After the entry into force of the Royal Charter for the North Borneo Chartered Company on 1 November 1881, the company faced with the task of creating a functioning governmental structure for the acquired territory. The resolutions passed by the Court of Directors, the highest administrative body of the company in London, required efficient distribution within the administrative units in North Borneo as well as among the shareholders and investors of the company. For this reason, the first sixteen-page edition of the periodical "The North Borneo Herald and Official Gazette" appeared on 1 March 1883, in Kudat, the first capital of North Borneo.
