Christiaan Vincent Gradwell (Chris) van Oosterzee, born on March 20, 1922, in Weltevreden (Batavia), and died on April 18, 1989, in Amsterdam, was a significant figure during and after World War II. His life included notable interactions with Australia during his military service. Early Life and Military Involvement Chris van Read more…
There is an unconfirmed story that General Douglas MacArthur ordered the printing of money for the Netherlands East Indies at the Commonwealth Bank Note Printing Works in Melbourne. This printing facility, established in 1912, had its role taken over by the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1960. There are mentions Read more…
In all there were over a dozen WWII airfields in the Top End and many of them were at occasions used by the Dutch. Sometimes their planes were directed to these fields because of congestion or weather. Sometimes planes were more or less running out of fuel on their way Read more…
The following is the list of Dutch and Netherlands East Indies casualties mainly from the various squadrons that operated from the Northern Territory in Australia during the period 1942-1945, as published in: De Militaire Luchtvaart van het KNIL in de jaren 1942-1945. Dutch military initially buried at Adelaide River Cemetery Read more…
From its inception in August 2016, Zing! Sing in Dutch promised to be a choir with a difference. Following a series of two vibrant workshops in June that year featuring nursery rhymes, cabaret ballads, pop songs and waltzes (all in Dutch), a core group formed under the leadership of founder Read more…
After publishing ‘The Lost White Tribes of Australia‘ Part Two, the author Henry van Zanden realised that the Victorian chapters deserved a more thorough investigation and its own book dedicated entirely to the smallpox outbreak in Victoria and NSW. In Victoria, he explored the South-western districts especially Lake Condah and Read more…
The link below is a PowerPoint presentation from Dr. Nonja Peters – 2023 See also: The Drama of Broome 3-3-1942 The 18 Netherlands East Indies Squadron RAAF Stories of the Dutch WWII submarines in Australia Dutch at WWII Camp Columbia Brisbane 1944 – 1947 Dutch merchant fleet delivered major contribution Read more…
Interview with David’s son Maurits Groen – 2005(?) See also: The 18 Squadron Netherlands East Indies – RAAF
Dirk Stellema, comes from Snake in Friesland, Born in 1917, Was in the airforce in the NEI in 1937, and was in Australia during the war from 1942, and came to Australia permanently in 1949 , and was in the 18th Squadron Note: Somebody in the group saying Allies in Read more…
ATIS was an integrated unit composed of Australian and American intelligence personnel and staff from the other Allied Forces (the Netherlands and China) Their primary responsibilities were the interrogation of Japanese POWs from Gaythorne POW Camp and the interpretation of captured Japanese documents. Given the low surrender rate of Japanese Read more…