Maybe it is not a well known fact, that, if it wasn't because of Bau, James Brooke, the first White Rajah, would never have come to rule Sarawak. The name 'Bau', only came into being in the early 1857, after the abortive Bau Chinese Rebellion of 1857. In the early 1800's, the old name of Bau District was 'Upper Sarawak'. There was no such place called Bau. The old name of Bau Town was 'Mau San' or 'Bukit Mau'. This Settlement was established in between 1820 - 1830 by Chinese Miners from Sambas, Indonesia, after the discovery of Gold and Antimony in the district. History has shown that Bau is one of the oldest and richest (in term of mineral resources) districts in Sarawak. In the olden days, Bau was not only a well known mining district but also one of great historical importance.
#HOW BAU GET ITS NAME
The Chinese miners in 'Mau San' (Old Bau) was already well established since 1820. They were well contented in their free way of life due to loose control and poor administration by Brunei. But after James Brooke was installed as Rajah of Sarawak in 1841, he imposed taxes, prohibited direct trading of opium and wine with foreign countries, prohibited direct export of gold and antimony. In 1856, the Rajah allowed the formation of the Borneo Company to mine gold in Bau. The above factors caused the Chinese Miners to rebelled against the Rajah. Obeying the new rules of a White Devil was too much. The rebellion started on 18th February 1857. 600 men paddled down Sarawak river from Pangkalan Bau to Kuching. They attacked Kuching and the Astana in the early morning of 19th February. Somehow, James Brooke manage to escape by swimming across the Sarawak river. The Chinese Miners burnt down the Astana, killed and beheaded 5 Europeans.
The rebellion was doomed to fail from the beginning. There was no proper planning, the Miners lacked weapons and proper military training. There was no support from the local community, especially the natives. Thus when news came that, the Tuan Muda (Charles Brooke) with the aid of Iban warriors from second Division (Skrang) was coming to avenge the death of the Europeans, the Chinese Miners decided to retreat from Kuching to Bau. On 22th February 1857, they retreated upriver. But at Jugan Sinawan they were attacked and defeated by the combined forces of Ibans and Malays loyal to Brooke. More then a hundred Miners were killed, including their leader. Dead and decomposed bodies were found everywhere. The place where this happened is now called 'Buso' (in malay, it means rotten/stink/decomposed).
The remaining 100 miners retreated to Bau, collected their families and belongings and escaped to Sambas, Indonesia. Most of them perished on the way. The families that have lost their men and were unable to escape to Indonesia, hid in the Ghost Cave or fled into the jungle. There were no mercy for them. Each and everyone were hunted down and killed by the Rajah forces. Those who hid in the Ghost cave were burnt or suffocated to death.(a few hundred women and children). 'Mau San' Chinese Mining Settlement was set on fire on 25th February 1857. Total number of Chinese killed was about 2000. The burnt bodies in Ghost caves and decomposed bodies around 'Mau San' produced bad smell for weeks. Because of the bad smell, it was believed that 'Bau' (it means bad smell/smelly in Malay) got its name.
#HOW BAU GET ITS NAME_BIDAYUH VERSION
The Chinese from Sambas, estabished their settlement in Mau San (now called Bau Lama), in the 1820's, near to the present Bau Town. It was centered around the goldmine. The Sarawak Kanan river (sungei Pedie) flow close by. The river was their source of water supply and transport. As the settlement grew, the Bidayuh living in the area started to barter trade with the Chinese and some even found employment in the mines. The Bidayuh started to call the settlement 'Kupuo Baauh' or New Village. To a non-Bidayuh it is hard to pronoun 'baauh' and the name was corrupted to 'Bau'. This is a more plausible origin to the name Bau. Nothing to do with bad smell.
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