The British came to Labuan one hundred and fifty years ago. It was a strategic re-fuelling station for British steamships of the day. The island was ceded to the British by the Brunei Sultanate in 1840 and was subsequently established as a free port. The British ruled the island for the next one hundred and seventeen years until Labuan joined Malaysia in 1963.

Labuan was a British naval base to fight the pirates in the Brunei Bay. Some old graves bearing the names of young British officers who died fighting the pirates can still can be seen today at the Botanical garden.

The only industry on the island then was coal mining. Five British companies consecutively mined the coal for 64 years. A railway line was built to transport coal from Tanjung Kubong coal mine to Victoria Port. Labuan was the only significant coal mining centre 0f the then British Empire in the Far East in 1847. The 106 feet high Chimney and the tunnels are remnants of the coal mining days.

The main town of the island was named Victoria, after Queen Victoria. During the Japanese administration in 1942, the island was re-named Maida Island in memory of General Maida, the Chief Commander of the Japanese forces in Borneo who was later killed in an air crash from Bintulu to Labuan. The Japanese ruled the island for almost three years from 1942 to 1945.

The liberation of Borneo by the Allied Forces started in Labuan on 10th June 1945. The Australian forces landed in Labuan under the command of General McArthur. The island was reverted back to British rule I until 1963.

The geographical and historical links to Negara Brunei Darussalam have a major impact - on Labuan’s socio-economic and cultural - evolution. More than fifty three percent of the island’s 75,500 population claim Brunei-Malay — descendence. Bahasa Brunei is the leading dialect spoken on the island. The famous water villages of Patau-Patau and Kampung Belulah were set up by the early Brunei-Malays in Labuan, who continued their traditional lifestyle of living in houses on stilts above water. Later they settled inland, establishing communities in Karnpong Rancha-Rancha, Lubuk Temiang, Gersik, and Tanjung Aru. The strong influence of their culture and traditions are evident in their everyday life. Visitors to their homes are warmly greeted and entertained with good food and company. The younger people normally show their respect to the elders by addressing them as tangah for an older man, and babu for a woman.

The Brunei Malaya have may traditional instruments similar to those found in Sabah. The Kulintangan is a set of small gongs on a frame giving out ripples of musical chimes when played. Bigger gongs like the Agong and Tawak-tawak are also played. The Gambus, similar to a lute and Qendang (drum) are some of the instruments which are played during special occasions, especially weddings. Singing and dancing are a high point of such events and guests will join in the dondang and yadan with much gusto.

The Kedayan — They number only slightly less than the Brunei-Malays in Labuan and many claim Java origins. They speak a dialect similar to Malay, but have their own distinctive culture. Their knowledge in the use of medicinal plants is well-known and they grow a wide range of such plants to make tonics, antidotes and medicine. The Kedayan are inland people and build their houses in clusters, with their gardens stretching outwards. They are a close community, and inter-marriage among relations are encouraged. The women work as hard as the men, and as such, are entitled to own land. If a man dies, the property goes to his wife as administrator, which on her death, is divided up equally among the children. Landless relatives are usually given a piece of property by those who have excess.

Many traditional games are still played here. They include the popular gasing or top-spinning where a wooden top is skillfully released from a coil of rope. Children play it, grown-ups play it.

Layang.layang or kite-flying is at its best during ..—---... competition when competitors score on “. decoration, flying techniques and aerial — maneuvers.

Gusti Lengan or arm-wrestling, kasut gergasi, a relay race using over-sized wooden planks as shoes and simban , game of stones are other popular past times.