Author Archives: ianburnet

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About ianburnet

Author of the book, Spice Islands. Which tells the History, Romance and Adventure of the spice trade from the Moluccas in Eastern Indonesia over a period of 2000 years. Author of the book, East Indies.Which tells the history of the struggle between the Portuguese Crown, the Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company for supremacy in the Eastern Seas. Author of the book 'Archipelago - A Journey Across Indonesia'. Author of the book 'Where Australia Collides with Asia' Author of the book 'The Tasman Map'. Author of the book 'Eastern Voyages'.

Alfred Russel Wallace – The letter from Ternate

Posted on December 11, 2017 by ianburnet

From January 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace made the Dutch controlled island of Ternate his principle residence and base for the next three years, while he embarked on collecting natural history specimens around the adjacent islands and as far east as … Continue reading →

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Seen and Unseen – Book Review

Posted on December 9, 2017 by ianburnet

Russell Darnley seeks to cover an extensive time span in his book Seen and Unseen: a century of stories from Asia and the Pacific. I have read it as a memoir written as 29 stories, beginning when he was a … Continue reading →

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‘Where Australia Collides with Asia’ – Jakarta Post book review

Posted on November 30, 2017 by ianburnet

Don’t be confused by the title. Ian Burnet’s latest book, Where Australia Collides with Asia is not about the clash of civilizations. It is the story of how continental drift has created the world in which we live, and, in … Continue reading →

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Alfred Russel Wallace – The voyage to Aru

Posted on November 27, 2017 by ianburnet

The British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was the greatest of all archipelago travellers in his search for rare and exotic natural history specimens to send back from eastern Indonesia to collectors in Britain. Macassan traders made annual voyages to the … Continue reading →

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The Wallace Line

Posted on November 13, 2017 by ianburnet

In June 1856 the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace crossed the narrow strait between the islands of Bali and Lombok. During the few days when he stayed on the north coast of Bali he saw birds highly characteristic of Asian … Continue reading →

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The Banda Islands – Fort Belgica

Posted on October 17, 2017 by ianburnet

The original Fort Belgica was rebuilt in 1673 and the new design consisted of a low outer pentagonal structure with five angled corner bastions and a higher inner pentagon with five tall circular towers. The fort was built by the … Continue reading →

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Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2017

Posted on October 6, 2017 by ianburnet

From humble beginnings in 2002, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival has evolved into one of the world’s most celebrated literary and artistic events – an annual pilgrimage for lovers of literature and conversation. Bringing together some of the world’s … Continue reading →

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‘Where Australia Collides with Asia’ – Book Review by Maximos Russell Darnley

Posted on October 6, 2017 by ianburnet

Some historical narratives can be difficult to follow when they are punctuated by countless footnotes and bibliographic references, or broken by a frequent need to delve into appendices. Ian Burnet frees his work from these impediments. By seamlessly embedding his … Continue reading →

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The Mardijkers of Batavia – The music of the Keroncong Tugu Band

Posted on September 18, 2017 by ianburnet

For those who like some of the best of keroncong music, follow the link to various performances of the Keroncong Tugu Band: For all SeaTrekkers, don’t forget to watch the Medley Ambon as it will will bring back white waves … Continue reading →

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The Forgotten Mardijkers of Batavia

Posted on September 16, 2017 by ianburnet

In 1699 the population of Batavia consisted of 3679 Chinese, 2407 Mardjikers or Portuguese Eurasians, 1,783 Dutch, 670 Dutch Eurasians and the original inhabitants or Orang Betawi. These Portuguese Eurasians had been brought to Batavia as slaves or indentured labour … Continue reading →

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