Origin of Kampong Dato Gandi
The other day someone asked in the comment box how the name of Kampong Dato Gandi came about?
This is what I got. Kampong Dato Gandi is named after a person called Dato Gandi who died many years ago. Apparently Dato Gandi was a Muslim preacher and he came to the village and the surrounding areas to preach. He died in the village and his grave, still tended to these days, is still there. Some said that the grave is visible and near the Queen's Jetty but I cannot verify that just yet.
The village is a normal Brunei village but it has one important feature. It has the Queens Jetty and Queen Elizabeth II in 1970 landed here. At that time, she was using the ship Queen Elizabeth II (if I am not mistaken) and that ship could not go into Brunei Wharf as it was not deep enough. Why not Muara Port you asked? Muara Port was just being completed and so she could not berth there. (Correction: Faiq Rani pointed out it should be the Brittania which is correct and Haji Awang pointed out that the ship did not berth at the Jetty but waited near Muara. The Queen was taken by a smaller launch. I should have remembered the name, Brittania. In 2002 I saw it for a whole week when I was staying in Edinburgh during my convocation. I was staying at the Marriott at the nearby historic Port of Leith where the Brittania is now berthed permanently.]
Anyway, during her stay, she actually officially opened the Muara Port.
This is what I got. Kampong Dato Gandi is named after a person called Dato Gandi who died many years ago. Apparently Dato Gandi was a Muslim preacher and he came to the village and the surrounding areas to preach. He died in the village and his grave, still tended to these days, is still there. Some said that the grave is visible and near the Queen's Jetty but I cannot verify that just yet.
The village is a normal Brunei village but it has one important feature. It has the Queens Jetty and Queen Elizabeth II in 1970 landed here. At that time, she was using the ship Queen Elizabeth II (if I am not mistaken) and that ship could not go into Brunei Wharf as it was not deep enough. Why not Muara Port you asked? Muara Port was just being completed and so she could not berth there. (Correction: Faiq Rani pointed out it should be the Brittania which is correct and Haji Awang pointed out that the ship did not berth at the Jetty but waited near Muara. The Queen was taken by a smaller launch. I should have remembered the name, Brittania. In 2002 I saw it for a whole week when I was staying in Edinburgh during my convocation. I was staying at the Marriott at the nearby historic Port of Leith where the Brittania is now berthed permanently.]
Anyway, during her stay, she actually officially opened the Muara Port.
Comments