Canada Hill, Miri

This is where it all began for Miri. Canada Hill is where the first oil well was drilled and become the birthplace of Sarawak's and Malaysia's petroleum industry until this very day.

There used to be a Canadian who lived here and his main business was to recruit foreign and local workers to work in the oil fields around this hill (sound like a broker to me). Hence, it is believed that is how Canada Hill got its name.

Canada Hill is accessible from Miri city itself (east of the city) if one fancy the narrow steep walk to the hill. One can drive there but walking would be my preference as the surrounding view is just spectacular.

Miri Oil Well No.1 also known as "Grand Old Lady" and Miri Petroleum Science Museum are located here . I was there on Sunday and the museum was close then.


Grand Old Lady is an iconic structure for Miri city and is the first well in Malaysia to be drilled by Shell company in 1910. It was eventually shut down in 1972 and declared a national monument

There were figures at the base of the Grand Old Lady, depicting the drilling process by the workers those day

Murals and chronicles of events from the discovery of the petroleum to the closure of the Grand Old Lady. Also shown here are the development of the petroleum industry until this very day

There is a time capsule outside the museum which contain commemorative books, local newspaper and printed documents which will be opened on the 20th May 2105. That is an awful long time to wait.

Also can be found here are the equipment to drill oil from landfield. One can see a lot of this equipment still working in Brunei

There is also a mini park nearby the museum

Canada Hill offers a good view of Miri city with South China Sea as its horizon. It is such a spectacular view and I was practically mesmerized by it.

There are only 2 major hotels at Miri City Centre, Mega and Imperial Hotel as can be seen here. The city had a lot medium, small and budget hotels scatter around the city centre.

There are a few more major hotels at the beach side, quite a distance away from the city centre.

For another aerial view, go behind the Petroleum Museum and climb the stairs up to the highest rooftop balcony.

Marina Bay and the sea horse statue/lighthouse can be seen from here.

Canada Hill is also a favourite place for jungle trekking to the Miri folks. Most of the treks were created by the locals here. There are a few trails but I had to say most of the trails don't have safety features like railing, proper steps and etc. I think Canada Hill has the potential as an interesting jungle trekking venue and hope the concerned authority could look into it and turning it into a tourist attraction.