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.