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-in-Exile for Allied use in 1941, she completed 41 wartime voyages, travelled more than 382,000 nautical miles and carried 32,461 sick and Read more
The American shipwreck at Tulamben in Bali, well known today among divers, is the remains of the USAT Liberty. I was alerted to this wreck by my grandson, Neriya, who dived the site in February 2026. While the vessel itself was American, its final voyage in January 1942 unfolded within Read more
During the Second World War, the Royal Netherlands Navy operated extensively from Australia following the collapse of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942. Dutch naval forces, including submarines, surface vessels, and support units, were integrated into Allied operations in close cooperation with the Royal Australian Navy and the United Read more
Following the fall of Singapore in February 1942 and the rapid Japanese advance through Southeast Asia, Western Australia assumed unexpected strategic importance. Fremantle became a critical Allied port, serving as a gateway between the Indian Ocean and the South-West Pacific Area (SWPA). In this period of acute vulnerability, Dutch naval Read more
John Rothwell, born in the Netherlands and later known under his anglicised surname, is the co-founder and long-time chairman of Austal Limited. His leadership played a decisive role in transforming Austal from a small Western Australian start-up into one of the world’s leading builders of advanced aluminium vessels for both Read more
From VOC trading worlds to wartime exile: a material history across four centuries Dutch coins discovered in Australia tell a story far richer and more complex than simple first contacts or accidental landfalls. These small objects, sometimes corroded coppers, sometimes fused silver from shipwreck sites, and sometimes the stray pocket Read more
The Zeewijk was a new ship of the Zeeland Chamber of the VOC, her maiden voyage was from Vlissingen (Netherlands) to Batavia departing in November 1726 with 208 seamen and soldiers aboard, as well as a cargo of general building supplies and 315,836 guilders in 10 chests. Jan Steyns from Read more
On 1 August 1711 the ship the Zuytdorp left the Netherlands with a load of freshly minted silver coins. The ship never arrived at its destination and was never heard from again. No search was undertaken, presumably because the VOC did not know whether or where the shipwrecked or if Read more
The wreck of the VOC ship Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) in 1656 is one of the most enduring mysteries of early Dutch contact with Australia. While the wreck site was rediscovered in 1963, the fate of the seventy-five survivors who reached the shore has never been conclusively known. Recent archaeological Read more
From warship to Luna Park: the remarkable afterlife of Dutch submarine K-XII The wartime story of the Dutch submarine HNLMS K-XII is reasonably well known among naval historians, but its Australian afterlife is one of the most unusual episodes in Dutch–Australian maritime history. Few Allied submarines ended their days as Read more