Harry Keith facts for kids
Henry George Keith (1899–1982), known as Harry Keith, was a British expert who worked with forests and collected plants. He is famous for helping to start big efforts to protect the forests in North Borneo, which is now called Sabah.
A special giant flower, Rafflesia keithii, was named after him in 1984. This flower is only found in Sabah. Harry Keith was married to the famous writer Agnes Newton Keith. They had two children, a son named Henry George Newton Keith and a daughter named Jean.
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Harry Keith's Life Story
Harry Keith was born in 1899 in New Plymouth, New Zealand. His father was from Kentucky, USA, and his mother was from England.
Harry grew up in New Zealand. He then went to school in England and California. He served in the United States Navy during World War I. After the war, he earned a degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1924.
In 1925, Harry became an Assistant Forest Manager for the government of North Borneo. This was under the British North Borneo Company. He worked in Sandakan. By 1931, he was promoted to Conservator of Forests. Later, he became the Director of Agriculture and Wildlife. He was also the Honorary Curator of the Sandakan Museum.
In 1934, Harry married Agnes Newton. She was an American writer who became very well-known. Harry had known Agnes since she was a child. They met again when Harry visited California in 1934. They fell in love and got married just three days later. Agnes then moved with him to North Borneo.
Life During World War II
During World War II, Japanese forces took over Borneo. Harry Keith was held as a prisoner. He was first on Berhala Island near Sandakan. Later, he was moved to the Batu Lintang internment camp in Sarawak. Agnes and their baby son, George, were also held there.
Agnes later wrote a famous book about their experiences. It was called Three Came Home. This book was also made into a movie.
Protecting Forests
After the war, Harry and his family recovered in Canada. Then, Harry returned to his job in British North Borneo. He was the head of the Department of Agriculture from 1946 to 1952. Harry Keith is recognized for starting major efforts to protect North Borneo's forests.
In 1931, Harry's Forestry Department aimed to make 10% of the land into Forest Reserves. Before this, only a tiny part was protected. After the war, he pushed for a "sustained yield" forest policy. This meant using forest resources wisely so they would last. By 1984, about 45% of Sabah's land was protected as Forest Reserve.
After retiring from British North Borneo in 1952, Harry worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. He taught at a timber school in the Philippines. In 1955, he became a forestry adviser in Libya. He finally retired in 1964.
Throughout his life, Harry collected plants for scientific study. His plant collections are now kept in famous museums. These include the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens in London. They are also in Indonesia and Sabah.
Harry and Agnes retired to British Columbia, Canada. They both passed away in 1982, just a few months apart.
Plants Named After Harry Keith
In 1984, a new species of Rafflesia was discovered in Sabah. It was named Rafflesia keithii to honor Harry Keith. This amazing plant is a parasitic plant. It is the largest Rafflesia found in Sabah. Its flowers can grow up to one meter (about 3 feet) wide!
Other plants were also named after him. These include Dryobalanops keithii, a type of heavy hardwood tree. Also, Randia keithii, a shrub or small tree, carries his name.
Newlands: The Keiths' Home
When Harry and Agnes first arrived in Sandakan in 1934, they lived in a small bungalow. Soon after, they moved to a government house on a hilltop. They lived there until they were taken prisoner in 1942.
After the war, the Keiths returned to Sandakan. They found their house had been destroyed. So, they built a new house in 1946–1947. It was built in the same spot and looked similar to the old one. They named this new home Newlands. They lived there until they left Sabah in 1952.
Over the years, the house slowly fell apart. But in 2001, the Sabah Museum worked to restore it. The house is special because it's one of the few old wooden colonial homes left from after the war.
Newlands opened to the public in 2004. It's now a popular place for tourists to visit. Inside, you can learn about Agnes and Harry Keith. You can also see what colonial life was like in Sandakan in the early 1900s. People often call it the Agnes Keith House.
The Keiths' Amazing Library
Both Agnes and Harry Keith loved books very much. They collected many books and documents about Borneo and Southeast Asia. Agnes wrote about their first collection in her book Three Came Home. She said Harry's library of Borneo books was "perhaps the most complete in existence."
Sadly, their entire pre-war book collection was lost during the war. So, after the war, the Keiths started a new collection from scratch. After they passed away, their collection was sold at an auction in 2002.
The collection had over 1,000 books. Many of these books were very rare. Some were not even listed in major libraries like the British Library. This means they might have been the only copies left! The British Library bought some of these unique books.
