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Ponky van den Broecke: The last of his kind
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Ponky van den Broecke. (JP/Mark Heyward)
Ponky van den Broecke is a nutmeg planter and a guy with an amazing story on the Banda Islands.
Ponky is a fit-looking man in his early 60s with remarkably clear skin and bright eyes. The eyes resemble those of Ponky’s ancestor, 17th century Dutch mariner Pieter van den Broecke, who looks self-assured and aristocratic in his portrait.
“Pieter van den Broecke arrived in Banda in 1612 and established the first nutmeg plantation on the island of Ai in 1624,” Ponky explained of his ancestor.
“He died when his ship was sunk by pirates in the Strait of Malacca in 1640. I’m a member of the 13th generation of Van den Broeckes in Banda,” he added.
Back then, a cargo of nutmeg purchased in Banda could fetch up to 300 times the price when sold in Europe.
The highly prized spice grew nowhere else on earth. Fortunes were made and lost.
