Belait District Museum

About this place

Belait District Museum is a museum of culture and history in Kuala Belait, in an old house that blends Malay and colonial styles on 2.4 hectares of land. It is the best place in western Brunei to learn about local peoples and oil history, and it makes a comfortable visit in hot or rainy hours. The house was built in 1938 and served as the home of the Deputy British Resident, then as the residence of district officers until 1990. The first to live here was Pengiran Abu Bakar. It became a historical monument in 2006 under the antiquities law, was renovated in 2011 and opened as a museum on 23 July 2016, under the Museums Department. It has five galleries, four of them permanent: cultural heritage, the district's administration and development, the oil and gas industry, and natural heritage. You see a model longhouse with a thatched roof, a traditional loom and patterned textiles, and baskets and dress of the Iban and other groups. Other rooms hold beads, bangles and old ceramics, along with a picture timeline of the town since the 1930s. It stands in central Kuala Belait and pairs with a walk around town and the river pier. According to Brunei's tourism site it opens from 9:00 to 17:00 and closes on Friday, so plan for that. Ask before taking pictures inside, and do not touch the displays. Seria is 20 km east, so one trip from the capital, about 85 km away, covers both.