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I Love SarawakNews · Culture · Land of the Hornbills
Culture & HeritageSibu Division

Fort Emma

The 1859 Brooke fort at the meeting of the Rejang and the Kanowit, named for the Rajah's sister and still standing over the confluence.

By · Editor, I Love Sarawak

Facts checked

The timber walls and shingled roof of Fort Emma standing among trees at Kanowit
Photo: Rolfmueller (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The place

Fort Emma was built in 1859 at Kanowit, where the Kanowit River meets the Rejang, and named after Emma Brooke, sister of the second Rajah. It is among the oldest surviving Brooke forts in Sarawak, and it was built for the same reason as all of them: to plant an administrative post at a river junction, because in Sarawak the rivers were the roads.

Kanowit is a small town today and the fort is a quiet stop rather than a headline attraction — which is much of its appeal. For anyone working up the Rejang towards Kapit, it completes a run of Brooke river forts with Fort Sylvia further upstream.

Highlights

  1. One of the oldest Brooke forts still standing
  2. The confluence of the Kanowit and the Rejang below it
  3. The Brooke river-fort trail, with Fort Sylvia upstream at Kapit
  4. A working small town rather than a restored set piece

Getting there

Ways to reach Fort Emma, compared
HowFromTakesCosts
DriveSibu——Kanowit sits on the Rejang between Sibu and Song
BoatSibu——express boats that work the river; the fort is in the town, above the water

Kanowit sits on the Rejang between Sibu and Song, reachable by road from Sibu or by the express boats that work the river. The fort is in the town, above the water.

Good to know

  • A modest site — go for the river and the history, not for facilities
  • Best combined with a longer Rejang journey towards Kapit
  • Express-boat timetables on the Rejang change; check locally on the day
  • The river is the reason the town exists — spend some time at the confluence

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