Post and Telegraph Office in Makassar, 1910

Photo: E. Becker/National Gallery of Australia

At first, not many Dutch people wanted to work and settle in the Dutch East Indies. Most of those who worked overseas were usually VOC employees consisting of civilian and military personnel.

However, advances in transportation and telecommunications technology have narrowed the distance between Europe and Asia. The invention of the steamship and the telegraph made relations between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies even more intense. Coupled with the opening of the Suez Canal which cuts the distance and travel time of Europe - Asia.

As a result, more and more Dutch companies invested in the Dutch East Indies and sent their workers to work overseas. There were also more and more Dutch colonies in various cities in the Dutch East Indies, so that various infrastructures were built following technological developments in Europe.

Among them was telecommunications technology, namely the telegraph which subtituted the postal function at a much higher speed.

The photo above shows a post and telegraph office (Post En Telegraafkantoor) in Makassar around 1910. When telephone technology began to flourish, the post and telegraph office was added to one more function, namely telephone. Commonly abbreviated PTT: post, telegraph, and telephone.