Fort Du Bus
Fort du Bus | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Dutch trading post |
Town or city | Lobo, Kaimana district, Kaimana Regency, West Papua |
Country | Indonesia |
Coordinates | 3°38′40″S 133°41′43″E / 3.64444°S 133.69528°E |
Construction started | 1828 |
Demolished | 1835 |
Technical details | |
Structural system | Palisaded enclosure |
Size | 15 acres (6.1 ha) |
Fort Du Bus was a Dutch administrative and trading post established in 1828 on Triton Bay on the southwest coast of New Guinea, in the current Indonesian regency of Kaimana, West Papua. Intended to counter British encroachment, it was the first European settlement in the region; it was abandoned in 1835, due to the unhealthy climate and attacks by natives. A monument currently stands on where Fort du Bus was exist.
Background
Exploration
On December 31, 1827 a royal authorization was issued, and on April 21, 1828 a small expedition led by Lieutenant Jan Jacob Steenboom, with two ships, the corvette Triton and the schooner Iris, left Ambon to search for a suitable location for a settlement. Lieutenant Commander C.J. Boers accompanied the expedition to make nautical observations and carry out further exploration. Five naturalists - Dr. H.C. Macklot (zoologist), Gerrit van Raalten (taxidermist), Pieter van Oort (artist), Salomon Müller (zoologist/botanist), and Alexander Zippelius (botanist) - were also on board.[2]
After a stop at Banda on April 25, Triton and Iris continued on to New Guinea.[2] Prospective sites on Dourga Strait and the Oetanata River proved impractical due to swampy land and reefs. At one point several officers and men were injured in an attack by natives. In early July Lt. Steenboom finally located a suitable site at the head of a small enclosed bay (promptly named Triton Bay), just east of the modern coastal town of Kaimana.[3][4]
Outpost
The ships remained with the settlers for two months, their crews helping construct several small buildings surrounded by a double
The settlement carried on a brisk trade with the coastal
Dutch colonial officials continued to visit Triton Bay on a sporadic basis. In 1839 the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville visited the site and found an avenue of coconut palms, a lemon grove, and a few remains of buildings.[4]
Notes
References
Mees, G.F. (1994). Vogelkundig onderzoek op Nieuw Guinea in 1828 Terugblik op de ornithologische resultaten van de reis van Zr. Ms. Korvet Triton naar de zuid-westkust van Nieuw-Guinea (in Dutch). Leiden:
- Singh, Bilveer (2017). Papua: Geopolitics and the Quest for Nationhood. Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4128-0705-0.
- Murray, J. (1886). Supplementary Papers. Vol. 1. London: Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain).