Peter is a multi-faceted individual with a diverse educational and professional background. Born in Singapore to Dutch parents, he has pursued a wide range of interests and affiliations throughout his life. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree, which indicates his training in marketing, and a Diploma in Ministry Read more…
Elburgh 1658 Documentary Source other than original Journals “Letter of the Governor-General and Council to the Managers of the VOC December 14, 1658” in J E Heeres 1899The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia,London: Luzac and Co., p.81. p.81the skipper, together with one of the steersmen, Read more…
After the Japanese invasion of Indonesia in 1942, the Dutch fled to Australia taking with them Indonesian soldiers, sailors, government officials and more. The Dutch Government made a deal with the Australian Government which gave the Dutch extra-terrestrial rights over many Indonesian refugees, declaring several former army camps as Dutch Read more…
By: Jan Tent Studies of proper names have revealed naming patterns which may provide insights into the attitudes and values of the contemporaneous name bestowers. This essay analyses the names conferred upon thevessels of the United East India Company or Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), in order to ascertain whether there Read more…
This thesis from Dr. Judith Mirjam Rozeboom examines the lives and treatment of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) people who resided in Australia during WWII and their return to their home country after the war. It compares the lives before, during and after the war of European Indonesians and indigenous Read more…
By Tony Thomas Of all the accounts of the earliest Dutch arrivals in Australia, the wreck of the Concordia seems the strangest. A “great vessel” of 900 tonnes with 130 on board, it departed Java bound for the Netherlands in 1708. After a storm south of the Sunda Strait, the Read more…
Petronella Wensing (1924-2023) was a Dutch migrant to Australia who passed away in 2023. Below is an obituary written by her son Ed (posted with permission). A short story about Petronella was published in The Canberra Times: The Canberra Times also published a shortened version of Ed Wensing’s obituary for Read more…
A basic Australian history questionnaire Noel Jackling The term ‘Australia’ is used in a broad sense to include its earlier names. 1. Who was the first known European skipper to reach Australia? What was the name of his ship and which part of Australia did he touch upon? In what Read more…
Born: 3 June 1930 (Limburg, The Netherlands)Died: 12 January 2018 (Canberra) Charles was a demographer and public servant who served in Papua New Guinea (1967-72) and Australia thereafter.He was a proud and active member of the Australian Dutch community. Driven mostly by the desire to improve their material position Dutch Read more…
The SS Groote Beer, originally built as the SS Costa Rica Victory, emerged as a significant vessel post-World War II. Constructed as an enlarged Victory troopship under the US War Shipping Administration, the ship was purchased by the State of the Netherlands. After a brief stint under the American Hawaiian Read more…