History is what you will find Batu Arang is drenched in.
FEATURE
Here’s something completely different for your to-do list: you’ve been to caves, rapids and other adventure-type tourist attractions that can also be found in other states around the country. In fact, you feel your explorer spirit has become jaded and they all look the same to you. So how about exploring an authentic colonial-era frontier town for a change?
If that got your adventurous ears perked, you should consider changing your name to Indiana and grab the nearest hat you can find (you might want to leave the whip behind), ‘cos this week we are going back in time!
“Batu Arang was a real frontier town back in the days of the colonial history in Selangor,” shares Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din, General Manager of Tourism Selangor.
“Its heritage dates back to the early 20th century, and most of it are still there. Tourism Selangor is ensuring that it continues to be preserved for current and future generations to enjoy and explore.”
Sure, these days Batu Arang is a sleepy town right in the heart of Selangor. Located just on the outskirts of Rawang, it is easily accessible by the North-South PLUS Highway or via the scenic route through the old winding roads from Gombak to Rawang. It is so sleepy, in fact, that most people just by-pass it without thinking twice as they speed north along the highway.
But back in the day it used to be a bustling centre of industrious activity. The British used to call it “Mini Gold Hill”, although not for the reason that might seem obvious. For, as the Malay name suggests, them hills are littered not with gold, but rather with coal.
Then again, coal in those days was as good as gold where money-making was concerned, and Batu Arang produced plenty of it to make some people very wealthy indeed. Although the place was also known for its brick-making, coal was its main claim to fame and the reason for its existence in the first place.
What it coughed up were some of the best quality coal to be found in the region. 5,000 workers would work around the clock in three shifts to dig it all out on behalf of the Malayan Collieries Company Ltd. The company was established in June 1913 by John Archibald Russel just five years after the black stuff was first discovered by Haji Abdul Hadi, who had come from nearby Rantau Panjang, Batang Berjuntai.
In 1910 the State Secretariat commissioned JB Searveno to further survey this discovery. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Town of tunnels
And history is what you will find Batu Arang is drenched in. The coal mining ceased operations in 1960 after reserves were depleted and became uneconomical to produce. By then the mine had been operating for almost 47 years. But there is still plenty to see if you go walking or bicycle riding in Batu Arang today.
Much of the original colonial facilities are still standing, so going around would be the closest you can get to stepping into a time machine this side of the 21st century.
By the 1930s the developing town had an airstrip, along with a railway line that connected the town to Kuang in the east and Batang Berjuntai (now known as Bestari Jaya) to the west. Alas, both have been dismantled, but there are still plenty of photographic opportunities to be had if you looked around.
You will find colonial era buildings scattered about. There is the police station, the Gurkha Barracks that used to house the elite detachment of the British Army, the main offices of the Malayan Collieries, and the old European Clubhouse. There is also the Mess office for the Armed Forces which today is used as a care centre for HIV/AIDS patients.
The coal mines that we mentioned at the start are still there. The workers dug hundreds of tunnels that went as deep as 300 metres underground. These tunnels stretched all over the place underneath the town of Batu Arang, which is why you won’t find five-storey buildings or any other development that requires piling work.
Each tunnel featured an intricate maze of wind pipes that supplied breathing air to the workers 1,000 feet below. You can still see remnants of these wind pipes.
But no, you can’t actually go down one of the mine shafts at present. Although we’re pretty sure – and hope! – some intrepid entrepreneur will come along soon enough to do just that. Now that would make for a real adventure for sure.
This article was provided by Selangor Tourism. For more details, visit http://www.tourismselangor.my/
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