Tutong
Municipality and town
Tutong Town
Clockwise from top left: Tutong town, Tutong River sign, Tutong District Office, PMMPMHAMB hospital
Tutong (town) is located in Brunei
Tutong (town)
Location in Brunei
Coordinates: 4°48′24.0″N 114°39′33.0″E / 4.806667°N 114.659167°E / 4.806667; 114.659167
CountryBrunei
DistrictTutong
MukimPekan Tutong
Government
 • BodyTutong Municipal Board
 • ChairmanAzmi Rahim
Area
 • Total240.2 ha (593.5 acres)
Websitebandaran-tutong.gov.bn

Tutong (Malay: Pekan Tutong; Jawi: توتوڠ) is a municipality town in Mukim Pekan Tutong Tutong District, Brunei.[1] It is located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan.[2] It is the administrative centre of Tutong District.

Name

Dusun speakers claim that the name Tutong refers to a turtle. Other Tutong place names that are derived from local Tutong words include a few others.[3]

Governance

It is officially a Municipal Board area and covers 240.2 hectares (594 acres).[4] The members consist of government officers, the penghulu of Mukim Pekan Tutong, and appointed representatives from the local residents, organisations and business community.[5] The main responsibility, through the Tutong Municipal Department, is collecting revenue from taxation of building, commercial licence fees and rental of commercial lots in commercial centres owned by the department.[6]

The area under the municipality is about 0.024 square kilometres (0.0093 sq mi) and comprises parts of Petani and Bukit Bendera.[7] Petani and Bukit Bendera are village-level subdivisions, the third and lowest administrative divisions in the country, and administered under Tutong District Office, another department in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Petani and Bukit Bendera constitute parts of Pekan Tutong subdistrict.

History

Tutong town shop houses in 1967.

In 1900, the town only consisted of four or five simple houses with several small shops.[8] The earliest governmental building was constructed in 1910,[8] followed by a school being opened in 1918.[9] Oil exploration within the district began in 1913,[10] and by 1923, Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) already had 8 exploratory holes drilled.[11] The Brunei-Tutong road was officially opened in 1927.[12] The town was first incorporated in 1929 as a Sanitary Board area and had the responsibility of monitoring cleanliness and development in the town.[7]

On 16 December 1941, the first landing by the Japanese Kawaguchi Detachment at Seria as part of the Battle of Borneo during World War II.[13] Occupation of Brunei came to an end when the Australian 9th Division came ashore at Muara during Operation Oboe Six on 10 June 1945.[14] The Tutong Bridge was finally completed in 1959, thus ferries are not required to carry passengers to cross the Tutong River.[15]

During the 1962 Brunei revolt, rebels of the TKNU managed to gain control of the town.[16][17] A convoy of Land Rovers with soldiers from the 1/2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles were ambushed as they passed through the town while heading to Seria.[18] Gunfires were exchanged from the town's police station which led to several Gurkhas being injured.[19][20]

The government rushed to allocate and develop the area which are necessary and in convenience of the local population in 1967. Government building were also replaced with a newer B$500,000 building. Other buildings that were built are; a community hall, playground, police station, fire station, carpentry school, English elementary school, telecom building and guest houses for district officer and village head. Additionally to increase the standard of living, roads have been paved, bridges and wells were built.[21]

Since 1970, the Board has become known as Tutong Municipal Board. In 1973, the Sungai Tutong Water Supply Scheme got rid of water defects to Bandar Seri Begawan.[22]

Infrastructures

Chung Hwa Tutong School

On 3 December 2012, the National Isolation Centre (NIC) was officially opened in town.[23] During the COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei, the NIC has reached full capacity within a day on 14 August 2021.[24]

Education

There is no sixth form centre in Tutong town. However, sixth form education is at Tutong Sixth Form Centre, which serves the whole of Tutong District.

Warisan Emas monument on 24 March 2018.

Tourist attractions

Recreation

Gallery

Sister cities/towns

See also

References

  1. ^ Sidhu, Jatswan S. (22 December 2009). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Scarecrow Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-8108-7078-9.
  2. ^ Thiessen, Tamara (5 January 2016). Borneo. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-84162-915-5.
  3. ^ Mohd Yunos, Rozan (2013). SEMINAR UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ASIA, SOUTHEAST DIVISION (PDF). p. 16.
  4. ^ Siti Muslihat Haji Salleh (11 March 2015). "Pembesaran kawasan Lembaga Bandaran Tutong dipertimbangkan" (PDF). Pelita Brunei (in Malay). Information Department (published 14 March 2015). p. 23. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Bandaran Tutong, Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri - Ahli-Ahli Lembaga Bandaran". bandaran-tutong.gov.bn (in Malay). Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Bandaran Tutong, Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri - Matlamat Jabatan Bandaran Tutong". bandaran-tutong.gov.bn (in Malay). Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Bandaran Tutong, Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri - Sejarah Ringkas". bandaran-tutong.gov.bn (in Malay). Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b Khoo, Soo Hock; Geografi, Universiti Malaya Jabatan (1976). Brunei in Transition: Aspects of Its Human Geography in the Sixties. Department of Geography, University of Malaya. p. 72.
  9. ^ Rapatahana, Vaughan; Bunce, Pauline (22 June 2012). English Language as Hydra: Its Impacts on Non-English Language Cultures. Multilingual Matters. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-84769-752-3.
  10. ^ Ring, Trudy; Salkin, Robert M.; Schellinger, Paul E.; Boda, Sharon La; Watson, Noelle; Hudson, Christopher; Hast, Adele (1994). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. Taylor & Francis. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-884964-04-6.
  11. ^ Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore Handbook. Trade & Travel Publications. 1995. p. 500. ISBN 978-0-8442-8976-2.
  12. ^ Borneo Bulletin Brunei Yearbook. Brunei Press Sdn. Bhd. in collaboration with Integrated Information Pte. Limited. 2002. p. 65.
  13. ^ Evans, A. A.; Gibbons, David (15 August 2011). The Illustrated Timeline of World War II. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4488-4795-2.
  14. ^ "Australian Forces Begin 'Operation Oboe Six' to Retake Brunei and Labuan from Japan in Hostilities that Continued Until End of War". World History Project. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  15. ^ Explore Brunei: A Visitor's Guide. Publications Unit, Royal Brunei Airlines. 2000. p. 38.
  16. ^ Flintham, Vic (15 October 2008). High Stakes: Britain's Air Arms in Action 1945-1990. Pen and Sword. p. 287. ISBN 978-1-84415-815-7.
  17. ^ Roberts, John (16 April 2009). Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-78383-030-5.
  18. ^ Smith, E. D. (24 January 1983). Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas. Pen and Sword. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-436-47510-8.
  19. ^ Cross, J. P.; Gurung, Buddhiman (29 February 2016). Gurkhas at War: Eyewitness Accounts from World War II to Iraq. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-78438-011-3.
  20. ^ al-Sufri, Haji Awang Mohd Jamil (1998). Brunei Darussalam, the Road to Independence. Brunei History Centre, Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports.
  21. ^ "Pembangunan Daerah Tutong Di-Pesatkan" (PDF). Pelita Brunei. 5 April 1967. pp. 4–5.
  22. ^ Southeast Asian Affairs. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 1981. p. 77.
  23. ^ "Ministry of Health - hpmmpmhamb". www.moh.gov.bn. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  24. ^ "National Isolation Centre set to run out of beds in a day". The Scoop. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Tutong District" (PDF). Information Department, Prime Minister's Office | Brunei Darussalam.
  26. ^ "Bandaran Tutong, Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri - Aset-Aset Jabatan". bandaran-tutong.gov.bn. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  27. ^ "SenaraiMasjid - Masjid Hassanal Bolkiah, Pekan Tutong". www.kheu.gov.bn (in Malay). Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  28. ^ a b activ8bn. "3 Things to Do while Transiting Through Tutong". Brunei Tourism. Retrieved 14 June 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Singgah, Mai (30 November 2017). "25 Tempat Menarik Di Brunei Darussalam | Jom Bercuti Ke Borneo". Mai Singgah. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Kompleks Sukan Tutong". www.belia-sukan.gov.bn (in Malay).
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