Doom Island, The Lost 'Netherland City' in West Papua
Located in Sorong city, this island is a historical natural tourist spot because there are Hoofd Van Plaatselijik Bestuur offices, Doom prison and a football field which is the heritage of the Dutch and Japanese colonial times. Doom Island is located about 3 kilometers from the small port of Sorong city, West Papua and to reach it, visitors only need 15 minutes by fishing boat.
Doom Island, or also known as Dum Island by the local indigenous people (the Malamooi) has the meaning of an island overgrown with fruit trees. This is reasonable because many fruit plants grow on this island, especially breadfruit which dominates. The island is not too big because it has only about 5 square kilometers area and can be completely surrounded in just 45 minutes. However, this island is dense and inhabited by many immigrants who are generally Javanese, Butonese, Bugis, or Toraja. Doom Island borders the Pacific Ocean directly and visited by many tourists every day.
However, the specialty of Doom Island is not just geographical conditions. Doom Island has been known and inhabited since the Dutch occupation. What is special about this island is the historical value it has. The Dutch have looked at the existence of this island since the 1800s and then around 1935 Doom Island was used as the capital of the central government of Sorong called Onderafdeling. At that time, Sorong was not a city at all, the center of activity was entirely on Doom Island. This of course makes Doom get electricity, infrastructure and various facilities first, compared to mainland Sorong. So, do not be surprised if at that time Doom Island was the most shining among other places in Sorong. Because of the bright light, local people also call Doom Island as stars island.
Not only the Netherlands, Japan has also experienced living on this island. During the second world war, the Japanese made Doom Island their base of defense in Hollandia area. The Japanese army made many caves that were interconnected with many defense bunkers in Japanese style war strategy at that time. Therefore, it is not surprising that at this time we will find a lot of Japan caves, spread widely in the mainland area of Doom Island.
The existence of the Netherlands and Japan of course raises a special condition for Doom Island at this time. The buildings on Doom island have a very different architecture from any other part of Papua, including Sorong city. Usually, the Papuan people houses are generally houses on stilts and made of wood, but on Doom Island we will see typical Dutch houses with their famous strong and neatly arranged constructions. We can still see the relics of various Dutch facilities, such as electric substations, churches and multi-purpose buildings. We will feel like we're not in the Sorong area.
Another unique thing is the existence of pedicab that pass a lot on this island. Amazingly, pedicab only exist on this island and do not spread to Sorong city. According to one pedicab driver, the pedicab was brought by several transmigrants who had previously decided to live on Doom Island. This condition eventually developed and made pedicab as one of the main transportation on this beautiful island. In addition to pedicab, there are also motorbikes and bicycles as transportation. Meanwhile, to connect Doom with Sorong, people generally rely on motor boats or fishing boats.
Until now, the existence of Doom Island is still widely known. In fact, for some Dutch army veterans who have served on this island, Doom will always be interesting to visit. There are so many foreign tourists, especially Dutch and Japanese citizens who come to Doom Island individually just to reminisce about the past and go around remembering the nostalgia of their existence in this place.
