Maritime Museum (Indonesia)

Dutch style warehouse in the museum.

The Maritime Museum was installed in former Dutch East India Company warehouses. The warehouses were built beside the mouth of Ciliwung River, the main river of Jakarta. The warehouses is divided into two parts: the Westzijdsche Pakhuizen or "warehouses of the west bank" (constructed from 1652–1771) and the Oostzijdsche Pakhuizen or "warehouses of the east bank". The west warehouse consists of four building units, three of them are now used for the museum. These were formerly used to store spices e.g. nutmeg and pepper. Also coffee, tea and cloth were stored here before being shipped to various ports of Asia and Europe.[2]

Some of the warehouses were rebuilt at the end of the 17th century in order to create more space between the city wall and the warehouses. Different dates on stones appear above some doors of the museum which probably refer to the years when repairs, extensions or additions to the warehouses were executed.[2]

Between the warehouses and the city wall in front of the museum, the Company kept supplies of copper and tin. These metals were protected against rain by a wooden gallery attached to the front of the godowns. This broad gallery was also used by guards on patrol, because the path on the city wall in front of it is rather narrow. The wooden gallery was attached to the second floor of the warehouses facing the waterfront, but has long gone since been taken away. The big iron hooks which once supporting the gallery can still be seen.[2]

Panoramic view of Maritiime Museum (left) and Sunda Kelapa port (right) seen from the Harbormaster Tower. View is towards south

The remaining city wall in front of the Maritime Museum onwards to the bastion Zeeburg and a bit further west is all that is left of the wall that once surrounding Batavia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Only Zeeburg and Culemborg remain out of the twenty three bastions from that period.[2] The Menara Syahbandar (also known as de Uitkijk), situated about 50 meters from the Maritime Museum, is the former watch tower that was built on the remains of the old bastion Culemborg. The watch tower acted as a signal box and observation post since 1839 over the roads of Batavia. Before 1839 the signals with the ships were exchanged from the flagpole at the old VOC-shipyard situated straight behind the watchtower. The tower lost part of her function after 1886 when the new harbor of Tanjung Priok was opened.[3]

During the Japanese occupation, the warehouses were used as a logistic storage for the Japanese army.[4] After Indonesian independence, it was used as a warehouse for PLN and PTT. In 1976, the building was declared a cultural property. The building was inaugurated as a museum displaying the maritime history of Indonesia on July 7, 1977.[4]

The museum focuses on the maritime history of Indonesia. Some of the displays are Dutch East Indian ship models and cannons. There is also a scale model of the island Onrust which was the former shipyard for repair of the Dutch East Indian ships.[5]

In the field of traditional sailing the museum owns various ship models of the Indonesian archipelago. A model of Majapahit ship of ancient Java was in display, it is based on the Borobudur ship depicted on bas-relief from Borobudur temple. A particularly rare collection is the traditional vessels of Pinisi, Lancang, and Gelati. There is also an exhibition of shipbuilding tools and descriptions of the maritime traditions and folklore.[5]

In the field of modern shipping, the museum displays various navigational aids, Indonesian Navy maps, information about lighthouses and old pictures of voyages of the K.P.M. ships.[5]

The museum also shows display of "Biological Oceanography", showing the biodiversity of the coastal areas of Indonesia.[5]

On the morning of 16 January 2018, a fire started at the museum and burned most of the building and its collection.[6]

The museum is located in Jakarta Old Town, the historic center of Jakarta. It is within a walkable distance from other cultural heritage displaying the history Batavia e.g. Jakarta History Museum, Wayang Museum, and the Sunda Kelapa harbor.[3]

• Indonesian Heritage Society which supports this and other museums in Jakarta:
  • National Museum of Indonesia
  • Jakarta History Museum
  • Textile Museum
• Economic history of Indonesia

Media related to Jakarta Maritime Museum at Wikimedia Commons

• Museum Bahari official website