By Edward Duyker Every now and then, we can all be surprised by what we dig up in the garden, be it a tool, a missing piece of jewellery or a coin. On 26 March 2025, my wife Susan was weeding in our vegetable garden and found a weathered 1-Cent Read more
One of the most significant collections relating to the Dutch presence in Australia during the Second World War can now be found at the Northern Rivers Military Museum in Casino, New South Wales. The museum has developed a dedicated Camp Victory display that tells the remarkable story of the Royal Read more
Among the many fascinating objects in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum is an Australian-made Owen Mark I submachine gun. At first glance it appears to be simply another weapon of the Second World War. Yet this remarkable firearm tells a much larger story—one of Australian innovation, Dutch-Australian military cooperation Read more
Alois (Wies) Amrein was born in Fort de Kock (now Bukittinggi) in Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) on 27 February 1910. His parents were Felix Amrein, who was originally from Switzerland, and Indonesian woman Maria Lucia Siken; Wies received Swiss nationality at birth. In 1934, Wies married Read more
This is the third article in the DACC Research Series The Netherlands Government-in-Exile, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies during the Second World War. The series explores the political, constitutional and administrative relationship between the Netherlands Government-in-Exile, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies during the Second World War. Introduction The Read more
This is the second article in the DACC Research Series The Netherlands Government-in-Exile, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies during the Second World War. The series explores the political, constitutional and administrative relationship between the Netherlands Government-in-Exile, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies during the Second World War. Introduction When Read more
By CCHA / June 28, 2026 Charles van der Plas: colonial expert, wartime administrator in Australia and advocate of gradual reform Charles Olke van der Plas (1891–1977) was one of the most experienced Dutch colonial administrators of the Netherlands East Indies. Born in Buitenzorg, now Bogor, in West Java, he developed a deep Read more
This is the first article in the three-part DACC Research Series The Netherlands Government-in-Exile, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies during the Second World War. The series examines the constitutional and political foundations of the Dutch administration in exile: the authority retained in London, the position of the Netherlands East Read more
Among the many military establishments that operated in Queensland during the Second World War, few have faded from public memory as completely as the School of Military Intelligence at Southport on the Gold Coast. Yet during the final years of the war this institution trained intelligence personnel destined for service Read more
At first glance, a worn red file folder preserved in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum appears to be one of the least remarkable objects associated with the Second World War. Unlike aircraft, weapons or uniforms, it is simply a piece of office stationery. Yet this modest object tells an Read more