Colonial Exhibition of Semarang


The Colonial Exhibition, Dutch: Koloniale Tentoonstelling, took place in Semarang, Dutch East Indies on 20 August through 22 November 1914. Colonial exhibitions were trade expositions. It was designed to "give a comprehensive picture of the Dutch Indies in their present prosperous condition." It was the first large scale exposition in the Dutch East Indies, and financed by the participating corporations with a subsidy from the Dutch East Indies government.
The architect was Maclaine Pont.

Exhibits

There were displays including companies, foreign states and areas within the Dutch East Indies. One area of the grounds had pavilions dedicated to cocoa, coffee, kapok, and tea.

Dutch East Indies

There was a Balinese, an Aceh pavilion central Java, and Semerang pavilions.

Foreign states

There were pavilions from Australia, China, Formosa and Japan.

Companies

There were pavilions from several companies including
German hardware manufacturing business Carl Schlieper,
the Netherland Indies Gas Company,
Nestlé,
and
the Dutch shipping company Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij.

Legacy

The Aceh state pavilion was built in Acehnese style, without nails.
After the exposition, it was dismounted and re-erected as the Aceh Museum, where it and the Cakra Donya Bell also displayed remain.