Among the many military establishments that operated in Queensland during the Second World War, few have faded from public memory as completely as the School of Military Intelligence at Southport on the Gold Coast. Yet during the final years of the war this institution trained intelligence personnel destined for service Read more
One of the most significant collections relating to the Dutch presence in Australia during the Second World War can now be found at the Northern Rivers Military Museum in Casino, New South Wales. The museum has developed a dedicated Camp Victory display that tells the remarkable story of the Royal Read more
Among the remarkable documents preserved in the collection of the Bronbeek Museum is a carbon copy letter dating from June 1942. It records an initiative organised in Australia to support Dutch and Timorese guerrilla fighters operating behind Japanese lines on Timor. The document is particularly significant because it is linked Read more
In his forthcoming book Bloedrode dageraad: De Tweede Wereldoorlog en de geboorte van het moderne Azië (Blood Red Dawn: The Second World War and the Birth of Modern Asia), historian Hans van de Ven argues that the Second World War should not only be viewed as a struggle against Nazi Read more
Among the many stories of Dutch–Australian cooperation during the Second World War, few are as moving as the story of an Australian flag presented to Dutch troops in exile. More than a ceremonial gift, the flag symbolised a shared experience of war, defeat, captivity and resilience that connected Australians and Read more
This is an abstract from the full article click here. It is a deeply personal memoir by Dutch migrant Johan Luchters provides a rich and highly detailed first-hand account of post-war migration experiences at the Scheyville Migrant Accommodation Centre in New South Wales during the early 1960s. Far more than Read more
Introduction The wartime history of No. 18 Netherlands East Indies Squadron RAAF is closely connected with northern Australia. From 1942 onwards the Dutch-manned squadron operated North American B-25 Mitchell bombers from a network of airfields around Darwin in support of Allied operations against Japanese forces in Timor and the former Read more
Many thousands of post-war migrants passed through Scheyville Migrant Accommodation Centre, including large numbers of Dutch arrivals beginning new lives in Australia. For many families, Scheyville represented the first Australian chapter of their migration story — a place of uncertainty, hope, adaptation and new beginnings. While much attention naturally focuses Read more
The military service records of Bernhard Jan Ruesink provide another remarkable insight into the highly international character of Dutch wartime military history during and after the Second World War. His career connected the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Australia and postwar Indonesia through Allied military aviation and Read more
The military service records of Willy Erkelens provide a fascinating insight into the international wartime and postwar networks that connected the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), Australia, the United States and Indonesia during and after the Second World War. His career reflects the experiences of many Dutch military personnel who escaped Read more