Sunken 'Onrust' to be raised

Sunken 'Onrust' to be raised

Antara, Muara Teweh, Central Kalimantan

As part of its efforts to enhance tourism in North Barito regency,
the regental administration is planning to raise the Onrust, a
Dutch patrol boat that sank 146 years ago in the Barito River,
some three kilometers south of Muara Teweh, the capital of North
Barito regency, Central Kalimantan province.

The Dutch vessel ran aground and sank in Dec. 26, 1859, during
a battle with natives.

Besides attracting tourists, raising the wreckage of the
boat will shed light on the history of North Barito regency, said
North Barito regent Achmad Yuliansyah.

"The vessel will be raised after historians finish a book on
North Barito regency. The regental administration is also
building a museum so that it can house the wreckage of the boat
after it has been raised," said Achmad on Thursday.

He said that the regency administration had not decided when
the salvage work would begin, but hinted that it would take place
during the dry season some time in the future.

The battle between the Dutch troops and the natives which led
the sinking of the Onrust made international headlines, and the
Dutch nation officially mourned the sinking on Jan. 1, 1860, a
few days after news of the incident reached the Netherlands.

However, for the natives of Central Kalimantan, the sinking of
the Onrust was their day of glory.

Meanwhile, Mulkeri Inas, the chairman of a team writing the
history of North Barito regency, explained that the Onrust was
completed in September 1854 in Feyenoord in the Netherlands.

The steam-powered boat was 24 meters long and four meters
wide, and was named after an island near Jakarta where convicts
were jailed at that time. The vessel could carry 40 passengers
and crew.

On the day on which the boat sank, the Dutch had arranged a
meeting with a local noble and fighter named Tumenggung Surapati,
who was also a friend of national hero Pangeran Antasari.
Tumenggung Surapati accepted the Dutch invitation and met the
Dutch officers at the ship.

The meeting ended in a fight, and the natives killed the
captain of the vessel, Van der Velve, 50 Dutch troops and 43 of
the boat's crew. The bodies of the Dutchmen sank along with the
boat.