Berhala Island () is a small forested island situated in

Sandakan Bay Sandakan () formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the sta ...

Sandakan Sandakan () formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the sta ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The island is approximately 5 hectares in size and has prominent cliffs at its northern end. Many

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

can be seen on and around Berhala, including

brahminy kite The brahminy kite (''Haliastur indus''), also known as the red-backed sea-eagle in Australia, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal Bird of prey, raptors, such as eagles, buzzards, and h ...

s, serpent eagles and

sea eagle A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the subfamily Haliaeetinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Ten extant species exist, currently described w ...

s. The island has a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

at its highest point. In the period prior to World War II, the island was used as a quarantine station for labourers coming from China and the Philippines, and was also home to a

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East ...

. During the war, civilian internees, including

Agnes Newton Keith Agnes Newton Keith (born Agnes Jones Goodwillie Newton; July 4, 1901 – March 30, 1982) was an American writer best known for her three autobiography, autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after World W ...

, her husband Harry Keith and Keith Wookey were held in the quarantine station which served as a makeshift internment camp, before being transferred to Batu Lintang camp in

Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

. After the civilians left, POWs were interned in the camp. A daring escape took place from Berhala Island in June 1943, when several POWs who were due to be transferred to

Sandakan POW camp The Sandakan camp, also known as Sandakan POW Camp (Malay language, Malay: Kem Tawanan Perang Sandakan), was a prisoner-of-war camp established during World War II by the Empire of Japan, Japanese in Sandakan in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Thi ...

managed to escape to

Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''; ), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capit ...

in the Philippines. Plans are currently in development to promote Berhala Island as a tourist attraction.

References

External links

Photoset of Berhala including the water village
Sandakan Death Marches Islands of Sabah North Borneo Japanese prisoner of war and internment camps Leper colonies Sandakan {{Sabah-geo-stub

See also

References

External links