The second largest town in Sarawak, Sibu is situated on the confluence of the Rajang and Igan River, 130 km from the South China Sea. It is a thriving, modern town dominated by its bustling and crowded waterfront.
The HMS Viscount Melbourne was a three-mast, 800-ton sailing wooden ship about 150 feet long and 45 feet wide with brass sheathing that was journeying from Singapore to Macau in 1842 when she blown off course by a heavy storm and ultimately struck a reef in the Laconia Shoals, a large reef complex in South China Sea.