In Grantlee Kieza’s compelling book, Sister Viv, the harrowing experiences of Australian Army nurse Vivian Bullwinkel during World War II are vividly recounted. The narrative highlights the profound connections between Australian and Dutch wartime histories, particularly through the events on Bangka Island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), now Indonesia. Read more…
The HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, a Dutch minesweeper famed for its remarkable escape from the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies by disguising itself as a tropical island, reached Australia in March 1942. After a refit and the installation of new ASDIC equipment, the vessel was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as HMAS Abraham Read more…
This year, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a momentous milestone in Australia’s history and the conclusion of the war in the Pacific. Brisbane played a pivotal role as a strategic hub for Allied operations, cementing its place in global wartime history. The Camp Read more…
Read his full Wikipedia article here. Alexander Jan Reitsma (1919-1982) was a distinguished Dutch economist whose career bridged three continents, making significant contributions to the fields of international economics and trade policy. Born in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, he began his academic journey at the Netherlands University for Economics, earning advanced Read more…
The National Australia Remembers Freedom Wall commemorates the “sacrifice of a generation” that have resulted in 50 years of peace in the Pacific since World War Two, and honours the servicemen and servicewomen who died in service or were killed in action, and also those who brought freedom to Australia, including workers Read more…
The Pacific War during World War II saw countless daring operations carried out by Allied forces, often in extreme secrecy. Among these, the contributions of Australia’s RAAF Catalina crews and their Dutch counterparts from the Marine Luchtvaartdienst (MLD) stand out as critical yet often overlooked components of the broader Allied Read more…
Pierre van der Eng Sydney had two Dutch hospitals during 1944-1946. Both were related to the presence in Australia of a growing number of people from colonial Indonesia during 1942-1945. Since March 1942, officials of the government the Netherlands East Indies left Indonesia for Australia before the Japanese occupation of Read more…
Selected individuals linked to the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) during World War II for which the Archives holds interviews. Click here for the interviews. The Archive is an Australian Government initiative, commissioned through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. It is a unique, historical collection, a resource for everyone interested in Read more…
Dutch Indonesian Association – Cairns In April 1995 a small group of Indische mensen’ (people born in Indonesia), such as Rob Elstak, Eric & Rob Marcus, Leo Vandersar, Jan Schmieman and Andreas Flach, came together in Cairns and founded the ‘Dutch Indonesian. Association – Melati’ (Jasmine). Andreas Flach became the Read more…
