Kuching turns 145 years old without fanfare

KUCHING: The capital of Sarawak turns 145 years old today without any fanfare.
The city is not marking the special day although it falls in the middle of the annual Kuching Festival.
The second White Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke, named it Kuching on Aug 12, 1872.
There are different takes on how the city got its name.
The popular one is that it was named after cats.

Then, there is another claim that it has nothing to do with cats.
There was a part of the town that was referred to as "Koo Ching" by Chinese residents, meaning "old well".
It was said to be the place where the residents drew their fresh water.
The Borneo Post reported that settlers of the fledgling township only got treated piped water from a water reservoir built in 1895. It was located at the Reservoir Park off Jalan Budaya.
The old well had been covered up and a new street, Upper China Street, was built in the area. One of the shops along the street is sitting above where the old well was, the report added.
Kuching Festival is an annual event organised by Kuching South City Council to mark it being elevated to city status on Aug 1, 1988.
This year's festival kicked off with a bang on July 28, with fireworks lighting up the night sky over Kuching South City Council (MBKS) garden. The three-week festival is expected to draw 800,000 visitors.