SANDAKAN , 16 June 2025: Sabah’s heritage tourism is poised for a boost with the announcement of a new gallery dedicated to American adventurers Martin and Osa Johnson, to be housed at the vacant PWD 2002 Building near the iconic Agnes Keith House.
The upcoming Martin and Osa Johnson Gallery is expected to enhance Sandakan’s historical offerings and attract international visitors, particularly from the United States, drawn by the couple’s pioneering explorations of North Borneo in the early 20th century.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Christina Liew said the gallery would complement existing heritage attractions in the town and offer new depth to Sabah’s storytelling.
“This gallery will allow visitors to learn more about the Johnsons’ legacy and their remarkable adventures, which are part of Sabah’s early documentation by foreigners,” she said in a statement on Sunday.
Liew added that the gallery would serve as a natural extension of the Agnes Keith House — the former residence of American author Agnes Newton Keith and her husband Harry Keith, a British colonial officer. Now a museum under the Sabah Museum Department, the colonial home draws around 21,000 visitors annually.
The two sites are envisioned as key pillars of Sandakan’s heritage trail, alongside other landmarks like the historic St Michael and All Angels’ Church.
“This project has strong potential to be developed into a ‘must-see’ itinerary item, especially for American tourists,” Liew said. “The Johnsons’ 1920 silent film Jungle Adventure, which features Sabah’s indigenous communities and wildlife from the Kinabatangan region, is regarded as the world’s first wildlife documentary.”
Since it opened to the public in 2004, the Agnes Keith House has welcomed visitors from more than 50 countries. From 2022 to 2024, the site recorded 64,849 visitors, including 7,976 between January and April this year — with 1,529 of them being international tourists.
Former Sabah Museum curator Stella Moo revealed that over 2,000 archival photographs taken by the Johnsons in the 1920s and 1930s had been handed over to Sabah by Jacquelyn Borgeson, chief curator of the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Kansas, during her 2004 visit to the state.
“Jacquelyn not only brought those photographs to Sabah but also helped us conceptualise a dedicated space for the Johnsons within the then-proposed Sandakan Heritage Museum,” Moo said.
Sandakan, Sabah’s second-largest city, is situated on the state’s eastern coast, roughly 320km from Kota Kinabalu. It is famed for its colonial charm, biodiversity, and eco-tourism attractions — making it an ideal location to celebrate the legacy of early explorers and storytellers who helped introduce the region to the wider world – The Star
