By Dr Nonja Peters
This paper examines the complex experiences of Dutch, Eurasian, and Indonesian evacuees who fled the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies during the Pacific War and found temporary refuge in Australia. Drawing on archival sources and eyewitness accounts, it explores their reception, living conditions, and the political tensions that shaped their stay — from cooperation under the wartime Allied alliance to postwar hostility during Indonesia’s struggle for independence. It also highlights the role of the Netherlands Indies Welfare Organisation for Evacuees (NIWOE), the influence of Australia’s White Australia Policy, and the impact of Australian trade union boycotts on Dutch shipping. The study captures the contradictions of war, where humanitarian needs intersected with political agendas, and sheds light on a largely overlooked chapter in Dutch–Australian–Indonesian history.
The letter below is relevant to the publication above in relation to the sentence “Despite his Dutch extraction…”
