Written by Xavier Dorison, illustrated by Thimothée MontaignePublished in French by Glénat (2022–2024) and in Dutch by Standaard Uitgeverij. The work consists of two volumes: About the authorsXavier Dorison is one of France’s leading graphic novel writers, renowned for combining meticulous historical research with compelling storytelling. Thimothée Montaigne is an 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
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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 During the Second World War, Australia and the Netherlands were close allies, brought together by the shared struggle against Japan. Following the collapse of the Netherlands East Indies in 1942, Australia became the principal base for Dutch military, administrative and maritime operations in exile. Yet this cooperation was accompanied Read more
Introduction In early 1942, following the rapid collapse of the Netherlands East Indies under Japanese attack, large parts of the Dutch military, administrative and maritime infrastructure were relocated to Australia. Among those who arrived were thousands of Indonesian seamen employed on Dutch merchant vessels, suddenly operating in an unfamiliar environment Read more
The academic paper below by Nonja Peters and colleagues presents a focused and interdisciplinary investigation into one of the most intriguing and debated aspects of early Dutch–Australian history: the possibility that marooned sailors from the Dutch East India Company established contact—and potentially long-term relationships—with Aboriginal communities along the Western Australian Read more
The lecture document below from Dr. Nonja Peters provides a broad and ambitious interpretation of the role of the Dutch East India Company in shaping early globalisation, with particular emphasis on the Indian Ocean region and its long-term connections to Western Australia. It combines economic history, maritime exploration, and cultural Read more
The article below by Femme S. Gaastra, published in The Great Circle, offers a nuanced interpretation of the role of the Dutch East India Company in the early European encounters with Australia. Rather than celebrating discovery alone, it examines a more revealing question: why the Dutch, despite being the first Read more
The Dutch passenger liner Oranje became one of the most important hospital ships serving Australian and New Zealand forces during the Second World War. Offered by the Netherlands Government for Allied use in 1941, she completed 41 wartime voyages and carried 32,461 sick and wounded patients. Oranje remained a Dutch Read more