This article was written by Rob Dijksman (Hulsberg, The Netherlands) and is published here with his permission. The memorial wall at the VC Corner Cemetery in the village of Fromelles in northern France bears 1,299 names. Brinckmann H.C. is one of them. On 19 July 1916, Hendrik was killed in Read more
Introduction Broome, on the remote north-western coast of Western Australia, occupies a particularly important place in the shared wartime history of Australia, the Netherlands and the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI). During the opening months of 1942, as Japanese forces advanced through Southeast Asia, Broome became a vital evacuation point Read more
Republished with permission. Section Two: Military, from the book A Touch of Dutch – Maritime, Military, Migration and Mercantile Connections on the Western Third 1616–2016, edited by Nonja Peters. This section explores Dutch military and civilian experiences in Australia during the Second World War and its aftermath, particularly the close Read more
Emeritus Professor Peter Koopman is one of Australia’s internationally recognised developmental geneticists. His research identified the gene on the Y chromosome responsible for initiating male development, a discovery regarded as one of the major breakthroughs in twentieth-century molecular genetics. Behind his scientific achievements lies a remarkable Dutch-Australian family story. Born Read more
From De Uiver to the Netherlands East Indies transport squadrons Archerfield Airport occupies a distinctive place in Dutch–Australian aviation history. Its association with the Netherlands began with the celebrated visit of the KLM airliner De Uiver in 1934 and expanded through the pre-war services of the Royal Netherlands Indies Airways Read more
Rebuilding a Dutch fighter force Following the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, Dutch military aviation had to be rebuilt from personnel and aircraft scattered across Australia and the United States. The immediate priority was the formation of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, which Read more
Dutch dredging companies, engineers and workers have made an important contribution to Australia’s maritime and industrial development. This history encompasses the supply of Dutch-built machinery, the establishment of Australian subsidiaries, major port and reclamation projects, and the organised migration of skilled workers and their families. This portal brings together the Read more
The development of Kwinana as one of Western Australia’s principal industrial centres depended on the creation of deep-water access for large ocean-going ships. A major part of this work was entrusted to the Dutch dredging contractor Hollandsche Aanneming Maatschappij, generally known as HAM. The Kwinana undertaking was separate from the Read more
Australian Dredging and General Works was established in 1950 through the cooperation of two longstanding Dutch civil-engineering companies: Adriaan Volker’s Maatschappij tot het Uitvoeren van Openbare Werken and Van Hattum & Blankevoort. Both businesses had grown from nineteenth-century contracting enterprises into internationally active engineering organisations. Their Australian joint venture combined Read more
Australian Dredging and General Works Pty Ltd was established in 1950 to bring Dutch dredging expertise, equipment and skilled personnel to Australia. Initially based in Williamstown, Victoria, the company was an Australian subsidiary jointly associated with two established Dutch civil-engineering businesses: Adriaan Volker’s Maatschappij tot het Uitvoeren van Openbare Werken Read more