Denpasar Administrative City Officially Formed In History Today, August 28, 1978

A foreign tourist in a blue shirt stood in the crowd of Denpasar City in 1975. (www.cliffordwhite.com)

JAKARTA History today, 45 years ago, August 28, 1978, the Indonesian government officially made Denpasar District, Bali as Denpasar's Administrative City. The inauguration was also perpetuated with the inauguration ceremony of the first Denpasar Mayor, I Gusti Ngurah Wardana.

Previously, Denpasar had long been known as the capital city of the Badung Kingdom, which became popular as a tourist location. Popularity does not mean much when Indonesia became independent. Denpasar's status is nothing more than a sub-district.

The name Denpasar has been famous for a long time. This name is widely known as a sign of the existence of the Badung Kingdom. The presence of the palace of the kingdom of Puri Denpasar is proof. The existence was then dim when the Dutch undermined the domination of the kingdom in Bali.

The Netherlands did not want to be dizzy. They then used the name Denpasar - from the name of the Royal Palace - for the territory of the kingdom. As a result, the Denpasar area became a place for assistant to the Dutch colonial resident to have an office. The colonial government tried to control Bali from Denpasar.

However, the passion for beauty and culture actually raised the name Denpasar worldwide. There is a role for the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies to be aggressively promoting tourism in Bali in 1914 behind it.

The study made Denpasar known as an important area that must be visited by travelers in Bali. Evidence from its fame can be seen from the presence of the first hotel in Bali in Denpasar. Bali Hotel, "he said.

Bali and Denpasar tourism then became an inseparable unit. The romance of the beauty of Denpasar continues to be told to the world. Even though Bali tourism was 'pacet' during Indonesia's Independence Day. Denpasar at that time witnessed the history of the independence fighting group to perpetuate the war of revolution. From the Indonesian Young Forces to the People's Security Army.

Tourism in the archipelago began in 1908, the same year when the Kingdom of Bali last fell to its knees before colonial soldiers. that year, an Official Tourism Office (Vereeniging Toeristenverkeer) was founded in Batavia under the auspices of the colonial government, tasked with promoting Dutch East Indies tourism. initially only limited in Java, its scope was then expanded to Bali in 1914.

"As soon as peace was created on the island, it was possible to travel there safely. But only in 1924, with the opening of a weekly marine travel service connecting Singaraja to Batavia and to Singapore, the turus began visiting Bali and the first hotel in Bali, Bali Hotal in Denpasar, only opened in 1928, at the same location as where Puputan Badung took place," explained Michel Picard in the book Kebalian: Dialological Construction of Bali Identity (2020).

The privilege of Denpasar in the past, from the royal era to the Dutch colonial era, in fact, did not make the region special. Denpasar's status has only been at the sub-district level for a long time.

The narrative only changed when the New Order Government (Orba) took power. The New Order saw Denpasar's pulse as one of Bali's tourism centers should not be underestimated. As an appreciation, the New Order then issued a rule to make Denpasar the Administratrative City.

The narrative then took place on August 28, 1978. Denpasar's Administrative City was officially formed. The inauguration was also marked by the presentation of Denpasar Mayor I Gusti Ngurah Wardana. A person who has been remembered forever as the first Mayor of Denpasar City.

The Denpasar, which was originally a sub-district, since it was inaugurated into an Administrative City based on PP Number 20/1978 then was broken down (read: developing) into 3 new sub-districts, each West Denpasar District (consisting of five villages), East Denpasar District (consisting of six villages), and South Denpasar District (consisting of seven villages). In this relationship there is no village breakdown, which remains 18 pieces as before.

"Regarding government regulation, of course, since the enactment of PP Number 20 of 1978 it has become no longer valid according to the Decree of the Governor of the Regional Head of the Bali Level Number 1063/Pem.1/316 tang gal on September 14, 1964. And the first Denpasar Mayor I Gusti Ngurah Wardana who has also been inaugurated by the Governor of the Bali Regional Head on August 28, 1978 will be guided by the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation on the Organizational Pattern of the Denpasar Administrative City Government," wrote the Depdagri Mimbar Magazine report entitled Denpasar, Mataram, and Kupang Promoted to Be Administrative City (1978).