Kali Semarang, Main Artery of Commerce in Semarang

Kali Garang taken from the Jatibarang Dam in 2016. The Kali Garang was the main water sources for Kali Semarang. 

Kali Semarang was a river that divides the city of Semarang, a branch of Kali Garang (Eng: Garang River) from the west part of the city and flows to the Java Sea. The development of Semarang City was really depends on Kali Semarang, as the major commerce hub of the inner city of Semarang since centuries ago. One of the traces was the toponym of Kampung (Eng: village) along Kali Semarang which is an age marker of its vital role for commercial activities for Semarang City. One of them was Kampung Pabean which is now part of the Kecamatan Semarang Utara areas. In this Kampung, used to be the location of customs/ tax posts for the boat which passing through Kali Semarang to trades in the hinterland of ​​Semarang City. There’s a fun fact that on that time where customs post was marked by a large tree trunk that was chained and floated across the river as a barrier in the river flow. This is where the name of Boom Lama was coming from, as the word Boom in Dutch means tree, refers to the tree trunk that has a functions as the entrance gate. The name of Boom Lama still used today as the name of one of the major roads not far from its location.

Kali Semarang taken from the opposite of Dokter Djawastraat, nowadays 
Jalan Kol. Sugiono, nearby Kampung Melayu Semarang in 1900.
(Source: Leiden University Library) 

The settlements then grew following the flow of Kali Semarang such as Kampung Melayu, Pedamaran, Sumeneban, Sebandaran, Kelengan, Sekayu, Bedagan, etc. A journalist from Semarang, Liem Thian Joe who published his book titled Riwajat Semarang, back in 1933 stated that trading activities moved to the Boom Lama area after previously concentrated in Mangkang, in the western part of Semarang city today. Liem Thian Joe said that consider to have the better facilities of the Boom Lama's position as well as its closer to the downtown of Semarang. Thus the Kampung Darat  gained its name as its the location when people who firstly cames to Semarang at that time will ndarat, step their foot in land.

We have to remember that the Semarang city at that time was way smaller than the condition nowadayas. The city of Semarang on 18th century was refers to the part of the city that now called as Kawasan Kota Lama Semarang, an area which is developed from the VOC base which was established in the Sleko area in 1705. This trading post was surrounded by a defensive wall which had five bastions, which later well known as Vijfhoek fortress which means a pentagon. In 1748, due to the increasing commerce activity in Semarang, the VOC main base in Batavia, nowadays Jakarta raised the status of the leader of its trading post in Semarang into governor and its became the center of the area of the Noordoostkust (eng: North East Coast) of Java region. Vijfhoek as the main base of the VOC in Sleko then became unable to accommodate more European migrants, until later this settlement expanded rapidly. It was unknown exactly when European settlers began to organize the area outside Vijhoek as settlement but referrings to the Atlasof Mutual Heritage website, its shows that in 1787 a plan was made to expand the city defensive wall complete with urban arrangement with road networks and various facilities such as church, military barracks, health service facilities, civil service facilities, etc. Interestingly, the road network and the parcels of land were almost unchanged, compared to the current conditions with this map that comes from the past three centuries.

The Groot Boom with the boat tethered on the edge of Kali Semarang taken from the high stories of Uitkijk, ca. 1870-1910
(source: Rijksmuseum)

As the settlements grow bigger, its port as the major trading hub also grow either.  Trading activities in Kali Semarang developed a main port near the European residential area, which is located in the Sleko area, known as Groote Boom. Until now, the remnants of its glory still existed, one of them was the Watchtower to arrange the traffic in Kali Semarang, or in Dutch called as Uitkijk. Its located in the land owned by PT. State Gas (PGN) in Sleko as in the 19th centuries the land was part of the Coal fired Power Plant owned by Nederlandsch Indische Gas Maatschappij. The growth of the trade activity in the city of Semarang then strengthens its position as the main port in the central part of Java Island. Semarang may not  have vast fertile land as its located in swampy and barren land, but its port became its major power. Rural areas in the hinterlands of Central Java that rich in agricultural products are very dependent on the City of Semarang to trades their products. Plus the very prosperous kingdom region in the south, the Vorstenlanden, consist of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, Surakarta Sunanate, Praja Mangkunegaran and Praja Paku Alaman relied heavily on Semarang towards their trades activity.

The schutsluis (locks) that connected Kali Semarang and Kali Baru in 1927.

(Source: Leiden University Library)

The role of Boom Lama then shifted after the construction of the Nieuw Kanaal  also called as Kali Baru in 1872 and was completed in 1878, a response from the increasingly crowded commercial activities after the opening of the Suez Canal. Then the trade activity moved to Nieuw Haven , a new modern port  nowadays known as  Tanjung Emas Port. This canal simplifies the previously winding path of the Semarang River flow, into straight canal, right away approaching the Groote Boom position. The project was equipped with the construction of a new lighthouse and prior to adjusting the water level of the Kali Baru and Kali Semarang, a Sluis (eng: Locks) also built and equipped with a breakwater on each side.

Nieuwe Kanaal also known as Kali Baru, the new canals that also became part of Port of Tanjung Mas Semarang, taken from the top of Willem III Lighthouse in 2017.

The stories about the triumph of Kali Semarang are now no longer traceable. The increasingly dirty condition of the Kali Semarang, coupled with the decreasing water flow and width of Kali Semarang made its impossible for the boat to afloat and passing the river into the downtown. I heard from the locals in Kampung Melayu that the last time He saw boat passing through the Kali Semarang to through His Kampung was in the beginning of 1980’s decade.  Even the Uitkijk building now left in ruins as its looted by the mob during the Reformation in 1998. The locks that used to regulate the boat traffic from the Kali Baru to Kali Semarang was no longer functioning, and above it is now built a pumping house to prevent the Semarang city from the flood. It was a blessed to have the Kali Semarang in the old days but todays its seems no longer anymore as its even endangered the settlers from the flood. Flood was a serious problems in the Semarang city moreover in its northern part as its also facing the serious land subsidence problems. The last four years the government put a serious efforts to revitalized Kali Semarang by dredging and swept away the ilegal settlement on the banks of the river to keep the streams flows well. The people also persuaded not to littering into it, so now its really depends on the people of Semarang for their willingness to preserve it. Will they?