If you are able to offer your time or would like to discuss possible activities with us please contact us. Are you an archivist who could help with our digital archiving project, or a professional who would like to offer your services, or have time to help organise an event? We would love to hear from you.
These are just a few of our wide network of volunteers around the world.
May Trimmer
A consulting engineer by profession and currently a regional manager of a leading global professional services firm after having served for 9 years on its global board, May is based in Canberra, Australia but grew up in Kuching, Sarawak. As a child she learnt the history of the Brookes, and was captivated by the ‘boy’s own’ adventures of James Brooke. In pursuing her interest in the history of her birthplace, May was researching on the internet when she navigated onto our website. Inspired by our envisioned projects, she began volunteering for the Trust to enhance her contribution to an area with which she felt connected. She has contributed advice and support to many projects, including Rebuilding Royalist and the Brooke Gallery.
Martin Laverty
A retired IT professional and caving enthusiast, Martin first visited Sarawak as part of the Royal Geographical Society Expedition to Mulu in 1978. He began volunteering with us as our Digital Archivist in 2011 following a website enquiry where he made some suggestions for improvements. His tireless efforts to catalogue and upload through his bespoke web platform our vast digital archive have been indispensable in ensuring these records are made available to researchers around the world.
Dylan Lai
Growing up in the old town of Siniawan, 30 miles upriver from Kuching, Dylan left home to work a high pressure job in manufacturing. Subsequently finding himself drawn back to his community, he returned there with his wife and children and has been one of the movers behind the successful Siniawan Night Market, which has revived a town once in decline. Dylan came into contact with our work through a chance meeting with Jason Brooke in 2013 and since then has volunteered on a number of Trust projects. Most recently he has been project managing the rebuild of Rajah James Brooke's cottage on nearby Mount Serembu, and acting as a key stakeholder liaison with the local community there.
Kate Ronan
A business intelligence professional, Kate has been volunteering with the Trust since 2014 after she became aware of Sarawak’s unique history through personal connections. Applying her business expertise, Kate has been involved in several projects and continues to support a number of business functions as well as the ongoing strategic development and growth of the Trust.
mnsc architects
mnsc architects, a dynamic award-winning design firm in Kuching, provided invaluable support to the Trust in the internal fit-out of Fort Margherita to receive the Brooke Gallery. The civic-minded firm was formed in mid-2013 by Ming Ngi and Suh Chee, two very talented practitioners who have a deep passion for modernist architecture that creates dialogues between people and place. They share a vision to craft architectural outcomes that are meaningful for both their clients and the community. MNSC’s philosophy of using the built form to connect people and place is indeed a fitting alignment with a project like the Brooke Gallery which explores, through informative and evocative exhibits, the people, the place and the backdrop behind the birth and development of one of the most romantic and unique independent states ever to exist.
