In 2022, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, RCE) was cooperating with the Western Australian Museum in Perth on archaeological investigations of Dutch flying boats destroyed during the Japanese attack on Broome on 3 March 1942.
The project formed part of the Netherlands’ wider involvement in maritime heritage research in Australia. Earlier collaborations included the Australian Research Council’s Shipwrecks of the Roaring Forties project, which investigated Dutch shipwrecks, including the search for the Fortuyn, and the Ship Shapes project.
Seaplane crash saved people from Japanese attack on Broome – Gerard Lemmens 1942
In October 2022, Professor Martijn Manders, Professor of Underwater Archaeology and Maritime Cultural Heritage Management at Leiden University and coordinator of international maritime heritage at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), visited Australia.
During his visit, he gave presentations in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, highlighting Dutch–Australian cooperation in maritime archaeology, underwater cultural heritage research and the preservation of historic shipwrecks.
This article is part of the Broome and the Dutch Research Portal
