Kapit

During the reign of Rajah Charles Brooke, a "Fort Kapit" was built in Kapit in 1880 to prevent the Iban from migrating up-river and attacking Orang Ulu settlements.[2] With the security provided by the fort, the area surrounding the fort was settled by Hoklo (Hokkien) Chinese in 1880, additional Hakka Chinese immigrants arrived in 1906, and Fuzhou Chinese in 1919. The Hokkiens worked as labourers while the Hakkas worked as farmers before venturing into businesses. Hock Leong Tieng Temple was built by the Chinese in 1889. Tai San Ten Association was formed in 1935 to serve the interests of Hokkiens and Hakkas.[2] In 1924, a peace treaty was signed between the Iban and the Orang Ulu people at Fort Kapit, thus ending the hostilities between the two tribes permanently.[3] In 1925, "Fort Kapit" was renamed as Fort Sylvia, after the wife of Rajah Vyner Brooke, Rani Sylvia Brooke.[2] The fort had withstood floods in 1887, 1934, 1961 and 1983.[3] On 28 January 1934, Kapit experienced the most severe flood in history with water level as high as 162 feet (49 m).[2]

In 1941, at the time of the Japanese occupation, Kapit only had two rows of 37 shophouses. The town was completely destroyed by allied bombing during the war.

On 15 February 1962, 51 elected Iban chiefs had a meeting in Kapit to discuss the terms and proposals of the formation of federation of Malaysia.[4]

Kapit was upgraded into a division on 2 April 1973.[5]

Built in 1880, Fort Sylvia once housed the Kapit district office and a magistrate court. After 1973, it housed the Kapit Divisional Office.[6]

Kapit is located 140 km upriver from Sibu along the Rajang River.[2]

Kapit has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Immaculate Conception Church was first established in Kapit in 1882. The church celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2012.[8] Kapit is home to many races like Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Kenyah, Kayan, and Melanau. People in Kapit may be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or other religions.

A view at the Kapit wharf terminal.

Kapit is reachable by express boats from Sibu plying the Rajang river. Kapit is also reachable through one hour ride by express boats from Song. Kapit river transport is served by the Kapit express boat terminal.[2] As car transportation has been open to public, express boats became a risk to operate, as customer no longer opt express boats as their main transportation, which could see the demise of local express boat industry in the future.[9]

As of October 2020, Sibu-Kapit road has been open to public, although it is not complete yet. It is accessible by car and takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach there. As road need further refinement for completion, the road is subject to daily opening schedule, which is three times a day. Its opening times are 6.00–7.30 am, 12.00–1.30 pm and 5.00–9.00 pm. It is scheduled to fully operate by 1 December 2020,[10] but due to frequent road travel usage by local, the road completion experienced delay, also factoring the safety of road environment by the working contractor.[11]