Photo Soewondohospital at Pati 1936 (Image 80796)

The ‘Koloniaal Verslag’ 1904 (Colonial Report) mentions the conversion of prisons into specialized hospitals for prostitutes and into indigenous hospitals. Formerly these institutions were called sompoks. At Pati (Residency Semarang) such a replacement took place in 1904.

In the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch-Indie no. 57 of 1 February 1909 (Decision Governor-General no. 37 of 23 january 1909)  the appointment of the staff of the ‘Inlandsch hospitaal’ (Indigenous hospital) at Pati (Semarang) is announced. Appointed are: one mandur at a monthly salary of f 15 and two male or female servants at a monthly pay of f 10 each. It is stipulated that an expansion above 40 occupied beds may lead to the appointment of an additional servant for each 15 patients above 40.

The Appendix to the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch-Indie no 11446 of 27 August 1927 assigns only nursing class 4 (tariff f 1,50) to this hospital, meaning that it was a small elementary hospital.

Pati was in the 1930s a regency with a capital of the same name, district and regency of the Residency Japara-Rembang in the province of Central Java. The regency had 512,000 inhabitants of whom 462 Europeans and 5,600 Chinese. The capital Pati is at the same time seat of the rulers od the regency and of the Residency. The town had 22,000 inhabitants of whom 200 Europeans and 2,300 Chinese. The town is situated on the Postweg and on the railroad. The principal river is the Djoewana and the region is very fertile: rice and sugar (Gonggryp 1934, 1153).