Staat River Bridge - known as the Red Bridge
Seropak, Bau, Sarawak, Malaysia
Location: Kampung Serpak, spanning the Staat River
N 1.346251
E 110.177896
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Clear span 120 feet (36.5m)
Width 6 feet (1.8m)
Built 1904
Evidence that this was a Harper bridge: definite
I am indebted to Ib Larsen, Louise Teo and David Denenberg (Bridgemeister) for bringing this bridge to my notice and to Ib Larsen, Louise Teo and others for their research into its origin since 2005 when they came across the bridge. Since then they had researched extensively and came across references to an earlier ‘high bridge’ in the 1870-80s. However, the bridge identified is clearly later. Their narrative of the Red Bridge's origins, "The Story of the Mysterious Suspension Bridge in Seropak, Bau, Sarawak", can be read here.
Painting of the Red Bridge, source and artist unknown. The sagging deck rather than the elegant arch can be put down to artistic licence!
Many of Harper’s bridges found their way to coffee and rubber plantations in Africa and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Therefore it was no surprise to learn that the Dahan Rubber Estate developed in Sarawak from 1901. The bridge lay on the track to the Tegora Mine. The Tegora Mine in Sarawak in the 19th and earlier part of the 20th century mined cinnabar (mercury) and antimony. By that date the activity in the mine was on the wane and a new bridge imported from the UK might have been hard to justify.
On balance, the odds are that this particular bridge was commissioned by the Dahan Rubber Estate (Sarawak Rubber Company), who had an extensive concession alongside the Tegora trail from the 1890s. The bridge was completed in the summer of 1904. The previous November work on the foundations was started but was found to be unsatisfactory and weak, given the state of the banks. Rains then stopped work and it was not until April 1904 that concrete foundations were built. At that stage the ‘ironwork’ was not on site. This from the Sarawak Gazette of May 1904:
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‘I visited Puak on the 31st Instant, and found the Staat Suspension Bridge had been finished, except for the approaches on either side. These I understand are being constructed in Kuching of billian (wood), the bridge looks extremely well and is of great strength, but so fine a structure comes on one as a surprise in such an out of the way place as Puak.’
In the Sarawak Gazette of 1907, there is reference to decking being renewed on the bridge – only three years after it was built. In 2005 the deck was of bamboo although the approaches were solid.
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The Tegora Mine in Sarawak in the 19th and earlier part of the 20th century mined cinnabar (mercury) and antimony. During the Second World War the Japanese reopened the mine and repaired the bridge.
In November 2025, Douglas Harper visited the Red Bridge with the Sarawak Heritage Society. Thanks to Kelvin Chan, Sarawak Phot-Art Society, and Geoffrey Lee, Drone Technology Specialist, for the video below.
Bridges
in Malaysia
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