built to competition standards. It combines a links course ( back nine/second nine) and an inland course (front nine/first nine). I am in the mood to reminisce on my role in the development of the course in today's post.
I was one of those lucky guys in town to have practical experience in developing this modern and international standard course. However a caveat is in place. The course was the result of a dedicated team of officers who saw the challenge of a lifetime to build a course for a booming Bintulu township of the eighties. Financially the course was sponsored by the BDA ( Bintulu Development Authority) a local statutory agency tasked with the planning, development and maintenance of Bintulu as a new industrial city for Sarawak. When on board the team in 1986, I was responsible for the turfing of the second nine course, landscaping and daily course maintenance. As was considered feasible at that time, it was decided to construct the second nine first due to its easier working terrain and fantastic views of the South China Sea. Thus an area of about 75 acres was selectively cleared, bulldozed and reserved for fairways, tees and greens etc., to follow a detailed plan developed by one of the JOVC ( Japanese Overseas Volunteers Corporation) volunteers attached to BDA by the name of Fumiaki Izumida. I could well remember how we preserved whatever stands of the " Tongkat Ali " for posterity during the jungle clearing operations.

Before - intensive earthworks to Hole 12, with plenty of original vegetation preserved.

After - the turfing of fairways, slopes and greens done to Hole 12, with the South China Sea in the far background ( circa early 1988).

The Hole 18 green planted with Tiff Dwarf grass. Note the fairways in the far background are not yet planted .

I was totally in charge of the landscaping of the course which meant tree planting, turfing and its maintenance. For the greens I had to go to Sentosa Island Golf and Country Club in Singapore to bring in a half-kilo of Tifton Dwarf ( Tiff Dwarf) stolons ( scientific name : Cynodon dactylon and commonly known as Bermuda hybrid grass) which we propagated at our Sg. Plan Nursery and became the primal source of all the greens in the 9-hole course. For fairways and slopes the grass species used was Axonopus compressus or commonly referred to as 'Cow Grass' which was available locally in Bintulu and collected initially from Kampung Jepak village roads.

Bird's Eye View of the Clubhouse under construction with the Hole 18 Green fully turved in the background.

For a start I was responsible to develop specifications for the cutting of the turves and many other daily maintenance works ( hollow tining, fertilisation, weeds and pests control, top dressing etc.,) . However after about 6 months later, the job was contracted out and the practice of contracting out the maintenance of the course continued for many years later.

For the three full years of 1986-1988, my time was intensively engaged in one of the most memorable moments in my life as I had to learn fast on various subjects relating to golf course design and maintenance. All the tough work remains one of the adventurous chapters of my life. The course was officially opened for play in 1989 and having given some meaningful service to the Club, I was bestowed a " Life Member " of the Bintulu Golf Club. Now, 20 years later it surprises me why nobody or any other parties aren't scratching their heads to build another golf course for Bintulu.

( Re-post from my blog "My Sarawak (3rd Ed.)  - http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2010/08/bintulu-golf-course-early-beginnings.html )

Masjid Assyakiriin gardens 30 years later

( Re-post from my blog "Images of Bintulu - Before and Now" - https://bintulub4now.blogspot.com/2018/03/masjid-assyakiriin-gardens-30-years.html )

Sungai Terus Recreational Park in 1984

View of the Sungai Terus Recreational Park, photo  taken on 24 November,1984

The picture shows the strategic location of the park in the new Kidurong township. The park served the recreational needs of the new township that accomodated houses belonging to the MLNG Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), Bintulu Port Authority and Petronas Housing built for ABF Sdn Bhd staff.

The Sungai Terus Park as seen today, 28 January,2015.

More additional park facilities are provided over time.  The park is now incorporated into a much larger chain of public parks in the Kidurong township called 'Millenium Park'.

Note the size of the Angsana trees when compared to its height during initial planting in 1984 as in the top picture above.

During the First Economic Boom (1979 -83) a new satellite township was created some 10 kilometers from the existing Bintulu town centre.  The township was called Kidurong New Township which was developed to cater for the staff housing of the companies involved with the first boom .  The companies were MLNG Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Port Authority, Bintulu Development Authority and ABF Sdn Bhd.  In order to meet the recreational needs of the new township, the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) which was the developer of the township constructed a recreational park called Sungai Terus Recreational Park.  Works started in 1983 and the park was fully completed in 1984.  On the 3rd of September, the board of directors of the BDA paid a site visit to the park after their board meeting.  In the early days of the park, it was fully utilised because it was the only large park to cater for the families and children of the new township as well as visitors from other parts of Bintulu.

Sungai Terus in relation to the new Kidurong township, as seen in 1988.
Colour photo taken on 17 January, 1988.

The Sungai Terus ( Sungai is Malay for river) is seen in the middle of the picture above.  The river starts from the hills and passes underneath the Kidurong Highway by means of a big underground culvert.  The big white patch is the pond.  The green area on both sides of the river as it flows out to the sea (towards bottom left of the picture) has been fully landscaped as a chain of public parks which is named today as the "Millenium Park".

( Re-post from my blog "Images of Bintulu - Before and Now" - https://bintulub4now.blogspot.com/2015/01/sungai-terus-recreational-park-in-1984.html  )

Taman Tumbina 30 years ago.

One of Bintulu's signature attraction is the Taman Tumbina. It is a combination of a zoological park and a botanical park. Thus it derived its name from two Malay words - TUMBINA = TUMBuhan (Plants) + BINAtang (Animals). Construction works by the developer of the project - BDA (Bintulu Development Authority) started in earnest in 1989 and the place was opened to the public in 1991.
Here are timeline combo pictures to recall the difference 30 years ago.

Masjid Assyakiriin in 1987 - Bintulu's new divisional mosque

View of Minaret under construction, circa 1987

View of Minaret, completed with landscaping done (circa July 1988)

View of Minaret today, taken on 17 February, 2015.
Note the changes in the background.  On the far let is the new hotel called "Promenade Hotel" opened in 2014.

Masjid Assyakiriin as seen in 1988.  View from minaret towards the main mosque building complex.

Befitting its status as a new administrative division on 1 January 1987, a new divisional mosque was deemed necessary to meet the growing Muslim population in Bintulu due to the first economic boom (1979 -1983).  The mosque is located about 6 kilometers from the old Bintulu town center.  Planning for the mosque started in 1985 but actual construction works only started in 1987 i.e. after the laying of foundation stone on 24 March,1987. The above picture shows the mosque viewed from the minaret.  What is interesting in this new planning is the location of the minaret.  In most mosque throughout Malaysia the minaret is normally part of the building. Here the minaret is separated from the main building and represented a new design planning concept in Malaysia.  The many arches are inspired by the mosque in Cordoba, Spain.  The blue dome is in the form of a starfruit cut in half.  The mosque could accommodate 2000 people and is equipped with library, indoor gardens, fountains and function rooms.  The mosque compound is fully landscaped.  On the 8th of July, 1988 the mosque was officially opened at a cost of RM 6.5 million. The picture below shows
Visitors and VIP's touring the mosque during its opening on the 8th of July,1988.
Note the orchid tree at right of the picture.

Indoor garden landscaping, 1988.

Note:  I was fortunate enough to be involved with the landscaping of the mosque from day one when I was the officer in-charge of the landscaping of Bintulu town in the BDA or Bintulu Development Authority during the 80's till early 1990's.   The whole planting works and maintenance were undertaken by staff from BDA but the supply of planting materials were sourced from private nurseries. The collection of orchids for the 'orchid tree' was obtained from Orchidwoods, Kuching.

(Re-post from my blog "Images of Bintulu- Before and Now" - https://bintulub4now.blogspot.com/2015/02/masjid-assyakiriin-in-1987-bintulus-new.html  )

Bintulu Golf Course - 2nd Nine (Hole 10 -18)

(Note: Re-post from "Images of Bintulu Before and Now" - (  https://bintulub4now.blogspot.com/2013/09/bintulu-golf-course-2nd-nine-hole-10-18.html )