From ‘The Artist’s View,’ a column written by Petrus Spronk for his local newspaper. Any war does not, as the historians like to have it, run from, let’s say, 1940-1945 as was the case with the WW2, but has reverberations till long after the date. Some to this very day, Read more
From ‘The Artist’s View,’ a column written by Petrus Spronk for his local newspaper. Memories of the last century. The last century, which holds the roots to the tree which will grow in the next. From my childhood I remember my room in a distant Dutch attic. My room where Read more
In the beginning: My name is Petrus Spronk, a name which got me introduced once, when I was on tour with my portable ceramic workshop in Ireland, as a one-man Rock & Roll-band. As a result I had a lot to live up to, but being in Ireland I did. Read more
This article was written in 2006 Mathilde is the popular producer and presenter based in the Sydney office of SBS Dutch Radio. Born: Djalan Semarang, Jakarta on 3 March 1950 Arrival in Australia: 27 May 1981 Qualifications/Training: Secondary education: Rotterdamsch Lyceum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Tertiary education: Diploma – Ecole HÙteliËre Read more
Lolo Houbein, of Aldgate in the Adelaide Hills, came to Australia from The Netherlands with her husband and children in 1958 at the age of 24. She did not speak English, yet eleven years later she matriculated as an adult student and Lolo is now an accomplished and prolific writer Read more
In 1953 my parents and my four siblings migrated to South Australia. We initially spent six very hard months in Glossop, Berri, where we lived in an old workman’s out shed while my father was seeking house and work in Adelaide, while staying with Australian friends he had met in Read more
Indonesian political prisoners and colonial repression The story of Indonesian nationalist Mohamad Bondan reflects a largely overlooked chapter in the shared wartime history of Indonesia, the Netherlands and Australia. His experiences illustrate how the upheavals of the Second World War brought anti-colonial activists into direct contact with Allied wartime structures Read more
This article from Robyn van Dijk from the Australian War Memorial as presented at the symposium Allied Co-operation in Brisbane during WWII: Australia, USA, Netherlands, UK, organised by the Camp Columbia Heritage Association in August 2025, highlights a little-known but important chapter in Dutch–Australian wartime relations: the evacuation and rehabilitation Read more
During the Second World War, northern Australia became a crucial operational base for Allied air forces defending the continent and supporting offensive operations into the Netherlands East Indies. Among the aircraft deployed in this theatre was a Dutch-operated North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, serial N5-156, whose dramatic loss in October Read more
Early life in Noordwijk aan Zee Agatha Neletta Koers was born in 1916, during the First World War. Although the Netherlands remained neutral, her family story recalls shortages and flooding that affected daily life. She grew up in Noordwijk aan Zee, where her father was a minister in the Gereformeerde Read more