In 1800s, Miri was an unknown fishing village of a few families trading occasionally with passing ships. Miri as the first oil town in Malaysia, this discovery has put Miri on the road to progress.
The discovery of oil in 1910 on Canada Hill has a significant place in the history of modern Miri. Canada Hill is where the oil industry in the Sarawak started, with the successful drilling of well Miri-1 in December 1910. The growth of the oil industry has helped to transform Miri from a small fishing village at the turn of the 20th century into a modern and prosperous town in the 21st Century. The first derrick constructed was affectionately called 'The Grand Old Lady' and produced oil for 62 years.
Since 1910, this Grand Old Lady located 150 meters above sea level, had witnessed various historic and physical development which had taken place in this oil-rich town of Miri, which now is not only known for the "black gold" but also its attractive tourism industry.
It is believed that this well, now a monument, produced the first oil found in the country on Dec 22, 1910 and continued pumping out the precious commodity for the next 62 years producing 658,650 barrels of oil before it was closed on Oct 31, 1972. At the time it ceased operations, the "Grand Old Lady" was producing a mere seven barrels of oil a day.
Due to its sentimental value to the residents of Miri, the Sarawak state government on July 10, 1985, restored the Grand Old Lady and accorded her status as one of the state's important historical monuments.
The history of the Grand Old Lady dates back to the late 1800s when the then Baram Resident, Claude Champion de Crespigny found that there was oil in the Baram region.
Centuries before he noted this, the indigenous people living in and around Baram region had been using the oil as fuel, calling it "minyak tanah".
In 1888, Charles Hose who took over as the subsequent Baram Resident continued Crespigny's work and before retiring, Hose did another intensive study about the presence of oil there.
Soon after retiring, Hose requested permission from the then Sarawak White Rajah, Sir James Brooke to present his studies to the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, an oil exploration company based in London.
In 1909, Hose returned to Miri, this time bringing along geologist, Dr Josef Erb, and after several series of studies the expert was convinced that the Baram region including areas surrounding Miri was rich in oil.
Erb then decided to build an oil well on top of the hill and a Canadian, by the name of McAlpine, was assigned to erect the well. The hill was named Canada Hill, honoring his contribution.
On Aug 10, 1910, McAlpine successfully completed a 87-metre high wooden tower -- now known as the Grand Old Lady -- and soon after drilling work started using the cable tool method, the only available drilling technique known at that time.
After several months of drawing blanks, they struck oil from the grounds of the hill on Dec 22, 1910 at a depth of 150 meters.
http://www.etawau.com/HTML/Miri/Grand_Old_Lady.htm
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Baram 8 the rig that became a reef.by sharkyjones915 views
good job.keep up with it.blessed miri
QMN5119 2 years ago 2