[Kabar-indonesia] 'Back to the Future' on Surabaya Heritage Memory Tour

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Friday, October 6, 2006

Feature

'Back to the Future' on Surabaya Heritage Memory Tour

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

As in the Michael J. Fox film Back to the Future, a number of young people on 
the Surabaya Heritage Memory tour recently took an unforgettable journey 
through space and time. 

The 50 young people were given an opportunity to explore the history of 
Surabaya municipality. 

"It is here that one of the leaders of the Dutch troops, Gen. Mallaby, was 
killed in 
the battle that raged in November 1945. These old buildings are the silent 
witnesses to the event," said Amanda, when she and her entourage arrived at one 
monument. 

Surabaya Heritage Memory is held annually by the Tourism Department of Petra 
Christian University in Surabaya. 

While tours of historic sites are not as popular with the general public as 
they could be, they offer participants the chance to see the old buildings of 
the Heroes City. 

Tour organizer Agoestinus Lis Indrianto said it was rare for outings like the 
memory tour to be so well attended. 

Offering an example, he said, most tours of heritage sites in Jakarta were 
bus tours not walking tours and attracted only a handful of people. 

Historically, Surabaya, the second-largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, 
used to be a mass of land separated from Java island. The silting process that 
took place in the 11th century constantly broadened this land mass by 15 
meters a year so that eventually it merged with Java island. 

Owing to its strategic location, this area became a trading center under the 
name of Ujung Galuh. When Raden Wijaya was the ruler of Majapahit Kingdom, 
Ujung Galuh got a new name: Churabaya, meaning the courage to resist danger. The 
Trowulan stone plaque made in the 13th century tells us that it was in 
Churabaya that Raden Wijaya was involved in a fierce battle against the Tartar 
troops. 

Churabaya continued to develop and later became Surabaya. Again, its 
strategic location in the coastal area of the Java Sea attracted spice traders from 
various countries to come to this city. 

During the Dutch colonial era, Surabaya was one of the most important cities 
that they had to control and therefore it was developed to cater for trading 
interests. 

Tanjung Perak harbor, which meets Kali Mas -- a river that also flows to 
several other towns in East Java -- facilitated spice trading. 

"The historical traces of hundreds of years of Dutch colonial rule in 
Indonesia are what we are most interested in," said Agoestinus, adding that Jembatan 
Petekan (Petekan Bridge) is one of the historic sites that tourists first 
visit. 

This bridge, located in Tanjung Perak (formerly Kalimas) harbor area, 
automatically opens and closes when a vessel passes. "Petekan" is derived from the 
Javanese dipetek (pressed), a word referring to an action made before the bridge 
opens and closes by itself. 

Old buildings with European architectural designs are the focus of the tour. 
During Dutch colonial times, the agrarian law allowed the private sector to 
have estate land on a lease basis and put up buildings as their administrative 
center for a period of 75 years. The PT Perkebunan XI building is one example 
of such an arrangement. It is still in good condition today. 

The gray empire-style pillars of the building give it an air of elegance. The 
domination of the golden yellow and light brown colors in the interior of the 
two-story building, which was designed by architects Hulswit, Cuypers and 
Fermot, make it look particularly imposing. 

It has "dormer" windows. "Reportedly all the materials for the interior of 
the building were imported directly from Belgium," said Agoestinus. 

The teakwood furniture was crafted using a combination of Javanese and 
European designs and sets off nicely a glass mosaic depicting the arrival of the 
Dutch in Banten. There are also indoor murals titled Labor and The Fruits of 
Labor, both illustrating Javanese plantation workers. 

Of no less interest is another old building now used as the office of Telkom 
Divre V Surabaya. Built in 1915, it may be regarded as Surabaya's first modern 
building. 

In addition, there are dozens of other heritage sites such as the 
Nuts-Spaarbank building, which was once the office of Nederlands Spaarbank (now Bank of 
Indonesia) in 1914; The House of Sampoerna, an old building now reconstructed 
into a cigarette factory and a tobacco warehouse owned by Sampoerna 
cigarette-manufacturer; the Majapahit Hotel and the Grahadi State Building. 

Chinese tourist Yan Ying said she was really impressed by the tour. 

"This is my first trip to Surabaya and I've found much here of interest." 

Christy Widyawati, 18, gave a similar response, "I can only say one word 
'great!'." 

"In fact, all Surabaya residents should be familiar with the history of their 
city," said Amanda. "But how much longer can this city maintain its old 
buildings?" 

As the years go by, these old buildings may crumble and their histories be 
forgotten while shopping centers are built all around them. 

"At least, this tour stirs awareness among youngsters about the significance 
of preserving heritage sites," Agoestinus said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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