KUCHING: When his father first told him about the family's connection with a place "in the Far East called Sarawak", the young Jason could not figure out what the excitement was all about.

"It was all fairy-tale like," said Jason, 23, a great grandson of the second white rajah of Sarawak, Charles Brooke.

The Brookes ruled Sarawak from 1841 to 1946.

Jason, who arrived here last week for a three-week visit, said: "I was about seven then and I didn't have the foggiest idea where the place was.

"Maybe I was too young to appreciate what my father was telling me."
Great-grandfather Brooke ruled from 1868 to 1917 and his father, James, a nephew of the third rajah, Vyner Brooke, was Vyner's heir apparent. However, the Brooke rule came to an end after the Second World War.

The "great builder" that he was, Jason's great-grandfather left an indelible legacy.

Many of the colonial buildings that are now Kuching landmarks, such as the Astana, Fort Margherita and the forts in Sarawak were built during his reign.

Then, there is the Brooke Dockyard, which is still in operation today.

"It was an introductory kind of thing. I remember my father laying the old Sarawak flag on the floor of the sitting room for me to see," said Jason, who has just completed his studies in English literature at University College Dublin.

"Then he would take out all the old swords and shields that he had brought back home from Sarawak.

"And he would go through the hundreds of photos to show the family connection with this faraway place.

"I may not have understood much of what was told but my interest was stirred."

It was only in his early teens that Jason got "really interested" in the family's connection with Sarawak.

He started reading all the books on old Sarawak in the family's collection and got in touch with people who knew about the family, including the authors of some of the books.

"I probably read every book there was on Sarawak. I quizzed my grandfather, my father and other family members on their recollection of Sarawak."

He had read so much about Sarawak that when he landed here a week ago, he felt like "I had been here before".

"I had this picture of Kuching before I came. I already knew what I was looking for.

"Even though Kuching was bigger than I imagined, the old buildings that I had seen in my family photographs and in the books are as they were.

"The (old) courthouse, the Astana, the general post office and Fort Margherita are exactly like what I've seen in the books and photos."

Jason said it was an emotional moment to see the family coat-of-arms at the Brooke Memorial in front of the old courthouse (now the Tourist Information Centre) and the general post office.

"It was quite moving. I never expected to see the coat-of-arms there."

It was also a moving experience when Jason visited Fort Margherita. The fort, now a police museum, was under renovation and Jason said walking in the empty building "felt so authentic".

In the one week since he arrived, Jason has met a lot of people, including some who had known his now 96-year-old grandfather Anthony, or who had worked for him.

"It was very interesting to get a first-hand account from them of the family in the old days."

Although he has a brother a year older than him, Jason is the one who gets to keep most of the family's memorabilia and collection of things related to the family's rule in Sarawak.

"It's quite a collection," said Jason. "A real treasure trove."

They include books that date back to 1850, books that chronicle the exploits of James Brooke, silver tea sets with the Brooke crest embossed on them, cutlery, old Sarawak flags, ceremonial swords, shields and countless photographs.

Grandfather Anthony has his collection in his home in New Zealand and his aunt Celia, too, has hers.

Jason knows that three weeks will not be enough to see places outside Kuching.

"I would like to see as much of Sarawak as possible but I know that I will have no time."

So Jason has pledged to make a return visit "with more time" to see more of the state.

"My father would probably like to come back too. He lived here in Kuching when he was a baby but he had not been back all his adult life."

One reason he had not returned was that after Vyner ceded Sarawak to the British Colonial Office, the Brookes were banned from returning because some members of the family opposed the cession.