http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/29/citizen-journalism-a-trip-past-revisiting-batavia.html
Sunday morning 09.45 a.m. My
husband and I joined a fascinating historic tour throughout Jakarta, with
around 40 people. The focus was to relive the forerunner of Indonesian railway
track. The tour led us to three oldest train station in Jakarta Kota or
popularly known as Beos; Jatinegara, and Pasar Senen respectively. The tour also followed a number of remarkable
places from Scott Merrillees ‘ book Greeting
From Jakarta, Postcard of A Capital 1900-1950. The event was organized by
local online community Sahabat Museum (Museum Friends) aiming at encouraging
young people to learn more about the history of Jakarta.
For this special occasion,
Sahabat Museum, invited Scott Merrillees as guest speaker along with some volunteers
from the community. Cracking a joke or two with funky approach, these speakers offered
a detailed account of each historical site we visited. We retraced the history
of the train with a joy ride from the iconic Jakarta Kota to Jatinegara and back
again to Pasar Senen train Station. Then, it was as if we boarded on the time
travel train, pulling us back into the past. We were transported into a visual
journey through a bygone urban landscape.
In one of the enlarged
postcards, Scott showed us that there was a time when Jakarta boasted one of
the region’s most advanced streetcar networks. Taken in the last decade before
Indonesia declared its independence from the Netherlands, the picture encased
an electrical tramline running through Fatahillah Square, the onetime political
center of the Dutch East Indies.
The participants also learnt
from Aditya, another speaker, that indeed the railway track in Indonesia,
evolved more than 150 years ago.The first station ever built in Indonesia is
not the Jakarta Kota or the Tanjung Priok Station. It was built in Semarang instead
in 1864 to cover the regions that were rich in
sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, teak and other wood. The Dutch government
appointed Spoorweg Nederlandsch Indische Maatschappij (NIS), whose headquarters,
now known as Lawang Sewu (A Thousand Doors) Building was responsible for its
construction. And precisely on August 10, 1867 a train slid for the first time
at this station with track line ended up as Semarang–Surakarta–Yogyakarta. Afterward, NIS continued extending the railway
to western — Batavia–Buitenzorg (Jakarta–Bogor) — and eastern parts of Java in
the same year.
At Beos
which stands for Bataviasche Ooster Spoorweg Maatschapij, the speakers took us
to the architecture design that was said to be the best one at its age. It was matrimony
between modern west technique and structure with the local characteristic.
Thus, Jakarta Kota Station was then decided to be one of culture preserve in
Indonesia. The trains not only connect cities, but also people, because through
railways we can take a glimpse of our common heritage and history.
The participants also had
the chance to retrace the picture from the old postcard of the book to its
actual site. Under the scorching sun, we ventured into the sprawling and
polluted Jatinegara packed with its traffic congestion and disorderly rows of
market vendors spilling over the streets, to discover the former Mester Market.
The sweltering heat did not stop Scott to narrate the old postcard from his
book, pointing its exact location of the now shabby, worn out, and the poorly
maintained building in front of us. Drenched in sweat, choked by haze, most of
the participants listened attentively to him. Some posed some questions, and
the smiling Scott tried his best to provide an answer.
All and
all, the speakers have turned history which formerly associated with boredom
into a colossal fascinating journey to the past. We came to know the beauty of
Batavia, the Indonesian capital’s colonial past, before it has changed over centuries due to massive urbanization
and modernization. The former beautiful century old Batavia transformed into
a concrete jungle of Jakarta.
What surprised me more is
the fact that people of various age took part in the event, with the youngest
aged 8. In fact, I did not see many wrinkled faces and grey hair, which
commonly associated with museum and history, in the group. It’s heartening to
know many younger generations are interested in the history of the city we live
in.
Mita, a graduate from
English Literature, said she had joined the Sahabat Museum Tour for the third
time. History has long been her passion since her childhood as her parents used
to learn more about Indonesia’s long past. She said she has planned to take her
master degree in history. Asked on what the reason she was interested in the
subject, she eagerly said ,”I want to learn more about history in general. But
specifically, I want to do some historical research about the Indonesian
Communist purge in Indonesia. Like many other Indonesians, I have relatives who
were greatly affected by this sad chapter of Indonesia’s history book. I want
them to have a closure by my research.”
Lea, a Slovakian who married
to an Indonesia, revealed that she joined the tour because she had just arrived
in Indonesia last week. “My husband knew the program online, and he asked me to
come along. I said why not? It’s a good start to know something about the
city.”
With that in mind, Lea and
her husband did not have a second thought in joining the program. It’s quite
rewarding when at the end of the tour, she was one of the five participants to
get the book “Greeting From Jakarta,
Postcard of A Capital 1900-1950”, as doorprize.
Galoeh, one of the
volunteers in Sahabat Museum, disclosed that she became an active member of the
Sahabat Museum since 2003, one year after its enactment. For the past ten
years, she has participated in various tours and events arranged by its
founder. A Graduate from Dutch, like Mita, she has long developed passion for
history. Becoming part of the community offers her an opportunity to get to
know more of people with the same interests. Also, it opens an endless window
to travel around Indonesia to retrace the historical sites scattered around the
archipelago.
“The community offers me
flexibility to participate in their regular events. I could come and go as time
allows me too, depending on my working schedule. It’s fun, sophisticatid and I
get to know many people too. Thus, this allows me to have less complication n in
arranging my timetable.”
Joice, the mother of the
youngest participant, said she took her son to the tour to introduce him to the
commuter line in Jakarta. “My son has never been boarded on KRL, so it’s like a
dream come true for him.”
Taking one day trip back to
the past is amusing. It’s nice to walk along old sites, savoring the remnants
of Indonesia capital’s colonial past. Yet, it is sad to see many old buildings
have been demolished and left dying. It’s shocking to discover that so little
is being done to protect the architectural heritage and the city’s history.
Raising awareness by
promoting such tour perhaps is one of the best efforts to preserve our
historical sites. Sahabat Museum helps to raise such awareness, and I sincerely
hope that under the new Governor and the New President, these reminders of our
past; our glory and triumph, our defeat and fall; will come into spotlights.
These historical sites should not fall victim under modernization.
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