Nomination Form International Memory of the World Register

Nomination form International Memory of the World Register

1.0 Checklist Nominees may find the following checklist useful before sending the nomination form to the International Memory of the World Secretariat. The information provided in italics on the form is for a guidance purpose only and should be deleted upon the completion of the sections.

 Summary completed (section 1)  Nomination and contact details completed (section 2)  Declaration of Authority signed and dated (section 2)  If this is a joint nomination, section 2 be appropriately modified, and all Declarations of Authority may have been obtained  Documentary heritage identified (sections 3.1 – 3.3)  History/provenance completed (section 3.4)  Bibliography completed (section 3.5)  Names, qualifications and contact details of up to three independent people or organizations recorded (section 3.6)  Details of owner(s) completed (section 4.1)  Details of custodian(s) – if different from the owner(s) – completed (section 4.2)  Details of legal status completed (section 4.3)  Details of accessibility completed (section 4.4)  Details of copyright status completed (section 4.5)  Evidence presented to support fulfilment of the criteria? (section 5)  Additional information provided (section 6)  Details of consultation with stakeholders completed (section 7)  Assessment of risk completed (section 8)  Summary of Preservation and Access Management Plan completed. If there is no formal Plan, attach details about current and/or planned access, storage and custody arrangements (section 9)  Any other information provided – if applicable (section 10)  Suitable reproduction quality photographs identified to illustrate the documentary heritage. (300dpi, jpg format, full-colour preferred).  Copyright permission forms signed and attached. Agreement to propose item(s) for inclusion on the World Digital Library if inscribed

Nomination form International Memory of the World Register

Title of proposed item ID Code [2016-104]

1.0 Summary (max 200 words)

The dairies of George Cathcart Woolley, 1901- 1226 are a significant narrative account of the life of a British colonial officer during his tenure with the British North Borneo Company in Sabah (1881 – 1942). The diaries (consist of 12 notebooks) had not been previously researched. They are engaging and informative, covering Woolley’s activities as an officer in Sandakan and as Land Commissioner in Jesselton; he was instrumental in drawing up key land laws. The diaries are unique, providing complementary and new historical information previously unavailable. They explore indigenous customs and rituals, artefacts, Chinese immigration, railway, development, Company policies, court cases and social life of the elites.

2.0 Nominator 2.1 Name of nominator (person or organization)

Dr. Zainah Hj Ibrahim, Commissioner of Heritage, Department of National Heritage

2.2 Relationship to the nominated documentary heritage

Chairperson of the Memory of the World National Committee

2.3 Contact person(s) (to provide information on nomination)

DR ZAINAH IBRAHIM, Commissioner of Heritage

2.4 Contact details Name Address

Dr. ZAINAH IBRAHIM Department of National Heritage Block A & B, Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, Jalan Raja 50050 KUALA LUMPUR

Telephone Facsimile Email

6019-606 0654 (mobile) 603-2604 4900 [email protected] 603-26044800 (Office)

3.0 Identity and description of the documentary heritage 3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated If inscribed, the exact title and institution(s) to appear on the certificate should be given

The Diaries of George Cathcart Woolley.

3.2 Catalogue or registration details

1. Woolley: D.001, 26 April 1901 – 21 July 1902: 155 pp. 2. Woolley: D.002, 21 July 1901 – 2 September 1904: 198 pp. 3. Woolley: D.003, 2 September 1904 – 29 April 1906: 159 pp. 4. Woolley: D.004, 29 April 1906 - 24 November 1908: 153 pp. 5. Woolley: D.005, 24 November 1908 – 31 March 1912: 377 pp. 6. Woolley: D.006, 1 April 1912 – 3 March 1915: 193 pp. 7. Woolley: D.007, 4 March 1915 – 12 November 1918: 302 pp. 8. Woolley: D.008, 13 November 1918 – 2 August 1920: 104 pp. 9. Woolley: D.009, 2 August 1920 – 31 May 1922: 176 pp. 10. Woolley: D.0010, 1 April 1922 – 8 April 1923: 94 pp. 11. Woolley: D.0011, 9 April 1923 – 10 April 1924: 88. 12. Woolley: D.0012, 10 April 1924 – 14 June 1926: 156 pp.

3.4 History/provenance

The diaries are part of a larger “Woolley Collection” which was bequeathed to the North Borneo Government in 1946 (the other consisting of photograph, glass negatives and ethnographic artefacts.) The diaries were kept at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford before they were given to the Sabah Museum when it was established in July 1965. The Woolley collection therefore formed the foundation of the Sabah Museum. The diaries have since been kept in storage and remain inaccessible to the public. Volume 1 covering the period 1901 – 1907 was published in July in 2015.

4.0 Legal information 4.1 Owner of the documentary heritage (name and contact details) Name Address

Department of Sabah Department of Sabah Museum Museum Jalan Muzium, 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah MALAYSIA.

Telephone Facsimile Email

6088225033 6088240230 muzium.sabah.gov.my

4.2 Custodian of the documentary heritage (name and contact details if different from the owner) Name (same as above) Address

Telephone Facsimile Email

4.3 Legal status Provide details of legal and administrative responsibility for the preservation of the documentary heritage

Being the custodian, the Director of the Sabah Museum is responsible for the preservation of the Woolley diaries.

4.4 Accessibility

Describe how the item(s) / collection may be accessed

The original diaries can be accessed with the written permission of the Director and they can only be issued in exceptional circumstances.

All access restrictions should be explicitly stated below:

The diaries are not accessible due to their fragility. The document is kept in closed access room. Photocopying from the record is strictly prohibited. However, to overcome the problem to accessing the document, publication of the diaries is in plan by the Sabah Museum. This is to ensure that the diaries remain intact and inaccessible to public, except for museum exhibition or display. Nevertheless, the diaries will be made accessible to public in the form of published material.

4.5 Copyright status

Describe the copyright status of the item(s) / collection

5.0 Assessment against the selection criteria

5.1 Authenticity.

Woolly was a prolific diarist, maintaining a rich and descriptive account of his daily activities. His journal included both social and professional engagement, all of which was written by hand. Authenticity of the document is therefore maintained; in addition, Woolley’s meticulous use of dates allows us to verify the chronology of events as they occurred (Please refer to Para 3.4 for clear understanding about the history how the ownership was transferred).

5.2 World significance

The original dairies are unique and precious. They cover a span of periods from 1901 to 1946, making them the longest personal daily record of life in British North Borneo, incomparable to other diaries in existence of that period. The diaries from 1927 – 1940 are presumed lost/destroyed due to the Second World War, making the surviving diaries from 1901 – 1926 important primary sources of North Borneo/Sabah history and culture. Woolley was an intrepid explorer and he travelled extensively across the state, infusing his dairies with supra-cultural relevance. They therefore remain significant historical narratives of the cultural diversity in Sabah, greatly enriching an appreciation for the connections between past and present. Their disappearance or deterioration therefore would be a great loss to the documentary heritage of Sabah and the world.

5.3 Comparative criteria:

Does the heritage meet any of the following tests? (It must meet at least one of them.)

1 Time

The dairies are expressive of a crucial era of Sabah’s history; the introduction to the European civilization and the industrial transformation that occurred during Woolley’s time. The meticulous details of these documents make them “one of a kind”.

2 Place

The dairies contain crucial information such as the Papar court case of 1911 brought by the natives against the government, which consequently resulted in the Land Ordinance of 1913. The law which was drafted by Woolley, who was land commissioner at that time, recognized and protected native customary rights and Native Title lands ensuring their preservation in the hands of natives until today.

Furthermore, the dairies contain historical evidence about what Sabah was like during this early period – the land, the indigenous people and their cultural, the coming of Chinese and Javanese Diaspora to work in the production of new agricultural crops such as tobacco, rubber, coconuts and industries such as timber and sago, as well as the techniques through which the governments and its officers managed this remote outpost of the British Empire. 5

3 People

The dairies provide a valuable depiction of human interactions, between colonial and local populations. Woolley’s portrayal of the relations between these groups offers key insights into the social activities and attitudes during this time. For example, much is written about government officers and their dealings with local people and the administrative practices that regulated these relationships, as the state experienced rapid industrial expansion into native territories. Woolley’s diaries therefore are of the British North Borneo administrative concerns, which were critical to the development of contemporary Sabah.

4 Subject and theme

Woolley’s subject was the daily life in North Borneo during the colonial period. The diaries therefore represent particular case studies of historical interactions between different cultural groups in Sabah. Moreover, the politics of colonial governments are described, including relationships between colonial officers and their wives, which were often volatile and amusing. The subject and the theme of the document will be a significant reference in for future research references as well as understanding the social and culture of that time.

5 Form and style

The diaries are an antique, giving them an aesthetic quality. The brevity of Woolley’s description adds a poetic value.

6 Social/ spiritual/ community significance: Application of this criterion must reflect living significance – does documentary heritage have an emotional hold on people who are alive today? Is it venerated as holy or for its mystical qualities, or reverenced for its association with significant people and events?

The diaries are unique, providing complementary and new historical information previously unavailable. They explore indigenous customs and rituals, artefacts, Chinese immigration, railway, development, Company policies, court cases and social life of the elites.

6.0 Contextual information

6.1 Rarite

The original diaries remain unique as a physical representation of Sabah’s history. There is no diary of this period comparable to Woolley’s especially in terms of the depth and breadth of his curious and erudite observations.

6.2 Integrity

Partial, from 1901 – 1940 have been deemed lost or destroyed by during World War II. The wartime diaries that cover 1941 – 1945, presumably, Woolly’s legacy, have been published in the UK.