About RANAU, Malaysia

Ranau is a town as well as a district in the West Coast Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo(see map). It is located at an altitude of 1176m above sea level. Its population was estimated to be around 70,649 in 2000, almost entirely ethnic Dusun.

It is on the highway connecting Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, just 20 kilometers past Kinabalu Park. It is one of the gateways to Mount Kinabalu National Park, Poring Hot Springs and Sabah Tea Garden.

Kundasang is a village in Sabah, Borneo that lies along the bank of Kundasang Valley. It is located about 6 kilometres away from Kinabalu National Park and is renowned for its vegetable market which is open seven days a week. It is the closest village to Mount Kinabalu and has a panoramic view of the Mountain. It is populated mainly by the native Dusun and a very small population of Chinese people. Almost all the shops are operated by locals.

Beside the main road vegetables wholesalers can be found in a long row of wooden stalls (Malay: gerai). Bulk buyers come from all over the state of Sabah, Sarawak and even Brunei for the fresh harvest. Pick up trucks are seen laden fully with harvest from the farms nearby the valley and delivered to the stalls. Passing tourists and travellers also stop by the road for shopping at a good bargain. The stalls are open 7 days a week.

The Kundasang War Memorial Display Garden has plants and flowers from Borneo, Australia and Great Britain. Ranau was the terminus of the infamous Sandakan Death Marches of World War II. Kundasang is a village within Ranau district.

Major G.S. Carter, D.S.O. (Toby Carter) a New Zealander employed with Shell Oil Co. (Borneo) initiated the building of the Memorial in 1962, together with the launching of Kinabalu Park; to remember the 2,428 Australian and British prisoners who died during the World War II at the Sandakan POW Camp, and the casualties of the 3 infamous forced death marches i.e. Sandakan-Ranau Death March from Sandakan to Ranau. On top of that, it is also a tribute to the many locals who risked their lives while releasing the prisoners of war. Only 6 Australians recorded survived in this tragedy to tell their horror and no English survivors were recorded.

The 'fort-like' Memorial was designed by a local architect by the name of J.C. Robinson. It has 4 interlocking but separate gardens to represent the homelands of those who has died: an Australian Garden, a formal English Garden of roses, a Borneo Garden with wild flowers of Kinabalu and at the top level is the 'Comtemplation Garden' with a reflection pool and pergola.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Memorial was beautifully restored in 2005 privately by Mr Sevee Charuruks & with funding provided by the Malaysian Government. The Gardens are replanted with flowers, particularly roses and rare orchids that includes the much sought after valuable Paphiopedilum rothschildianum Rothschild's slipper orchids. The memorial is open to local and foreign visitors not only to view the perfect gardens but to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the Freedom of others.

ANZAC Memorial Service and private Memorial Services are welcomed with prior arrangements. The Memorial is open to visitors with minimal entrance fees charged.

Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, and also because of other political initiatives, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created.