Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other Dutch, British, US and Australian 8th Division units during World War II. The force was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire of Japan. It formed the main part of the Read more…
Military record Born in Malang, Java, on 27 December 1910. Died at “Ladang” House, near Berry, New South Wales, Australia, on October 6, 1965. Army number 102417002 Second lieutenant KNIL Army (31-07-1932), First Lieutenant (31-07-1935), Captain. (27-05-1943), Major (17-12-1949). Well-known decorations: · Ereteken Belangrijke/Bijzondere Krijgsbedrijven/-verrichtingen BK,E.1,OHK.3,OV.1,XV,KLO· Bronze Cross K.B. Read more…
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…
(Source: Wikipedia) SS Van Heemskerk was a freighter built by N.V. Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw-Maatschappij. The ship of 2,996 Gross register tonnage (GRT) was launched 31 August 1909 and delivered for operation by Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) in the Dutch East Indies trade. Van Heemskerk was one of twenty-one KPM vessels that took 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…
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…
Not enough personnel to start a new Squadron The pre-capitulation situation in the Netherlands Indies was chaotic and the stubborn Dutch Government-in-Exile in London had no vision nor a plan fort an inevitable post surrender period. This was the main course why so few military people and material was saved Read more…