By CCHA / June 28, 2026 Charles van der Plas: colonial expert, wartime administrator in Australia and advocate of gradual reform Charles Olke van der Plas (1891–1977) was one of the most experienced Dutch colonial administrators of the Netherlands East Indies. Born in Buitenzorg, now Bogor, in West Java, he developed a deep Read more
Among the many military establishments that operated in Queensland during the Second World War, few have faded from public memory as completely as the School of Military Intelligence at Southport on the Gold Coast. Yet during the final years of the war this institution trained intelligence personnel destined for service Read more
Recent scientific research (2025) has completed the first comprehensive geological mapping of Zealandia, a vast continent that lies almost entirely beneath the waters of the southwest Pacific. Covering approximately five million square kilometres, Zealandia is around two-thirds the size of Australia, yet some 95 per cent of it is submerged Read more
At first glance, a worn red file folder preserved in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum appears to be one of the least remarkable objects associated with the Second World War. Unlike aircraft, weapons or uniforms, it is simply a piece of office stationery. Yet this modest object tells an Read more
Among the many fascinating objects in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum is a battered Japanese Type 90 combat helmet. At first glance it appears to be little more than a wartime relic, one of countless pieces of military equipment left behind in the Pacific after the Second World War. Read more
The collection of documents from the archives of Bronbeek Museum relating to Willem Theodoor Marie (W.Th.M.) van Rooy in the Bronbeek Museum offers a fascinating glimpse into the career of a Dutch official whose professional life mirrored many of the major developments that shaped the Netherlands and the Netherlands East Read more
Among the remarkable documents preserved in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum is a carbon copy letter dating from June 1942. It records an initiative organised in Australia to support Dutch and Timorese guerrilla fighters operating behind Japanese lines on Timor. The document is particularly significant because it is linked Read more
Among the many personal objects preserved in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum is a small Australian Red Ensign carrying a handwritten dedication linked to one of the most significant dates in Australian history: 15 August 1945, Victory in the Pacific Day (VP Day). The flag formed part of the Read more
When people think of the Allied command centres of the Second World War, cities such as London, Washington and perhaps Chongqing come to mind. Yet few realise that for much of the Pacific War, Brisbane became one of the most important Allied capitals in the world. Between 1942 and 1945, Read more
In his forthcoming book Bloedrode dageraad: De Tweede Wereldoorlog en de geboorte van het moderne Azië (Blood Red Dawn: The Second World War and the Birth of Modern Asia), historian Hans van de Ven argues that the Second World War should not only be viewed as a struggle against Nazi Read more