Dirk “Dick” van Teulingen was one of approximately 100 Dutch dredging workers who travelled to Australia in 1950 to work on maritime projects around Williamstown and Port Phillip Bay. His life encompassed wartime captivity and forced labour in Germany, engineering Read more
Australia and the Netherlands have formally elevated their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership, with shared Dutch-Australian history and cultural heritage specifically recognised as part of the relationship between the two countries. The agreement was adopted in New York on Read more
Hendrik Johan “Harry” Burgers lived a life shaped by war, displacement and migration. He served as a radio operator and air gunner during the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, survived a forced landing at sea, shot down a Read more
Introduction Following the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, Australia became the principal base from which Dutch military, intelligence and government organisations attempted to maintain contact with the occupied territories and prepare for an eventual Allied Read more
In the quiet grounds of Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery in the Netherlands lie more than 1,750 Allied servicemen, most of whom died during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Among them are four members of the Royal Australian Air Read more
A large diorama at the Gold Coast War Museum in Mudgeeraba depicts one of the most famous battles fought in the Netherlands during the Second World War: the struggle for the bridge at Arnhem in September 1944. The model shows Read more
The story of the Burgers family brings together several important chapters in the shared history of Indonesia, the Netherlands and Australia: the Boven Digul political prisoners’ camp in Dutch New Guinea, the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, Dutch Read more
The history of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF is usually told as one of Allied cooperation and operational success. Yet during its formation in Australia, the squadron experienced a profound internal crisis that culminated in one of the Read more
Following the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942, surviving Dutch and Indonesian air-force personnel, naval aviators, civilian aircrews and aircraft escaped to Australia. From Australian bases they reorganised, trained and returned to active service as part Read more
Shipwrecks, aircraft, Dutch East India Company history and Camp Columbia form part of an expanding program of Dutch–Australian heritage cooperation A new report from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands highlights the breadth of Dutch-related heritage projects currently being Read more