British North Borneo Company’s Medal 1900

 

The Colonial Wars In Borneo 1897 - 1916.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The British North Borneo Company’s Medal 1900 was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service in North Borneo (today's Sabah in Malaysia). The medal was instituted in 1900 and was awarded to participants of a specific expedition along the Tambuan Valley against a continuing rebellion led by Mat Salleh.

 

Less than 200 were awarded making this a particularly rare medal. As such, in later years, the manufacturer - Spink - re-struck this medal to satisfy the demand from collectors.

 

 

The medal is circular, 38mm in diameter and was struck in either silver or bronze. The obverse depicts the company shield, surrounded by the inscription; 'BRITISH NORTH BORNEO 1900'.

 

The reverse depicts within a wreath, a pair of arms (one bare, one sleeved, holding the company flag) surrounded by the inscription; 'PERGO ET PERAGO' (meaning ‘I carry on and accomplish’).

 

The manufacturers mark; 'SPINK AND SON LONDON' can be found in small text at the bottom.

 

The copies later issued by Spink, are marked as such on the rim, or, stamped; 'Specimen'. Also the 'S' of Son in 'Spink and Son' is obliterated on the copies.

 

The ribbon suspender is of a plain, straight and swivelling style, attached to the medal by a claw mount.

 

Seven medals were originally issued to officers in silver with the recipient’s details engraved along the rim. A further 116 were issued in bronze to natives that also included the recipient’s details.

 

In 1905-06 it was ordered that the previously issued bronze medals should be replaced with silver ones and 36 were subsequently re-issued, this time with the recipient’s details impressed on the medals rim.

 

It is thought that a large number of the native contingent did not apply for the silver issue, so a number of the original ones still exist.

 

Additionally, between 1906 and 1909, Spink supplied a further 22 medals struck in silver that were un-named.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is yellow in colour with a central green stripe.

 

 

This medal was issued with the following clasps:-

 

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Mat Salleh Rebellion.

- The North Borneo Chartered Company.

- The Tambunan Valley.

 

The Mat Salleh Rebellion - The Mat Salleh Rebellion was a series of major armed disturbances against the colonial British North Borneo Chartered Company administration in North Borneo, now the Malaysian state of Sabah.

 

It was instigated by Datu Muhammad Salleh (also known as Mat Salleh), a local chief from the Lingkabo district and Sugut River. He led the rebellion between 1894 until his death in Tambunan in 1900 - although the resistance then continued on for another 5 years until 1905.

 

His revolts were widely supported by the local communities and affected a large geographical area from Sandakan, across Gaya Island, including the interior, especially Tambunan. His most notable uprising occurred at midnight on 9 July 1897, when he led his followers to successfully attack a major colonial settlement on Gaya Island.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The North Borneo Chartered Company - The North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo (today's Sabah in Malaysia) in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the Crown Colony of British North Borneo.

 

The main motto was Pergo et Perago (Latin), which means 'I undertake and I achieve'. The first chairman of the company was Alfred Dent.

 

In 1882, the North Borneo Chartered Company established a settlement on Pulau Gaya, one year after the Chartered Company was given the mandate to rule Sabah.

 

However, in 1897, this settlement was burnt to the ground during the raid led by Mat Salleh, a Sabah tribal Chief and it was never re-established. This company is also known as 'Syarikat Borneo Utara British' and was criticised by the locals for the taxes it collected.

 

Establishing law and order as well as recruiting Sikh policeman from North India was one of the early roles the NBCC initiated, as well as expanding trade, a system of government, courts to enforce laws and punishment and building both a railway line from Jesselton to Tenom and encouraging the harvesting and barter trade of both local agriculture produce and crops, as well as establishment of plantations.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Tambunan Valley - Tambunan is a valley district located in the Interior Division of the state of Sabah. The district covers an area of 1,347 km2. Its population was estimated to be around 36,297 in 2010, based on the 2010 Population Census conducted by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia.

 

Almost the entire population are Dusun, while the rest are Malay, Chinese and other Sabahan ethnic groups. It is located 80 kilometres east of Kota Kinabalu, 48 kilometres south of Ranau and 48 kilometres north of Keningau.

 

At an average altitude of 750 meters, this valley, which is part of the Crocker Range, experiences mild tropical climate all year long. The valley is peppered by terraced padi fields and 70 picturesque villages. The dense forests of bamboo around Tambunan are a legacy of the British colonial period, during which time an edict stated that 20 bamboo sprouts had to be planted for every bamboo cut.

 

Tambunan is connected to Kota Kinabalu via the Kota Kinabalu-Tambunan-Keningau Highway. East of Tambunan is Sabah's second highest mountain, Trus Madi (2642 meters).

 

The Mat Salleh Memorial, located in the middle of paddy fields at Kampung Tibabar, is a concrete structure erected in memory of Datu Paduka Mat Salleh. Better known as Mat Salleh, he led a rebellion against the British North Borneo Company in the late 19th century. The rebellion against British rule was due to the locals' dissatisfaction on alleged exploitation by the Company.

 

He was killed in a gun battle with the British police on 1 February 1900. In recognition of Mat Salleh as one of Sabah's earliest freedom fighters, the State Government of Sabah built the memorial fort at the exact site of where he was killed.

 

Near the Mat Salleh's fort is the Tun Datu Mustapha Memorial the famous Sabah statesman. Tambunan is noted for the quality of its Lihing and Tapai, or rice wine. Outside of Tambunan is the Rafflesia Forest Reserve, devoted to the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia.

 

The road north of Tambunan to Ranau is considered one of the worst in Sabah, with numerous patches broken gravel, fallen roads and precarious water-filled ledges. The conditions have deteriorated due to increasing numbers of sinkholes and landslides and the slow rate of repair.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.