Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (in English: Royal Dutch Indies Airways) was the airline of the former Dutch East Indies. It was founded on 16 July 1928 as the NILM by a group of 32 Netherlands Indies. Headquartered in Amsterdam, KNILM was not a subsidiary of the better-known KLM (Royal Dutch Read more…
Book by Rupert Gerritsen, 2015 Introduction This book brings together a selection of stories about Australia’s early, and neglected, maritime history. They were written by Rupert Gerritsen R.O.N. for a general audience, and their publication here celebrates his life and achievements before his untimely death in 2013. Rupert’s mission was Read more…
Pierre van der Eng, Australian National University (updated January 2022) It took until 1951 for The Netherlands to establish diplomatic representation in Australia in the form of an accredited ambassador. Depending on the issue, bilateral diplomatic matters were dealt with through the Dutch embassy in London until the 1940s, either Read more…
Born in Utrecht in the Netherlands in December 1918, Gerardus Dusseldorp was known as Dik as a child, the anglicised version of which stuck with him for the rest of his life. At the age of 15, he enrolled as a marine cadet, with the aim of becoming a captain Read more…
Nicholas Dijkstra tells the story about flying in formation under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In May 1942, two US ‘Kittyhawks’ flew under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Nobody had done that before! Several Dutch and Dutch East Indies KLM and KNILM pilots were to make a short flight over Sydney for Read more…
Since 1 November 2021 the ‘24/7 BZ Contact Center’ is called ‘Netherlands Worldwide’. Consular service remains at the heart of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the new name better reflects the government-wide services. The website is the government’s main information platform for Dutch nationals who live abroad, or want Read more…
Lost footage of the Easybeats during their first performance on BBC’s Top of the Pops has been found after 55 years. The Easybeats was formed in 1964. All five founder members were from families that had migrated to Australia from Europe. The two founding Dutch members of the group were Read more…
Onderzoek naar het scheepswrak van het 17de-eeuwse VOC-schip de Batavia werpt nieuw licht op de scheepsbouw van de Republiek der Nederlanden. Het wrak is in 1970 in Australië opgegraven en wordt momenteel tentoongesteld in het Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle. Een internationaal team van archeologen en dendrochnologen (specialisten in Read more…
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre was founded in 1983 and gives as its aims and objectives in its mission statement, the collection, preservation, promotion and dissemination of Dutch culture and heritage in Australia. The Centre immediately started the collection of material for the archives and Library and now, after almost Read more…