Kasper Kuiper was born in Groningen in 1938. He has had an extraordinary career in maritime construction and community service, reflecting a lifelong dedication to the Dutch maritime tradition and its contributions to Australia. From large-scale international dredging projects to Read more…
Haskoning, part of the Dutch-based Haskoning group, is a globally recognised engineering and project management consultancy with over 140 years of experience. In Australia, Haskoning has established itself, since 2011, as a key player in maritime, water, coastal and environmental Read more…
Van Oord, a Dutch company with roots dating back to 1868, is one of the world’s leading dredging and marine engineering contractors. In Australia, Van Oord has played a vital role in shaping the country’s coastal infrastructure—particularly in Queensland—through major Read more…
By Paul Budde, Chair, Dutch Australian Cultural Centre I was recently invited to address the event Future of Queensland Maritime and Ports, organised by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Queensland and supported by Haskoning. My contribution was to provide Read more…
This compelling first-person account, written by her daughter Claire Smith-Burns, traces the remarkable wartime journey of Anna Wiebrigje Beetstra, a Dutch-Canadian woman who served in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) during the final years of World War II. Read more…
In October 2024, Dutch journalist and copywriter Jorien Wallast published a groundbreaking work titled Saluut Batavia: Het verhaal van de vrouwelijke KNIL-soldaten (Salute Batavia: The story of the female KNIL soldiers), offering a rare window into a little-known facet of Read more…
In the quiet suburb of Klemzig, just outside of Adelaide, a little slice of the Netherlands is thriving thanks to the passion and heritage of Angela Leaney. Born to Dutch-speaking parents who migrated to Australia in 1956—her father from Tilburg Read more…
At the turn of the 20th century, as Australia’s ports and rivers underwent significant development to support growing trade and migration, Dutch engineering quietly played a foundational role. Central to this was the Dutch firm A.F. Smulders, an industrial and Read more…
From March 1949 to July 1971, the Smithfield Migrant Hostel (now north Adelaide) served as a temporary home for thousands of new arrivals to Australia. Located between Coventry Road and the Gawler railway line on a former army ordnance depot, Read more…
The life of Arie Stiermann is a poignant reflection of the upheaval and resilience experienced by many Dutch migrants in the aftermath of World War II. His story spans persecution under Nazi rule, postwar trauma, and the search for a Read more…