BATAVIA
Batavia, the seat of the Government of the Netherlands Indies and the capital of the provincie West-Java, is situated in 106° 48' E. longitude and 6° 7′ S. latitude. The old city is built in the ancient Dutch style and was till the beginning of the 19th century surrounded by fortifications, which have since been demolished. It was for- merly considered unhealthy. In 1699 the unfavourable conditions were greatly increased by an eruption of Mount Salak, masses of mud and sand being washed up by the river Tjiliwong, so that drainage became very difficult for a time. For this reason it became the habit for but few Europeans to remain day and night in the old city. The fine large houses are employed for offices and godowns, and in the after- noon, when business is finished, most of the Europeans retire to the new town, which is situated south of the old city and built in modern style. Broad roads and spacious squares and pleasant villas surrounded by gardens form there a desirable place. It was Marshal Daendels who, in the first years of the last century, began to embellish the new town by the construction of barracks and the palace that was de- signed to be the residence of the Governor-General, but has never been used for that purpose. It is now utilised for Government offices and it is situated on the east side. of the Waterloo Square, where are monuments celebrating the allied victory at the battle of Waterloo to General Michiels who fell in Bali, and to Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the founder of the city, which latter was unveiled when Batavia celebrated its 250th anniversary. On the left and right of the palace are the Supreme Court and the Military Club Concordia. At a short distance from the Waterlooplein is another larger square, the Koningsplein, each side of which is one kilometre long. It is sur- rounded by large houses occupied by consulates, clubs, the Ethnological Museum, the Commercial Museum, the School of Law of the University, many hotels and private residences, shops and office buildings, the Natural Historical Society, the Municipal Buildings, the Willem's Church, large private schools, the Weltevreden railway station, To the north is the town Palace of the Governor-General, the central telephone office, sports grounds and a. Cinema. In other parts of the new city are the Medical School of the University, six well equipped modern hospitals and two maternity homes, many government Department Headquarters, large hotels, four swimming baths, many sports grounds, a golf course and numerous other attractions. Batavia is a thoroughly modern, up-to-date city.
The old city and the new are connected by railways, tramways, and wide roads. Several Banks and Banking Corporations have offices at Batavia, including the Netherlands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij), Netherlands- Indian Commercial Bank (Nederlandsch Indische Handelsbank), and the Netherlands- Indian Discount Company (Nederlandsch Indische Escompto Mij.). There are also agencies of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, of the International Banking Corporation, of the Taiwan Bank, Ltd. and the Yokohama Specie Bank.
The population of Greater Batavia consisted on October, 7th 1930, of 37,278 Europeans, 78,965 Chinese, 7,478 non-indigenous Orientals, and 411,049 natives: total -534,770.
BUITENZORG
The usual residence of the Governor-General is at Buitenzorg, at a distance of nearly one hour by railway from Batavia. The botanical gardens near the palace of the Governor-General were made in 1817, and are well known not only for their beautiful arrangement, but especially for the great services rendered to science and agriculture under the management of the eminent directors, Teysmann, Dr. Scheffer, and Prof. Dr. Treub. All experiments for the introduction of exotic plants nto Netherlands-India are made here, with the result that many useful plants from foreign countries are reared and flourish in Java as in their native soil
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