Bay of Dili

The Bay of Dili (Portuguese: Baía de Díli, Tetum: Baía Dili) is a bay on the north coast of East Timor adjacent to Dili, its capital city. The bay forms part of Ombai Strait, which separates the Alor Archipelago from the islands of Wetar, Atauro, and Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Bay of Dili
View north east towards Cape Fatucama, which resembles a crocodile's nose
View north east towards Cape Fatucama, which resembles a crocodile's nose
Location in Dili##Location in East Timor
Location in Dili##Location in East Timor
Bay of Dili
Location in Dili
Location in Dili##Location in East Timor
Location in Dili##Location in East Timor
Bay of Dili
Location in East Timor
LocationDili, Dili municipality, East Timor
Coordinates8°32′57″S 125°34′31″E
TypeBay
Native name
Part of
River sources
References[1]

Geography

The bay is located on the southern side of Ombai Strait, immediately to the north of the similarly named Dili municipality. It extends from the mouth of the Comoro River in the west to Cristo Rei Beach, Cape Fatucama, and the Cristo Rei of Dili statue in the north east.[1]: 3, 17, 29, 45, 55 [2]

History

Early records about Timor, especially before the 1700s, are sparse.[3]: 199  Portuguese settlers are said to have arrived in the Bay of Dili in 1520, and to have established a small settlement there.[4]

A quarter of a millennium later, in 1769, the governor of Portuguese Timor sought to break the influence of powerful local families in Lifau, Oecusse, his then residence, by moving the colonial administration and 1,200 people to the shore of the bay, at the site of what would become Dili, the colonial capital.[5]

The bay's location at the centre of Timor's north coast, and its natural features, were favourable for the establishment of such a capital. Its waters were calm, and the combination of Capes Fatucama and Tibar, and the offshore island of Atauro, provided shelter for ships at anchor. Although the terrain on the bay's shores was swampy and unhealthy, there was also arable land that could be used for the cultivation of cereals, and a supply of drinking water.[6]

The Dili waterfront, c. 1901
The Dili waterfront, c. 1901

For many decades, Dili evolved only slowly. At the turn of the twentieth century, there was significant development of the city, under the governorship of José Celestino da Silva (1894–1908). However, most of the buildings constructed at that time were destroyed during World War II.[6]

In the 1950s, Dili was reconstructed, according to a plan that included the siting of residential nuclei along the two-lane, one-way street now known as Avenida Marginal, on the shore of the bay. With its lining of substantial, mature trees, and its broad pathway for pedestrians, the Avenida became the capital's favourite public promenade.[6]

On 7 December 1975, Indonesian troops landed in Dili. The following day, after capturing the city, Indonesian soldiers led groups of civilians, including members of Fretilin and others, from various locations to the Dili wharf, and shot them.[7][8] The total number of people executed on the Dili waterfront that day is estimated at 150.[9] Some of the bodies of those who had been shot on the Dili wharf were later washed ashore at Areia Branca Beach on the eastern side of the bay; other people were taken to that beach, executed, and dumped into the water.[10][11]

Economy

Fishing
Net fishing in the bay, c. 2006
Net fishing in the bay, c. 2006

The fishing industry in East Timor is not well-developed.[12] The country has abundant fish stocks, but almost all of its fishing is subsistence or semi-subsistence.[13]: xvii  The fisheries sector, both in the Bay of Dili and nationally, is dominated by small-scale coastal fisheries, and most of the capture fishing in coastal areas is carried out in nearshore waters. There is no locally owned and operated commercial fishing fleet.[14]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has said that reliable data on East Timor's fishery resources are scant.[12] According to the final report of a 2011 project by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aimed at promoting agribusiness in East Timor, the then Dili District (now the Dili municipality), which then included, but no longer includes, Atauro (outside the Bay of Dili), was responsible for around 40% of the country's fish production.[15]: v 

The FAO's Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile for East Timor, prepared in May 2019, estimated that the total fish production in 2007 and 2008 in the then Dili District was 1,035,000 kg (2,282,000 lb) and 1,170,900 kg (2,581,400 lb), respectively.[14] However, neither the report nor the Country Profile identified how much of that production was derived from the capture of fish in the Bay of Dili.[14][15]

During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, the Indonesian Government set up 151 fishing centres nationwide, including 13 on the Dili mainland and 18 on Atauro. Those centres still exist, and serve as the main sites for the landing of captured fish. They are also used for the sale and marketing of fish, and are intended to serve as local foci for fisheries management.[14]

Port of Dili
Main article: Port of Dili

The Port of Dili is located at the southern extremity of the bay, and also at the north western edge of the Dili city centre.[1]: 58, 62  Until 30 September 2022, it was the main and only international port of entry to East Timor;[16] since then, its facilities have been open only to domestic passenger ships and cruise ships carrying international tourists.[17]

See also

References
  1. Município Dili: Esboços Mapa Suco no Aldeia Timor-Leste (PDF) (in Tetum). Dili: Ministério das Finanças / Direcção Geral de Estatística / Direcção Nacional Cartografia Estatísticas. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  2. "East Timor Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - UT Library Online: City Maps - Dili U.S. Central Intelligence Agency 1999". University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  3. Thomaz, Luís Filipe F. R. (2017). "La chronologie historique de Timor Oriental". Archipel (in French) (93): 199–217. doi:10.4000/archipel.416. hdl:10400.14/35931.
  4. Hearman, Vannessa (2022). "Chapter 1. Displacement, Urban Transformations and Resistance in Indonesian-Occupied Dili, East Timor". In Baillargeon, David; Taylor, Jeremy E. (eds.). Spatial Histories of Occupation Colonialism, Conquest and Foreign Control in Asia. London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 25–50. doi:10.5040/9781350257023.ch-001. ISBN 9781350252608. S2CID 247049439. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  5. Telkamp, Gerard J. (1979). "The Economic Structure of an Outpost in the Outer Islands in the Indonesian Archipelago: Portuguese Timor 1850–1975". In Van Anrooij, Francien (ed.). Between People and Statistics. Springer. p. 72. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-8846-0_6. ISBN 978-94-009-8846-0.
  6. Alves, Edmundo; Bagulho, Fernando. "Díli, Timor". HPIP Heritage of Portuguese Influence. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  7. "Part 3: The History of the Conflict" (PDF). Chega! The Report of the Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation Timor-Leste. Dili: Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor. 2005. p. 64. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  8. "Part 7.2: Unlawful Killings and Enforced Disappearances" (PDF). Chega! The Report of the Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation Timor-Leste. Dili: Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor. 2005. pp. 40–44. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  9. Carey, Peter B. (2007). "East Timor under Indonesian Occupation, 1975-99". In Tan, Andrew T.H. (ed.). A Handbook of Terrorism and Insurgency in Southeast Asia. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 374–401. ISBN 9781845425432.
  10. Kingsbury, Damien (2009). East Timor: The Price of Liberty. Basingstoke, Hants, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9780230606418.
  11. Gomes, Donaciano (1995). "Chapter 6: The East Timor Intifada: Testimony of a Student Activist". In Carey, Peter; Bentley, G. Carter (eds.). East Timor at the Crossroads: The Forging of a Nation. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 106. ISBN 0824817885.
  12. Flitton, Daniel (25 February 2017). "Economy of scales: Depleted stocks force Asian fishermen into Australian waters". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  13. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of Timor-Leste (2011 – 2020) (PDF) (Report) (rev. ed.). Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  14. "Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles: Timor-Leste". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). May 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  15. The Study on Project for Promotion of Agribusiness in Timor-Leste: Final Report (Master Plan) (PDF) (Report). Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). November 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  16. "2.1 Timor-Leste Port of Dili - Logistics Capacity Assessment - Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments". dlca.logcluster.org. World Food Programme. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  17. "Tibar Bay Port construction reaches 92% and enters into operation on September 30th". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.

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