| History | |
|---|---|
 Netherlands | |
| Name | Gouverneur Generaal Loudon |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | Caird & Company, Greenock, Scotland, |
| Yard number | 198 [1] |
| Launched | 1875 |
| Fate | Wrecked 1898 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steam packet |
| Tonnage | 1,436 tons [2] |
Gouverneur Generaal Loudon was a mail steamer and excursion vessel which survived the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. [3]
The ship was built by Caird & Company of Greenock, Scotland, in 1875 [1] and operated by the Nederlandsch Indische Stoomboot Maatschappij ("Netherlands Indies Steamship Company") until 1891, when the assets and business of the company was taken over by the Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij ("Royal Packet Navigation Company"). [2] She was named after James Loudon (1824–1900), a Dutch politician and governor of the Dutch East Indies (1872-1875).
In 1883, while captained by Johan Lindemann, the ship was in the Sunda Strait during the eruption of Krakatoa and survived the subsequent tsunami when the captain steered the ship head on into the wave. [4] After the wave passed, pyroclastic airfall was the ship's biggest enemy. A foot of ash could have made the ship capsize, but everyone on board survived due to a combination of the crew keeping the decks clear of ash and Captain Lindeman's decision to move the passengers into the ship's hold to maintain stability which kept them alive long enough to ride out the effects of the eruption.
After surviving the tsunami caused by the eruption of Krakatoa, the ship was stranded and lost in the Flores Sea off the Tengga Batoe reef south of Selayar Island in 1898. [2]
The 1953 American adventure film Fair Wind to Java depicts a fictional sailing ship, the Gerrymander, which rides out a large tsunami generated by the 1883 explosion of Krakatoa. The 1969 American disaster film Krakatoa, East of Java depicts a fictional steamer, the Batavia Queen, surviving an encounter with an enormous tsunami at sea between Krakatoa and Java in 1883. Both scenes apparently were inspired at least in part by the historical experience of the Governor General Loudon.
The 2005 British documentary Krakatoa and the 2006 BBC Television docudrama Krakatoa: The Last Days (aired in the United States on the Discovery Channel with the title Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction) both depict the experience of the Governor General Loudon and Captain Lindemann in the Sunda Strait during the 1883 eruption.
Krakatoa, also transcribed Krakatau, is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group comprising four islands. Two of them are known as Lang and Verlaten; another, Rakata, is the only remnant of an island mostly destroyed by an eruption in 1883 which created the caldera.
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.
A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion, ultravulcanian eruption or steam-blast eruption, occurs when magma heats ground water or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma causes near-instantaneous evaporation of water to steam, resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and volcanic bombs. At Mount St. Helens in Washington state, hundreds of steam explosions preceded the 1980 Plinian eruption of the volcano. A less intense geothermal event may result in a mud volcano.
Rakata, also called Greater Krakatau, is a partially collapsed and uninhabited stratovolcano on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java. Standing 813 m (2,667 ft) tall, it was the largest and southernmost of three volcanoes that formed the island Krakatoa and the only one not totally destroyed in the 1883 eruption. Rakata is the last remnant of the original island prior to its destruction. However, Rakata did lose its northern half in that eruption, leaving just its southern half. The exposed cliff is quite striking visually, partially of a large exposed dike terminating in a large lenticular extrusion at the middle of the almost vertical cliff. The feature has been called "the Eye of Krakatoa."
Anak Krakatau is a volcanic island in Indonesia. On 29 December 1927, Anak Krakatau first emerged from the caldera formed in 1883 by the explosive volcanic eruption that destroyed the island of Krakatoa. There has been sporadic eruptive activity at the site since the late 20th century, culminating in a large underwater collapse of the volcano, which caused a deadly tsunami in December 2018. There has been subsequent activity since. Owing to its young age the island is one of several in the area that are of interest to, and the subject of extensive study by volcanologists.
Krakatoa, East of Java is a 1968 American disaster film starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. During the 1970s, the film was re-released under the title Volcano. The story is loosely based on events surrounding the 1883 eruption of the volcano on the island of Krakatoa, with the characters engaged in the recovery of a cargo of pearls from a shipwreck perilously close to the volcano. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Special Visual Effects.
Port of Merak is a seaport located in the Pulo Merak District of the city of Cilegon, Banten, on the northwestern tip of Java, Indonesia. The port and district are named after the green peafowl, which once lived in the region, but now only lives in the nearby Ujung Kulon National Park. The port is connected to Jakarta via the Jakarta-Merak Toll Road and is also connected to the Bakauheni port which is located at the south of the Trans-Sumatran Highway.
Krakatoa: The Last Days is a BBC Television docudrama that premiered on 7 May 2006 on BBC One. The program is based upon four eyewitness accounts of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, an active stratovolcano between the islands of Sumatra and Java, present day Indonesia.
Perboewatan was one of the three main volcanic cones on the island of Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, in Indonesia. It was the lowest and northernmost of the cones. Perboewatan was completely destroyed during the 1883 eruption; the caldera is approximately 820 feet (250 m) deep at its former location.
Danan was one of the three volcanic cones on the island of Krakatoa, in the Sunda Strait, in Indonesia. It stood 450 metres (1,480 ft), lay in the central area of the island, and may have been a twin volcano. Danan was almost entirely destroyed in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa; only a rocky islet named Bootsmansrots remains of it.
Anyer, also known as Anjer or Angier, is a coastal town in Banten, formerly West Java, Indonesia, 82 miles (100 km) west of Jakarta and 15 kilometers (9 mi) south of Merak. A significant coastal town late 18th century, Anyer faces the Sunda Strait.
Sebesi is an Indonesian island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, and part of the province of Lampung. It rises to a height of 844 metres (2,769 ft) and lies about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the Krakatoa Archipelago; it is the closest large island to Krakatoa, about the same area and height as the remnant of Rakata. Like Krakatoa, it too is volcanic, although no dated eruptions are known. Unlike the Krakatoa Archipelago, Sebesi has permanent streams and is inhabited. Habitation is concentrated most heavily on the northern and eastern coasts of the island.
Rogier Diederik Marius Verbeek was a Dutch geologist and natural scientist.
Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij, was a Dutch shipping line in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. It traded form 1888 to 1966. It was the dominant inter-island shipping line in the Dutch East Indies in the last half-century of the colonial era.
Panaitan is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, and in the Indonesian province of Banten. It is the largest island in the strait, and is located near the westernmost tip of Java. Like the nearby Krakatoa, it too is volcanic in origin, although there are no known historic eruptions. The name 'Prince's Island' apparently is because the island was considered the property of Javan princes. Administratively, the island is a part of Pandeglang Regency.
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait occurred from 20 May until 21 October 1883, peaking in the late morning of 27 August when over 70% of the island of Krakatoa and its surrounding archipelago were destroyed as it collapsed into a caldera.
Fair Wind to Java is a 1953 American adventure film in Trucolor from Republic Pictures, produced and directed by Joseph Kane, that stars Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston. With special effects by the Lydecker brothers, the film was based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Garland Roark.
The Colonial Exhibition, Dutch: Koloniale Tentoonstelling, took place in Semarang, Dutch East Indies in from 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 2018 Sunda strait tsunami occurred on 22 December 2018 at around 21:38 local time after large parts of the southwestern side of Anak Krakatoa collapsed onto its caldera. The landslide spawned a massive tsunami wave that struck multiple coastal regions in Banten and Lampung, including the popular tourist destination of Anyer.
The Krakatoa Archipelago is a small uninhabited archipelago of volcanic islands formed by the Krakatoa stratovolcano located in the Sunda Strait, nestled between the much larger islands of Java and Sumatra. As of 2018, the archipelago consists of four main islands: Verlaten, Lang, Rakata, and the currently volcanically active Anak Krakatoa. Together, the islands are a part of the Indonesian island arc system, created by the northeastward subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate. As part of a dynamic volcanic system, the islands have been continuously reshaped throughout recorded history, most notably in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.
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