Colonial Exhibition of Semarang

The Colonial Exhibition, Dutch: Koloniale Tentoonstelling, took place in Semarang, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in from 20 August through 22 November 1914.^[1]: cover Colonial exhibitions were trade expositions. It was designed to "give a comprehensive picture of the Dutch Indies in their present prosperous condition."^[2] It was the first large scale exposition in the Dutch East Indies,^[1]: 2 and financed by the participating corporations with a subsidy from the Dutch East Indies government.^[1]: 6–7

1914 Semarang
Exhibition poster
Overview
BIE-class	Unrecognized exposition
Name	Colonial Exhibition
Area	26 ha
Visitors	677,266
Participant(s)
Countries	20
Location
Country	Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)
City	Semarang
Coordinates	6°59′S 110°25′E
Timeline
Opening	20 August 1914
Closure	22 November 1914

The architect was Maclaine Pont.^[1]: 22

Exhibits

There were displays including companies, foreign states and areas within the Dutch East Indies. One area of the grounds had pavilions dedicated to cocoa, coffee, kapok, and tea.^[3]

Dutch East Indies

There was a Balinese, an Aceh pavilion central Java, and Semerang pavilions.

• 
  Central Java diorama

Foreign states

There were pavilions from Australia, China, Formosa (Taiwan) and Japan.

• 
  Chinese Pavilion
• 
  Formosa tea house
• 
  Japanese Pavilion

Companies

There were pavilions from several companies including German hardware manufacturing business Carl Schlieper, the Netherland Indies Gas Company (NIGM), Nestlé, and the Dutch shipping company Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM).

• 
  Carl Schlieper pavilion
• 
  Trocadero pavilion (left), NIGM pavilion (center) and the Nestlé pavilion (right)
• 
  NIGM pavilion
• 
  Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM) pavilion

Legacy

The Aceh state pavilion was built in Acehnese style, without nails.^[4]

After the exposition, it was dismounted and re-erected as the Aceh Museum, where it and the Cakra Donya Bell also displayed remain.

• 
  Aceh pavilion with Cakra bell during the exposition
• 
  Cakra Donya bell in 2005
• 
  Pavilion building at the Aceh museum in 2005

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view of the colonial exhibition of Semarang
• 
  Main Entrance
• 
  Umbrella manufacturing
• 
  Rail transport demonstration from Krupp
• 
  Stage
• 
  Visit of Governor General A.W.F. Idenburg to the exhibition
• 
  Trade pavilion
• 
  Bandstand Traffic Pavilion and the pavilion of F.J. Fuchs (a carriage supply and automobile distributor)
• 
  Fountain
• 
  Party room and terrace

References

1. M.G. van Heel (2016). Gedenkboek van de Koloniale Tentoonstelling Semarang. Mercurius.
2. "Calendar". The Independent. 13 Jul 1914. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
3. KOLONIAL-TENTOONSTELLING SEMARANG 1914 Plattegrond (Map) (in Dutch).
4. "Rumah Aceh | Banda Aceh, Indonesia Attractions - Lonely Planet". Retrieved 12 May 2020.

External links

• Colonial Exhibition of Semarang catalog University of Leiden Library
• Colonial Exhibition in Semarang 1914 Video including several contemporaneous photographs.