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| Sawahlunto |
Sawahlunto is one of the city lies within the province of West Sumatra, Indonesia. The city is located 95 km from the provincial capital, the city of Padang.
Geography
Sawahlunto urban landscape is formed by steep hills, ramps and plains with an altitude of 250-650 m above sea level. Landscape with steep hills is a limiting factor in the development of city region governance, where previously the old downtown area is located on a sloping, narrow and elongated with an area of 5.8 km ². While a relatively wide flat region contained in sub-Talawi, this region stretches from north to south, while in the northern part of the undulating and relatively flat, many populated areas are in areas with an altitude of 100-500 m above sea level. While the area located on the east and south, a region of relatively steep topography (slope more than 40%).
Sawahlunto consist of protected forest area (26.5%) and cultivated area (73.5%). As for the dominant use of land for plantations is a mixture (34.1%), thick forest and shrubs (19.5%), lake area due to the former coal mining quarrying (0.2%).
As with other areas in West Sumatra province, city Sawahlunto have a tropical climate with temperatures ranging between 22 ° C. Throughout the year there were two seasons namely the rainy season in November to June and dry season from July to October. The average rainfall is more or less amounted to 1071.6 millimeters of rainfall per year and the highest average occurred in December.
History
Sawahlunto is a mining town, which started since the discovery of coal reserves in this town in the mid-19th century by Ir. de Greve, which then since December 1, 1888 Dutch East Indies government began to invest, when money of 5.5 million guilders invested by the Dutch government to build a coal mine concession facilities, to meet the needs of industry and transportation time. And then this event immortalized as Sawahlunto Anniversary.
The city began producing coal since 1892, and along with the city's residential areas began to be a mine worker, and these settlements continue to grow into a small town with a population that essentially are civil and mine workers.
Furthermore, the Dutch East Indies government also built a railway at a cost of 17 million guilders to facilitate transportation of coal out of the city Sawahlunto toward the city of Padang. Earlier in 1888, the railway operates only up to the Estuary Kalaban and then just reached the city Sawahlunto in 1894.
Previously, the city is also a prison camp, where the mine operating until 1898, is still relying on slave labor that is narapaidana who were forced to work for mine and paid a low price. And in 1908 to forced labor costs amounted to 18 cents / day and if the rebel may be subject to legal sanctions whip, contract labor costs by 32 cents / day and residential facilities as well obtain health insurance. As for the free labor wages by 62 cents / day without getting any facility.
In 1918 the city had been categorized as Gemeentelijk Sawahlunto Ressort or Gemeente with an area of 778 ha, over the success of mining activities. The existence of railway transportation has encouraged the production of coal mining gave positive results, where in 1920 the coal production of only tens of thousands of tons to hundreds of thousands of tons per year, from a loss of business to become a business with great profit to 4.6 million guilders within a year.
So until in 1930, the city has a population of 43,576 inhabitants, of which 564 souls were the Dutch (European).
After Indonesian independence, the next mining rights are managed by the state and given to PT Tambang Coal Ombilin (TBO), but later the company was liquidated a subsidiary of PT. Bukit Asam located in South Sumatra. And in line with government reforms and the rolling of regional autonomy, local communities also demanded to be able to do the mining itself.
Tourism
Government and society Sawahlunto city today, determined to make this city as a tourist town-based mining. One of the attractions offered by this city is mine tourist attraction, where visitors can do the trail on the former mining area that has been built since the Dutch era, where the tourist sites are named Lobang Suro taken from the name of Mbah Suro, a foreman from the past are also known as the foreman of the chain. The city also has a zoo, which is a former mining land have been reclaimed into the land shaped like a forest with an area of 40 ha.