A wartime hub
From September 1942 the United States Navy requisitioned land at New Farm and built the “New Farm Receiving Station” — a personnel and transit centre with barracks, messing, recreation, medical and postal facilities. It supported the burgeoning submarine and naval presence along Capricorn Wharf and nearby installations that made Brisbane a premier US submarine base outside the United States. The facility closed in January 1946 as the USN wound down its Australian bases following orders issued in March 1945 to reduce activities towards final closure.
The Dutch connection, 1944–47
After the fall of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, Dutch aircrew and aircraft evacuated to Australia. Many of these pilots first assembled at Archerfield Aerodrome in Brisbane before moving south to Canberra, where No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron was officially formed under RAAF command in September 1942.
By contrast, No. 19 Netherlands East Indies Air Transport Squadron, established later in 1945, was based at Archerfield and remained active there in the immediate post-war period. This unit was tasked with ferrying personnel, supplies and equipment back into the archipelago during the difficult years of reoccupation and the onset of the Indonesian independence struggle. The last plane left Archerfield in September 1947.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands East Indies government-in-exile operated from Camp Columbia at Wacol from 1944 onwards, with Dutch Army, Navy and administrative offices spread across Brisbane. Together, these institutions created a dense Dutch presence in the city, closely tied to Allied logistics and post-war operations.
Lease to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force
A frequently repeated note in Queensland WWII place histories states that, immediately after the USN closed the New Farm Receiving Station on 12 January 1946, the Commonwealth leased the facilities to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL). This is said to have occurred as Dutch air operations resumed across the archipelago in the volatile 1945–49 period. The ANZAC Square “Queensland WWII History Map” records both the 12 January 1946 closure and the immediate Dutch lease; it also notes the earlier March 1945 order to reduce activities.
At present, the detailed provenance for that lease claim appears to lie in an undigitised US review: the “Defense Aid and Reciprocal (DARA) Review Board Report on U.S. Naval Bases in Australia and New Guinea, 1945–46” (a National Archives and Records Administration series). This would explain why the claim also surfaces in local heritage summaries and community histories that likely drew on Jack Ford’s research corpus.
Likely Dutch use of the site
If the lease proceeded as described, the most plausible uses by the NEI Air Force in early 1946 were administrative and accommodation functions in support of air transport and ferrying tasks concentrated at Archerfield, with movements through the Brisbane docks. The Receiving Station’s existing messes, barracks and postal facilities would have suited transient aircrew, ground staff and administrators cycling between Archerfield, Camp Columbia and shipping on the river. This interpretation aligns with known Dutch force dispositions in Brisbane at the time.
Where to find the site today
The only substantial wartime remnant of the large base is the former officers’ club precinct at 50 Oxlade Drive, New Farm, now operating as “The Officers’ Mess.” The place retains strong associative value with Base 134 and has been referenced in Brisbane City Council heritage material and local histories.
Why this matters to Dutch-Australian history
Brisbane’s naval and air infrastructure underpinned Dutch military reorganisation and later return operations to the Indies. It also intersects with wider Dutch stories in Queensland — from the NEI government-in-exile at Wacol to Dutch naval and air headquarters elements and the Dutch merchant and transport fleets staging through the river port. Bringing the New Farm Receiving Station’s post-war lease into focus helps connect these threads within Brisbane’s landscape.
Sources and verification status
• United States Naval Base (134 Receiving Station) entry, “Queensland WWII History Map,” ANZAC Square & Memorial Galleries — notes the 12 January 1946 closure and immediate lease to the NEI Air Force; also mentions the March 1945 order to reduce activity.
• Naval Base Brisbane overview — context on the submarine base, support sites and Base 134 within the wider Brisbane naval complex. Wikipedia
• OzatWar (Peter Dunn) and Mapping Brisbane History — corroborating summaries on the Receiving Station and surrounding USN footprint.
• DACC and Camp Columbia articles — Dutch force presence in Brisbane; No. 19 NEI Air Transport Squadron at Archerfield; timeline of Dutch occupation and departures.
• NARA series reference for the “Defense Aid and Reciprocal (DARA) Review Board Report on U.S. Naval Bases in Australia and New Guinea” — probable primary source for the lease detail; currently undigitised.
According to the entry on QLD WWII Places: ‘In March 1945, an order was sent to all USN Australian bases to reduce activities towards a final closure of the bases. The New Farm Receiving Station closed on 12 January 1946.The Commonwealth immediately leased the facilities to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force then engaged in operations against the Indonesian Independence Movement. It had been planned to decommission Base 134 on 1 March 1946 but this was brought forward to 14 January 1946.’
