Public Lecture by Scott Merrilees at UPH: “Peeling the Capital City?s History through Postcards”

Probably most of us assume postcard as simply a medium to communicate remotely or a souvenir. But that is not the case for Scott Merrileess, an Australian citizen writer who studied Indonesian in Melbourne back in 1975 and who had the opportunity to live and work in Indonesia. Scott has an interest in the history of a city, especially the city of Jakarta, but it is a pity that he did not find a book which discussed the history of Jakarta at that time.

Finally, over 20 years living in Jakarta, Scott began to gather and collect postcards, photographs and drawings of the city of Jakarta on 19th-20th centuries and conduct research on old buildings, monuments and places which he found in the photographs or in the postcards. This is where Scott realized the importance of postcards in delivering a history and inspired him to write a book on the history of Jakarta. Scott has written two books, they are Batavia in Nineteenth Century Photographs (2000) and Greetings from Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900-1950 (2014).

It was a great pride for Universitas Pelita Harapan to welcome Scott to present a public lecture on the history of Jakarta and introduce his book on December 5, 2014 in Building D 501 and 502. The lecture was attended by 800 students of UPH Teachers College and lecturers of UPH. Through this public lecture, Scott showcased photographs and postcards, recounted the important icons in the Dutch East Indies era which still exist up unitl now, and which had been replaced by modern buildings or turned into parking lots.

Several postcards and photographs findings that were shown in the public lecture were on the Central Business District building in the early 20th century. Kali Besar Road, which is now known as the Kota Tua, was the CBD of Jakarta with buildings that were designed in the era of a European architecture. Kali Besar Road is very historical and the buildings are still there although no longer in their best conditions. “One of the bank buildings that is still original and well preserved is the Museum of Bank Indonesia. Very interesting. Moreover, if anyone of you knows Caf? Batavia, it was once a building used for travel agents who wanted to pilgrimage,” said Scott.

In the 20th century there was also a Chinese Business District which is now known as Glodok, which once had unique and distinctive Chinese architecture buildings. However, it is unfortunate that the chinese architecture building lasted only until 1970 and has now transformed into shops.

He also recounted the transportations at that time. Many people do not know that Jakarta used to have a public transport called Tram back in 1862-1962. At first, Tram utilized horsepower which then transformed into the utilization of steam power and then into electricity in 1899. Unfortunately, this relatively inexpensive public transportation is no longer in operation since 1962. However, now Jakarta is building an underground MRT which is far more modern.

Through his postcards findings, Scott also explained the history of the emergence of schools and health facilities in Jakarta. In the 19th century, education began to take precedence by Dutch East Indies. At that time, the Catholic Church began to build schools in Jakarta, such as Saint Mary School, which has stood for 150 years.

At the end of the lecture, Scott re-emphasized the importance of knowing and exploring history, especially as an Indonesian citizen. “I am grateful for the opportunity to speak here about the history of Indonesia, especially the capital city of Jakarta. I am happy to see the enthusiasm and spirit of hundreds of students. I hope these UPH students who are Indonesian citizens are driven to explore the history, particularly the history of the capital city, Jakarta. Knowing the history of your capital city is very important , especially when the history of the city is very long and heavy, “said Scott.

He also expected that through this book, readers can get an idea of Jakarta back in 19th-20th century. “Through this book, I wanted to recreate the city of Jakarta on the 19th and 20th centuries. Since that time no longer exists, so I consider my book as a Time Machine, so that by reading this book the reader can feel as if they are entering a Time Machine, entering the century and seeing the city in the particular era,” explained Scott.

At the end of the session, Connie Rasilim, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, gave her thanks to Scott. She hoped that each of the students of the Teachers College who had heard an overview of the history of Jakarta, can be equipped and know how rich the history of Indonesia is. “People who do not understand history are those who have lost their identity. So with this, I hope students can learn to know the history represented by the capital city. Students are expected to see that behind all history, God is the one on duty. I believe that there is no coincidence, so whatever happened in history, up and down, Lord is the One working by using His people in order to ensure that Indonesia will always be maintained beautifully, “explained Connie.

Scott Merrilees giving his book ?Greetings from Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900-1950? to the Johannes Oentoro Library, UPH.

Souvenir giving by UPH, represented by Connie Rasilim, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, to Scott Merrilees.

On this occasion, Scott also gave his second book entitled Greetings from Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900-1950 for Johannes Oentoro Library, UPH. It also concluded the public lecture and souvenirs handover from UPH to Scott was executed. (ca)

Testimonials:

“I am impressed and I gained a lot of new things. I am amazed that there is a foreigner who wanted to know more about Indonesia considering that even the citizens of Indonesia itself do not have that much knowledge regarding the history of their country, especially its capital city, Jakarta. There are many things that we do not know due to the historical buildings that no longer exist. It is unfortunate that we still have not been able to maintain our own history. And as a teacher candidate, if not us, who else will continue the history to the next generation, so I think this experience is invaluable “

Thesalonika Brenda, Teachers College 2011

“I am very amazed by him. After a question and answer session with him, I knew that his efforts to collect Jakarta postcards were not only done in Indonesia, but also in Europe. Now I know the history behind the buildings and historical places in the city which I actually visit regularly. And this will now be a material to be shared with my students later?

Goulda, Elementary Teacher Education 2011

UPH Media Relations