- Kundasang
Kundasang is a village in
Sabah ,Borneo that lies along the bank ofKundasang Valley . It is located about 6 kilometres away fromKinabalu National Park and is renowned for its vegetable market which is open seven days a week. It is the closest village toMount Kinabalu and has a panoramic view of the Mountain. It is populated mainly by the nativeDusun and a very small population ofChinese people . Almost 100% shops are operated by locals.Kundasang Vegetable Wholesale stalls
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 evenBrunei 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.Kundasang War Memorial and Gardens
Located immediately behind the vegetable wholesale stalls is the Kundasang War Memorial & Gardens situated on the hill resembling a fort.
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 theWorld War II at theSandakan POW Camp , and the casualties of the 3 infamous forced death marches i.e. Sandakan-Ranau Death March fromSandakan toRanau . 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 valuableRothchild's slipper orchid s. 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.
Kundasang Golf Course
The golf course is located near the border of Kinabalu National Park at an altitude of approximately 2000 metres above sea level.
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