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
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 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
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
Introduction Very few people in Indonesia, Australia and the Netherlands know that during WWII many Indonesians fought on the side of the Allies. And nobody there knows the estimate of 4 million deaths. Because both are not part of Indonesia’s official history and therefore its public memory. The article below Read more
Throughout World War II, the Dutch Merchant Navy (Koopvaardij) played a crucial role in the global war effort, especially in the Pacific following the fall of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) to Japanese forces in early 1942. This article explores the enduring legacy of the Dutch Merchant Navy in Read more
Cees and Ina Huig, along with their three children, migrated from the Netherlands to Australia in 1972, settling in Brisbane. Their journey and experiences have been documented by the National Archives of Australia. Cees Huig was born on February 25, 1933, in the Netherlands. During World War II, as a Read more
Republished with permission. Chapter 10 of the book: A Touch of Dutch. For the full pdf of the book click here. Introduction chapters of the book: Touch of Dutch See also: Evacuees and Refugees from Netherlands East Indies recuperating in Australia after WWII
Republished with permission. Chapter 9 of the book: A Touch of Dutch. For the full pdf of the book click here. Introduction chapters of the book: Touch of Dutch