Geo Wehry & Co. Building in Semarang and A Neglected Tombstone in Bandung

Geo Wehry & Co. building (with the minaret and utility pole) as seen from
Societeitsbrug or known as Jembatan Berok in 1925
(source: Leiden University Library)  

Learning history sometimes looks like solving the puzzle.  It has the whole record of the past and the big picture of history is made only from small, seemingly insignificant pieces. but then when we combined it all together, we can see that it’s something important, even its shaped our understanding of the present or something. Couple days ago with my old friends from Senior High School, I went to the pool (billiard hall) in Kota Lama. Its belongs to the one’s of the new hangout place in the middle of the development of Kota Lama in the recent years, and this kind of place always attract me to pay a visit. I want to know how its look like after the renovation and also its convertion of function.

This place, that named as Kota Lama Billyard, using the former office of one’s of the greatest multinational company in Dutch Indies (present days Indonesia) during the Colonial Period, Geo Wehry & Co. Its belongs to the Top Big Five company at time together with Lindeteves Stokvis, Netherlands Handel Maatschappij (NHM), Borsumij, Jacobson Van Den Berg and Internationale Crediet-en Handels-Vereeniging Rotterdam (Internatio). Geo Wehry & Co. originated in 1862 at Batavia (nowadays Jakarta). By the end of the century, it had branches at Surabaya, Cirebon and Semarang. The company was particularly active in agricultural estates and the export of agricultural product like tobacco, coffee and tea, with the famous product of it, its Goalparra Tea. During the twenties it began to participate in brewery industries, with the Tjap Koentji as the famous brands of it. According to Indische Literaire Wandelingen sites, the building is designed by D.W Hinse.

Inside the building, now turns into pool (Billyard Hall)

D. W. Hinse J.Hzn. is a Dutch architect that coming to Semarang firstly in 1902 to preparing  the construction of Nederlandsch Indische Spoorwed Maatschappij Hoofdkantoor, or well known as Lawang Sewu. Lawang Sewu is designed by Prof. Jacob F. Klinkhamer in Delft and Mr. B. J. Ouëndag, architect in Amsterdam, but then for the construction the D.W. Hinse is commissioned to became in-house architect with the plans of the building, to commence and lead the work. Its explained in Het Administratiegebouw der Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg-Maatschappij te Semarang, Nederlandsch-Indië Oud en Nieuw, Volume 1 Number 1, May 1916. translated by Ir. Tjahjono Rahardjo. 

The D.W. Hinse wife's tombstone in Ci Guriang
springs in Bandung.

Its interesting! So its seems like D.W. Hinse after His task is done in 1907 when the Lawang Sewu construction is accomplished and officialy inaugurated, He still spent His life in Semarang. But another interesting story is about His wife. Well, I tried to to know more about this person D.W. Hinse but it tooks me to the site of the fellow heritage preservation activist in Bandung, Paman Ridwan (See His sites here), that there’s a neglected tombstone in the natural springs in Bandung that belongs to the D.W. Hinse wife! In the tombstone is written as follow,

ELISABETH ADRIANA HINSE-RIEMAN

GEB. AMSTERDAM

9 MAART 1859

OVERL. BANDOENG

13 JANUARI 1903

In His sites, Paman Ridwan also written if He then found an obituary in Het Nieuws van de Dag – De Kleine Courant, stated the Elisabeth Adriana Hinse-Reiman died the January 14th in Bandung, from Her husband D.W. Hinse, in Tjandi Semarang. Well another pieces of mistery, D.W. Hinse also lived in Tjandi like Thomas Karsten, a notable Dutch architect. The tombstone now laid in the natural spring of Ci Guriang, and used as the washboard, sounds strange eh? The area once is a kerkhof but then its demolished to built a sport complex, GOR Pajajaran. 

The Luxury Office of Oei Tiong Ham Concern

The luxurious entrance in Oei Tiong Ham Concern Headquarters.
inzet: the inscription that indicated Liem Bwan Tjie as the
architects of this building also the year its finished, 1930.

In economy, we recognized conglomerate company model. Its a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Conglomerates are often large and multinational. Conglomerates also often related to the tycoon, a billionaire! Here in Semarang, its widely known about the story of the first tycoon in South East Asia, a man who have a reputation as “200 million guilder man”.

His name was Oei Tiong Ham, I’m not going to write down about his biography, because you can find it easily in the internet. But I’m going to write down about his legacy, a luxury-three story building that used to be his company headquarters, located in Kota Lama (eng: Old Town), Semarang. It’s a bit hard to going inside, exploring the proof of Oei Tiong Ham Concern conglomeration success story. But, when there’s a will there’s a way! Last week I used to help the Dutch Experts related to the heritage preservation from Missing Link. One’s of the activity is inviting the owner of the buildings in Kota Lama area. Then I met with Mas Nur, the Marketing Manager of PT. Rajawali Nusindo, the company that used to managed the legacy of Oei Tiong Ham Concern after the whole assets is confiscated by Indonesian Government in 1961. Well, its supposed to be a great company, but, just like the others company who managed the asset from nationalization, the performance is declined, not as good as its supposed to be. Hehehe, back to the story, then together with two vrouwen from Missing Link, Pauline and Esther, we explored this building, with the permission from Mas Nur of course.

Mas Nur from PT. Rajawali Nusindo (current owner of the
building) shows the secret cabinet in the meeting rooms to
Paulie, one's of the expert from Missing Link.

Taken from the 3rd floor, office and warehouse as well! 

One things that I have to say when I entering the building is, enormous! All of the material which used here seems to be the finest material that they can get at that time. High quality and colourful marbles used as the floor tile and also wall decoration. Here also in the entrance we found the inscription that the building is finished on 1930, and designed by Liem Bwan Tjie, the prominent Chinese architect, that supposed to be the first Chinese descent architect in Indonesia also.  The building, in my opinion is really a models of green building. Its have a good ventilation to managed the good air circulation from the side wall and also from the roof. There’s a special form of glass ceiling to maximize the application of natural lighting. But rather than using all of these advantages of design, the people there currently made some modification that even make all of these things become useless. Like the adding of air conditioner system and the heat pump, they placed it inside the building also, then you can imagine how it’ll made the building so “warm”. Also several ventilation are closed, and so much modification in its lavatory. Even the main hall, now functioned as warehouse also. Screw it all! At least this building are still in good condition, because of still in used, not abandoned like several building in Kota Lama. We also can find the secret cabinet behind the wall decoration in the meeting room. Wow! What a functional design!

Oei Tiong Ham itself never worked in this building, because its finished in 1930, he already died 6 years before, on 1924 in Singapore. At that time the Oei Tiong Ham Concern runs by his successors, Oei Tjong Hauw, the sons of Oei Tiong Ham from his 4th wife.