Hidden In The Jungle: Miri’s 100-Year-Old Dam

I recently stumbled upon a fascinating story about a hidden dam in Miri, shared on the wonderful blog Sarawakian Aii (https://sarawakianaii.blogspot.com/). It led me to an excerpt from the Sarawak Gazette dated 3 January 1921 -- a small notice at the time, but one that would quietly shape the town’s survival.

In the early 1920s, Miri was struggling through a prolonged drought. The Public Works Department had been working on the Salome Stream, hoping to complete a new watercourse by the end of 1921. They did. When the dam was finally finished that year, it supplied some 11,000 tons of water, becoming a crucial lifeline for the town. Another dam on the Saritan River failed to meet demand, and although many hand-dug wells dotted the landscape, they were simply not enough.

The dam itself carried traces of a wider imperial network. Bricks used in its construction were imported from the Alexandra Brickworks in Singapore -- some still lying loose at the site today, stamped with the initials “ABW”. The brickworks were owned by the Borneo Company Limited (BCL), a joint-stock company founded in London in 1856 to pursue commercial ventures in Sarawak. Even in this quiet corner of Miri, the fingerprints of global trade and colonial industry were embedded in concrete and clay.

And then, almost without ceremony, the dam slipped out of memory.

For decades, local people forgot it was even there, slowly reclaimed by jungle and time. It was only in 2020 that a group of hikers stumbled upon the concrete structure and cleared the surrounding area, revealing a piece of Miri’s forgotten infrastructure -- a silent witness to drought, survival, and early urban life. 

Pic taken in 2020

Now, there is hope that Miri’s hidden dam -- and countless other forgotten sites -- may finally receive the recognition they deserve. On 25 June 2025, the Sarawak government called on divisional tourism committees to work closely with local communities to identify and map historical sites to be preserved and promoted as tourist attractions. State Deputy Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting highlighted the rich history of Miri and its hinterlands, noting that every town in Sarawak has stories “of rivers, markets, communities, and dreams.” By working with local communities, the ministry aims to support the preservation and promotion of these legacies through funding and tourism product development.

Perhaps the Salome Stream dam, lost for a century, will one day join Miri’s heritage trail -- a tangible link between past and present, waiting quietly to be rediscovered again.

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