A Peace Movement to Persuade the Government Established City Museum

Inside the Pameran Kuno Kini Nanti, taken before the opening ceremony by Mas Asmarie from DotSemarang, danke broer! :) 

Its September already!

But the memories of August were couldn’t went away yet, still on my mind the crowds, the smiles and the curiousity of the guest on Lopen Semarang history exhibition. Yap, like what I said before in my blog post here, finally we did it! Held the great exhibition about history in my city, even a lots of people said that this was the first time such this kinda exhibition  runs by the youth and without any government intervention! Its pure for the people, by the people, from us, LoL

The front facade of the Spiegel Building,
the location of Kuno Kini Nanti exhibition.
(source: Harry Suryo)

The Pameran (eng: exhibition) titled “Kuno Kini Nanti”.  Taken from Indonesian word which kuno means the past, kini means recent and nanti means later. So as the history study is, we learns from the past, we observe it in our current condition to prepared our future to be better than before. From this exhibition we want to brought back the visitor back into Semarang on the early of 20th century. The period in which the worlds is being transformed from “Kuno-Kini”,  from the traditional life into modern life like what our life is. Because in 20th century, there’s a lot of invention on Economics system, Industrial works, Education system, Ideology, and the important one, the new technologies. Come skelian lord and lady, together we learn cultural heritage which is owned by the city of Semarang!

The exhibition runs for a a weeks, starts from August 22nd to 28th, 2013, from  10 AM to 9 PM in Spiegel building, Semarang Old quarter. Here in the exhibition, together we collaborated with several communities like AIESEC UNDIP, Jazzngisoringin, Orart oret, FDGI, Akademi Berbagi and our brother who together put a concern on historical thingy, Blusukan Solo. The collaboration with its several community have a a lot of purposes, starts from our hopes that the community could collaborated together, act together to build the Semarang city more attractives. Like in this exhiobition, the historical exhibition is just the name, but inside it, we let those community fulfilled it with their own way. In the other hands Lopen Semarang were still young, not so many people know about this community, so we hope through this collaboration, it would gained much visitor over the exhibition.

The members of Lopen Semarang, explained about the content of the
exhibition into this "little visitors".

Then its really happened! We recorded 1467 visitors in Kuno Kini Nanti, from the students from the elementary school to the retirements of civil servants, from the college to the entrepreneur, from the family to the old friends, everybody learns here. Even after we closed we expected to extended our exhibition as a part of Hidden Heritage events on August 6th-7th, 2013. 

Thanks for all the people who helped us to realize it! And the last but not least, we have a strong wish. Someday it must be a City Museum of Semarang, located in Kota Lama, because until this time there’s no City Museum existed in this city. We, the youth, have proved it, that the history of Semarang city is great and its worth to be learn of, the now its ur turn, the Government of Semarang City, for how long we’ve to wait y’all realize the city museum? We’ll waitin’ for ;)

From the Gas Lighting to the Electric Power

NIGM office in Semarang, situated on Bodjong Street (now Jalan Pemuda)
(source: Het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen )

Hello World! Long time no see, well almost a weeks ago returned back from my KKN(Kuliah Kerja Nyata) or in English we can simplified it such a “live in” programme, where I've stayed for 35 days in the countryside, mostly belongs to the low-welfare status which face the problem like low education level, poverty, bad administration, and so on. Thus, we have to  implementing what we got on da college to the real society.  In my college, it’s a duty to follow this program, and belongs to one of graduated requirement, whether a lot of college in Indonesia no longer obligate this program. I felt blessed because of my college still preserve this program, because I believe, its gonna be fun, yet really I realize, Its really-really unfogetable experience!  

Sleko Gaswork, on the picure marks wits two large
storage tanks, its also visible the Uitkijk above it.
(source: Het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen )

Talking about my KKN experience, remind me back about how lack the street light is in the countryside. And its such an irony in the modern era like now, there’s still a dark road which it would endangered the rider, plus! In the countryside most of the road itself are following the contour of its earth surface, so its adding the vulnerability for the rider. Street light are important, even for the centuries, people are pay much attention about how to add the street light so that the rider could passed pleasantly during the night. Start from the light from torch, natural oil lamp, light gas who distributed by pipeline network, and now what we enjoyed as our street light source, that’s from electricity.

According to Wikipedia articles, much far before Thomas Alfa Edison invented the incandescent lamp, in the William Murdoch, a James Watt Company in Soho employee invented the lighting system using the flammability of a gas, made from the coal-gas.  Murdoch's invention creates such a big impact for the society on that time. The first public street lighting with gas was demonstrated in Pall Mall, London on January 28, 1807. In 1812, Parliament granted a charter to the London and Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the first gas company in the world came into being. Less than two years later, on December 31, 1813, the Westminster Bridge was lit by gas! And soon its built the gas network thorugh the street, households, offices, and factories.  As artificial lighting became more common, desire grew for it to become readily available to the public. This was in part because towns became much safer places to travel around after gas lamps were installed in the streets, reducing crime rates. Then the gas lighting era, has just begun.

The Lamplighter lighting a gas street lamp, in Stockholm
(source: commons.wikimedia.org)

In Semarang city itself, I don’t know the exact year, but once on early 19th century, its built the Sleko Gaswork, in the west side of Uitkijk. The people of Semarang depended their electricity from this installation. The Sleko Gas work are using coal as their source then the gas are sitributed through the pipeline network to the whole parts of city, so the remains of this facility are still visible in the old building, just see their electricity installation, most of them are still preserved the iron pipe, but now its no longer using gas but cable. Sleko Gaswork are managed by Nederladsch Indische Gas Matschapij or simply called NIGM, which now are nationalized as PT. Gas Negara. Talking about Gas Lamp, are related to the my prevous post about H. Spiegel building,  the famous importeurs and retail stores as well while one’s of the most popular product is the gas lamp. For the centuries, the brand of Spiegel are becoming quality assurance for the gas lamp product. Now, we could saw it in the antique store, a lot of antique lamp has its brand. There's also an interesting story related the gas light era's there's about the lamplighter. The lamplighter are  an officers hired by the city municipal to light the street lighting in the evening and shut it down on the morning.  Of course we couldnt find any lamp lighter nowadays where the street lighting are in automatic mode, but in several country, they hired again the lamp lighter as tourist attraction. 

The current condition of where the Sleko Gaswork located,
there's nothing left only a sign that stated if the land were
belongs to PT Gas Negara property. 

The glory of gas lamp are start to the end during the 20th century, after the Thomas Alfa Edison invented the incandescent lamp also the DC power. Soon the electric power installation are using cabels as its connector. Its safer than the light gas, which somehow are caused case of fire. In Semarang also, soon after the invention of electicity, the installation are built by the Algemeene Nederlandsche Indische Electriciteit Maatschappij or simply called as ANIEM. The gas installation replaced by the cable installation, and the Sleko Gaswork, changed its function become power plant for the electricity needs. After the Independence, Sleko area, where the Gaswork situated are facing the serious flood problems because of uncontrolled reclamation surround it.  Then its shut down, and now, there's nothing remains marked that previously there's a big gaswork, that the people on this city are really depended on that facility for their daily.      

Enjoying the Holiday through Observed the H.Spiegel Building

H. Spiegel building (left side) visible on a postcard from the Dutch-Indies era (source: Olivier Johannes) 

Happy New Year! Its 2013 already and this holiday, was really a breakthrough for my history passion because of I met a lot of people and saw a lots of chance also supports to preserve the historical asset in Semarang city. One of them is Mas Khrisna, an Architect who works for Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala (eng: Historical Preservation Council) who have an ideas to increase the awareness of Semarang people about the importance of Kota Lama (eng: Old Town) preservation through an event this October. He choosed a building, formerly used by NV Spiegel, to become the site of this event who has a theme Kuno-Kini-Nanti (eng: previous-now-future), such a history exhibition like Pameran Sentiling 1914, but this in the large scale. As His plan to renovate then re-functioned this building, He want to socialize it to the people in Semarang, through this event  the importance of this building and all of the heritage asset in Old Town generally. Thus He need people to support it, and one of them were me and my friends from @lopenSMG. Tuesday, January 2^nd 2013, we were invited by Mas Khrisna to observe the current condition of Spiegel building, then here we go!

The Spiegel Building, front facade.
 taken on 2007

The Spiegel building, still in good contion from the outside, some of its details are remaining visible on its facade. There is a combination of decorative pattern in round shapes and horizontal lines on the facade walls.  The entrance is situated at the corner side of the building, faced directly to the street without any courtyard in front of it, a common building form in Kota Lama. Moving inside to the building, there’s a large hall with four green pillars who functioned as a 2^nd floor buffer. The floor was formed by marble, but the condition were badly damaged because of once its functioned as a workshop for the heavy equipment. Moving to the 2^nd floor, we’ll goonna walk through the wooden staircase which the condition is getting rotten. So as the condition on the 2^nd floor, who formed from teak wood, its also already getting rotten.  Thus mas khrisna iniciate to covers it by plastic sheet, in order to protect it from the raindrop who often come inside the building because of the leaked roof. Next I moved the balcony, and suddenly the scenery of Kota Lama on the evening fascinated me. Then I imagined, how it was on the past? Where Kota lama still as the centre of people activity in Semarang city.

Inside the Spiegel Building, upon the 2nd Floor,
its appears what Mas Khrisna did, with
covered the floor with plastic sheet in order
to protect the wooden floor from the raindrop.

Generally, the building condition are 80%. But to renovate it and brought it as it origin condition , its couldn’t be easy. There’s a lot of recast by its former owner, who functioned it as the workshop. Then another problem like leaked roof, that almost happened in every corner of the building also wooden structure which already rotten. Anyway, there’s nothing that couldn’t be realize if we give our best isn’t? Just like my favourite Javanese quotes from my friends Mas Gatot, “Dalan kui raono nek alase rak dibabat, desa kui raono yen alase ora dibuka, lan kutha kui rak kedaden nek raono desa” (eng: In the Jungle, there will be no way if the bush aren’t cleared away, there’s no village if the timberland aren’t opened, and there’s no town if there’s no village who formed it). Cheers up! The hardwork are heading in the way ;)