New museums for Sawahlunto

New museums for Sawahlunto

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang

Two museums that will display artifacts from the 19th century
will open in two weeks time in Sawahlunto city, West Sumatra. The
museum opening is in conjunction with the city's 117 anniversary,
said Sawahlunto Mayor Amran Nur.

The museum opening is aimed at attracting tourists to the
city, famous as a coal mining center, said Amran. The museums in
question are the Train Museum and Storeroom Museum, which are
located in downtown Sawahlunto, some 117 kilometers from Padang,
the capital of West Sumatra province.

The museums will be inaugurated by Vice President Jusuf Kalla,
said Amran.

The train museum is located in the vicinity of Sawahlunto
train station. The train and the station began operations in
1894, its main function being to carry coal from Teluk Bayur
seaport (formerly Emma Haven seaport) in Padang. Now, the station
is open to tourists who can enjoy a train ride through some areas
in the city.

Objects of interest at the Train Museum include a signal lamp,
train cars and locomotives, as well as photographs of the train
in its old days. The museum management obtained the materials
from various sources, including the sole train operator in the
country, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI).

Meanwhile, in the Storeroom Museum, people will get a
comprehensive picture of a public kitchen used by the Dutch
government to provide food for thousands of coal miners, many of
whom were convicts. The public kitchen was built in 1918. The
museum displays a four-meter-high fireplace, a number of cooking
pots, 132 centimeters in diameter and 62 centimeters deep,
various kitchen utensils and photographs depicting life in the
city in the old days. "The museum aims to be a living museum so
that tourists can feel the dynamics of a public kitchen in
operation in the old days," said Amran.

Sawahlunto was founded on Dec. 1, 1888 after the Dutch
government gave it the status Gemeente (small town).

The town has a population of 52,529 with people of different
ethnicities including Minang, Javanese, Chinese-Indonesians,
Batak, Bugis and Sundanese. The city's anniversary was celebrated
on Thursday last week with various functions, including Makan
Bajamba, a feast attended by over 2,000 people, followed by a
Chinese barongsay (lion dance) performance, the Javanese kuda
lumping (dance with a model of a horse) and many other
attractions.