In 1950, two specially organised KLM flights brought a remarkable group of Dutch dredging workers and their families to Australia. Most of the workers had been recruited for a major dredging and harbour-construction project in Melbourne. Many came from Sliedrecht, the South Holland town internationally known as a centre of Read more
Australia and the Netherlands have formally elevated their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership, with shared Dutch-Australian history and cultural heritage specifically recognised as part of the relationship between the two countries. The agreement was adopted in New York on 23 September 2026 by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Read more
Hendrik Johan “Harry” Burgers lived a life shaped by war, displacement and migration. He served as a radio operator and air gunner during the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, survived a forced landing at sea, shot down a Japanese fighter and received the Bronze Cross for bravery. After Read more
On 12 September 1946, Dutch guards opened fire on Indonesian detainees at Camp Victory near Casino in northern New South Wales. One man, Soerdo, was killed, while two other prisoners, Parta and Lengkong, were wounded. The shooting followed months of growing tension at the camp and occurred only a day Read more
Introduction Following the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, Australia became the principal base from which Dutch military, intelligence and government organisations attempted to maintain contact with the occupied territories and prepare for an eventual Allied return. What developed was not simply a Dutch intelligence operation. Read more
In the quiet grounds of Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery in the Netherlands lie more than 1,750 Allied servicemen, most of whom died during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Among them are four members of the Royal Australian Air Force: Reginald Austin Davis, Keith Willett, Thomas John Lennie and Read more
Dutch servicewomen train in wartime Brisbane In 1944, members of the newly formed Women’s Corps of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army—the VK-KNIL—trained with American servicewomen at Yeronga Park in Brisbane. Their meeting brought together two separate military organisations: the Dutch VK-KNIL and the United States Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Read more
The history of the Burgers and Hevel families connects several important chapters in Dutch, Indonesian and Australian history: the Boven Digul political prisoners’ camp in Dutch New Guinea, No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, the Indonesian struggle for independence and the Indonesian graves at Cowra. This article introduces a Read more
The history of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF is usually told as one of Allied cooperation and operational success. Yet during its formation in Australia, the squadron experienced a profound internal crisis that culminated in one of the most controversial military trials involving Dutch forces in exile during Read more
This research portal brings together 92 individual articles documenting the Dutch and Netherlands East Indies air-force presence in Australia during and immediately after the Second World War. Following the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, surviving Dutch and Indonesian air-force personnel, naval aviators, civilian aircrews and Read more