Qualla: Tawau https://qualla.com/tawau en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:37 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Tawau https://qualla.com/tawau Tawau: Introduction https://qualla.com/tawau/ The first British merchant vessel sailed into Tawau in 1893, and the town has been trading ever since. Perched on the Semporna Peninsula at the southeast tip of Sabah, where the Celebes Sea meets the Indonesian border, Tawau exists because of what flows through it - timber from North Kalimantan, cocoa from the plantations that earned it the title of Malaysia's cocoa capital, birds' nests harvested from the Madai Caves by the Ida'an community. With a municipal population approaching 373,000, it is Sabah's third-largest urban center after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, and one of the most ethnically layered towns on Borneo.

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/g/b/tawau-wp/w8gb-tawau-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Tawau: Built, Bombed, Rebuilt https://qualla.com/tawau/ The British North Borneo Chartered Company established the settlement in 1898, accelerating growth by encouraging Chinese immigration. Japanese businessmen followed, building rubber and coconut plantations that shaped the local economy for decades. Then came the war. Allied bombi...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/g/b/tawau-wp/w8gb-tawau-built-bombed-rebuilt.mp3 0:06 2 full Tawau: The Cocoa Capital https://qualla.com/tawau/ Tawau's claim to agricultural fame rests on cocoa. The surrounding district once ranked among the world's top producing regions, alongside the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia. The plantations spread through the interior north of the town, concentrated in the rich volcanic soils...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/g/b/tawau-wp/w8gb-tawau-the-cocoa-capital.mp3 0:06 3 full Tawau: A Layered Community https://qualla.com/tawau/ Tawau's population reflects its history as a crossroads. The Chartered Company's immigration policies brought Chinese settlers. Japanese planters arrived under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Indonesian and Filipino traders and laborers crossed the nearby borders. The indigenous peo...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/g/b/tawau-wp/w8gb-tawau-a-layered-community.mp3 0:06 4 full Tawau: Gateway to the Edge of Borneo https://qualla.com/tawau/ Tawau Airport connects the town to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, and the Pan Borneo Highway links it by road through Semporna, Lahad Datu, and onward to Sandakan. For most visitors, Tawau is a gateway - to the dive sites of Semporna and Sipadan, to the volcanic hills of Tawau H...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/8/g/b/tawau-wp/w8gb-tawau-gateway-to-the-edge-of-borneo.mp3 0:06 5 full