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
Kasteel Batavia stood as the administrative heart of the Dutch East Indies, begun in 1619 under Jan Pieterszoon Coen. The rectangular fortress, built on the western bank of the Groote Rivier (now Kali Besar), featured four bastions—Amsterdam, Zeelandia, Hollandia and Westfriesland—connected by thick walls enclosing offices, warehouses, and the Governor-General’s Read more
Boesidien, Samanuddin and Abdole Hamid were members of the Netherlands Merchant Navy during World War II and are interred at Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane. Their service highlights the significant role of Dutch merchant vessels in the Allied efforts in the Pacific. Boesidien (1909–1942) Netherlands Merchant Navy – Crew member, MaetsuyckerBuried Read more
Isaac Le Maire: entrepreneur, dissident, and pioneer explorer Isaac Le Maire (c. 1558–1624) was a Dutch merchant of Walloon origin, born in Tournai (now Belgium). After settling in the Dutch Republic, he became one of the largest investors in the Dutch East India Company (VOC). However, Le Maire soon clashed Read more
Early life in Amsterdam Early life in the Netherlands Pieter Robert (Robby) Boele van Hensbroek was born in Amsterdam on 18 October 1920 to André Boele van Hensbroek and Jo Sluiter. He grew up with his sister Elsje in a close-knit family. His youth was marked both by joyful summers Read more
The State Library of Western Australia (SLWA) holds an extensive collection of publications, oral histories, photographs, personal documents and research material associated with Dutch-Australian historian Dr Nonja Peters. The two catalogues presented below provide complementary ways of exploring these holdings. The first is a broad catalogue of material associated with Read more
During the Second World War, Dutch and Australian servicemen fought side by side across the Netherlands East Indies. The swift Japanese advance in early 1942 saw the fall of Ambon, the Moluccas, and later Java, resulting in the capture of tens of thousands of Allied troops. Many of them were Read more
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) was the short-lived Allied supreme command for the South-East Asian theatre in the opening months of the Pacific War. Formed at Bandung, Java, on 10 January 1942 and led by British General Sir Archibald Wavell, it became operational only days after Japan entered the war. Its Read more
In 1705, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) launched an exploratory expedition to the Tiwi Islands, north of Arnhem Land in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia. The expedition, led by Commander Maerten van Delft, was one of several early attempts by the Dutch to chart the coastline Read more