Balikpapan

Introducing Balikpapan

Black gold pumps through Balikpapan’s veins, from the endless stream of traffic, to the concrete, glass and steel business blocks competing for attention along the main drag. The huge oil refinery dominates the city and, when flying in, you can see stray tankers and offshore oil rigs.

For travellers it’s best enjoyed for a bout of air-con and Western pleasantries. Industrious strips of traders, eateries and hotels line the waterfront, and climbing the hills, the concrete peters out into the lush green suburbs that pepper slopes around Gunung Pancur.

Balikpapan’s oilfields made it a strategic target during the 1941 Japanese invasion, and again in the Allied advances in 1944–45. Australians occupied Balikpapan after a bloody invasion and suppressed anticolonial unrest. A memorial stands on Blvd Meridian near Pertamina Hospital for the 229 Australians who died here, and there’s a memorial for Japanese soldiers near the beach at Lamaru, east of the airport on the way to Manggar.

Last updated: Oct 30, 2008