The Equatorial Monument

Among all countries in the World, only twelve straddle the Equator. While among the countless cities within those twelve countries, only one sits right on this invisible line that separates the earth's southern from the northern hemisphere. Pontianak, capital of the province of West Kalimantan – formerly known as West Borneo - has the distinction of being the only city in the world that sits right on the Equator, a fact that needs no international approval nor agreement. This is the very reason why the Equatorial monument was built here, although Pontianak’s founder, Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie was not in the slightest aware of this fact.

Using simple tools and methods, an unnamed Dutch geographer and explorer spearheaded a mission to find a city on the Equator. Eventually, in 1928, he found this city by the longest river in the Indonesian archipelago that was the sole urban setting right on the line of the Equator. He immediately marked the spot on the river bank of Kapuas Kecil (small Kapuas) with a simple pole and an arrow. Only 70 years later, when the monument had passed many renovations and reconstructions, that Indonesia's Agency for Applied Technology made precise studies, made corrections to the exact spot of the Equator using geographic positioning system. Although the difference proved to be quite considerable, yet admiration to the original team of explorers remains and will never be forgotten.