Taman Tumbina 30 years ago.

One of Bintulu's signature attraction is the Taman Tumbina. It is a combination of a zoological park and a botanical park. Thus it derived its name from two Malay words - TUMBINA = TUMBuhan (Plants) + BINAtang (Animals). Construction works by the developer of the project - BDA (Bintulu Development Authority) started in earnest in 1989 and the place was opened to the public in 1991.
Here are timeline combo pictures to recall the difference 30 years ago.

Wildlife Park of Bintulu in 1989

View of the Wildlife Park ( Taman Hidupan Liar) seen in 1989.
Works on the construction of the Wildlife Park or Taman Hidupan Liar in Malay started in 1989 and the park was officially opened to the general public on the 2nd of August,1991.
Picture shows my family members and their cousin, with our car driven right to the top of the hill where later the wordings  "Taman Hidupan Liar" were planted using cover plants approximately where  the car is parked.

View of the park  taken on 9th of March,2015. 
Today, the park is re-named as "Taman Tumbina".

 It was the first and only park of its kind in Sarawak when it was opened in 1991.  Today, the park is called "Taman Tumbina" but when it was first started and opened it was known as Taman Hidupan Liar or Wildlife Park.  It was one of my pet projects while in the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA).  This project brought me places to Singapore and West Malaysia to see similar projects and learn from them.  In the park (as shown in the layout plan below) there were many botanical as well as zoological attractions.  One of the big attractions was the flamingo pond.  Follow this link to know more in-depth story of my role in bringing the flamingoes to Bintulu  here .  In the top picture, the Bintulu coastline is seen in the background.  It is evident that that were no condominiums or high-rise buildings in Bintulu in the 1980's along its coasts.  The condominiums were a thing of the 1990's in Bintulu. 

" Taman Hidupan Liar " or Wildlife Park as seen in the early 1990's

View of Bintulu coastline in 1999 compared to 2015

View of Bintulu coastline as seen from Taman Tumbina's Bougainvillea garden
The tall building at left is the completed Beach Resort Condominium, the first of its kind for Bintulu.  In the far background is the second condominium built along the Bintulu coastline and almost completed in March 2015, but not yet occupied.
Date taken : 10 March,2015

View of Bintulu coastline in the background, from Taman Tumbina's Bougainvillea garden.
In the middle ground is the first condominium project under construction.
Note: The beautiful lady in the picture is my wife.
Date taken : 18 April, 1999, Colour photo.

 Bintulu is one place in Sarawak where sunset viewing is at its best.  Whether its from the mouth of the Kemena River ( the main Bintulu river) or going northwards to Tanjung Batu by following its coastline, the sunset views are spectacular for most of the year.  An elevated point at Tanjung Batu is the Taman Tumbina, a zoological- botanical park developed by BDA (Bintulu Development Authority) starting in 1989 and declared open on 2nd August, 1991.  The picture above shows the well-grown bougainvilleas at the Bougainvillea section of the botanical area of the park.  The Bougainvillea garden was a popular public viewing point to see the development along the Bintulu coastline.

A closer view of the completed condominium  called Beach Resort Condominium and the first of its kind in Bintulu.
View from Bougainvillea garden, Taman Tumbina.
Date taken : 10th April,2015