Tawau

Tawau Tawao
Other transcription(s)
• Jawi	تاواو
• Chinese	斗湖
Tawau town centre
Seal
Location of Tawau in Sabah
Tawau Tawau is located in Malaysia
Coordinates: 4°15′30″N 117°53′40″E / 4.25833°N 117.89444°E / 4.25833; 117.89444Coordinates: 4°15′30″N 117°53′40″E / 4.25833°N 117.89444°E / 4.25833; 117.89444
Country	Malaysia
State	Sabah
Division	Tawau
Bruneian Empire	15th century–1658
Sultanate of Sulu	1658–1882
Founded	1893
Settled by BNBC	1898
Municipality	1 January 1982
Government
• Council President	Alijus Sipil
Area
• Town	55.9 km2 (21.6 sq mi)
• Municipality	6,125 km2 (2,365 sq mi)
Elevation	8 m (26 ft)
Population (2010)
• Town	113,809
• Density	2,000/km2 (5,300/sq mi)
• Municipality	397,673
Time zone	MST (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC)
Postal code	91000
Area code(s)	089
Vehicle registration	ST
Website	mpt.sabah.gov.my

Tawau (Malaysian pronunciation: [ˈta wau], Jawi: تاواو‎, Chinese: 斗湖; pinyin: Dǒu Hú) formerly known as Tawao, is a town and administrative centre of Tawau Division, Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest town in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is bordered by the Sulu Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south at Cowie Bay and shares a border with North Kalimantan. The town had an estimated population as of 2010^[update] of 113,809, while the whole municipality area had a population of 397,673.

Before the founding of Tawau, the region around it was the subject of dispute between the British and Dutch spheres of influence. In 1893, the first British merchant vessel sailed into Tawau, marking the opening of the town's sea port. In 1898, the British set up a settlement in Tawau. The British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBC) accelerated growth of the settlement's population by encouraging the immigration of Chinese. Consequent to the Japanese occupation of North Borneo, the Allied forces bombed the town, in mid-1944, razing it to the ground. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, 2,900 Japanese soldiers in Tawau became prisoners of war and were transferred to Jesselton. Tawau was rebuilt after the war and by the end of 1947 the economy was restored back into its pre-war status. Tawau was also the main point of conflict during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation from 1963 to 1966. During that time, it was garrisoned by the British Special Boat Section, and guarded by Australian Destroyers and combat aircraft. In December 1963, Tawau was bombed twice by Indonesia and shootings occurred across the Tawau-Sebatik Island international border. Indonesians were found trying to poison the town's water supply. In January 1965, a curfew was imposed to prevent Indonesian attackers from making contact with Indonesians living in the town. While in June 1965, another attempted invasion by the Indonesian forces was repelled by bombardment by an Australian Destroyer. Military conflict finally ended in December 1966.