heads near a small river stream branching off from Sebezaw River because the river bank was flat and wide. Therefore, the small river stream was named "Mentu Ulau" river. Outsiders who came to Bintulu subsequently pronounced the name as "Mentulau", and later the name evolved into "Bentulu" and, finally, "Bintulu". History Brooke dynasty James Brooke was appointed the White Rajah of Sarawak (now known as Kuching) by the Bruneian Empire in 1841. In 1861, the Sultanate of Brunei ceded the Bintulu region to Brooke. Bintulu was a small settlement at that time. A wooden fort named Fort Keppel was built in the village, named after Sir Henry Keppel, who was a close friend of the Rajah James and Charles Brooke. Sir Henry Keppel was responsible for crushing the Dayak piracy in the Saribas between 1840 and 1850. Meanwhile, Charles Brooke was a nephew of James Brooke and would later become the latter's successor as the second Rajah of Sarawak. Odoardo Beccari, an Italian botanist, visited Bintulu in 1867. On 4 August, he started his journey on a gunboat named "Heartsease", which was to send $6,000 to Brunei for concessions being made to James Brooke in the Mukah and Bintulu regions. He went to Labuan before coming back to Bintulu. He dropped off at Kemena River on 13 August 1867. His observations of the village were recorded as follows: The houses of the Melanau people were built in rows on both sides of the Kemena River, mostly furnished by Nipah and Sago palms. Each house had its own shed projection into the entrance of the river, which was used for the processing of Sago palms. On 8 September 1867, the first Sarawak General Council meeting (now Sarawak State Legislative Assembly) took place here. It was made up of 21 elected local community members (five British officers and 16 Malay and Melanau local chiefs). The council was formed by Raja Muda Charles Brooke under orders from Rajah James Brooke. The council is the oldest state legislative assembly in Malaysia. Japanese occupation During World War II, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke ordered the construction of airstrips in Kuching, Oya, Mukah, Bintulu, and Miri. Construction of the Bintulu airstrip was started in 1934 under the direction of C.W. Bailey, a Works and Building Inspector for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). All the airstrips were completed except for the Bintulu airstrip, where construction was discontinued