The Society was formed in 2000 by a group of history enthusiasts that were: Concerned at the lack of general knowledge about maritime events that took place in the 17th and 18th centuries off and on Western Australia’s (WA) coastline hundreds of years before the settlement of WA in 1829 Read more…
Johannes (Joop) Gijzemijter Born 24 Feb, 1915, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Died 30 April, 1999, Brisbane, Australia. Written by his son John Gyzemyter. “What did you do during the war Daddy?” As children Dad often told us stories about his career in aviation which started on the 3rd of March 1930 as Read more…
In May 1931, KLM added an experimental flight from Batavia to Melbourne to their regular Amsterdam – Batavia service providing a through service from Amsterdam to Australia. The plane was a Fokker FVIIA/3m trimotor specially named ‘Abel Tasman’ for this trip. The pilot and co-pilot were Maurits Pattist and Jan Read more…
The Japanese occupied the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) in early 1942. A number of Dutch airmen escaped to Australia after surviving the fierce fight with the Japanese. They mostly ended up at either Archerfield airfield in Brisbane or Melbourne. These airmen were formed into a number of operational groups under RAAF control. Read more…
The preparation of the formation of the 18 NEI Squadron RAAF started in Archerfield, Brisbane and was formalised in Canberra on 4 April 1942. There is an annual reunion of the children of the 18th squadron (For enquiries: Leonie Killeen 18sqnei.aust@gmail.com). The world-wide reunion takes place in Arnhem , also Read more…
In the presence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Australia, H.E. Mrs Marion Derckx, at an event hosted by the Pooh Corner Environment Centre and Dutchlink Brisbane a plan was launched to preserve the last remaining heritage items of Camp Columbia (which are situated in the Read more…
The Dutch Merchant Navy at the start of WWII: Exhibition “NL KOOPVAARDIJ IN WO II” in Zwolle Dr Jack Ford wrote an extensive history of the Dutch war effort in the South West Pacific. He published this in: Allies in Bind: Australia and the Netherlands East Indies relations during World Read more…
At the time of the Japanese invasion in the Dutch Indies Hendrik (Henk) Paardekooper was employed – since 1938 – by the Droogdok Maatschappij Surabaya (DSM) being responsible e.g. for the floating docks and cranes used for the maintenance and repair of larger sea-going vessels, including those of the Dutch Read more…
The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Australia, H.E. Mrs Marion Derckx will at her official visit to Brisbane attend an information event at the site of the former Camp Columbia at Wacol, Brisbane. It was here that the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile had its headquarters during WWII. Read more…
Roland Spuij attended a guided tour by conservator Maggie Patton of the “Maps of the Pacific” in the Mitchell Library in Sydney. A brilliant exhibition of original maps going back to 1490, including the famous Tasman map of 1644 and other beautiful maps of Dutch cartographers and wonderful globes. And Read more…