Martha Christina Tiahahu Monument

The Martha Christina Tiahahu Monument stands on a hill in the Karang Panjang area, about ten minutes from downtown Ambon. An eight-metre bronze statue of the young Ambonese freedom fighter, spear raised, gazes out over the city and Ambon Bay below.

The monument is one of the best viewpoints in Ambon, particularly at sunset when the bay and the hills of the Leihitu peninsula are bathed in good light. Martha Christina Tiahahu fought alongside her father against the Dutch colonial forces in 1817 and died in captivity in 1818, aged just 17. She is one of Indonesia's declared National Heroes, and the combination of her story and the view makes this worth the short trip from the city centre.

things to do sight
A story
Martha Christina Tiahahu was only 17 when she joined her father in resisting the Dutch re-occupation of Maluku in 1817. After the uprising was crushed and her father executed, the Dutch captured her and put her on a boat to Java. She refused to eat, died on the voyage, and was buried at sea on 2 January 1818 — seventeen days after her eighteenth birthday. She is now a National Hero of Indonesia and one of the few women in that category, recognized for a resistance that cost her everything.