This memoir by retired air force colonel Jan Staal offers a vivid, personal account of the chaotic months surrounding the liberation of the Netherlands East Indies in 1945. Written decades later, it is both a critique of Allied leadership and a first-hand testimony of a Dutch officer unexpectedly caught between Read more
This is a abstract in English from a chapter in a Dutch paper, titled: Het verraad van Amerika en (vooral) Engeland (The treachery of America and (particularly) England). It doesn’t mention the author. The paper is part of the archive of Pieter Boele van Hensbroek and most likely was written Read more
Introduction This article was written by Pieter Robert (Robby) Boele van Hensbroek (1920–2011), a former officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy who migrated to Australia in 1951. He remained deeply engaged in Dutch community affairs through the Netherlands Ex-Servicemen and Women’s Association (NESWA) and contributed a number of personal recollections Read more
Memories of a dinner party where diplomacy, commerce and principle collided (c. 1960).By P. R. Boele van Hensbroek, Brookfield, Brisbane, 1995 Abstract In this memoir, retired Dutch naval officer and migrant Pieter Robert (Robby) Boele van Hensbroek revisits one of the most striking episodes of his post-war life: a dinner Read more
Australian artist Jenny Dodson, whose family background includes Dutch heritage, has created works that draw on the cultural imagery of the Netherlands. One of her notable pieces is Monochrome (2025): tribute to my Dutch heritage, a painting of a traditional Dutch windmill. In this work, Dodson uses a restrained palette Read more
Early life in Amsterdam Early life in the Netherlands Pieter Robert (Robby) Boele van Hensbroek was born in Amsterdam on 18 October 1920 to André Boele van Hensbroek and Jo Sluiter. He grew up with his sister Elsje in a close-knit family. His youth was marked both by joyful summers Read more
On 24 August 1945, just days after the end of the Second World War, Melbourne hosted a massive Victory in the Pacific parade. Tens of thousands of service personnel marched through the city in celebration, cheered on by vast crowds lining Swanston Street and Flinders Street. Among the international contingents Read more
A wartime hub From September 1942 the United States Navy requisitioned land at New Farm and built the “New Farm Receiving Station” — a personnel and transit centre with barracks, messing, recreation, medical and postal facilities. It supported the burgeoning submarine and naval presence along Capricorn Wharf and nearby installations Read more
In the spring of 1955, the Broekman family became part of the great wave of postwar Dutch emigration. That year, young cook Bert Broekman joined the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland to work aboard the emigrant ship SS Zuiderkruis. Fatefully, the same ship carried his older brother Jan, sister-in-law Annie, and little Read more
For many Australians with Dutch heritage, learning the language can be a meaningful way to connect with family roots and cultural traditions. Based in Canberra, Dutch language learners have the opportunity to join courses online at Access Art Academy, a mother-and-daughter team of Marion Verbruggen and Marianne Mettes. A Passion Read more