Anna Wiebrigje “Anne” Beetstra was a Dutch-Canadian woman who travelled across the world to join the VK-KNIL during the final years of the Second World War. Her journey took her from British Columbia to military training in the United States, Camp Columbia in Brisbane and eventually Batavia in the Netherlands Read more
n October 2024, Dutch journalist Jorien Wallast published Saluut Batavia: Het verhaal van de vrouwelijke KNIL-soldaten (Salute Batavia: The Story of the Female KNIL Soldiers). The book recovers the experiences of five young women who served in the Vrouwenkorps of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army during the turbulent transition Read more
In the quiet suburb of Klemzig, just outside of Adelaide, a little slice of the Netherlands is thriving thanks to the passion and heritage of Angela Leaney. Born to Dutch-speaking parents who migrated to Australia in 1956—her father from Tilburg and her mother from Utrecht—Angela grew up in a household Read more
At the turn of the 20th century, as Australia’s ports and rivers underwent significant development to support growing trade and migration, Dutch engineering quietly played a foundational role. Central to this was the Dutch firm A.F. Smulders, an industrial and shipbuilding company based in Schiedam, near Rotterdam. Dutch ingenuity and Read more
From March 1949 to July 1971, the Smithfield Migrant Hostel (now north Adelaide) served as a temporary home for thousands of new arrivals to Australia. Located between Coventry Road and the Gawler railway line on a former army ordnance depot, the hostel could accommodate up to 300 people at a Read more
The life of Arie Stiermann is a poignant reflection of the upheaval and resilience experienced by many Dutch migrants in the aftermath of World War II. His story spans persecution under Nazi rule, postwar trauma, and the search for a peaceful life in Australia—one marked by both hardship and hope. Read more
John “Dutchy” de Vos served as the bosun (bootsman) aboard the barque Garthneill, a steel-hulled, three-masted sailing ship originally built in 1895 in Glasgow as Inverneill. After its sale and renaming in 1921, the Garthneill became notable for its role in South Australia’s grain trade. Following its decommissioning in 1926, Read more
The Migration Museum in Adelaide is Australia’s oldest museum dedicated to the history of migration. Opened in 1986 and operated by the History Trust of South Australia, the museum explores the diverse stories of immigrants who helped shape South Australia and the nation. Through permanent and changing exhibitions, it documents Read more
This in-depth military study by Major Rene W. A. van den Berg of the Royal Netherlands Army explores the rise and rapid collapse of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), the first multinational Allied command in the Pacific during WWII. Often overlooked in mainstream histories, the Netherlands East Indies played a central Read more
By Peter Reynders First published by the Dutch Courier in July 2025 With the recent name change of the Mexican Gulf, it became even more interesting to me to look at the process of some of the geographical name changes in history. In that case the name known in Latin Read more