The celebrations of the first 400 years of relations between The Commonwealth of Australia and The Kingdom of The Netherlands in 2006 marked a very special and important event for both countries. The shared relationship between the two countries was first established in 1606, when the Dutch vessel Duyfken mapped Read more…
Daniel Johannes Huygens, born in Utrecht, Holland, in 1908, is recognized as an unsung hero of World War II for his courageous efforts in hiding Jewish families from the Nazis. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Huygens and his wife, Lydia, transformed the upper story of their house into Read more…
In 1932, a daring attempt to circumnavigate the globe by air turned into a harrowing survival story for German pilot Hans Bertram and mechanic Adolph Klausmann. Their journey in the Junkers W 33 seaplane, Atlantis, registration D-1925, took an unexpected turn when they were forced to make an emergency landing Read more…
On the night of the 28 April 1656, the Vergulde Draeck struck a submerged coral reef midway between what are now the coastal towns of Seabird and Ledge Point, Western Australia. On board were 193 crew, eight boxes of silver coins worth 78,600 guilders and trade goods to the value Read more…
The Vergulde Draeck sailed from the Netherlands bound for Batavia. The ship foundered in 1656 at Ledge Point, near the mouth of Moore River, leaving 68 survivors stranded. In 1658, two ships were sent to attempt a rescue. Aboard one of the ships, the Waeckende Boey, was officer-navigator Abraham Leeman van Santwits. This Read more…
A country’s toponyms has many hidden complexities. For example, some name-forms can deceive theunwary in terms of their origins and meanings. Australia’s toponymy is a good case in point.Many of Australia’s toponyms are transparent as to their etymologies, such as, Port Macquarie (NSW),Sandy Bay (TAS), whilst others are more opaque, Read more…
Early Career and Rise to Prominence Jan (later John, Johnny) Van Oosten was born in The Hague. The family emigrated to Australia in 1954, when Jan was 7 years old. They settled in Victoria Park. His father was Dutch, his mother Polish, they had met each other in Germany where Read more…
Beaten by tempest and stormed by drift, Steady I keep my post, And laugh at the southern rollers long, For I’m guard of the Southern Coast. I watched the Dutchmen on their way, In the days of long ago, But they set no foot on my rocky shore, Where the Read more…
The first (and only?) United Nations’ casualties in its involvement in the Indonesian war ofindependence 1945-50. By ACT Branch Member Graham Rayner. At about ten o’clock on the morning of 18th March 1949 a Dutch military jeep, painted white and clearly marked as “UNITED NATIONS” was ambushed by what were Read more…
By Andrew Bolt, social and political commentator, writer and TV producer. I was born in Adelaide and always felt some contact with Holland. We got parcels every few months from my mother’s parents or sisters of zoute drop, stophoest and editions of Panorama. I read (or just looked at) cartoon Read more…