The Battle of Timor – the Dutch and Australians kept fighting after the surrender of Netherlands East Indies. The bombing of Darwin did bring WWII directly onto the shores of Australia. However, what is less well known is that the reason for the Japanese attack on Darwin and Broome was Read more
The monument commemorates the servicemen and women of the Dutch forces which operated from Australia between 1941 and 1945. The Dutch, along with the Americans, were the only non-Commonwealth countries to establish bases in Australia during World War Two. The original memorial was unveiled on the 7th December 1991 and Read more
Camp Columbia in the suburb of Wacol in Brisbane was a United States Army military camp. It was built in 1942 to accommodate American troops. The Sixth US Army Headquarters was formed and stationed here. It also hosted two hospitals and an Officer Candidate School till 1945. This was the Read more
The KPM steamship Van Heemskerk served as a military transport throughout the critical first year of the Allied campaign in New Guinea. After escaping the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies, she carried Australian and American troops, military equipment, fuel and ammunition from Australian ports to the fighting front. Read more
By Michael Gorey 22 April 2019 In Anzac week we reflect on the contribution our allies made to restoring peace in our region. No. 19 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF was a transport and communications unit of the Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger. The Netherlands East Indies Government Read more
Patricia (Pat) Metcalfe (born 1929 in Cairns) moved to Brisbane when she was 4 years old and after she finished the St Columba school at Wilson, was employed at Camp Columbia as a typist and secretary, first with the Americans and since 1945 with the Netherlands-East-Indies Government. Here she worked Read more
The team at the Netherlands Consulate General in Sydney welcomed the new Consul General, Hugo Klijn, and new Deputy Consul-General, Meike de Jong. Consul-General Hugo Klijn is also Head of Economic affairs, Trade and Investment in Australia. Mr Klijn has been working for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs since Read more
Born as Maria Louisa Frederika, “Darja” Collin (November 19, 1902 – May 6, 1967) was a Dutch ballet dancer and classical ballet teacher. She had been trained in classical ballet (studying under Preobrajenska and Trefilova), and also in Mary Wigman’s school. She was also influenced by the famous American/Russian dancer Read more
The Battle of Milne Bay, fought in August and September 1942, resulted in the first decisive defeat of Japanese land forces during the Pacific War. Australian troops, supported by United States engineers and Allied air power, repelled a Japanese attempt to capture the newly constructed airfields at the eastern end Read more
Our mother met a Dutch pilot during the war. His name was Fredrik (Pulk) Pelder and there are many mentions of his heroics on the World Wide web. One instance in particular that was widely publicised, was an escape from Java where Fred and Mendizabal (Canadian), Sgt Stuart Munroe (Australian), Alan Read more