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…
Clogs and Dutch are ideas that belong together, largely due to the success of marketing by the Dutch Tourism industry. A more or less unique product and a more or less unique people – a marketers dream combination. Reality is quite different. Very few Dutch migrants brought clogs with them, Read more…
Calvin School- the why and the consequences In the 1950s, education of children was the joint responsibility of the State and the local Municipality. The State provided the buildings, the teachers and the curriculum. The Municipal Councillors enforced truancy regulations , and managed requests for absences (because mum was sick Read more…
This story is about how Little Groningen came to be. The name was coined by the farmer, Geard, who sold the land to the “G7” scouts, van der Laan and Pinkster. (The “G7” was a group of 7 families who had decided to emigrate to Tasmania and establish a building 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…
A family’s journey from persecution to peace In 1939, the Nazi regime upended the life of my grandfather, a tax accountant in Vienna, Austria. He owned a large apartment in the city, but being born in Czechoslovakia made him a target, despite my grandmother Caroline Kleiner’s Catholic faith and blonde Read more…
The Tarin Kowt Memorial, located in Corinda, Queensland, is a bronze replica of the original memorial wall from Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. It honors the men and women from various nations who served in Uruzgan Province, listing the names of 114 coalition soldiers who lost their lives there, including 40 Australians. Read more…
Are you interested in your Dutch Australian family history? Did your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents migrate to Australia from the Netherlands? Or maybe you migrated to Australia from the Netherlands yourself and want to research your family history but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Read more…
Maria Island, situated off the east coast of Tasmania, holds a rich and complex history, particularly tied to Dutch exploration. Its story is interwoven with Indigenous heritage, European exploration, and a brief period as a convict settlement. Dutch exploration Maria Island was first sighted by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in Read more…