Borneo 2026 – 10. Sandakan

*Sandakan Bay seen from the English Tea House garden*

We packed a small bag for a 3-nights stay in Sandakan and left our main luggage in storage at the Horizon Hotel. After an early light breakfast, we drove to Kota Kinabalu Airport, 15 mts. from the Horizon Hotel and took the one hour AirAsia flight to Sandakan to visit St. Michael’s and All Angels Church in the city, Sandakan Memorial Park, William Pryer and Sandakan Liberation Monuments, Agnes Keith House Museum, to have lunch at the English Tea House and stay the night at The My Nature Resort.

Sandakan, an historic port city in Sabah, is known as the “Gateway to Borneo’s Wildlife”. Renowned for the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and Sun Bear Conservation Centre, it offers access to the Kinabatangan River and rainforests. It was formerly the capital of British North Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and is one of the main ports for oil, tobacco, coffee, sago, and timber exports.

We had a second light breakfast of Indian/Malaysian food – Garlic Naan, Dosa, currys and coffee at the Zakaria Curry House in Sandakan’s Lor Labuk Jaya area.

Naans being made at Zakaria Curry House

One of the oldest buildings in Sandakan is St. Michael’s and All Angels Church.

Designed by New Zealander Mr. B.W. Mountfort, the building was first constructed with ironwood timber, followed by brick and finally stone, which is said to have been sourced from the nearby Buli Sim Sim, while the white stones that adorn the windows and doors are from Hong Kong.

The Church avoided major damage during World War II and remains one of the very few stone buildings in the whole of Sabah. The stained glass windows in the church, known as the ‘Window of Rememberance and The Friendships Windows’ were donated by Prisoners of War relatives from Australia to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and a way of appreciation to the local people who helped POWs.

St. Michael’s and All Angels Church

William Burgess Pryer (1845-1899) was the founder and the first British resident of Sandakan. A memorial in the form of a fountain stands in Sandakan.

Sandakan Memorial Park a beautiful rainforest garden marks the site of the notorious WWII Japanese prisoner of war camp and the starting point for the infamous WWII ‘death marches’ to Ranau. Of the 1793 Australian and 641 British troops originally imprisoned here, the only survivors by July 1945 were six Australian escapees. A pavilion recounts the horrors and heroism and includes photographs and survivor accounts. The park is situated about 11 km outside Sandakan.

*The entrance to the Sandakan Memorial Park*

The museum of Agnes Keith House is situated on top of Jalan Istana hill, about 10km from Sandakan Airport overlooking Sandakan Bay. It was the home of Conservator of Forests Harry Keith and his American wife, Agnes Keith, a writer, from the 1930s until 1942. The restored house has been turned into a heritage house, providing interesting insights in to life in British North Borneo. It is furnished with reproductions of colonial furniture and antiques. A gallery on the first floor tells the story of Agnes Keith, her books and her family.

Agnes Newton Keith (born Agnes Jones Goodwillie Newton; July 4, 1901 – March 30, 1982) was best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after World War II.

During World War II, Agnes and her son, George were imprisoned on Berhala Island near Sandakan. They spent eight months there before the relocation to Batu Lintang camp near Kuching, Sarawak. All three members of the Keith family were liberated from internment in 1945 by the Australian army.

We had lunch at the English Tea House, a 1940s colonial-style venue located on a hill overlooking the Sulu Sea, adjacent to the Agnes Keith House. It features a manicured garden with a croquet pitch, offering traditional British meals, local Sabah tea, and afternoon tea with views.

After lunch, we drove to the My Nature Resort for an overnight stay.

The Resort is set in 25 hectares of rainforest bordering the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. It is five minutes’ drive from the Orangutan Centre and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. The resort consists of 12 semi-detached chalets offering 24 air-conditioned rooms with en suite bathrooms, hot showers and flat screen TV. The rooms are spacious and twin rooms have large balconies overlooking the rainforest.