Introduction The Broome Historical Museum, operated by the Broome Historical Society, is one of Western Australia’s most important regional museums and a key institution for preserving the town’s maritime, multicultural and wartime history. Located in a small heritage precinct overlooking Roebuck Bay at Town Beach Reserve, the museum occupies several Read more
Introduction Among the most tangible reminders of the dramatic Dutch wartime presence in Western Australia is a salvaged engine from a Dornier Do-24 flying boat, now preserved in the Broome Historical Museum. Recovered decades after the Japanese air raid on Broome in March 1942, this artefact provides a rare physical Read more
Introduction The Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek (Perth) is one of Australia’s most important specialist aviation museums. Established by the Air Force Association of Western Australia and opened in 1979, it houses a large collection of military and civil aircraft, engines, aviation equipment, archival material and interpretive displays related Read more
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC) and Badan Pelestarian Pusaka Indonesia (BPPI) – the Indonesian Heritage Trust – have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a framework for cooperation focused on the shared heritage of Indonesia and the Netherlands in Australia. The agreement recognises that the histories of Indonesia Read more
Roelofina Wisse-Borger, known within her family as Fiena, was one of the many ordinary Dutch citizens who demonstrated extraordinary courage during the Second World War. For her actions in hiding Jewish families during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, she was posthumously honoured with the title Righteous Among the Nations, Read more
Early life in the Netherlands Cornelis Antonie de Jong was born in 1916 in Asperen, a small rural town along the river Linge. He grew up in a family marked by poverty, limited formal education, and the social pressures of interwar Dutch society. Work was often seasonal or insecure, schooling Read more
Zwier Albertus ‘Alby’ Mangels was born in the Netherlands on 16 November 1948. In 1955, he migrated to Australia with his parents and siblings as part of the large post-war wave of Dutch migration. The family settled in Mount Burr in South Australia, where Mangels spent his formative years. Growing Read more
The following text is from a booklet published by the Federation of Netherlands Societies Ltd. in February 1985. The research for this booklet was done by Mijntje Hage Initially, there were several small Dutch clubs in the various immigrant hostels in and around Newcastle, with Camp Greta being one of the bigger Read more
Post-war Dutch migration to Australia reshaped not only industry and housing but also community life. Football became one of the most effective ways for Dutch migrants to build social networks, maintain cultural continuity, and integrate into Australian society. In Sydney, one of the clubs that emerged from this environment was Read more
Introduction The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme occupies a central place in Australia’s postwar history. Conceived as a nation-building project, it reshaped Australia’s energy and water systems while simultaneously transforming the country’s demographic profile. Between the late 1940s and the 1970s, the Scheme attracted tens of thousands of workers, the majority Read more