Gerada Baremans: scattered innocence I was born in the Netherlands on 8 April 1937, the eldest of five girls. I was only two years old, when war broke out. My childhood was not free and easy as my mother had three girls between 1937 and 1940. She would constantly remind Read more
In a quiet cemetery in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, far from Australia, two young Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airmen continue to be remembered. Their graves are not tended by family members, but by a Dutch family who never knew them in life. For decades they have marked the Read more
The story of the WWII Camp Columbia in Brisbane did not end with the departure of Allied military forces after the Second World War. In the decades that followed, the vast wartime complex at Wacol entered a new phase of history closely linked to Australia’s post-war migration program and the Read more
Among the Dutch airmen who formed part of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF during the Second World War was Lieutenant J. van Loggem, a navigator whose wartime experience reflects both the operational realities of the Pacific war and the deeply personal struggles of those living in exile. From Read more
This article, published in Dutch connections: 400 years of Australian–Dutch maritime links 1606–2006 and presented by Nonja Peters at the Australian National Maritime Museum, examines the gap between expectation and reality in post-war Dutch migration to Australia between 1947 and 1970. Drawing on historical records, media accounts, and migrant testimonies, Read more
Introduction Sardjono (often also written as Sordjono) was one of a group of Indonesian political detainees whose wartime journey from Dutch colonial imprisonment to Australia placed him at the centre of a significant historical transition. His experience reflects the broader trajectory of many Indonesians who, during the Second World War, Read more
The history of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF is often told as one of Allied cooperation and operational success. Yet in its early period in Australia, the squadron experienced a profound internal crisis that culminated in one of the most controversial legal cases involving Dutch forces in exile Read more
The story of the B-25 Mitchell N5-185, known as “Lienke”, is one of the most compelling examples of how wartime aviation, personal history and Allied cooperation came together in Australia during World War II. Operated by No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, this aircraft was not only part of Read more
Between the Netherlands and Australia The end of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia led to the large-scale displacement of people connected to the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Between 1945 and the early 1960s, around 300,000 individuals left the archipelago. The majority settled in the Netherlands, while a smaller but Read more
This document by Desmond Cahill analyses the history, community dynamics, and assimilation patterns of Dutch Australians within the broader context of Australian immigration and multiculturalism. Dutch Australian Community’s Historical Context Settlement Patterns and Ethnic Integration Cultural Core Values and Adaptation Strategies Impact of Historical and Personal Factors Primordial Cultural Traits Read more