Introduction
Broome, on the remote north-western coast of Western Australia, occupies a particularly important place in the shared wartime history of Australia, the Netherlands and the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI).
During the opening months of 1942, as Japanese forces advanced through Southeast Asia, Broome became a vital evacuation point for Dutch and Allied military personnel, government officials and civilians escaping from the Netherlands East Indies. Its airfield and the sheltered waters of Roebuck Bay provided an essential link between Java and the relative safety of southern Australia.
For a brief period, this small pearling town became one of the most important aviation gateways in the Allied withdrawal from the Netherlands East Indies.
On 3 March 1942, Japanese naval aircraft attacked Broome, destroying numerous Allied aircraft, including Dutch naval flying boats carrying evacuees. More than 80 people were killed, among them Dutch women and children. The tragedy became one of the deadliest Japanese air attacks on Australian territory during the Second World War.
Yet the Dutch connection with Broome extends beyond this devastating event.
It encompasses the remarkable evacuation flights from Java, the courage of aircrews and civilians, the assistance provided by Australian servicemen and local communities, the mysterious disappearance of diamonds from a Dutch aircraft, and the continuing recovery and preservation of wartime aircraft wrecks.
The stories also reveal the contribution of Aboriginal people in assisting survivors and preserving important historical artefacts.
Today, Broome remains a significant place of remembrance for Dutch and Australian families, historians, archaeologists and heritage organisations.
This research portal brings together articles, personal recollections, photographs, historical documents, museum collections and research published by the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC).
1. The evacuation from Java to Broome, February–March 1942
By early 1942, the Japanese advance had placed the Netherlands East Indies under enormous military pressure. The loss of Singapore, the attacks on Darwin and the rapid deterioration of Allied defences forced Dutch authorities to organise the evacuation of essential personnel and civilians.
Aircraft belonging to the Royal Netherlands Navy Air Service (Marine Luchtvaartdienst, MLD), the Netherlands East Indies military aviation service and the civil airline KNILM were used to transport evacuees to Australia.
Broome’s geographical position made it a natural destination. Its airfield could accommodate land-based aircraft, while Roebuck Bay provided anchorage for Dornier Do 24 and Catalina flying boats.
The evacuation was conducted under extremely difficult circumstances. Aircraft were often overcrowded, fuel supplies were uncertain, and crews faced the danger of Japanese interception. Some flights were completed only hours before the Japanese attack.
Related DACC articles
- The Java–Broome Evacuation Route, February and March 1942 — includes a presentation by historian Dr Nonja Peters examining the evacuation and its consequences.
- The Fall of the Netherlands East Indies, March 1942 — provides the wider military and political background to the collapse of the NEI and the evacuation to Australia.
- From Pearl Harbor to Broome: Dutch Seaplanes and the Shifting Tides of the Pacific War — follows Dutch naval flying-boat operations during the opening months of the Pacific War.
2. The Japanese air raid on Broome — 3 March 1942
On the morning of 3 March 1942, Japanese Mitsubishi Zero fighters attacked Broome and the aircraft assembled in Roebuck Bay and at the airfield.
Many flying boats were still carrying passengers who had arrived from Java. Some evacuees had been unable to disembark because of limited transport and accommodation facilities.
The Japanese attack destroyed numerous Allied aircraft within a short period. Dutch Dornier Do 24 and Catalina flying boats suffered particularly severe losses.
The destruction of aircraft carrying civilian passengers made the attack especially tragic. Families who had escaped the Japanese invasion of Java found themselves caught in another disaster just as they believed they had reached safety.
Dutch and Allied military personnel, Australian residents and local maritime workers assisted the survivors. The attack also exposed the vulnerability of Australia’s north-western coastline and the difficulties of organising a large-scale evacuation through a relatively isolated town.
The Broome tragedy remains an important part of the history of the Dutch military and civilian presence in Australia.
Related DACC article
- The Drama of Broome, 3 March 1942 — the principal DACC article on the air raid, bringing together historical accounts, aircraft losses, photographs, archival documents, presentations, survivor interviews and commemorative material.
This article also includes video material concerning Theo Doorman, who survived the attack as a young child, and recollections by Dutch aviators Henk Hasselo and Frits van Hulsen.
3. Personal stories of escape, survival and rescue
Behind the military history were individual stories of extraordinary danger, loss and survival.
Dutch families fleeing Java had often left their homes and possessions behind, with little knowledge of what awaited them in Australia. Many were travelling with young children.
Some aircraft never reached Broome. Others were forced to land on remote stretches of the Western Australian coast, where survival depended on finding water, obtaining assistance and enduring extreme environmental conditions.
The recollections of survivors provide an essential human dimension to the broader history of the evacuation.
Gerard Lemmens and the Dornier emergency landing
One particularly remarkable account is that of Gerard Lemmens, who was sixteen years old when he and his family escaped from Java aboard a Dutch Dornier Do 24 flying boat.
Their aircraft, X-36, ran out of fuel and made an emergency landing near Anna Plains, south of Broome, on 3 March 1942.
Although the passengers initially faced considerable hardship, the forced landing ultimately saved their lives. Two accompanying Dorniers that continued to Broome were destroyed in the Japanese attack.
Lemmens later recorded his experiences for his family, preserving a detailed eyewitness account of the evacuation, the emergency landing and the assistance received in Australia.
Related DACC article
- Gerard Lemmens: The Dornier Emergency Landing That Saved Its Evacuees from the Broome Air Raid — includes Lemmens’s personal recollections and surviving family records.
Lieutenant David “Bo” Davis — Australian assistance recognised by the Netherlands
The tragedy also produced important examples of Dutch–Australian cooperation.
Lieutenant David Llewellyn “Bo” Davis, an Australian naval officer with extensive experience in Broome’s pearling industry, played an important role in organising assistance and transport during the crisis.
His service was subsequently recognised by the Netherlands Government-in-Exile, which awarded him the Dutch Cross of Merit.
The story illustrates the contribution of Australians whose actions helped save Dutch lives during the evacuation.
Related DACC article
- Lieutenant David “Bo” Davis: Australia’s North-West Defender and Dutch Cross of Merit Recipient — documents Davis’s wartime service, his Dutch decoration and surviving museum artefacts.
4. Dutch aviation and the mystery of the lost diamonds
The evacuation from Java involved both military and civilian aviation organisations.
Among the best-known aircraft was a KNILM Douglas DC-3 piloted by the Dutch-Russian aviator Iwan Smirnoff.
On 3 March 1942, while approaching Broome, Smirnoff’s aircraft was attacked by Japanese fighters. He managed to make a forced landing at Carnot Bay, north of Broome.
Several passengers died as a result of the attack and its aftermath.
The aircraft was also carrying a package containing valuable diamonds. Although some were subsequently recovered, the fate of much of the consignment remains uncertain.
The incident became one of the most enduring mysteries associated with the Dutch evacuation from the Netherlands East Indies.
The story also has an important Aboriginal heritage dimension. Members of the local Aboriginal community assisted survivors, while an aircraft instrument preserved for decades was eventually returned to Dutch heritage authorities.
Related DACC article
- The Lost Dutch Diamonds on Carnot Beach, Western Australia — examines Smirnoff’s flight, the forced landing, the survivors, the missing diamonds and later investigations. Includes material on the return of an aircraft instrument to the Netherlands.
Dutch aviation in the Broome region after 1942
Dutch military aviation continued to operate across northern Australia and the Netherlands East Indies throughout the war and during the immediate post-war period.
One later incident occurred in October 1945, when a Netherlands East Indies Air Force B-25 Mitchell was forced to ditch in the Kimberley region while carrying money.
Although unrelated to the March 1942 evacuation, it demonstrates the continuing Dutch aviation presence in north-western Australia.
Related DACC article
5. War graves, remembrance and commemorations
The Japanese attack left a lasting legacy for the families of those killed.
Among the victims were Dutch military personnel, civilian evacuees, women and children. Some bodies were never recovered, while the identification and burial of others presented considerable difficulties.
The Dutch War Cemetery at Karrakatta in Perth preserves an important part of this history.
Over subsequent decades, commemorations in Broome and Perth have brought together survivors, descendants, Australian and Dutch representatives, historians and local communities.
These ceremonies have helped restore public recognition of an event that was for many years relatively little known outside the families and communities directly affected.
The work of historian Dr Nonja Peters and others has contributed significantly to documenting the victims and their stories.
Related DACC articles
- Dutch War Cemetery Perth — Including Names of People Killed — includes historical information about the Dutch graves, victims and commemorations.
- 70th Anniversary of the Broome Air Raid — 2012 — records commemorative activities honouring those who died and those who survived.
- The Drama of Broome, 3 March 1942 — includes presentations, documentary material and survivor interviews associated with remembrance activities.
6. Broome’s wartime heritage, museums and underwater archaeology
The physical remains of the Dutch aviation presence in Broome provide important evidence of the events of March 1942.
Wrecks of Dutch and Allied flying boats remain in the waters and tidal areas around Roebuck Bay. These sites are significant not only as aviation wrecks but also as places associated with the deaths of military personnel and civilian evacuees.
Archaeological investigations have contributed to identifying aircraft, documenting their condition and understanding the circumstances of their destruction.
The Western Australian Museum and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, RCE) have cooperated in research relating to Dutch aircraft wrecks in Broome.
Broome Historical Museum
The Broome Historical Museum preserves an important collection of material associated with the 1942 air raid and the Dutch presence in the region.
Its displays and collections help explain the wartime history of Broome and provide a local setting in which the experiences of Dutch evacuees can be remembered.
Among the surviving artefacts is an engine and propeller from a Dutch Dornier Do 24 flying boat, recovered from Roebuck Bay.
These physical remains help connect the documentary record with the aircraft and people involved in the tragedy.
Related DACC articles
- Broome Historical Museum and the Dutch Wartime Presence — introduces the museum’s collection and its importance to Dutch–Australian wartime heritage.
- A Dutch Flying Boat Remembered: The Dornier Do 24 Engine at Broome — documents a surviving artefact from the Dutch naval aviation presence.
- Dutch Involved in Marine Archaeology in Broome — describes Dutch participation in investigations of wartime flying-boat wrecks.
7. Broome in the wider Dutch–Australian wartime history
The evacuation and tragedy at Broome formed part of a much larger transformation in relations between Australia and the Netherlands.
Before the Pacific War, the two countries had relatively limited direct military and political cooperation. The Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies changed that situation dramatically.
Australia became a principal refuge and operational base for Dutch and NEI military personnel, civilian officials and aircraft.
Dutch naval aviation continued its activities from Allied bases, while Dutch military air and transport services were reorganised in Australia.
The Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile subsequently established its headquarters at Camp Columbia in Brisbane.
Broome therefore represents an important early chapter in the broader history of Dutch military exile and Allied cooperation in Australia.
Related DACC research portals
- Research Portal — Dutch and Netherlands East Indies Air Forces in Australia during World War II — brings together the wider history of Dutch aviation, squadrons, aircraft, personnel and Australian bases.
- Royal Netherlands Navy Flying-Boat Operations in Australia during WWII — provides additional information on the naval aviation operations that connected Java, Broome and other Allied bases.
8. Continuing research and preservation
The Dutch connection with Broome continues to attract historical, archaeological and community interest.
New information may emerge from family collections, personal diaries, photographs, military records, museum holdings and underwater archaeological investigations.
Particularly valuable are the stories of people whose experiences have not yet been fully documented: civilian evacuees, naval and civilian aircrews, Australian rescue personnel, local residents and Aboriginal people who assisted survivors or preserved material associated with the aircraft wrecks.
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre welcomes contributions that can help expand this record.
Photographs, letters, diaries, family recollections and information about individuals involved in the evacuation or the events of March 1942 can contribute to a fuller understanding of this shared history.
The purpose of this portal is to make the existing research more accessible, connect individual stories with the wider historical context, and support the continuing preservation of Broome’s Dutch–Australian wartime heritage.
