2. Charles Brooke: The Great Builder
Nephew Charles Johnson, later adopting the Brooke family name, became the Second White Rajah. Sarawak expanded to cover a land mass the size of England, roads and railways were introduced as well as colonial bungalows, public buildings and forts. The Second White Rajah developed waterworks and abolished slavery too. But his most famous legacies in Kuching are the Astana, or Palace in English, and Fort Margherita. Charles commissioned Astana in 1870 as an extravagant wedding gift for his new bride Margaret. He later named the nearby Fort Margherita after his beloved wife. Though sadly, things didn’t work out and they became estranged after the birth of his heir.