Dr Nonja Peters is an historian, anthropologist, museum curator and social researcher whose expertise is transnational migration (forced and voluntary) and resettlement in Australia. She is the author of several books, museum exhibitions, journal articles, TV documentaries, and government reports. Her achievements and dedication towards raising awareness of the post-war migration experience from 1945 and preserving migrant’s cultural heritage, have earnt her wide acclaim. Nonja is passionate about her work and promoting the experiences of the peoples and groups she researches in a respectful manner, to give them a platform from which to tell their story – and be heard.
She is currently working on Mutual Heritage between Australia and the Netherlands, liaising with the Dutch Embassy in Canberra, and the Australian Embassy in The Hague.
This information is from Nonja’s biography at her induction into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame in 2022.
Nonja’s Archival Collection at the State Library of WA
Link to the collection at the State Library
De Leeuwin
In August 2022, Nonja revealed she had recently discovered the name of the skipper of the Leeuwin, which had been unknown until that time. 2022 marked 400 years since the Dutch ship Leeuwin mapped the southwest coast of Western Australia. Nonja has collaborated with the WA Museum many times and has been working on and off on the Leeuwin project since 2012. Recent technological advances have allowed for more accurate translations of historical documents, which she attributes to the success of her discovery.
Leeuwin was one of the first ships to chart parts of the south WA coastline in 1622. It inspired the naming of Cape Leeuwin, the Leeuwin Current and many more significant sites in WA.
Books
Nonja is author of several books, including Tyranny to Freedom and A Touch of Dutch. These two books can be downloaded below (both are reproduced with permission).
For the PDFs of individual chapters in A Touch of Dutch, click here.
Nonja also published The Christian Slaves of Depok. For more information on this book, click here.
See also:
Migration Experiences: Acknowledging the Past, and Sustaining the Present and Future
