Simunjan Coal Mines, Ruins
The Simunjan Coal Works area, Gunung Ngeli, an historic mining hill exploited by first the British and then the Japanese. With a bit of trekking several interesting mine entrances can be viewed in a fun day outing from Simunjan town. The jungle and farms of the foothills make for an attraction on their own right, the mines scattered more or less close to the overgrown remains of an old coal road, where here and there stonework is still visible. There are nine mine caves in all and to see them it is best to be with a guide as many are overgrown with jungle RM50 seems to be a going rate, ask around in town. These mine caves are all to be found starting ten minutes walk up the jungle hill section that faces the Hospital, and then the old mine track leads parallel to Jalan Sual which is opposite the school. Do not go inside the caves as they are in a dangerous condition. Besides, almost all have collapsed already, a few meters in, or are flooded. Simunjan coal mine 1912 The coal was first exploited in the mid nineteenth century by the James Brooke aided British Borneo company, using mostly Chinese labour. The descendants of these labourers can be met with in the Simunjan area, many of which have inter-married with the Iban. Rail tracks can still be seen a few kilometers along the base of the hill, down Jalan Sual. Near this spot, and only a few years after the mine opening, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace stayed here for a few months collecting specimens of insects and orangutans,as reported in his The Malay Archipelago. The mines were closed early in the twentieth century, but reopened by the Japanese during the war. The locals report atrocities and harsh treatment, the source of many ghost sightings. Many in the area are afraid to visit the mines. According to two local reports, over a hundred died in one mine alone. An impressive steam engine belonging to the Japanese can be viewed beside the road into town, just before the hospital. Coal Mine with Engine Base
