Surabaya - Encyclopedia Britannica 1911

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

SURABAYA (Dutch Soerabaja), a seaport of Java, in the eastern division of the island, on the narrow Surabaya strait, which separates the island of Madura from Java, and at the mouth of the Kali Mas River. Pop. (1900), 146,944 (Europeans 8906; Chinese 13,035). Surabaya is the principal mercantile town in Java. Its roadstead is sheltered by Madura, and it has important dockyards. It is also the headquarters of the military authorities for East Java, and has artillery workshops. Railways running north-west, south-west and south give it connexions throughout the island. In the old town, with its partly demolished fortifications, houses, shops and warehouses are more closely packed and the streets are narrower than in most East Indian towns, and, although a considerable number of Europeans live in this quarter, the outlying quarters, such as Simpang (where is the government house) and Tuntungan, are preferable for residence.