Republished with permission. Introduction chapters of the book: A Touch of Dutch. For the full pdf of the book click here. Full index of the book with links to each chapter see below. Section One: Dutch Maritime history in Australia Chapter 2 Aboriginals and Shipwrecks – The arrival of Australia’s first Read more…
Peter Sitsen (Bergen op Zoom, November 1, 1885 – Sydney, January 21, 1945) , a Dutch architect and civil administrator, played a pivotal role in establishing the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) in Brisbane during World War II. Known for his skill in organisational leadership and his dedication to the Dutch Read more…
During World War II, as the Japanese occupation swept through the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), the Netherlands government-in-exile faced a daunting challenge: how to maintain control and provide administrative continuity in the occupied territory. Out of this necessity, the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) was born. Established in 1944 Read more…
On the eve of the Netherlands East Indies’ capitulation, a series of evacuation flights brought Dutch citizens to the safety of Australia, with Broome emerging as a key evacuation hub. Among the heroic pilots, Dutch-Russian Captain Iwan Smirnoff stood out for his multiple successful evacuation missions, regarding it as a Read more…
It was weeks of anticipation for the Dutch Community in Tasmania, as they received preliminary invitations and two general invitations in the Saturday Mercury, for the Royal visit. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Orange, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, were coming! Our Patron and Hon. Read more…
The journal below is based on the diary Charlie kept through his National Service days. It was later edited by him, and passed to this editor for inclusion in the record of achievements of Dutch migrants to Tasmania. It may be seen as the description of the life of an Read more…
George Huizing 8/9/1938 – 27/12/2016 A newspaper clipping on my desk reminds of the last time I saw George. The clipping concerns a lost property title, in the parish of Lorainah. Property belonging to JKF von Schmidt. I quickly dropped an email to the owner – “where is Lorainah?” JKF, Read more…
In 2012, Australia Dutch Heritage Conferences were held in Canberra, Fremantle and The Hague with the support of the Netherlands Ambassador to Australia Willem Andreas . See also: Conference Papers and Keynote addresses by researchers Migrant (R)e-collections- Proposal for a workshop (historic) Project Migrant Australian and Dutch emigrants Dutch Australia At Read more…
50 years of silence ‘How can you tell your daughters, you know? I mean, the shame, the shame was still so great. I knew I had to tell them but I couldn’t tell them face to face . . . so I decided to write it down.’ Jan Ruff O’Herne’s Read more…
During World War II, members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were involved in a variety of operations, including flying missions on aircraft belonging to the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Air Force. This cooperation occurred after the fall of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) to Japanese forces in Read more…