Hoover Memorial Square, Sibu
This square is named after a great Methodist Missionary (from USA), Reverend James Matthew Hoover. Reverend Hoover was the first foreign pastor who served the Methodist Churches of Sibu. From 1903 to 1935, he had helped to build 41 churches and 40 schools all over Sibu. When the Fuzhou settlement pioneer, Mr.Wong Nai Siong, left Sibu in 1904, Rev. Hoover helped to manage the settlement. His contributions to the early development of Sibu were fondly and gratefully recognized.
In addition, he created history and modernized Sibu by being the first person to pioneer the use of the following items in Sibu:
- The very first rubber seedlings (1904)
- The very first steam launch
- The very first rice huller (1906)
- The very first girls’ school (1911)
- The very first generator (1912)
- The very first agricultural school (1913)
- The very first bicycle
- The very first ice making machine
- The very first circular saw
- The very first wireless telegraph machine
The elegant and modern Masland Methodist Chruch in Hoover Square is the direct descendant of the church founded by American missionary Rev. James Hoover, the father of Sarawak Methodism, in 1905.
