Maritime History
Dutch merchant fleet delivered major contribution to the war in the Pacific.
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Maritime History
Henk Paardekooper- Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies
At the time of the Japanese invasion in the Dutch Indies Hendrik (Henk) Paardekooper was employed – since 1938 – by the Droogdok Maatschappij Surabaya (DSM) being responsible e.g. for the floating docks and cranes used for the maintenance and repair of larger sea-going vessels, including those of the Dutch Read more
Cultural Events and Activities
Exhibition Maps of the Pacific
Roland Spuij attended a guided tour by conservator Maggie Patton of the “Maps of the Pacific” in the Mitchell Library in Sydney. A brilliant exhibition of original maps going back to 1490, including the famous Tasman map of 1644 and other beautiful maps of Dutch cartographers and wonderful globes. And Read more
Dutch – Australian History
Abel Tasman Map restored at NSW State Library
In October 2019 Dutch Premier Mark Rutte paid a three day working visit to Sydney. There was an official reception at the State Library of NSW where Premier Rutte received a tour along the various Dutch artifact. For this special occasion the Library put the famous Abel Tasman on display Read more
Maritime History
Battle of the Java Sea – first and last battle of the ABDA force
Battle of the Java Sea The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was established in Bandung, Java, on 15 January 1942 and became operational shortly afterward. However, by this time, Japan had already been at war with the Allies since 7 December 1941, and its forces were rapidly advancing through Southeast Read more
Maritime History
After Cook landed on Australia’s east coast, severe casualties in Batavia – 1770
Captain Cook’s first voyage brought him to Australia. The first voyage of James Cook was a combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific Ocean aboard HMS Endeavour, from 1768 to 1771. It was the first of three Pacific voyages of which James Cook was the commander. Read more
Aviation and Shipping
The KPM lifeline: Operation Lilliput and the Allied advance in Papua
Between December 1942 and June 1943, a series of small convoys transported troops, weapons, vehicles, fuel, engineering equipment and approximately 60,000 tons of supplies from Milne Bay to Oro Bay on the north coast of Papua. The operation was known as Lilliput. Its transport fleet consisted overwhelmingly of ships belonging Read more
Dutch Organisations
Algemene Vereniging Oud-personeel van de Koninklijke Marine
AVOM’ is known in Australia as the Association of Ex-Royal Dutch Navy personnel. The Australian branch has been established in 1996 and was recognised by the Chief Directorate in the Netherlands in 1997. In 2000 the association has approximately 4000 members, mostly in the Netherlands with a small portion all Read more
Dutch – Australian History
New Holland Bulletin
Thomas Vanderveldt, VOC historian in West Australia writes a monthly newsletter. Facebook page Member of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society
Dutch – Australian History
Historic Maps of the explorers
By Klaas Woldring Historical maps relevant to the mapping of Australia from 1521 onwards to 1814 by a great variety of European mapmakers. Most of these maps are digitally available from the National Library, Canberra. The final maps in this series are based on the map (s) by Nicholas Vallard Read more