The Broome Historical Museum preserves one of Australia’s most important collections relating to the Japanese air raid on Broome on 3 March 1942 and the Dutch and Netherlands East Indies evacuees caught in the attack.
Operated by the Broome Historical Society, the museum occupies Broome’s former Customs House and adjoining historic buildings at Town Beach Reserve. Its wider collection documents the town’s Aboriginal, pearling, maritime, multicultural and wartime history.
For Dutch–Australian history, the museum is particularly important because it preserves objects, photographs, documents and personal accounts connected with the evacuation from the Netherlands East Indies and the destruction of Dutch aircraft at Broome.
Broome and the evacuation from the Netherlands East Indies
During February and early March 1942, Broome became an important refuelling and transit point on the evacuation route from Java to southern Australia. Civilian and military aircraft carried government officials, servicemen, aircrews and families fleeing the Japanese advance through the Netherlands East Indies.
By the morning of 3 March, numerous flying boats were moored in Roebuck Bay, while transport aircraft and American bombers were stationed at Broome airfield. Many of those aboard had only recently escaped from Java and were awaiting onward transport.
That morning, Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters attacked the aircraft in Roebuck Bay and at the airfield. Numerous Allied aircraft were destroyed, and more than 80 people lost their lives, including Dutch civilian evacuees and military personnel.
The wider history of the attack is documented in the DACC article The Drama of Broome, 3 March 1942.
The museum’s air-raid collection
The museum interprets the attack through photographs, documents, oral histories, personal possessions and objects recovered from aircraft wrecks.
These objects help explain the human consequences of the raid. One particularly poignant item is a small tinplate model of a Spitfire recovered from the wreckage of a Dutch Dornier flying boat. It is believed to have belonged to one of the Dutch children killed during the attack.
The Australian War Memorial has also used the toy in its interpretation of the Broome raid, with acknowledgement to the Broome Historical Society.
The collection places the aircraft and military operations within the experiences of the evacuees, aircrews, rescuers and Broome residents who witnessed the attack.
The Dornier engine and propeller
Among the museum’s most significant Dutch aviation artefacts is a radial engine and propeller recovered from a Dornier Do 24K flying boat destroyed during the Japanese attack on 3 March 1942.
The engine was recovered from Roebuck Bay in the late 1970s. Although it came from one of the five Dutch Dorniers destroyed in the raid, the individual aircraft has not been conclusively identified.
Following deterioration caused by salt contamination, the artefact underwent conservation with financial assistance from Dutch and Australian organisations.
Further information is available in the DACC article: A Dutch flying boat remembered: the Dornier Do 24 engine at Broome.
The wreck sites in Roebuck Bay
The remains of fifteen flying boats are associated with the attack on Broome. They include aircraft operated by the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service, United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and British civil operators.
At exceptionally low tides, the remains of several aircraft can still be seen on the floor of Roebuck Bay.
The wreck sites are protected under Western Australian heritage legislation. They are also places of remembrance because passengers and crew died aboard or near several of the aircraft.
Research by the Western Australian Museum, Broome Historical Society and Dutch heritage organisations has helped identify individual wrecks and document their condition. The Broome Historical Society also played an important role in seeking legal protection for the sites after objects were removed without authorisation.
Preserving recovered objects within the museum allows visitors to learn about the wrecks without further disturbing these vulnerable underwater archaeological sites.
Personal and community history
The museum places the Dutch story within the experience of the Broome community. In 1942, Broome was a small and isolated pearling settlement whose residents suddenly had to assist large numbers of military personnel and civilian evacuees.
Local records, photographs and oral histories document the attack, rescue attempts, medical assistance, temporary burials and subsequent evacuation of the town. They also show how the events of 1942 were experienced and remembered by Broome’s Aboriginal, Asian and European communities.
The museum’s online exhibition Broome during World War II provides access to a selection of these stories and objects for people unable to visit the museum.
A place of remembrance
The Broome Historical Museum forms part of a wider heritage landscape that includes the surviving wreck sites, the Broome airfield, commemorative locations and memorials to those killed during the raid.
Together, these places record not only an important episode in Australian military history but also the experiences of Dutch and Netherlands East Indies families whose attempted escape ended in tragedy.
By preserving objects, documents, photographs and community memories associated with the raid, the Broome Historical Society maintains one of Australia’s most important collections documenting the Dutch wartime presence in Western Australia.
Related DACC articles
- Broome and the Dutch Research Portal
- The Drama of Broome, 3 March 1942
- A Dutch flying boat remembered: the Dornier Do 24 engine at Broome
- The Dutch Dornier Do 24 flying boats in Australian service
- From Pearl Harbor to Broome: Dutch seaplanes and the shifting tides of the Pacific War
- DACC Air Force Research Portal
Sources and further information
The Japanese raid on Broome—Australian War Memorial
Broome Historical Society and Museum
Broome during World War II—Broome Historical Society
