Osborne was the master (gezagvoerder) of the hired steamer Marion, a vessel chartered by the Netherlands Indies Government for the supply of the troops in Atjeh, which H. F. Meijer calls a man full of zeal and good will, who had already done many and excellent services in Atjeh. His audacious attempt to unload at the bay of Kroeëng Raba in July 1876 is one of the episodes of the July expedition.
The bay of Kroeëng Raba, 13–15 July 1876
When the new post at the mouth of the Kroeëng Raba needed its guns, ammunition, rations and building materials, the Marion was loaded at Olehleh to land them in the bay, escorted by a warship, on 13 July. At the height of King’s Point the naval escort, for wind and high sea, had to turn back, and ordered the Marion back with her; both anchored again off Olehleh by noon. Osborne then went ashore and rode on horseback, at his own opportunity, to the bay to judge the state of the beach for himself; satisfied that, in the morning hours and at intervals, boats might land things, he asked permission to steam in, which was given him at his own responsibility.
In the early morning of 15 July he stood in the bay: landing by sloops proved impossible, so he threw the bundle-bound engineering materials — bamboo, laths, asphalt felt — overboard for the surf to carry ashore; a great deal of material was lost. Wind and high sea increased so much in the day that the Marion began to drag her anchors and was in danger of stranding; only by full engine power could she be worked seaward again, and Osborne returned to Olehleh. The fortification was built, in consequence, almost entirely out of materials of kampong Moesang itself.
Significance
His stubborn service shows the standing logistical difficulty of the first war years: the whole north-western coast of Atjeh lacked a safe anchorage for months of the year, and every coastal establishment — Olehleh included — was supplied only at the price of such chances.
See Also
- Sweep of the IV and VI Moekims (8-15 July 1876)
- Kroeëng Raba
- Kroeëng Raba-baai
- Oleh-leh
- Atjeh van 26 December 1875 tot 4 September 1876
Source
Atjeh van 26 December 1875 tot 4 September 1876, door H. F. Meijer (Breda: P. B. Nieuwenhuijs, 1883), chapter VII, pp. 222–224.