DUTCH FORT PANGKOR ISLAND

Dutch Fort Pangkor Island (Kota Belanda) is the remains of an old warehouse built by the Dutch to store tin ore in the 17th century. It is situated in a scenic fishing village on the beach called Kampung Teluk Gedung (the Gedung can be translated as a godown or a warehouse).

History

At the time of the building of the fort, the Dutch invaded Malacca and spread their tentacles to other parts of the Malaya Archipelago, with their sights on the control of the tin trade.

According to the National Archives of Malaysia, the Dutch built a store here in 1670, initially made of wood but later reinforced with a brick frame. In 1690, the Malays under Panglima Kulup demolished the warehouse, as they resisted Dutch attempts to establish a monopoly on the selling of tin ore.

Some years later the Dutch returned and restored the warehouse, and from 1743 to 1748 around 60 soldiers, including 30 Europeans, were posted here to protect it.

Such soldiers left some graffiti dating back to 1743 on a big rock (now known as Batu Bersurat Belanda) some 100 meters away from the warehouse. At one point, the Dutch had some nine cannons here, which possibly explains the circular windows on the walls of the fort.

Later this fort at Pangkor, known as Fort Dingdingh in the Netherlands, was abandoned after the Dutch had built another warehouse near Sungai Perak in 1784. Neglected, it fell into disrepair until 1973, when the Department of Museums partially rebuilt the fort as a tourist attraction. The walls were rebuilt using the original (small) floor plan, but no roof was added because the original design of the roof was unknown.

Author: Shobana Manokaran