Weston (Sabah)

Federal State

Weston is a town in the Malaysian state of Sabah, about 100 kilometers south of Kota Kinabalu. Weston is part of the district of Beaufort in the Interior division. Weston was named after Arthur J. West, a railway engineer of the North Borneo Chartered Company.

History

The original name of the settlement was Sugin Lawas. When the North Borneo Chartered Company took the place as the terminus of the railway line to Beaufort in operation, it was renamed in honor of the railway engineer Arthur J. West in West Town, which later became the present name was Weston.

In the construction of the first railway sub-section in the 1890s, William Clarke Cowie had selected the place in the mouth region of the Padas River as a seemingly appropriate port for the shipment of natural rubber and tobacco. Soon, however, showed that the harbor was too shallow for larger vessels. The importance of Weston dwindled when the railway line was extended to the Jesselton in 1906.

Weston was one of the ports which used the Japanese Army in the invasion of North Borneo. From Weston from the Japanese troops moved first toward Beaufort and transported from there some of their troops to the railway line to Jesselton, which was occupied from 6 January 1941 by the Japanese. Also for the Australian 9th Division Weston was one of the starting points for the liberation of North Borneo. On June 19, 1945 Weston was occupied by the troops of the Allies.

As in Brunei on 8 December 1962, the Brunei Revolt broke out, the rebellion spread quickly across the border to Limbang, Laws and Miri in Sarawak and Weston and Sipitang in North Borneo, because these places were traditionally linked to the Sultanate. Due to the rapid and decisive intervention of the British Governor, Sir William Goode, the rebels in Sipitang and Weston could be two days later isolated and disarmed. A total of 60 rebels were arrested on December 10 in Weston and seized a large quantity of weapons.

The train service between Beaufort and Weston 1963 was finally shut down.

Historic architecture

Weston is one of the cities along the west coast, the historic building is gone except for a few exceptions. From the period before the Second World War following buildings have been preserved:

A store house,
Built in 1932, the Chinese School Sekolah Cina Che Hwa and
The jetty, where the first leg of the North Borneo Railway ended.

Demography

According to population statistics of 2010, the town has 334 inhabitants, mostly Malays ( 72%). The rest of the scoring for Weston residents - about 1,700 people - spread to the surrounding villages and settlements.

Flora and Fauna

Parts of the estuary of the Padas River are placed under protection as Weston Wetland Park ( WWP ). The wetland is one of the largest estuary habitats of North Borneo. The wetland is a refuge of proboscis monkeys.

Infrastructure

Weston is located near the highway A2 (Pan Borneo Highway).