Australian newspapers report Dutch East Indies support for Britain During 1940, as Britain faced German air attacks, communities across the British Empire and beyond organised fundraising campaigns to help finance Spitfire fighter aircraft for the Royal Air Force. The Netherlands East Indies (NEI), under Dutch colonial administration, participated in this Read more
Cambridge Scholars Publishing In The Christian Slaves of Depok: A Colonial Tale Unravels, historian Dr Nonja Peters examines the little-known history of Depok, a community near Batavia (present-day Jakarta), whose origins are closely associated with Dutch East India Company official Cornelis Chastelein. In the early eighteenth century, Chastelein established a Read more
In 2022, Dutch-Australian historian Dr Nonja Peters resolved a longstanding maritime mystery by identifying Jan Fransz of Hoorn as the skipper of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) vessel Leeuwin on its 1621 voyage from Amsterdam to Batavia. The Leeuwin sailed along the south-western coast of Australia in 1622, contributing Read more
Biography Dr Nonja Yvonne Huberta Maria Peters is a Dutch-born Australian historian, anthropologist, museum curator and social researcher whose work has made a significant contribution to the understanding and preservation of Dutch-Australian history. Her research encompasses migration and settlement, cultural identity, migrant entrepreneurship, maritime history, the Netherlands East Indies, and Read more
From the Netherlands to Australia Roelf Vos (1921–1992) was a Dutch-Australian businessman whose development of a supermarket chain helped transform food retailing in Tasmania. Born on 4 October 1921 at Bergum (Burgum), Friesland, he grew up in a family involved in transport and retailing. His father operated a barge carrying Read more
Dutch migrants and Tasmania’s building industry The growth of Kingston following the Second World War was closely associated with Dutch migration. Among the businesses contributing to the area’s development was Laver Construction, a building company with connections to the Verdouw family and the wider Dutch community. The company became involved Read more
From the Netherlands to Tasmania Dirk Verdouw was born on 5 July 1936 in Leerdam, the Netherlands. His childhood was shaped by the Second World War and the economic difficulties experienced by his family in the years that followed. His father operated a bakery and his mother a cake shop. Read more
Origins in the Kingston Dutch community Christian Homes Tasmania traces its origins to 1970, when individual members of the Christian Reformed Church in Kingston began considering how they could provide suitable accommodation and care for their ageing parents. Many of these families belonged to the Dutch migrant community that had Read more
From migrant settlement to community service The Dutch migrants who established Little Groningen at Kingston in 1950 contributed to more than the construction of houses, churches and schools. Over subsequent decades, members of the community also became involved in welfare initiatives serving the wider Tasmanian population. One example was Jireh Read more
Rokus Huisman was born in Sliedrecht, South Holland, on 28 June 1927. He was the son of J. Huisman, a pastry baker who lived at 4 C.M. van Reesstraat in Sliedrecht. On 22 July 1950, Rokus departed from Schiphol Airport aboard a KLM flight bound for Australia. The aircraft seating Read more