Crown Colony of North Borneo

{{Infobox country

| native_name =

| conventional_long_name = Crown Colony of North Borneo

| common_name = North Borneo

| empire = United Kingdom

| status = Colony

| life_span = 1946–1963

| era = New Imperialism

| year_start = 1946{{cite book|author=Anthony Kirk-Greene|author-link = Anthony Kirk-Greene|title=On Crown Service: A History of HM Colonial and Overseas Civil Services, 1837-1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AfAjYRmBz0C&pg=PA183|date=12 June 1999|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-260-9|pages=183–}}

| year_end = 1963

| date_start = 15 July

| date_end = 16 September

| event_start = North Borneo ceded to the Crown Colony

| event_end = Malaysia Agreement

| event1 = Administration of the Turtle Islands and Mangsee Islands transferred to the Philippine government

| date_event1 = 16 October 1947

| event2 = Self-government

| date_event2 = 31 August 1963{{cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C760803|title=The National Archives DO 169/254 (Constitutional issues in respect of North Borneo and Sarawak on joining the federation)|publisher=The National Archives|date=1961–1963|access-date=23 April 2015}}{{cite book|author=Philip Mathews|title=Chronicle of Malaysia: Fifty Years of Headline News, 1963-2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=md9UAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15|date=28 February 2014|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|isbn=978-967-10617-4-9|pages=15–}}

| event_post =

| date_post =

| p1 = British Military Administration (Borneo)

| flag_p1 = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg

| p2 = North Borneo

| flag_p2 = Flag of North Borneo (1902–1946).svg

| p3 = Crown Colony of Labuan{{!}}{{nobr|Crown Colony of Labuan}}

| flag_p3 = Flag of Labuan (1912–1946).svg

| s1 = Malaysia

| flag_s1 = Flag of Malaysia.svg

| s2 = Palawan{{!}}Palawan

| flag_s2 = Flag of Palawan, Philippines.svg

| s3 = Sabah{{!}}Sabah

| flag_s3 = Flag of Sabah (1963-1982).svg

| s4 = Sulu{{!}}Sulu

| flag_s4 = Sulu Province Flag.svg

| image_flag = Flag of North Borneo (1948–1963).svg

| image_coat = Coat of arms of the Crown Colony of North Borneo.svg

| national_motto = {{langx|la|Pergo et Perago}}{{cite book |author = Great Britain. Colonial Office |year = 1956 |title = Annual Report on North Borneo |publisher = H.M. Stationery Office |page=6}}
(I persevere and I achieve){{sfn|Great Britain. Colonial Office|1956|p=6}}

| national_anthem = God Save the King (1946–1952)
God Save the Queen (1952–1963) File:United States Navy Band - God Save the King.oga

| image_map = A map of British North Borneo (II).jpg

| capital = Jesselton

| common_languages = {{nobr|English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau}}, Murut, Lundayeh, Rungus, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc.

| title_leader = Monarch

| leader1 = George VI

| year_leader1 = 1946–1952

| leader2 = Elizabeth II

| year_leader2 = 1952–1963

| title_deputy = Governor

| deputy1 = Edward Twining

| year_deputy1 = 1946–1949

| deputy2 = William Goode

| year_deputy2 = 1959–1963

| stat_area1 =

| currency = North Borneo dollar,
Malaya−British Borneo dollar

| today = Malaysia
Philippines

}}

The Crown Colony of North Borneo was a Crown colony on the island of Borneo established in 1946 shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration.{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/95540217|title=British North Borneo Becomes Crown Colony|publisher=Trove|date=18 July 1946|access-date=17 May 2016}} The Crown Colony of Labuan joined the new Crown colony during its formation. It was succeeded as the state of Sabah through the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963.

Cession of remaining islands

On 16 October 1947 the British transferred administration of the Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands to the Philippine government under a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the United States.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KhpAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kqQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5187%2C4623468|title=Treaty over Turtle Islands|author=Charles P. Williamson|publisher=The Telegraph|date=30 July 1929|access-date=17 May 2016}}{{cite web|author=Peter C. Richards|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19471206&id=Sf5UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v5MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4610,725646&hl=en|title=New Flag Over Pacific Paradise|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=6 December 1947|access-date=22 October 2015}} The islands now form a part of the Southwestern Tagalog Region (MIMAROPA) and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Administration

{{Infobox political post

| post = Governor

| body = British Crown Colony of North Borneo

| flag = Flag of the Governor of North Borneo (1948–1963).svg

| insignia =

| insigniacaption =

| image_map =

| incumbent =

| incumbentsince =

| style = His Excellency

| residence =

| appointer = King George VI
Queen Elizabeth II

| appointerpost =

| inaugural = Edward Francis Twining (1946–1948)
Succeeded by
Herbert Ralph Hone (1949–1954)
Roland Evelyn Turnbull (1954–1959)

| last = William Goode (1960–1963)

| abolished = 16 September 1963 (Formed the Federation of Malaysia){{cite book|author=Frans Welman|title=Borneo Trilogy Volume 1: Sabah|date=9 March 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glG-WBH8hkQC&pg=PA159|publisher=Booksmango|isbn=978-616-245-078-5|pages=159–}}

| superseded_by = Edward Francis Twining

| formation = 1946–1963

}}

File:Children of North Borneo.JPG representative a year after the war in 1946]]

The Governor of the Crown Colony of North Borneo was appointed by King George VI, and later Queen Elizabeth II. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963 the title was changed to Yang di-Pertua Negara{{Cite web |author=State Of Sabah |title=The Constitution of the State of Sabah |url=https://sagc.sabah.gov.my/sites/default/files/law/TheConstitutionOfTheStateOfSabah_4.pdf}} For reference only as at January 2019 and was subsequently changed to 'Tuan Yang Terutama Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sabah', in 1976 (Enactment. No. 17/1976 Constitution (Amendment)(No. 2)) which means 'His Excellency The Governor of Sabah', or 'His Excellency The Head of State of Sabah' and the appointment was later made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia).

Executive and legislative councils were established in October 1950, replacing the provisional Advisory Council which had existed since July 1946. The Executive Council, which advised the governor on matters of policy, consisted of three ex-officio members (the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, and Attorney-General), two appointed official members, and four appointed unofficial members. The Legislative Council consisted of the Governor as president, the three ex-officio members, nine appointed official members, and ten appointed unofficial members. The governor customarily appointed unofficial members from lists of names put forward by a representative bodies. The development of democratic institutions was much slower in North Borneo than it was in neighbouring Sarawak.Government of North Borneo. [https://archive.org/details/b31415891 Annual Report North Borneo, 1958] (London: H.M.S.O.), 174-179.

For local administration, the colony was divided into four residencies overseen by a resident, which were sub-divided into districts overseen by district officers. The district officer for the island of Labuan reported directly to the Chief Secretary. The districts were sub-divided into sub-districts overseen by assistant district officers. Most district officers were expatriates, while the majority of assistant district officers were locally recruited.

Within each district, village headmen were responsible for minor administrative tasks. Headmen reported to chiefs, who in turn reported to the district officer. The chiefs presided over native courts which dealt with breaches of native custom and Islamic law. District officers could also act in a magisterial capacity and had jurisdiction over civil actions, breaches of the laws of the colony, and offences against the penal code.

In 1951, the Rural Development Ordinance provided for the establishment of local authorities in rural areas. The first such authority was set up in Kota Belud district on 1 January 1952 under the direction of the district and assistant district officers. Members of the local authority were entirely appointed, representing both the native population and the Chinese population of Kota Belud. This pattern was repeated throughout the territory as other rural authorities were established.

An ordinance regarding urban government came into force on 1 July 1954 which allowed for the creation of township authorities, town boards, and municipal councils. Jesselton and Sandakan became town board areas as did Tawau and Labuan in 1955. Members of local councils were entirely appointed by the governor, though unofficial members were required to be in the majority.

References

External links

[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/migrated-archives-guidance.pdf Colonial administration records (migrated archive): North Borneo (Sabah/Malaysia)] at The National Archives (Pg. 61)

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Category:History of North Borneo

North Borneo, Crown Colony of

Category:History of Borneo

Category:History of Sabah

North Borneo

Category:Politics of Sabah

Category:States and territories established in 1946

Category:States and territories disestablished in 1963