Shipwrecks, aircraft, Dutch East India Company history and Camp Columbia form part of an expanding program of Dutch–Australian heritage cooperation
A new report from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands highlights the breadth of Dutch-related heritage projects currently being undertaken across Australia.
The International Programme for Maritime Heritage: Report 2022–2025, published in March 2026, records the work of the Cultural Heritage Agency—known in the Netherlands as the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE)—in managing Dutch shipwrecks overseas and supporting international heritage cooperation.
Australia occupies a substantial place in the report. The projects range from early Dutch East India Company exploration and historic shipwrecks to Second World War aircraft, a Dutch submarine, Aboriginal custodianship and the preservation of Camp Columbia in Brisbane.
Aircraft wrecks at Broome
The Western Australian Museum has been investigating the remains of 15 aircraft destroyed in Broome during the devastating Japanese air raid of 3 March 1942.
Diving and archaeological investigations were conducted at nine locations in 2022. Objects recovered from the aircraft sites were registered in 2024, and work is continuing on a management plan for the wrecks.
The aircraft are important evidence of the shared Australian, Dutch and Allied experience of the war in the region.
See: The Drama of Broome 3-3-1942
Dutch passengers aboard HMAS Armidale
The RCE also plans to support historical research into the large group of Dutch passengers aboard the Australian corvette HMAS Armidale when it was sunk by Japanese aircraft in December 1942.
The ship had been attempting to reinforce and evacuate Allied forces and civilians from Timor. Its loss is an important part of the intertwined Australian and Netherlands East Indies wartime story.
See: The Tragic Fate of HMAS Armidale includes many Dutch losses.
The wreck of the
Another project concerns the Koning Willem II, an 800-ton Dutch barque wrecked near Robe in South Australia during a severe storm in 1857.
The RCE is supporting research into the vessel in cooperation with the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
See: ‘Koning Willem de Tweede”: a Dutch migrant shipwreck with Chinese and Aboriginal connections
Australian evidence of the Dutch East India Company
The report highlights Global People: Mobilising Australian Evidence in New Histories of the VOC. This Australian Research Council-funded project continues the work of the earlier Roaring 40s project.
Its purpose is to establish a long-term international research alliance and place Dutch East India Company collections in a broader global context. These collections are distributed across Australia, the Netherlands and other countries and can reveal histories extending well beyond the ships themselves.
The RCE report also refers to a Leiden University proposal examining the continuing significance of Dutch East India Company history in Australian, Japanese and Taiwanese society. This includes the effects of colonialism on Indigenous peoples and the ways this history continues to influence contemporary social issues.
See: Snapshots of the Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC) and influence in Australia
The Diamond Dakota Driftmeter
One particularly human story concerns the “Diamond Dakota”, a Royal Netherlands East Indies Airways DC-3 piloted by Ivan Smirnov.
After making an emergency landing near Carnot Bay in Western Australia in March 1942, a driftmeter from the aircraft came into the care of a local Aboriginal family. In 2024, the family formally handed the driftmeter to the Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands on behalf of the Dutch people.
The story demonstrates that heritage objects can acquire new meanings through the people and communities who preserve them.
See: The Lost Dutch Diamonds on Carnot Beach, Western Australia. New: video ABC 7:30 Report 12-11-2024
Camp Columbia receives official recognition
Camp Columbia in Brisbane is also included among the Australian international heritage cooperation projects.
Originally established as a large United States Army camp in 1942, Camp Columbia was taken over in 1944 for use by the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile. It became an important centre for Dutch and Netherlands East Indies civil, military and intelligence organisations preparing for the liberation and post-war administration of the Netherlands East Indies.
The report records that the Dutch Embassy in Australia and the RCE became involved with Camp Columbia in 2025 to help preserve the historic site and pass on its story.
See: Camp Columbia
Shared cultural heritage and diplomatic relations
The report also describes the annual Shared Cultural Heritage Programme administered by the Dutch Embassy in Canberra. Through this program, Australian organisations can seek support for projects involving Dutch–Australian heritage. The RCE assists the Embassy in assessing the proposals received.
The 80th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between Australia and the Netherlands was marked by presentations in Canberra and at the Western Australian Museum in Perth.
These activities demonstrate that shared heritage has become an important part of the continuing diplomatic and cultural relationship between the two countries.
See: 80 years of diplomatic relations Netherlands-Australia
Dutch submarine K XI located
In January 2025, a team of deep-sea divers from Perth located the wreck of the Dutch submarine Hr.Ms. K XI off the coast of Western Australia.
The wreck was identified by comparing historical records with a three-dimensional model created from information recorded by the divers.
Its discovery adds another chapter to the history of Dutch naval activity in Australian waters.
See: “Lost” Dutch Submarine HNLMS K XI Discovered Near Rottnest Island After 80 Years
Remembering the Leeuwin
The program has also supported activities commemorating the Dutch East India Company ship Leeuwin, which reached and mapped part of Australia’s western coastline in 1622.
The name survives in Cape Leeuwin, at the southwestern extremity of the Australian mainland. The heritage project included a symposium, a commemorative ceremony and the installation of interpretive signs near the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. Work continued into 2025 in cooperation with the Dutch Embassy.
See: The Leeuwin encountered WA Coast in 1622
A diverse and sometimes difficult shared history
Together, these projects show that Dutch–Australian heritage encompasses much more than the remains of Dutch ships.
It includes Aboriginal custodianship, colonial encounters, migration, diplomacy, wartime cooperation, archaeological research and the experiences of individuals caught up in major historical events.
The RCE report also recognises that this history contains achievements as well as conflict, oppression and difficult colonial legacies. Preserving this heritage therefore means not only protecting physical sites and objects, but also examining their different meanings and making their stories accessible to present and future generations.
For the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre, the report provides valuable confirmation that Australia’s Dutch heritage is part of a broader international story—and that Australian communities, museums, researchers and volunteers have an essential role in preserving it.
