Semarang's stations have own place in history
It was to be the greatest exposition ever held in the Netherlands East Indies, an unabashed celebration of colonial supremacy. And the venue was Semarang. As the colonial administrators drew up their plans for the exposition celebrating the centennial of Dutch independence, they hoped the Koloniale Tentoonstelling would draw many visitors and an influx of revenue to the city. New hotels and pensions were opened; car rental companies were set up. The city was galvanized into activity for the grand event. Unfortunately, by the time the exposition opened on August 20, 1914, rumblings of war in Europe, triggered by the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, cast a dark shadow on the event. Due to the tense political situation the patron of the exposition, governor general Idenburg, was unable to attend the opening ceremony. And even though Japan, China, Australia, India, French Indochina and the United States were represented by their respective pavilions, all...