cruise to australia from usa / Australia's First Trade Mission to Indonesia: First stop, Makassar

Australia's First Trade Mission to Indonesia: 
First stop, Makassar

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The history of trade relations between Australia and Indonesia is a long history.

The relationship between the coast of North Australia and the island of Sulawesi, especially the city of Makassar, is largely determined by trade for more than 150 years. From the mid-18th century or perhaps earlier, sailors from Makassar crossed the Arafura Sea every year to trade with indigenous Australians, especially for sea cucumbers, pearls and turtle shells, which were then sold to major markets in China and Japan. This trade went on and on so early in the twentieth century, when the border rule between the Dutch East Indies and the new country in the south - the Australian Communion - ended it.

But in the 1930s Australians began to see the potential of nearby markets as a place to sell Australian products growing. Australian entrepreneurs began to realize that near northern Australia there were 70 million people (then controlled by the Dutch) which was a high-potential market for their goods. The maritime transport relationship has already begun to evolve as well, since in the late 1920s the KPM shipping carrier (Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij), has already opened scheduled passenger services between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with ports in Asia including Bali, Makassar, Batavia , Singapore and Malay English. Two KPM vessels, Nieuw Holland and Nieuw Zeeland, advertised as "big white ships", provide luxury-class voyages favored by Australian passengers. Many other passenger ships also served the Australia-Asia route in the 1920s and 1930s. Indeed before the Second World War, travelers from Australia constituted 14 percent of all tourists coming to the island of Bali, mostly boarding cruises.

The SS Nieuw Holland (sourced from http://www.ssmaritime.com/KPM-sisters.htm _)

This forgotten history is interesting, so recently I was very excited to find a book that tells what I think is Australia's first trade mission to Indonesia. The book is entitled The Cruise of the Goodwill Ship, written by Australian journalist Richard J Moorhead, published by Ruskin Press, Melbourne. The style of writing is somewhat mocking, according to the style of the era, but this book tells the voyage of the trade mission of 50 Australian businessmen with their families above SS Nieuw Holland, from Melbourne and Sydney to Makassar, Semarang, Cirebon, Belawan Deli and then to Singapore and Malay English. Then they returned to Australia. This voyage occurred between April - June 1933, and was a private mission sponsored by the Australian Manufacturers Association. Some Australian government officials follow the mission as well.

As a narrative relationship between Australians and Makassarese and Javanese, this story is very eye-opening. But as we read this book we must realize that in those days - 86 years ago - people's views are very different from today. Moorhead describes the people and places he visits with the prejudices of the white race against the indigenous people in effect at the time. It is said that the society was divided into three levels by the Dutch East Indies and Moorhead's writing reflects this prejudice: the Dutch and the other white above; Chinese people in the middle; and Malay people and most of the original Nusantara people, in the lower classes.But despite the nature of paternalism in his writing, what is clear is that Moorhead feels affection for the Malay people in the Dutch East Indies. He wrote that wherever they went, their "Good Moods" were greeted with joy and excitement. His remarks "are amazing ... and make us feel overwhelmed." His passion for trading with Indonesia often appears in his book:

"Incredible this market! How challenging we are to advance the distinct advantages open to our "Good Hearts" visit. "

Moorhead writes that their first stop, after leaving Australia through the port of Darwin, is the city of Makassar. He describes the time when the general public boarded a ship at the port of Makassar: first the Makassar schoolchildren "flocked" aboard, "his eyes were brilliant, they were dressed in traditional tartan-like clothes from Scotland, his hat was like a Scottish Gengarry hat." Then other members of the community rose too, in colorful outfits whose lights made the Australian trade show on the ship "look a bit lethargic". A trade mission participant studied the colors and styles of Bugis traditional fabrics to be able to meet the needs of that market. After the general public got off the boat, approximately 500 local businessmen boarded the ship and started haggling and discussing supply contracts - which were hats from Melbourne, dried fruits from Victoria and other products: many products were also sold in Makassar.

Moorhead regretted that: "... in trading we are not able to use Malay, a common language spoken by 70 million people of this country who may be" new buyers "to us, even though we have come from far and spent a lot of personal money ! "(Recently in Australia we have heard similar complaints - ie not even enough Australians now speak Indonesian.)

The delegation was led by a hat-maker from Melbourne, RF Sanderson. Other participants include dried fruit sellers, Australian wine and brandy; there is also a showcase of industrial products such as auto parts, machinery and radio equipment; and there are also some who show off various fabrics, leather, soap, meat, biscuits, fragrant oils, fruit juices, even dental purposes (according to newspapers at that time). Moorhead wrote that at that time wheat and butter from Australia had dominated the Indies market (Australia's wheat was still large in the Indonesian market), and representatives from the sector also joined the trade mission to strengthen market share. In every harbor the best selling is in the food sector, whether processed or not. South Australian wines are popular so one of the buyers orders a lot of splints for his famous mountain hotel. But regretted by Australian merchants is that there is no representative of the wool sector, although there is a demand for this warm cloth.

The trade mission found that Japanese traders had entered the Dutch East Indies in large quantities, and those who sold textile materials at prices much lower than the prices of goods imported from Europe and Australia. Several times also on their way Australia was criticized for banning sugar imports, whereas the Dutch East Indies at that time allowed imports of sugar from Australia.Moorhead also wrote a sentence that I can use in my speech or report today:

"Makassar is the nearest Dutch East Indies port of Sydney, but also the capital of a rich and undeveloped island. Future prospects for Australia are certainly very promising. "

I simply replace "Dutch Indies" with "Indonesia"!

The trade mission then visited several other ports in the Indies, Singapore and Malay Britain. But their first stop was in Makassar. And now the Australians have returned to Makassar.

The experience of the private trading mission was widely reported in newspapers in Australia in mid-1933, mainly from Moorhead's own reporting reports. The success of the private trading mission of course greatly influenced the decision of Prime Minister Lyons in 1934 to send Australia's first official trade mission to Asia, including Batavia, led by Foreign Relations Minister John Latham. As a result Latham advised Australia to open a Trade Commissioner's Office in China, Japan and the Netherlands East Indies. So in June 1935 the Australian government inaugurated Charles Edward Critchley as Australia's first Trade Commissioner in Batavia. Critchley opened a representative office at the Chartered Bank building in Batavia Lama from September 1935, and he began running Australia's first diplomatic representative in a country that - a decade later - would become the Republic of Indonesia.