Ex-Dutch shipyard now trendy cafes<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
The VOC shipyard in Old Jakarta, which was once among the
\nbusiest in the region, has turned into an upscale dining and
\nwining complex. This 56th article on old and protected buildings
\nin the city provides a glimpse of the history of one of Jakarta's
\noldest surviving buildings.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"VOC\" is probably the best known acronym in the
\nIndonesian history books although few people know what it stands
\nfor. Even if they know, few can pronounce the words Vereenigde
\nOost-Indische Compagnie correctly.<\/p>\n
In the old city, capitalists have twisted the abbreviation
\nthat refers to the famous Dutch trading company of the 17th and
\n18th into \"Very Old Cafe\" for business sake.<\/p>\n
The (original) VOC and its logo is now attributed to a
\nprotected building on Jl. Kakap No. 1 in the Kota area of North
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The place was a shipyard in Dutch colonial times but has been
\nrecently transformed into an elite complex of cafes, restaurants
\nand galleries. This makes the estate one of the rarely well-
\npreserved buildings in the city, thanks to the private sector's
\nparticipation in the preservation of old buildings.<\/p>\n
All signs that indicate the place was once a major shipyard
\nhave gone, except for the row of rooms along the two-story VOC
\nbuilding. In the 1600s it was a very busy place where large and
\nsmall ships were refurbished before embarking on journeys to
\nEurope or other countries.<\/p>\n
The Scheeps en Timmerwerf van de VOC (the shipyard and
\ncarpentry of the VOC) was located at a very strategic location at
\nthe mouth of the Ciliwung river across from the Batavia fort, the
\ncenter of the VOC government.<\/p>\n
Batavia port (Sunda Kalapa port, see Save Old Batavia, The
\nJakarta Post, July 9, 2000) was one of the busiest and well-
\narranged ports in Asia with hundreds of ships docking there every
\nday.<\/p>\n
Susan Abeyasekere, in her book Jakarta, a History, said that
\nthe coasts along the Malacca Straits (including Batavia port)
\nwere natural stopping places for travelers and sailors whose
\nvessels sailed in this direction on one monsoon and could load
\nand refurbish while awaiting the change of winds which would
\ncarry their vessels back again.<\/p>\n
At Batavia port, ships loaded and unloaded cargoes like
\ncloves, peppers and gold from various places throughout the
\nIndonesian archipelago. The commodities were bought by VOC
\nagencies and stored at warehouses before transporting to other
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Commercial ships, facing long journeys from Asia to Europe via
\nthe dangerous Java Sea, Indian Ocean, China Sea and Atlantic,
\ndefinitely needed maintenance, equipment, food, maps and so on.<\/p>\n
There are no documents to determine exactly when the shipyard
\nwas built. Adolf Heuken and Grace Pamungkas in their book
\nGalangan Kapal Batavia Selama Tiga Ratus Tahun (Batavia Shipyard
\nin the Course of Three Hundreds Years) mentioned that the
\nconstruction had existed in 1632.<\/p>\n
However, during the building's restoration in 1998, an
\ninscription was found on one of the beams showing the year 1628.<\/p>\n
\"But it is impossible that the roof was constructed in that
\nyear because at that time the area was still inundated by seas.
\nProbably, the beam was taken from an older building which had
\nbeen demolished,\" Heuken and Pamungkas say.<\/p>\n
The shipyard was a hive of activity with administrative
\naffairs and all the crafts related to repairing ships. There were
\nblacksmiths, carpenters, sailmakers, shipwrights, ropemakers and
\nof course all the necessary services like barber shops, cafes,
\netc.<\/p>\n
All of the skilled workers were assisted by slaves supplied by
\nkings of Bali and slave traders from Makassar, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Heuken and Pamungkas describe the slaves as \"a group of people
\nwho received poor treatment. They were forced to work hard, fed
\nbad quality foods, were tortured and severely punished for their
\nmistakes even for trivial ones.\"<\/p>\n
\"There was also no attention to their health and they died
\nuntimely,\" the writers said.<\/p>\n
Workers were under the auspices of equipagemeester, an
\nimportant high ranking official who was in charge of all affairs
\nrelated to the port and ships docked in Batavia. Every morning
\nthe equipagemeester appeared before the governor general, the
\nauthority of the Dutch East Indies (old name for Indonesia).<\/p>\n
The building, with simple architecture resembling a warehouse,
\nwas the residence of some of the workers and even the
\nequipagemeester.<\/p>\n
In 1721, some parts of the estate were damaged by a big fire.
\nThe VOC and other buildings survived and that is why the building
\nis one of the oldest in the city today.<\/p>\n
Heuken and Pamungkas said that in 1809 Chinese workers took
\nover works at the shipyard because Governor General Herman Willem
\nDaendels refused to maintain the building any longer.<\/p>\n
Three years later the office and residence of the
\nequipagemeester at the main part of the shipyard was sold by the
\ngovernment. Besides changing ownership, its functions were also
\nexpanded. For example, it facilitated small boats taking
\npassengers to ships, forced to anchor offshore after the harbor
\nbecame shallow due to silt deposits.<\/p>\n
When it was purchased by the present owner, Susilawati, in
\n1998, the building was in the very poor condition.<\/p>\n
She has restored the estate, turning it into a beautiful
\ncomplex of cafe, restaurant and gallery.<\/p>\n
The cafe owner keeps the old name VOC in the spirit of
\npreserving the heritage. \"I named it Gedong Galangan (the
\nshipyard mansion) and keep the VOC abbreviation as the Very Old
\nCafe,\" Susilawati says.<\/p>",
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