Bintulu Trees By Airmail !

If one were to drive along the Tg. Batu scenic road , passing the Taman Tumbina , one would notice a line of trees that grow luxuriously on both sides of the road shoulders and also at the central median.
This stretch of road was planted with Tecoma pentaphylla or commonly called" Poui".

Believe it or not, the seeds of these trees came in an envelope on 19th July 1985.

The sender was Mr.George Alphonso. The moment I received the seeds I asked Ibrahim to straightaway germinate them in a soil mix of very coarse sand and to be kept damp.
By about 2 weeks, we had thousands of these seedlings in our nursery. Later they were transplanted in polybags of various sizes and some ended in planting holes along the Jalan Temasya after they were about one meter high.

Fom these trees we were able to obtain more seeds. The story goes that from Bintulu these trees began to find home in Miri, Sibu and other smaller towns in Sarawak. What made me choose these trees? It was a trip to Singapore that left a strong impression of the beauty of these trees. After all these trees do well in coastal areas and flowers best where there is a distinct dry spell. It prefers too ,the salty sprays of coastal regions like Bintulu and Miri.
All these to show that we cannot underestimate the power of an envelope!

Poui trees along Singapore roads.

George's letter (above) accompanying the seeds.

" Poui" trees along Jalan Temasya / Tanjung Batu scenic road.

( Re-post from my blog "my BINTULU history" - http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/2007/07/bintulu-trees-by-airmail.html )

Bintulu's First Horticultural Consultant

Photoshoot with Arthur George Alphonso in my office at BDA 

Fondly called as 'George' , Mr. Arthur George Alphonso's appointment as 'horticultural consultant' to BDA was most timely.  George was a Kew -trained horticulturalist and most avid plant collector with special interest in propagating new and exotic orchids.

He was Senior Curator under Burkhill ( Humphery Morrison Burkhill was the Director of Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1957-69) and took post of chief administrator of the Gardens after Burkhill left.


George through his tenure ( 1970 - 1976) carried on the Holttum tradition of furthering the Gardens reputation as a world famous garden for the collection of orchids species, hybrids and advice on hybridization.( Ref: Bonnie Tinsley (1983)Singapore Green.Times Book International, Singapore)

George's deep understanding of horticulture and early experience in the greening of Singapore were successfully transferred to Bintulu which started its greening programme as early as 1980. George's contribution on the landscaping of Bintulu covered these varied projects which were all funded by the BDA :-

1) Bintulu and Kidurong roadside tree planting and roundabouts.

2) Bintulu Golf Course ( 1 st Nine Hole)

3) Bintulu Wildlife Park ( later re-named Taman Tumbina)

4) Tanjung Batu Coastal Reserve Park

5) Children's Playground at MLNG and BDA Housing Areas

6) Sungei Terus Park Landscaping

7) Bintulu Divisional Mosque Landscaping( later re-named Masjid Assyakirrin)

8) Speaker at various courses organised by BDA for landscaping participants throughout Sarawak Brunei and Sabah

9) Setting up of BDA Plants Nursery at Sungei Plan,Kidurong.

Despite his mature age and problems with eyes sight especially in early 1990's, he was extremely dedicated and committed as a professional and a true friend.

His services continued even after he left Singapore to migrate to Australia. Around 1993, due to a frail old age, his visits to Sarawak and Bintulu which he was always keen and looking forward to became less frequent. We continued to met in later years as friends because by then I had left the BDA to join the private sector as a landscaping contractor.

(Re-post from my blog "my Bintulu history" - http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/2007/09/bintulus-first-horticultural-consultant.html )

Season of pink and White Poui blooms in Bintulu

A row of Poui trees along the Tanjong Kidurong Highway (9 June, 2019)
Its the season of pink and white Poui blooms in Bintulu right now. These large flowering trees were introduced to Bintulu about 34 years ago. Many don't realise that the first seeds of these trees came in a brown envelope in 1985 from Singapore.

There is a letter written by Arthur George Alphonso ( ex- Director of Botanical Gardens, Singapore) attesting to this story.
Please follow this link to see the letter and other stories about these beautiful Poui trees that came in to Bintulu by post.
...>>>>http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/search/label/Poui

and here...>>>>http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/…/bintulu-trees-by-air…

(Note: This is a re-post from my FB, 12 May'19)

Once there was a flower

Pink Poui (Tabebuia rosea) along a major roadside in Bintulu.

Date: 13 May, 2012

Pink Poui and Olive-backed Sunbird

The Poui trees (Tabebuia rosea) are now a familiar tree in Bintulu.  Its magic is evidently seen by its crowning glory of large and bunchy pink and white flowers.  The first ever batch of these trees were planted along the Tanjong Batu scenic road.  Gradually over a period of 35 years the trees were planted on major roadsides in Bintulu.  I can write endless stories about these trees but suffice to say that it was from the Bintulu experience  that other town councils began to adopt these trees as landscape trees in their main towns and rural areas.  Not many people know that originally these trees came to Bintulu in an envelope.  The story is here. Over the years too I regularly blog about them.  The relevant blog postings can be accessed below:

1) http://myussop.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-pink-and-white-glory.html
2) http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2010/11/be-there-right-time-and-moment-in.html#comment-form
3) http://mybintuluclicks.blogspot.com/2014/04/flowering-pink-poui.html

It is from this tree that my association with Arthur George Alphonso was first nurtured and provided me with many learning experiences on landscaping matters based on his experiences in the greening of Singapore.  Just a couple of years ago I planted one Poui tree in my garden in Kuching.  I consider the Poui tree as an essential tree for the Kambatik garden or Malaysian garden.  Check out more of my gardening experiences on this tree in Kuching here.

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.)

 

White Poui (Tabebuia alba)

Photo shows me (extreme left) and George Alphonso (middle in blue shirt) entertaining Japanese volunteers (JOCV) at Pantai Ria, Bintulu. Date taken : 26 October,1990.

Roundabout 3 in 1990

Roundabout 3 - view looking towards Bintulu- Miri Road

Location : The R 3 is located 3 miles ( 5 km)  from Bintulu town centre

Date taken : 14 August,1990

In 1990 there were four roundabouts in Bintulu.  The picture above shows the Roundabout 3, located at Km 5, Bintulu- Miri Road.  It was the biggest roundabout in Bintulu in the 1990's.  Over time all the four roundabouts were replaced with traffic lights junctions.  The building on top of the hill to the right is located within the Bintulu Police Divisional complex.  The yellow cover at the foreground are the yellow variety leaves of the Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) which was a popular ground cover for landscaping in the 1990's.  In the 1990's the landscaping and beautification of Bintulu were a cooperative effort involving three major agencies..i.e. the JKR (Public Works), SESCO and BDA. 

Traffic Lights junction replaced the roundabout

Picture taken : 28 January, 2014.

Aerial view of Roundabout 3 showing the landscaping works at the roundabout and traffic islands surrounding it.

Date taken : circa 1990

Note the striking yellow colours of the Sweet potato cover plant at the traffic islands surrounding the roundabout.

The roadside planting and roundabouts landscaping during this time were  mainly advised by Arthur George Alphonso, Bintulu's first horticultural consultant....go here to see some other projects George was involved in Bintulu ..>>http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/2007/09/bintulus-first-horticultural-consultant.html

Angsana trees along Kidurong Highway in 1982

View of Kidurong highway in 1982, looking towards Bintulu town.

The location is approximately near the present Indoor Stadium which is located at the left of the picture , after the steep slopes at the foreground.

The Angsana trees (Pterocarpus indicus) are planted from stumps.

View of Kidurong highway taken on 21 February, 2015.

Note the large size of the Angsana trees at left.  The central medium is planted with Tabebuia rosea/alba trees which are planted much later.

'Angsana' trees or botanically known as Pterocarpus indicus was the main roadside tree species planted in the early 1980's when the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) started with the landscaping of Bintulu town and the new township at Kidurong.  The Kidurong highway which started from the old Bintulu town center (Mile 0) ran for about 12 kilometers to reach the new Kidurong township.  On both sides of the dual-carriageway were planted Angsana trees.  Today, those trees planted more than 30 years ago have reached full maturity and still remain strong and sturdy.  They helped improved the micro-climate along the highway, protect road users from the sun and glare.  The greatest impact is in the creation of a green garden city look.  In 1982, BDA officially appointed Mr. A.G. Alphonso and Mr. Cheang Kok Choy ( shown at the inset) as landscaping and horticultural consultants to help advise BDA on the creation of Bintulu into a 'garden city'.  Below is the content of the news cutting as indicated in the inset : -

The Sarawak Tribune, August 15, 1981.

Landscaping specialists on visit.

Kuching, Fri. -  Two beautification and landscaping specialists, Mr. George Alphonso and Mr Cheang Kok Choy of Penang arrived here yesterday for a five day visit at the invitation of the Bintulu Development Authority.  Mr. George Alphonso told the Tribune that the Bintulu Development Authorty was taking the correct step of viewing seriously the beautification and landscaping of the booming town of Bintulu.  He also suggested that the State should keep a standard nursery for various plants and trees, particularly the instant trees for planting along the sides of roads.  Mr. George Alphonso is the former Director of the Singapore Botanical Garden while his associate, Mr. Cheang Kok Choy, is a former Director of the Penang Botanical Garden.  Mr Cheang is currently involved with the Shah Alam landscape project.  While in Bintulu, the experts will conduct a feasibility study on the beautification and landscaping of Bintulu.   The visitors were feted to dinner at a local restaurant last night by Encik Sulong Matjeraie, General Manager of the Bintulu Development Authority. (see picture) - Mohd. Jaya Tan.

( Re-post from my blog " Images of Bintulu - Before and Now" - https://bintulub4now.blogspot.com/2015/03/angsana-trees-along-kidurong-highway-in.html  )