THE TRINIL MUSEUM

At that time, in Trinil, there was nothing more than a small shelter, three metres square, where visitors could find shade during the heat of the day. The surrounding area near the river bank was just wild, arid and barren. As for fossils, there were none to be seen. Because of this, I decided that I wanted to take care of the site and so asked permission from the Village Head at Kawu, who agreed to my proposal. I then bought a small plot of land at Trinil, built a house and cleared the land surrounding the monument. From that time on I stayed permanently at Trinil and found that many visitors came to ask about fossils. As a result, I began to gather and preserve the fossils which I often came across when bathing in the river or working in the fields. Before long, the small collection attracted the interest of the local residents, who would come to gaze and wonder at what they called tulang raksasa (giant's bones), since some of them were indeed very large.
Fosil exhibits at the Museum

As time went on my collection of fossils grew. The best time to search was after the rain, when there were landslips on the river bank. Aside from my own efforts, other local people would often ffnd fossils while bathing or working, so I made it known that they could bring their discoveries to my house, where I would exchange them for money, if I had it, or rice as compensation. Apart from helping to preserve the site, the reason for doing this was to discourage the sale of fossils to foreigners or outsiders which was, in any case, illegal.
At first, my collection was displayed on the table in my house, but after receiving the attention of the Head of the Department of Education and Culture in Ngawi, I was given three cupboards for display, which was a great help. Visitors to Trinil increased steadily and it wasn't long before I became better known as Wiro Balung (bone), which of course was appropriate. I also received regular visitors from journalists and reporters, who came to enquire about the fossils and get information about the history of the site. This made me very happy because I was sure that soon Trinil would come to the attention of the government. This happened soon enough. At the beginning of 1979 representatives from the Department of Education and Culture came to Trinil and listed all of the historical and archaeological remains there. In that same year I was given the honorary status of Guardian of the historical site. Then, in 1980, the regional government consented to my proposal that a museum should be built at Trinil. In the following year the museum was built, covering an area of 400 square metres, I and my wife becoming honorary keepers. The building was finished in 1982 and a fence added in 1984. Progress continued and in the following years the museum received glass covered display boxes for the fossils, including a special display case for the mammoth's tusk. Actually, one of my greatest wishes was to see with my own eyes the fossils found by Eugene Dubois. Eventually, by God's grace, my request was granted. Exact replicas of the prehistoric remains of Pithecanthropus Erectus were made by Dutch experts from Leiden, Amsterdam and Utrecht, with the help of Mr. Fachroel Aziz from the Geological Research and Development Centre in Bandung. In addition, photographs and original documents belonging to Eugene Dubois were made available. This all gave me great pride and happiness, for now the visitors would no longer be disappointed and they could see for themselves all the fossils collected until now, including the documents of Eugene Dubois. The above is a brief summary of the activities and development carried out since 1968 at the prehistoric site of Trinil, by the man named':

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