Mauritz Kokkelink – Resistance in New Guinea and honoured at Camp Columbia
Mauritz Christiaan Kokkelink was one of the leading figures in the remarkable resistance maintained against the Japanese in Dutch New Guinea during the Second World War.
For more than two years, KNIL personnel, Indonesian and Moluccan civilians and their Papuan supporters survived in the isolated interior of the Vogelkop region. After the original commander was captured and killed, Kokkelink assumed leadership of the surviving resistance fighters.
His courage and perseverance were recognised with appointment as a Knight Fourth Class of the Military Order of William. The decoration was formally presented at Camp Columbia in Brisbane on 6 August 1945.
Early military service
Mauritz Christiaan Kokkelink was born on 17 June 1913 at Fort Willem I in Ambarawa, Netherlands East Indies.
He joined the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army—the KNIL—as a fusilier at Tjimahi on 26 March 1931. During his military career he rose to the position of temporary militia adjutant non-commissioned officer instructor.
Following the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies, Kokkelink became part of one of the few organised resistance groups that continued operating in territory under Japanese control.
Resistance in the Vogelkop
Japanese forces entered the Manokwari area of Dutch New Guinea on 12 April 1942. Approximately sixty KNIL personnel and civilians withdrew into the jungle under Captain Johannes Bernardus Herman Willemsz Geeroms.
The group included Kokkelink, government official Seth Nahuwae, Nahuwae’s wife Tina and their sixteen-year-old niece Coosje Ayal.
Secret stores of weapons, ammunition and food had been prepared in the interior. Once these supplies became exhausted or inaccessible, the resistance fighters had to obtain food and equipment from the surrounding country and through raids against Japanese positions.
They endured hunger, malaria, dysentery, beriberi, exhaustion and almost complete isolation. Several members died from illness and deprivation, while others were killed or captured by Japanese forces.
Local Papuan knowledge and assistance were indispensable. Papuan communities and guides supplied information, helped the group move through difficult country and later played a crucial role in establishing contact with Allied forces.
The Japanese attack of April 1944
By 1944, the original resistance group had been severely reduced.
On 18 April 1944 Japanese forces attacked one of its camps. Captain Willemsz Geeroms, Tina Nahuwae and several other members were captured. They were subsequently killed by the Japanese.
Coosje Ayal escaped and made a dangerous journey through the jungle to reach and warn other members of the resistance. Kokkelink was away from the camp when the attack occurred and consequently avoided capture.
Following the loss of Willemsz Geeroms, Kokkelink assumed command of the remaining resistance fighters. Despite their greatly reduced numbers and precarious condition, they continued to evade the Japanese.
Contact with NEFIS and evacuation
In September 1944, the Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service sent Party RADISH to establish contact with the surviving resistance group.
The NEFIS personnel were unable to penetrate sufficiently far inland. Two Papuan scouts therefore carried a message through the jungle and reached Kokkelink and his companions on 22 September.
On 4 October 1944, the survivors finally made contact with Party RADISH and were brought to safety. They were subsequently taken to Hollandia for medical attention before members of the group travelled to Australia.
The Manokwari resistance flag
The Dutch flag carried by the resistance group became an important symbol of its survival.
The flag consists of red and blue woollen strips and a white cotton strip bearing the names of seventeen surviving resistance fighters. It became closely associated with Kokkelink and the Manokwari resistance group.
The flag is preserved at Museum Bronbeek in Arnhem and has been displayed as part of the museum’s presentation of the history of the Netherlands East Indies.
Military Order of William
For his courage, leadership and perseverance, Kokkelink was appointed a Knight Fourth Class of the Military Order of William, the Netherlands’ highest military decoration.
His appointment was made by Royal Decree No. 17 of 12 April 1945. This was the date of the Royal Decree—not the date on which the decoration was presented.
The investiture took place at Camp Columbia in Brisbane on 6 August 1945. Lieutenant-General Ludolph van Oyen, commander of the KNIL, formally presented the decoration during a military parade attended by senior Netherlands East Indies officials, KNIL personnel and members of the Women’s KNIL Corps.
The ceremony at Camp Columbia, 6 August 1945
The following pictures are from the archives of the Royal Netherlands Army.
Royal Decree
The following document provides an English translation of the Royal Decree appointing Mauritz Kokkelink a Knight Fourth Class of the Military Order of William. It records the courage, perseverance and leadership he demonstrated under exceptionally difficult conditions in Dutch New Guinea.
Wij vochten in het bos – We fought in the jungle
Kokkelink later recorded his experiences in Wij vochten in het bos, published in 1956. The book provides a first-hand account of the resistance group’s struggle for survival in Dutch New Guinea during the Japanese occupation.
A Dutch-Australian connection was added many years later when Henri Licht translated Kokkelink’s account into English as We fought in the jungle: My guerrilla struggle in New Guinea in the Second World War.
As Kokkelink’s own account, the book is an important primary source for the history of the Manokwari resistance. It should nevertheless be read alongside later historical research and archival records, which provide additional perspectives on the roles of the other members of the group, the Papuan population and the NEFIS operation that eventually established contact with the survivors.
Later life and legacy
Kokkelink remained associated with the KNIL until the postwar dissolution of the colonial army. He died at Matoury in French Guiana on 24 August 1994.
His story is inseparable from those of Coosje Ayal, Seth and Tina Nahuwae, Captain Willemsz Geeroms, the other members of the resistance group and the Papuan people whose knowledge and assistance helped the survivors endure.
The photographs of his investiture also provide an exceptional record of Camp Columbia’s role as the principal centre of the Netherlands East Indies military and civil administration in Australia.
Related DACC research
- Coosje Ayal – Resistance fighter in Dutch New Guinea and her connection with Brisbane
- NEFIS III: Dutch and Indonesian Special Operations from Australia during WWII
- DACC Research Portal – Dutch and Indonesian Intelligence and Special Operations from Australia during WWII
Sources and further reading
Mauritz Christiaan Kokkelink, We Fought in the Jungle: My Guerrilla Struggle in New Guinea in the Second World War, translated by Henri Licht.
Netherlands Institute of Military History – Coosje Ayal and the Manokwari resistance
Sergeant Mauritz Kokkelink – Honoured at Camp Columbia, 6 August 1945
Mauritz Christiaan Kokkelink, Wij vochten in het bos: de guerrillastrijd op Nieuw-Guinea tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog.
