Sandakan is located on the eastern seaboard of Sabah; it is a city which is steeped in history. Its character is shaped by the hinterland that embodies Sabah’s rich and diverse biodiversity in all its glory. Sandakan has a mixture of people, lifestyles, cultures, and faiths.

It’s a microcosm of modern day Sabah. With little more than an hour’s journey outside this bustling port city, visitors will discover forest reserves rich in wildlife such as orangutans, proboscis monkeys, brilliantly hued birds, crocodiles and elephants.

History of Sandakan

The historical city of Sandakan is the second largest city in Sabah, located in the east coast of Borneo Island. It is the administrative centre of the Sandakan Division and was the former capital of the British North Borneo during the British colonial time.

Sandakan is famous as the gateway for ecotourism destinations in Sabah such as the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, the Turtle Islands Park, Kinabatangan River, and the Gomantong Birdnest Caves. Sandakan is also the infamous site of a World War II Japanese airfield which was built by the forced labour of Javanese civilians and Allied prisoners of war. In 1945, the surviving prisoners were sent on the Sandakan Death Marches—after which only 6 survived the war.

In the early 1870s, the east coast of Sabah was under control of the Sultan of Sulu. The first European settlement in the area was founded by William Clarke Cowie, a Scottish adventurer and engineer, who delivered guns and ammunition to the Sultan in return for permission to establish a small trading base on Pulau Timbang, in Sandakan Bay. Cowie called his base “Sandakan” but it soon came to be known as "Kampung German" due to the large number of German traders who also set up posts there.

In 1897, the settlement was relocated to Buli Sim Sim. It was an uninhabited jungle and mangrove area but with one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world. He named his new settlement “Elopura”, which means The Beautiful City. A few years later, the name was reverted back to Sandakan.

In 1883, the British North Borneo Company moved its capital from Kudat to Sandakan. A building mania started and Sandakan became a bustling town. However, at the end of World War II, Sandakan was totally destroyed and the town flattened, partly from the Allied bombings and partly by the Japanese as they burnt whatever remained in retaliation. As a result, Sandakan as a town ceased to exist in June 1945.

Sandakan was first and foremost a port for the export of logs and timber. In fact, it was said that Sandakan timber went into the building of Peking’s Temple of Heaven. In its heyday, Sandakan used to boast of having the highest concentration of millionaires in the world! Today it is known as the gateway to nature’s most prolific treasures in Borneo.

Did you know?

“Sandakan” is derived from the Suluk word “sanda” meaning to pawn, and “kan” being the suffix. So “Sandakan” means the “place that was pawned.”