5°52′11.8″N 118°08′37.8″E / 5.869944°N 118.143833°E
The Berhala Island (Malay: Pulau Berhala) is a small forested island situated in Sandakan Bay in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
The island is approximately 5 hectares in size and has prominent cliffs at its northern end.[1][2] Many birds of prey can be seen on and around Berhala, including brahminy kites, serpent eagles and sea eagles.[3]
The island has a lighthouse at its highest point.[4]
In the period prior to World War II, the island was used as a quarantine station for labourers coming from China and the Philippines, and was also home to a leper colony. During the war, civilian internees, including Agnes Newton Keith, her husband Harry Keith and Keith Wookey were held in the quarantine station which served as a makeshift internment camp, before being transferred to Batu Lintang camp in Kuching, Sarawak. After the civilians left, POWs were interned in the camp. A daring escape took place from Berhala Island in June 1943, when several POWs who were due to be transferred to Sandakan POW camp managed to escape to Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines.[5][6]
Plans are currently in development to promote Berhala Island as a tourist attraction.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "BorneoExpress - Interesting places in Borneo". Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
- ^ Smythies, B. E., 1960, The Birds of Borneo Publisher: Oliver & Boyd.
- ^ "Chapter 11 TOURISM/RECREATION". Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
- ^ Peter Firkins, 1995, Borneo Surgeon A Reluctant Hero: The Story of Dr James P. Taylor Carlisle, WA: Hesperian Press,77-8
- ^ "AWM photograph 121749 caption". Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
- ^ "Liew: Berhala Island a budding tourist attraction - News and Updates, Sabah Tourism Board Official Website (Sabah Malaysian Borneo)". Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
External links
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