Nice to bump into this sculpture of the "The Shipboys of Bontekoe" in Hoorn. Hajo, Rolf, and Padde, three 14yo boys part of the crew of a ship that sailed across the oceans to Indonesia in 1628.

> During that trip one of the crew dropped a lit candle into a cask of brandy, which caused a fire that ultimately made the powder kegs explode. Fifty-five sailors, including the captain, survived and reached Batavia; Bontekoe managed to get home via China, almost being shipwrecked once more along the way. He returned to Hoorn, which he never left again; his journal became a bestseller. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Ho!

Bontekoe's journal was also the basis of the childrens book by Johan Fabricius that I read as a kid -- sweet memories. Turned into a movie in 2007.

Sculpture from 1967 by Jan van Druten.

#hoorn #bontekoe #fabricius #sculpture #JanVanDruten #scheepsjongens #JohanFabricius
Honderd jaar geleden verscheen het #jongensboek 'De #scheepsjongens van #Bontekoe', van de toen pas 25-jarige schrijver Johan Fabricius (1899-1981). Ik schreef er een artikel over dat is te lezen in nr. 184 van de tweewekelijkse opiniekrant #Argus - verkrijgbaar in de Betere #Boekhandel. Nog beter is het natuurlijk zich te abonneren. Zie https://arguspers.nl/over-ons/
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