Lufthansa manager turns cartographer

JAKARTA (JP): Want to know how many new roads and housing complexes there are in Greater Jakarta? See Gunther W. Holtorf, and you will get very satisfactory answers.

Gunther W. Holtorf, who lives in a small town near Munich, Germany, never dreamt of becoming a cartographer.

Holtorf was the manager of Lufthansa in Jakarta, and lived on Jl. Bangka, Kemang, from 1973 to 1985.

His habit of making small sketches for friends, of how to get to his house, taught him to be a very accurate cartographer, especially of the Jakarta area.

He said many friends had encouraged him to be more serious about "his hobby".

"In 1974 and 1975 I visited City Planning Office and the City Mapping Agency and in 1977 I started to make maps area by area (small folder maps) of Jakarta," Holtorf, the father of one daughter, said.

Holtorf has had to frequent many areas, including kampongs, to get the latest accurate data of the development (and change) of the areas. "I have never come across any difficulties with area residents," he said.

His latest product Falkplan Street Atlas - Jakarta/Jabotabek (11 Edition '97/98) is totally different from those of the previous years.

"The new street atlas contains an enlargement of Greater Jakarta with Puncak in the South, Karawang in the East and Balaraja in the West," Holtorf said. "Greater Jakarta with its around 20 million population is growing very rapidly and the 85- page new street atlas covers everything accurately," he said.

"There were only 12 golf courses in Greater Jakarta in between 1993 and 1994, but now there are 49 golf courses," he said.

He said he owned the copyright, but "The point is that I have done something for the people. I don't live on the map. The map kept me busy over the past year. I'm happy that people use the map. The happiness is much more than any money I get," he said.

The street atlas, which costs Rp 58,000 a copy, is published by FALK-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany and is distributed by PT Djambatan, Jakarta. (sur)