In a letter published in this newspaper an anonymous Dutch navy officer described the miserable condition of the Dutch warships serving at that moment in the Dutch East Indies. He was quite cynical in his comment dealing with the condition of the ships ending with the phrase Happy Indies! Happy Navy! Poor Netherlands!
The Prinses Amalia was underwater still in good condition, but the hull above the waterline was decayed and harassed by termites, according to orders given she was continuous under repairs.(1)
Note
1. Dutch steam corvette Zr.Ms. Prinses Amelia 1850-1875 ex-sailing corvette Borneo 1845-1850 Borneo, ‘kuil’corvette, on stocks at the navy yard at Rotterdam, Netherlands 30 August 1845, designed by K. Turk, disassembled and transported to the navy yard of Vlissingen, Netherlands August 1850, laid down by P.A. Bruin 29 July 1853, launched as Princes Amelia as corvette with steam power afternoon Friday 12 October 1855, guard ship at Surabaya, Dutch East Indies 1872-1875, condemned and sold on auction at Surabaya for ƒ 20.000 to be broken up on 9 October 1875, dimensions 36,50 x 10,3metres as Borneo and as Prinses Amelia 51 x 11,5 x 5-5,6 (1874) metres, displacement, 776 (Borneo)-1.350 (Prinses Amelia) tons, 807 tonnage (Prinses Amelia 1874), 16-19 (Prinses Amelia)-28 (Borneo) guns, crew as Prinses Amelia numbering 178 (1874)-207 men, maximum speed under steam 6-7knots and a horsepower of 150 hp.
