
Dutch UN Jeep ambushed in Indonesia followed by investigation involving Australia (1949)
The first (and only?) United Nations’ casualties in its involvement in the Indonesian war ofindependence 1945-50. By ACT Branch Member Graham Rayner. At about ten o’clock on the morning of 18th March 1949 a Dutch military jeep, painted white and clearly marked as “UNITED NATIONS” was ambushed by what were

Book: The UnDutchables
“The UnDutchables: An Observation of the Netherlands, Its Culture, and Its Inhabitants” is a humorous and irreverent exploration of Dutch life and society co-authored by Colin White and Laurie Boucke. First published in 1989, the book has become a best-seller in the Netherlands since 1990 and gained popularity in various

Interview: The wanderings of Nies Lankamp
Different from most Dutch migrants, Nies Lankamp was not born in the Netherlands. She was born in Teluk Bayur in North Eastern Borneo as Nies Landman. Her father, Gerard Landman, worked there as machinist on the coal transport ships of the Koninklijke Pakketvaart Maatschappij (KPM). Teluk Bayur is inland, connected

The end of WWII. Liberation of Borneo by Australian troops. Bersiap killings on Java.
The 15th day of August 1945 will go down in history as the day of the end of the Second World War. On that day, Japan capitulated and the President of the United States announced that the conflict in the Pacific was over. But there was no question of a

Interview: All in the family. Henk Hoonhout and Ali Geeraerts
Hendrikus (Henk) Hoonhout and Alida Johanna Maria Geeraerts (Ali) are brother and sister. They both live in Prins Willem Alexander Village in Birkdale, Brisbane Queensland, albeit in separate accommodation. Ali is a widow and lives in a low-care unit, she is 99. Henk, who never married, lives in an independent

Interview: Hank and Bertie Halle – loving sports
Husband and wife, Hank and Bertie Halle were both born in 1933. He in Deventer as Hendrik Halle, she in Zaandam as Egberta Westervaarder. Hank’s father was a well-known Dutch footballer and trainer, Jan Halle. Jan and his brother, Leo, famous as the ‘Lion of Deventer’, both played for the

Interview: Wubbo Bijker – ship builder
Wubbo Edward Bijker, was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in April 1939. His parents were Wiebe Bijker, born in Zwolle, and Nicolette Kempff who was born in Haarlem. Grandfather Bijker was Frisian. Father Wiebe Bijker was a mechanical engineer and during the years after WW2 he built bridges all over Netherlands,

Interview: Bill Hunt – Builder and bridge player
Bill Hunt is living in a low-care unit of Prins Willem Alexander Village (PWA) in Brisbane because he has severe vision limitations. In spite of his English name, he was born in Assen (Drenthe) in 1934, named Willem Hoekstra, his father was Hans Hoekstra from Heerenveen, Friesland, and his mother

Interview: Hanny van der Mark -tough migration years
After having interviewed two men who live at my retirement village, I now interviewed a migrant woman. Our village actually has more female than male residents, so it’s about time. Hanny came to Australia in 1950, when she was 10 years young. She was born in Bussum, where she grew

Interview: Steve Flierman – Property valuer
In my village, the Prince Willem Alexander Retirement Village (PAW), there’s plenty of migrants, mostly Dutch. Some of them are here long enough to have been involved with the founding of the village. I interviewed another one of our residents about his migrant experience. Steve Flierman was born in

Interview: Henk Mollee – Hollandia Soccer Club – F.C. Lions
Australia is a land of immigrants. I am an immigrant, and you, dear reader, are probably too. High levels of immigration in the years before 1891 resulted in 32% of the population listed as overseas-born in Australia’s first country-wide census in 1891. These numbers decreased substantially in the first half

Interview: Netherlands Honorary Consul for Queensland Marjon Wind
On June 16th 2021 I received news that the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Australia, H.E. Mrs. Marion Derckx, announced Ms. Marjon Wind to be the new Honorary Consul for Queensland. Ms. Wind succeeds Dr. Frans Karel de Laat as the Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in

Sinterklaas Overseas Foundation
Family in Holland could have a Sinterklaas package sent to their relatives overseas. There was all kinds of stuff in there. Candy, calendar, teaspoon, gramophone record, booklets, tablecloth, you name it. In the DACC archives is a tablecloth and sugar bowl from such a package (see below). See also: Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas Treats
Pepernoten: The Traditional Sinterklaas DelicacyIs Christmas Eve truly complete without gingerbread cookies? Sinterklaas festivities naturally include these delightful treats, making them an essential part of the celebration. Gingerbread cookies, available at Dutch shops or enjoyable to make at home, hold the top spot on our list of Sinterklaas treats. Engage

Sinterklaas celebrations at Dutch Clubs in Australia
These are photographs and Dutch Australian Weekly (DAW) newspaper clippings from the DACC archives of Sinterklaas celebrations within Australian club from the early fifties onwards. Dutch Australian Weekly newspaper clippings The DAW also used Sinterklaas to promote a subscription to the newspaper as a Sinterklaas gift Information on the Dutch

Heydays of the Dutch businesses in the 1960s and 1970s
The 1960s and 70s were the heydays of Dutch shops around the country. The key importers and wholesalers at that time were: • Rubsons Pty Ltd established by Ruben Rubens in Victoria, Tasmania & Canberra;• The Mannassen family in NSW & ACT;• Centra – by the family van Straalen in

Dinkum yet Dutch – Author John Lindeman
Property Market Analyst John Lindeman is widely respected as one of Australia’s leading market analysts. With well over a decade of experience researching the nature and dynamics of various types of assets at major data analysts, John is renowned as the market researcher that other experts go to for all

Our Story – Experiences of the Dutch in Queensland
To ensure that the stories of Dutch migrants would be preserved for future generations, the former Dutch-Australian Community Action Federation Qld Inc. (DACA) published a 208 page book ‘Our Story — Experiences of the Dutch in Queensland’ in 2001. Editors: Annelies Zeissink, DACA-President and Rob-Jan Mynarends. The book presents personal

Embarking on a New Chapter: Dutch Australian Cultural Centre Transforms for the Digital Age
Sydney, November 10, 2023 The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC) is set to usher in a new era, marking a significant shift from its historical roots. A dedicated team of volunteers worked hard to build and safeguard the organisation’s invaluable archive and library over the past four decades. Recognising the

Sinterklaas in Australia
The story of Sinterklaas (Sint Nicolaas) is of course well known, there is plenty of information on the internet about this typical Dutch tradition. Although it has changed over the years due to changes in society e.g. the arrival of radio, television, internet as well as an increasingly more multicultural

Nederlands Military Air Transport Services in Australia – WWII
Military Air Transport in Australia started soon before the fall of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). In the few months before this happened evacuations started to happen, mainly of Dutch civilian personnel including families of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Airline (KNILM). These civil aircrafts became the earliest core of

The cartographic migration of Wesel(s) Eijland – Dr. Jan Tent
The Wessel Islands group off the north-eastern coast of Arnhem Land has a rather abstruse history in terms of its naming and ultimate cartographic location. Cartographic evidence, and some primary documentary evidence points to a Wesel(s) Eijland initially referring to an island off the southern coast of present-day West Papua.

Gerard Willems – Dutch-Australian piano virtuoso
Gerard Willems AM is a Dutch Australian classical pianist and double ARIA award winner. He came by boat (Grote Beer, Holland-America Lines) with his family in 1958 and went through several years of migrant camp experience. You can see a glimpse of his work here: See also: Gerard Willems Interview:

Exhibition Dutch-Australian migration stories The Hague until February 2, 2024
With an official opening by Australian Ambassador Dr. Greg French and State Archivist Afelonne Doek, the temporary exhibition People Movement Stories has been opened in the Netherlands National Archives in The Hague. In the exhibition, twelve people tell the story of their migration to Australia and the Netherlands, about their

Author Maria Douwes – Back to Australia
Maria Douwes started her career at Time-Life International, the Book Department. After that she worked at the PR-Departments at De Volkskrant (national newspaper) and the Cinetone Filmstudios. Thereafter she started her own Communication-Organisation Company and made the book’ Noord Nu’ (city district North Amsterdam) with Theo Dohte. For the city

Dutch migrant family Douwes settles in in Inala, Brisbane – 1961
This story is written by Maria Douwes and published in her book: Back to Australia The Douwes family was one of the last families to move from Amsterdam to Australia for a hundred guilders. Both the Australian and Dutch governments sponsored this trip. On December 9, 1960, Maria Douwes emigrated to

The Douwes Family at Wacol Migrant Centre Brisbane – early 1960s
This is part of the story written by Maria Douwes, who emigrated with her family in 1960/1961 to Australia. This story is written by Maria Douwes and published in her book: Back to Australia. The Douwes family was one of the last families to move from Amsterdam to Australia for a

The migration of the Douwes Family on the Zuiderkruis 1960/1961
This story is written by Maria Douwes and published in her book: Back to Australia. The Douwes family was one of the last families to move from Amsterdam to Australia for a hundred guilders. Both the Australian and Dutch governments sponsored this trip. On December 9, 1960, Maria Douwes emigrated to

CIA Report on the Break-Up of Colonial Empires – 1948
This report recently declassified assesses – in 1948 – the implications of the decolonisation of Africa and Asia for US security. The report – which also mentioned the futile attempts of the Netherlands to hold on to the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia) – proofs to be amazingly accurate about

Cape Leeuwin Gable Stone in Amsterdam
Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie – VOC – (Dutch East India Company) related gable stone with a lying lioness in the ‘gable stone wall’ at the Oudezijds Kolk in Amsterdam. The stone comes from Kleine Kattenburgerstraat 14/16 and was found there by Van Arkel and Weissman (Noord-Hollandsche Oudheden 6destuk (1903) page 43).

The NEI Personnel & Equipment Pool Squadron Canberra – Bundaberg
The establishment of the NEI Personnel & Equipment Pool (PEP) Squadron, initially stationed at RAAF Base in Canberra, resulted from the need to allow Netherlands East Indies (NEI) crews to recover and prepare for upcoming operations after completing their operational tours. Additionally, they required a base to accommodate spare aircraft

Dutch-Russian Ace Pilot Iwan Smirnoff (WWII)
Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov, a Russian pilot born in 1895 during the era of Tsarist Russia, embarked on a remarkable journey through the turbulent times of the 20th century. His life story is a testament to courage, adaptability, and dedication to aviation. Smirnov’s journey into aviation began as a response to

Marooned on Australia – 1896 – Children’s adventure book (e-book format)
Being the Narration by Diedrich Buys of His Discoveries and Exploits in Terra Australis Incognita about the Year 1630. Author: Ernest Favenc. First known publishing date: 1896 A fictionalised account of the adventures of two mutineers (Diedrich and Paul Buys) from the Dutch ship Batavia which was shipwrecked on the

Uiver Restoration Project – Albury NSW – December 2023 newsletter added
The Uiver Memorial Community Trust – a not-for-profit organisation – is devoted to restoring Albury’s Uiver Memorial DC-2 aircraft. In 1934 the MacRobertson Air Race proclaimed itself as the greatest international air race devised, and history has confirmed that bold claim. The aircrews that completed the journey from England to

Dutch involvement in the Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House, opened on 20 October 1973, and stands tall as an iconic symbol of Australian culture. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened it, emphasising the power of human creativity. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra performed at the official opening, under the direction of Dutchman Willem van Otterloo. The orchestra’s

Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) and Australia
The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) played a significant role in the exploration and early history of Australia. The relationship between the VOC and Australia can be understood through several key points: Exploration and Mapping: Dutch explorers were among the first Europeans to contact the Australian continent. In, Willem Janszoon, sailing

Dutch claims to New Holland and the British colonization in 1788
November 1786 saw the publication of An Historical Narrative of the Discovery of New Holland and New South Wales, which sought to explain the reasons for the British Government’s decision to establish a settlement at Botany Bay. Although the book was published anonymously, the London publishers, John Fielding and John Stockdale, were

Archived: Dutch WWII historian visits Brisbane on 17 November
Presentation on Australian-Dutch WWII events at ANZAC Square & Memorial Galleries Camp Columbia Heritage Association invites you to a presentation by Dutch historian Bas Kreuger on Dutch Australian WWII events on 17 November 2023 at the ANZAC Square & Memorial Galleries. Reservations are limited to 60 persons. Register for free

WWII Propaganda Flights from Australia to Java
Propaganda and intelligence gathering. As the Allied Forces were able to push back the Japanese, by 1943, preparations started in Australia to liberate the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). The Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile was established in Camp Columbia, Brisbane to coordinate the liberation and reoccupation efforts from here.. In 1943,

Short history of the Netherlands co—operative terminating building society schemes
Published by the Federation of Netherlands Societies in NSW (1985) The difficulties of the ‘first’ assisted immigrants were many, “housing” being one of the greatest problems. Although in post—war Holland housing was difficult to come by, eventually, if one was patient enough, the government would look after you. Not so

Almar Zaadstra – Painter of Australian history
Almar Zaadstra is an Australian artist based in Casterton, Victoria. Almar arrived in Australia at the age of 6 in 1966, the 4th of six children born to Sake and Ytje . They left Oudega in Friesland , Netherlands, to give their boys a brighter future in a new country,

Master Lithographer Fred Genis- first celebrity printer in Australia.
Fred Genis (1934 Amersfoort, Netherlands – 2022 Mullumbimby, Australia) was a Master Lithographer and the first celebrity printer in Australia. Genis was a partner in the Hollanders Workshop in New York in the late 60’s, early 70’s, working with artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Willem De Kooning, Sam Francis, Jasper Johns, Larry Rivers

Amazing drawings from Timor fighter Richard Bartman who drowned at the sinking of the HMAS Armidale (1942).
By Gerard van Haren Richard was born on January 3, 1913, in Probolinggo, situated on the island of Java. He held the position of a militia sergeant, bearing the title tkl (2nd class), and was identified by pedigree number 13613. On December 15, 1941, he received his assignment for the

The last VOC exploration voyage to Australia – 1756
The text below is a brief summary of a report titled “EXPLORATORY VOYAGE OF THE SHIPS RIJDER AND BUIS, COMMANDED BY LIEUTENANT JEAN ETIENNE GONZAL AND FIRST LAVIENNE LODEWIJK VAN ASSCHENS, TO THE GULF OF CARPENTARIA.” This report was submitted by Gerrit de Haan, the “Master Cartographer” at Batavia, on

No 18 and 120 Squadrons involved in the Western Australian Emergency – March 1944
18 and 120 Squadrons involved in the Western Australian Emergency – March 1944 Lack of staffing saw a delay in the formation of the 120 (Nederlands East Indies) Fighter Squadron RAAF. It was formed in Canberra and finally was ready for deployment in March 1944. However, as they were preparing

Book launch of Clogball – Dutch football clubs in Australia
Sydney launch of Clogball The Sydney launch of Clogball, Adam Muyt’s new book on the Dutch and their contribution to Australian football, took place at Berkelouw Books in Paddington on 21 September 2023. Netherlands Consul-General, Hugo Klijn, spoke about the Dutch love of football and the Netherlands Embassy’s International Heritage

Sam Roggeveen – Director Lowy Institute
Sam Roggeveen was born in the Netherlands and emigrated with his family to Australia when he was seven years old. Before joining the Lowy Institute, Sam was a senior strategic analyst in Australia’s peak intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments, where his work dealt mainly with North Asian strategic

Er is er een jarig hoera hoera!
A Dutch tribute on the 50th anniversary of the opening of that hallowed hall on the harbour. Willen van Otterloo conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) for the inaugural concert in front of the Queen. The following year he took the SSO on a world tour. A few contoversies surrounding

De Nederlandse Vereniging in Bankstown
The following information was written in 1985. The Club no longer exists This club is at the moment in a kind of transition state. Many of its old members have moved and their children live too far away from Bankstown and have started their own interest groups further away in

We need your help
Enhancing Dutch Australian Cultural Heritage Together Over the past few years, you have undoubtedly noticed the gradual expansion of Dutch-Australian cultural information within our database. We hold a strong belief in the significance of documenting and safeguarding our Dutch-Australian heritage, with a primary focus on the following areas: To ensure

Join us in preserving Dutch-Australian heritage
Are you passionate about preserving and celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Dutch Australians? The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre LTD (DACC) invites you to become a valued volunteer and contribute to the maintenance of our precious resources housed at the Abel Tasman Village in Chester Hill, NSW. Currently, we have

Dutch cargo confiscated in Sydney – 1942
In January 1942, based on this document from the Australian National Archives, Dutch cargo from the Norwegian M/S Høegh Silverstar, destined for the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), was confiscated on orders from the American Government in Sydney. According to the ship’s logbook, it departed from San Francisco on November 24,

Dutch Jewish refugees met again in Australia
Article about Ruben Rubens and Bob van Ameringen. They were friends in the Netherlands before WWII when their lives were disrupted. They became refugees but eventually, separately, settled in Australia. Here after 50 years they met each other again for the first time.

Dutch-Australian painter Henricus van den Houten (1801-1879)
Henricus Leonardus van den Houten (The Hague 1801- Melbourne 1879) was a Dutch-Australian painter, lithographer, and art teacher. He developed a passion for art at a young age. He studied painting and honed his skills under the guidance of renowned Dutch artists, specialising on portrait paintings. He worked in Leiden,

Archive Nederlandse Vereening in NSW
Main article Nederlandse Vereeniging in NSW This is one of the very first Dutch Clubs in Australia, established in 1944.

Visit of Dutch Aircraft Carrier Karel Doorman – 1960 – New Guinea Crisis
HNLMS Karel Doorman was a ‘Colossus-class’ aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Formerly the British ship HMS Venerable, she was sold to the Netherlands in 1948 as a light attack carrier. In 1960, she was involved in the decolonisation conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia. In 1960, during

Dr. Sir Hendrik Johan Rutgers (1917-1997)
Gedurende de Tweede Wereldoorlog was Henk verzetsstrijder tijdens de Duitse bezetting van Nederland. Na de oorlog werd hij uitgezonden naar Batavia in het voormalige Nederlands Indie als Officier van Justitie bij de berechting van Japanse oorlogsmisdadigers. Hij ontmoette daar voor het eerst Dick van Arkel. Beiden realiseerden dat Australia hen

Royal Netherlands State visit to Australia 2016
The state visit of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to Australia in October/November 2016 was a significant diplomatic event that strengthened the ties between the two countries. Here is some information about their visit: During their visit, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited

WWII airfields in the Top End used by the Dutch
In all there were over a dozen WWII airfields in the Top End and many of them were at occasions used by the Dutch. After the 18 NEI Squadron RAAF was fully trained and operational they moved from the training base in Canberra to McDonald Airfield and from here to

Dutch heritage of Australian football players Gary and Emily van Egmond
Gary van Egmond was born in Newcastle in 1965. His family had emigrated to Australia at an earlier time. He played professional football for the Newcastle United Jets and the Australian national team. He also coached the Newcastle Jets and the Australian national team. He married Anette and they have

Catherina van der Linden at 111 oldest Dutch and Australian person (2023)
Catherina van der Linden was born on 26 August 1912 in Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands to tailor Gradus Lambertus Johannes van Meegen (1876–1954) and Cornelia Maria Verstallen (1878–1946). She grew up in Nijmegen, Gelderland. On 23 August 1940, soon after the outbreak of war she married Johannes (John) Wouterus van der

Results DIMEX (Dutch Immigrant’s Experiences) surveys – 2004 and 2018
The DIMEX (1) Project undertaken by the volunteers of the DACC in 2004, covering: main reasons for emigration; % house ownership, % naturalised, when and why; membership of clubs; active in Dutch community work; church affiliations; when did the post-war migrants of the 1950s and 1960s leave Holland why; and

Book review: “Through Darkest Seas” by Graeme Cocks (2023)
Graeme Cocks. Through Darkest Seas. Inglewood: Motoring Past Vintage Publishing, 2023. E-book. Review by Jorien van Beukering Ever wondered what it would be like to build a replica of a seventeenth-century ship of exploration? If so, look no further than Graeme Cocks’ new book Through Darkest Seas, which tells the

Hoe is het om als Nederlander in Australië te wonen? (video 7-8-2023)
The Nederlands Jeugdjournaal had a report about a Dutch family who moved to Australia in 2022. The broadcast took place on August 7, 2023 when Australia was the center of attention for the women’s soccer world cup. This concerns George and Luna Cooper and their children. Het Nederlands Jeugdjournaal had

Tall ship Oosterschelde leads the Darwin200 Global Voyage.
The DARWIN200 Global Voyage is a two-year voyage that will follow the route of Charles Darwin’s voyage on the HMS Beagle around the world. The voyage will take place from 2023 to 2025 and will visit 32 countries, including the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Australia, and South Africa. The voyage is

Dr. Cornelius Wouters, champion of Dutch culture.
Dr. Cornelius Willebrod Wouters (18 August 1896, Waspik -20 January 1978, Brunssum). During his youth and early adulthood he moved around the Netherlands. He met his wife in Waalwijk and after several other jobs became a translator for the Dutch National Mines (Staatsmijnen) in Heerlen. He migrated to Australia in

Dutch Catholic Hostel in Brisbane
In 1889, German priest and scientist, Arnold Janssen, together with German women Helena Stollenwerk and Hendrina Stenmanns, founded the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (in Dutch: “Dienaressen van de Heilige Geest” in German: “Dienerinnen des Heiligen Geistes von der ewigen Anbetung”). Already in 1875, he had begun the Divine Word Missionary

Australian history of Dutch ship De Lauwers, lost in Cyclone Tracy
Booya was built in Waterhuizen, the Netherlands in 1917 by Gebroeders van Diepen, under her original name, De Lauwers. She was a three-masted auxiliary schooner with a steel hull and a 130 bhp engine. In 1920, she became known as the Argosy Lemal after she was purchased and registered by

Ir. Haveman Emigration Commissioner 1950-1970
Bastiaan Wouter Haveman was born in 1908 in Wijnjeterp, Friesland. He grew up as a pastor’s son with four brothers and a sister. He obtained his master’s degree in chemical engineering in Delft and subsequently graduated in Dutch law in Leiden. In 1951 he married Louise Hendrika van Loon. Before

Australia emigration in Dutch Newspapers 1954-1978
Dr. C Wouters has been the most important person during the emigration period between 1950 and 1980 representing the Dutch emigrants in Australia. He tirelessly advocated for recognition of Dutch culture, history and especially its language. He was a prolific writer of articles and letter to the editors in the

Dutch Connection – Dutch Radio for the Illawarra
By Dr. Yoke Berry from Dutch in Wollongong, released at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Dutch Connection radio programme. On Sunday the 9th of November 1997, the first Dutch program in the Illawarra was broadcast on the community radio station VOX FM 106.9. For the programmers and listeners

Nederlandse Vereniging in NSW (1944-2008)
This is one of the earliest Dutch Clubs in Australia, founded in 1944. The official name was first Nederlandse Vereeniging in Nieuw Zuid Wales (N.Z.W), later documents state Nederlandse Vereniging in NSW and later the more common name was used Nederlandse Vereniging in Sydney or in English Netherlands Society in

The Ghosts of Christmas (Island) – Dr. Jan Tent
For some three centuries confusion existed among Europeans over the location and name of the Indian Ocean island now referred to as Christmas Island. Maps appeared charting the island with no name, with one of three names, with two names simultaneously, or as two or three adjacent islands. It was

The 1705 van Delft expedition to northern Australia: a toponymic perspective – Dr. Jan Tent
During the 17th and 18th centuries the Dutch were quite active in exploring the western and northern coastlines of the Great Southland. Of one of these expeditions, conducted by Maerten van Delft in 1705, intelligence is limited and it is infrequently mentioned in the canon of Australia’s exploration. The only

The curious Van Dijk map of the Gulf of Carpentaria – Dr. Jan Tent
In 1859 the Dutch historian, L.C.D. van Dijk published a book on the voyages of discovery made by Jan Carstenszoon in 1623 and Jean Etienne Gonzal in 1756 to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The book contains a commentary of the two voyages as well as a copy of Carstenszoon’s journal.

Naming Places on the ‘Southland’: European Place-Naming Practices from 1606 to 1803
The history of charting Australia’s coastline is well documented from most perspectives,but not from a toponymic standpoint. Between 1606 and 1803, some nine hundredEuropean placenames were bestowed along the Australian coast. Authors Jan Tent and Helen Slatyer report here on an investigation and analysis of the place-naming practices of the

Naming places: Dutch voyagers and toponyms in the fifth part of the world, 1616-1722
Some of the first Europeans to venture into the southern Pacific Ocean were the Dutch during the 17th and early 18th centuries. The linguistic legacy of these expeditions can be found in a small number of Dutch words adopted into Polynesian languages as well as toponyms bestowed by them. The

Moent and Dubbelde Ree: Two of Australia’s First Recorded Placenames – Dr. Jan Tent
The year 2006 marked the quatercentenary of the first known European charting of any part of the Australian coastline, when the Dutch mariner Willem Janszoon explored 300 kms of the north-west coast of Cape York Peninsula. He bestowed seven placenames, two of which, Moent and Dubbelde Ree have ambiguous meanings

Early Dutch loanwords in the South Pacific
The Polynesian islands share in common the fact that the first European language they came into contact with was the English brought first by Captain Cook, spread by whalers and traders and later consolidated by missionaries. The purpose of the paper below is twofold. First, the authors will present evidence

Dinnings land: a case of mistranscription? – by Dr. Jan Tent
On some early maps of Australia the name Dinnings Land or Terres de Dinning appears near the Swan River. Who or what was Dinning? This article explores this question, and argues it is a case of mistaken interpretation or erroneous transcription. “The crucial word in the description is duyning. What

Rose van Bruinessen, Matildas Footballer #10
Rose van Bruinessen (married name Rosemary Moodley), known as Matilda #10, was one of the pioneering figures in women’s football in Australia. She played a significant role as a defender in the early days of the Australian Women’s National Football Team, also known as the Matildas. Unconfirmed information indicates that

Dutch names in Australia – Linguist Dr. Jan Tent
Dr Jan Tent was born in Amsterdam, his parents originating from Groningen. Jan’s father worked for IBM in Amsterdam. In 1957 his father was made production manager of the IBM typewriter and punch card plant in Lidcombe (Sydney). The appointment was supposed to be for two years but stretched out

Articles, Poems and Letters to the Editor from Dr. C Wouters
Dr. Wouters did not shy away from controversial issues. He refused to swear allegiance to the Queen during his naturalisation ceremony, instead he was allowed to swear on the Bible, something that since that time has been accepted by the Australian Government. He advocated for equality for migrants within various

De Nederlandse gemeenschap in het sociale leven van Australia – 1958
The Dutch community in social life in Australia.

Many awards bestowed on Dr Wouters
Dr. Cornelius Wouters is most likely the internationally most awarded Dutch-Australian. He was awarded the Knighthood in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. He also received the Silver Anjer from the Prins Bernhard Fonds in 1976 for his contribution to the preservation and promotion of Dutch culture in Australia. The Silver Anjer
Stephanie Branz – Dutch-Australian Sports-commentator
In this video clip from the National Archives of Australia Stephanie talks about her Dutch heritage. Stephanie Brantz is a television presenter and sports personality from Australia. Born in 1972 in Queensland to Dutch parents to Phillipa and Hans Branz, she began her modeling career in 1985 while attending St

New Holland the name for Australia from1644-1824
The name New Holland (Hollandia Novae) appeared on maps depicting the continent of Australia after the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman charted the west coast of the continent in 1644. According to linguist Dr. Jan Tent (see paper below), the name was probably given to the continent by one of the

Dutch/Australian Artist Queenie van de Zandt Invites Dutch women over 40 to share their stories of menopause and middle age
Queenie van de Zandt is the daughter of Ria and Hans van de Zandt. Hans is the co-founder of the Canberra Dutch Club in the ACT. Queenie mentioned that she is very proud to be Dutch and that parts of her Dutch heritage have influenced her writing. In particular in

Early Dutch Naval visits to Australia 1901-1938
Dutch Naval Visit at the opening of Australia’s First Federal Parliament – 1901 Dutch Naval Visit to Australia in 1930 Dutch Submarine K-XVIII Visits Fremantle in 1935 Dutch Gunboot Flores Visits Australia to Commemorate Sydney’s 150th Anniversary 1938

Peter Zorgdrager established Miniland in Coonabarabran
Miniland was a theme park in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia. It was opened in 1972 by Peter Zorgdrager, a Dutch immigrant who was inspired by Dusneyland. The park featured a variety of giant sculptures, including dinosaurs, animals, and landmarks from around the world. It also had a children’s playground,

Catalogue of an exhibition (in Groningen) about the history of Australia – 1988
Het onbekende Zuidland naderbij’ by Jaap van der Veen is a catalogue of an exhibition about the history of Australia, the Aborigines and the Dutch explorers and emigrants. It is published by Volkenkundig Museum ‘Gerardus van der Leeuw’ in Groningen in 1988. It contains contributions from Don Grimes and other

Dutch emigration literature in Australia
In previous months we have highlighted Dutch literature in Australia and we continue this month with another collection of interesting and often forgotten books. However, some will recall nostalgic memories from those who arrives as children or as emigrants from the 1950s and 1960s. Land in de verte – 1952

Book: The Dutch in Australia -2005
By Willemijn de Boer. The book is a comprehensive history of Dutch migration to Australia, which discusses the growth of the Dutch community in Australia in the 19th and 20th centuries. It covers a wide range of topics, including the reasons for Dutch migration to Australia, the different waves of

Royal Netherlands Navy flying boat operations in Australia during WWII
The centre of gravity of the Airforce of the Royal Netherlands Navy ( Marine Luchtvaartdienst – MLD) was undisputed in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). The aircraft carried out many reconnaissance flights for the fleet. Just before the outbreak of war, the MLD had 34 Dornier Do 24K flying boats

Hospital ship Oranje looked after more than 30.000 wounded soldiers
Dutch liner Oranje was built in 1939 and was at the time one of the most modern ones in operation. However, its operation as a liner was cut short by the war in Europe. The ship was able to flee to Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies, where it basically

Shell’s Ondina tanker played a key role in WWII operating from Exmouth
The MV Ondina was a tanker ship that played a role in World War II. It was launched in April 1939 and was built at the NDSM shipyard in Amsterdam. Upon completion in August 1939, the Ondina was initially employed by La Corona, a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell

Destroyers Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes played a key role in WWII Timor operations from Australia
The HNLMS Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes were N-class destroyer built as HMS Noble and HMS Nonpareil for the Royal Navy during the Second World War and transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy shortly after completion. The tender price for the Van Galen was £400,684 excluding the cost of Admiralty

Dutch Cruiser HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck Protecting Allied WWII Shipping in Australia
The HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck, a light cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy, arrived in Australia in October 1942 and was based in Fremantle, Western Australia. She was assigned to Allied Naval Forces Western Australia and performed convoy duties in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. She also provided

Commissioner for Emigration Nederland 1948-1967
The Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie was a government commissioner for emigration who was appointed by the Dutch government in 1948 to coordinate and stimulate the emigration of Dutch citizens to other countries, especially after World War II. The commissioner was responsible for providing information, advice and assistance to potential emigrants,

Dutch Gunboot Flores Visits Australia to Commemorate Sydney’s 150th Anniversary 1938
The Dutch Gunboot Flores arrived in Sydney on January 17, 1938, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the city’s founding. The ship was a 1,200-ton gunboat that was built in 1925. She was armed with four 120mm guns and two 75mm guns, and had a crew of 150 officers and

Dutch Submarine K-XVIII Visits Fremantle in 1935
The Dutch submarine K-XVIII made a historic visit to Fremantle in 1935. It was the first Dutch submarine to ever visit the port, and it helped to strengthen the ties between the Netherlands and Australia. The K-XVIII arrived in Fremantle on 13 April 1935, after a long journey from the

Dutch Naval Visit to Australia in 1930
A Dutch naval squadron visited Australia in 1930, led by Rear Admiral C.C. Kaijser on the light cruiser HNLMS Java with the destroyers De Ruyter and Evertsen. The visit took place from 17 to 28 February 1930, and the ships visited Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Fremantle. The visit was part
The DACC Library Collection
The DACC Library has a collection of books, magazines, CD’s, DVD’s and VHS tapes. Most are not yet in the online data base. The table below lists the categories and the number of books and magazines in each category. Please contact the DACC for further information.

Jan van de Stool – the Dutch/Australian comedic, alter-ego of performer Queenie van de Zandt
Jan van de Stool, International Musical Therapist – was a successful Real Estate Agent before giving it all up and making a natural progression into becoming a Self-Help Guru. She lives in Woy Woy, with Pieter, her husband and cousin, and their son Henk, and promotes her unique brand of

Elizabeth Stukkien author of Hartog’s children
Elizabeth Stukkien was born in 1942 in the Netherlands and emigrated to Australia in 1971 with her husband and four children. She worked as a teacher and a librarian in Perth and Brisbane. She died in 2017 in Brisbane and was survived by her husband, children and grandchildren. Hartog’s kinderen

WWII Naval Commander Australia Pieter Koenraad
Koenraad, Pieter, naval officer (born in Dirksland 6-6-1890 – died in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands 22-2-1968). Son of Johannes Adrianus Koenraad, headteacher, and Alida Elizabeth de Graaff. Married on 5-5-1923 to Catharina Cornelia van Trooijen, which marriage was dissolved by divorce on 12-9-1930 by judgment of the Council

Rear Admiral Coster revisits the Dutch war effort from Australia.
Parliamentary inquiry into government policy 1940-1945 This parliamentary inquiry focused on the government policy of the cabinets De Geer, Gerbrandy and Schermerhorn, since the German invasion of the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and in relation to Netherlands East indies (NEI) the war with Japan until the opening of the

Emigration on the MS Sibajak
The MS Sibajak was a passenger ship named after Mount Sibayak, a volcano located in Sumatra, Indonesia. It was built at the Koninklijke Maatschappij “De Schelde” shipyard in Vlissingen, Netherlands. The ship was initially constructed for the N.V. Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM), a Dutch shipping company that operated in the Dutch

Ype De Bruin OAM leading figure in the Dutch Community in Victoria
Ype is the President of the Associated Netherlands Societies in Victoria; a position he has held for 29 years. He worked for 32 years with the Gas & Fuel Corporation, during which time he held several management positions and set up a training school in Victoria for technical and non-technical

Celebrating Rembrandt: True to life – at NGV Melbourne
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne is presenting an exhibition dedicated to the work of seventeenth-century Dutch master Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Rembrandt: True to life follows the work of Rembrandt from early work in Leiden through to his final years in Amsterdam, with more than 100 works

Dutch-Indonesian-Australian Geophysicist and artist William Wiebenga
William Alexander Christiaan Johannes Wiebenga was an Indonesian-Dutch-Australian geophysicist and artist. He was born in Benkoelen, Indonesia (now known as Bengkulu, Indonesia) on December 5, 1910. His father with the same name, William Alexander Christiaan Johannes Wiebenga, was a Dutch civil servant. His mother Jeanne Helene de Rochemont was born

Australian Actor Anthony LaPaglia has Dutch Ancestry
Maria Johannes Brendel is a secretary and the mother of Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia. She is originally from the Netherlands and has Dutch ethnicity. Her husband Gedio “Eddie” LaPaglia, emigrated from Bovalino, Province of Reggio Calabria, Italy. They had two other sons, the Australian actor Jonathan LaPaglia and Michael LaPaglia,

Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine) in Australia
Unlike the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Army and its Air Force, the Koninklijke Marine (KM – Royal Netherlands Navy) that operated in NEI, was part of the Dutch Navy. They resorted under the Minister for the Navy at the Dutch Government-in-Exile in London. By mid February, the Governor the Netherlands

The Headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Armed Forces (HK-KNIL) in Melbourne and Brisbane
The Headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Armed Forces was together with the Onderbevelhebber Srijdkrachten in het Oosten – OBSO (Deputy Commander of the Forces in the East) in charge of the construction of the ML (Army Airforce) (for the time being only 18 Squadron). She had to coordinate with

Dutch Merchantman Maetsuyker: From Escape to Hospital Ship in World War II
The Dutch merchant vessel Maetsuyker, weighing 4,131 tons, played a significant role during World War II. It managed to escape from the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) to the safety of Fremantle, Australia, just before the final surrender on Java Island. This article traces the journey of the Maetsuyker as it

Emigratie Commissie of the Nederlandse Vrouwen Comité
The Emigratie Commissie was a committee of the Nederlandse Vrouwen Comité (NVC – Dutch Women’s Council). The Emigration Commission of the Dutch Women’s Council, was an organisation in the Netherlands that focused on assisting women and families with the process of emigrating to other countries. The committee operated during the

Stichting Landverhuizing Nederland (Foundation for Emigration Netherlands) – 1913-1967
The Nederlandse Vereniging Landverhuizing (Netherlands Association Emigration) was established in 1913 to promote Dutch emigration. It merged with the Emigration Centre Holland (Emigratie Centrale Holland) in 1931 and formed the Netherlands Emigration Foundation (Stichting Landverhuizing Nederland). The foundation was renamed the Dutch Emigration Service (Nederlandse Emigratiedienst) in 1952. The foundation

Dutch Football Club Austral Sydney
Dutch Football Club Austral was a soccer club that was founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1949 by a group of Dutch immigrants. The club was named after the southern continent of Australia, which was sometimes referred to as “Austral” in Dutch. Dutch Football Club Austral played in the New South

Van Diemen’s Land became Tasmania 1642-1856
The name Van Diemen’s Land was given to the island of Tasmania by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, in honour of Anthony van Diemen, the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies who had sent him on his voyage. The name was used by the British settlers who

The entrepreneurial Sypkes family in Tasmania
It all started with Engel Sypkes, an Australian businessman who migrated from the Netherlands to Tasmania in 1951. Shortly after his arrival, he opened a small general store in Stanley. After a trip to the United States, Sypkes was exposed to modern merchandising methods, which inspired him to open his

“Leesgids Australië: Verhalen uit en over Australië” – 2003
“Leesgids Australië: Verhalen uit en over Australië” is a book that features stories by Australian writers as well as travel stories by travelers who have visited the country. It was first published in 2003 and contains 240 pages. The book aims to provide readers with a diverse collection of literature

Book: Onder schoolkinderen en andere verhalen – 1963
This book is a collection of short stories by Henk Romijn Meijer, a Dutch novelist, anglist and essayist who wrote with an English kind of irony. The stories are partly based on his experience as a teacher of French in Melbourne, Australia. The title story, Onder schoolkinderen (Among schoolchildren), depicts

The Return of Dutch Migrants from Australia, New Zealand and Canada – 1983
The book The Return of Dutch Migrants from Australia, New Zealand and Canada is a research report written by Wim Blauw and Joed Elich and published by the Netherlands Interuniversity Demographic Institute (NIDI) in 1983. The book is based on a survey of 1,200 Dutch migrants who returned to the

Books about Mary Bryant and the Batavia from Anthony van Kampen
“Het leven van Mary Bryant” (The Life of Maty Bryant) is a three-volume book written by Anthony van Kampen and published in 1968 by Unieboek NV in Bussum, the Netherlands. The book is written in Dutch. The story revolves around the life of Mary Bryant, a historical figure who was

Hilma Dymphna Lodewyckx married to Manning Clark.
Hilma Dymphna Lodewyckx (1916-2000) was the daughter of Augustin Lodewyckx and Anna Sophia Hansen. She was born in Stellenbosch, South Africa and later moved to Melbourne, Australia with her family when her father was appointed lecturer at the University of Melbourne. She mainly used her middle name Dymphna. Her father

The Indisch Dutch in post-war Australia
This is an article written by Joost Cote Monash University (Australia) and published in June 2010 in the “Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis” Abstract. This article considers how the Indisch Dutch related to post-war Australia. After establishing the definitional and statistical identity of Australia’s Indisch Dutch, the discussion draws

Investigating Lexical Attrition in Long-Term Dutch Expatriates in Australia: A Study on First Language
Dissertation by Ton Ammerlaan (born 1960) Radbout University Nijmegen – 1996 Introduction: Language attrition, the gradual loss of one’s first language (LI) proficiency due to decreased exposure and use, has been a topic of interest in sociolinguistic and linguistic research. This article focuses on the nature of variables influencing lexical

Book: Australia and New Zealand – 1965
“Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland” is the Dutch translation of the book “Australia and New Zealand” written by Colin MacInnes in collaboration with the editors of LIFE magazine. The translation was done by Anna R. Wierdsma. The Dutch book was published in Amsterdam by Het Parool in 1965. Colin MacInnes was a

Books by Koos Schuur on his refelection on emigration to Australia 1953
The book En de kookaburra lacht… Brieven van een emigrant (And the kookaburra laughs… Letters from an emigrant) is a collection of letters written by Koos Schuur, a Dutch poet, writer, and translator. The letters were edited by Jan Elburg and Salvador Hertog and published by De Bezige Bij in

Joop van der Laan: Press Officer Dutch Embassy Australia, journalist and author.
Jozef Jacob (Joop) van der Laan was a Dutch journalist born in Assen, in 1886. Coming from a family of butchers, Joop ventured into journalism and began his career as a volunteer at the local newspaper, the Asser Courant. Driven by his adventurous spirit, he embarked on a world tour,

Book: Land in de verte – 1952
The book is a novel by Nevil Shute, published in English as The Far Country in 1952. The book is set in post-war England and Australia, and it tells the story of Jennifer Morton, a young woman who inherits some money from her grandfather and decides to visit her cousin

“Australië” – “A Book of Australia” 1962
“A Book of Australia” by Tom Inglis Moore. The Dutch-language edition of “A Book of Australia” was translated by J.J.A. Bakker. The book was published in a hardcover edition and has a dust jacket. The front cover of the dust jacket features a painting of the Australian outback by the

Information from the Dutch Emigration Service – 1953
Nederlandse Emigratiedienst, Australië. Dagelijks leven van emigranten tegen de achtergrond der Australische economie. Recente emigrantenbrieven, aangevuld met enkele belangrijke artikelen, welke de laatste tijd over Australië het licht zagen, themanummer van: Leven en Werken in den Vreemde. Actualiteiten ten behoeve van de Emigratie-voorlichting. Uitgave Nederlandse Emigratiedienst, 12 sept. 1953 This

Podcast: ” Australië tot nu toe” SBS Dutch
Historicus Ingeborg van Teeseling bespreekt maandelijks een onderwerp uit de Australische geschiedenis. Van de na-oorlogse migratie stroom en de controverse omtrent Australia Day tot de herkomst van ‘single sex’ scholen. Historian Ingeborg van Teeseling discusses a topic from Australian history every month. From the post-war migration tide and the Australia

Dutch in Victoria – Henk Overberg
Dr. Henk Overberg was a Senior Lecturer, School of Australian and International Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne and an academic researcher at Victoria College, Melbourne. He specialised in ethnic research and researched the history and culture of the Dutch community in Victoria, Australia. He is the author of several publications relevant the

Frans Leddy reorganised Philips Australasia
By Hans Overberg Franciscus Nicolaas Leddy (1903-1964), company director, was born on 20 April 1903 at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, son of Franciscus Nicolaas Leddy, director of prisons, and his wife Cornelia, née Delabrie. Educated at Leiden high school and the Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool, Rotterdam, young Leddy began his professional career

A Dutch journalist’s view of Australia in the 1950s
Mathieu Smedts was a Dutch journalist, writer and resistance fighter who became famous as the editor-in-chief of the political weekly magazine Vrij Nederland. He was born in 1913 in a small village in Limburg, a Catholic province in the south of the Netherlands. He wanted to become a priest, but

Book: Cultuur bewust Australië: A Guide to Australian Culture – 2005
Cultuur bewust Australië is a Dutch translation of Culture smart! Australia, a guidebook for travelers to Australia that covers the customs, culture, etiquette and national characteristics of Australians. The book is part of a series called Culture smart! that aims to help visitors understand and appreciate different countries and cultures.

Children’s Book: Jack en Sheltie – 1966 /The curse of Urumbu – 1980
The book title is Jack en Sheltie, written by Piet Prins, a Dutch journalist, politician and children’s book author. The book is part of the Sheltie series, which features the adventures of Jack Westerbaan, a Dutch immigrant in Australia, and his faithful dog Sheltie. The book was published in 1966

Gids voor Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland – 1997
“Gids voor Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland” by A. J. van Zuilen. It was published in 1997 by J.H. Gottmer and is a Dutch guidebook for travelers to Australia and New Zealand. The book has 430 pages and includes maps and illustrations. It covers the geography, history, culture, attractions, and practical information

Book: Nationale parken in Australië – 2000
The book ” National Parks in Australia” by Ron Moon was published in 2000 by Könemann and translated into Dutch by Jacques Meerman. The book covers 50 national parks across the country, from the tropical rainforests of Queensland to the rugged mountains of Tasmania. It includes information on the history,

Study: Why potential emigrants cancelled their plans – 1959
Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie, Bureau Onderzoekingen, Annulering van emigratie. Een onderzoek bij 500 Australië-units naar de redenen, waarom zij van emigratie afzagen. ’s-Gravenhage: Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie, Bureau Onderzoekingen, 1959. This is a title of a report published in 1959 by the Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie, Bureau Onderzoekingen (Government Commissioner for Emigration,

Dutch Society Neerlandia of WA Inc.
The earlier Dutch migrants that arrived in the late 1940’s had made several attempts to establish Dutch clubs in WA, such as the Dirck Hartogh Society and the Australian Dutch League, but these all folded after a short while. But during the early 1950’s the Dutch migrants arrived in larger

Book: Toen wij uit Nederland vertrokken – 1983
Nelly de Rijk-Zaat, ‘Toen wij uit Nederland vertrokken’. Ervaringen van Nederlandse emigranten in Australië. ’s-Gravenhage: Katholieke Vereniging van Ouders en Familieleden van Geëmigreerden, [1983] This is a book that contains the experiences of Dutch emigrants in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, South Africa and France. The book is edited by

Book: “Australië – 1968
Rohan Rivett, Australië, [vert. van: Australia. London: Oxford University Press, 1968, door J.N.H. Gevers Leuven-Dijkstra]. Nijkerk: Callenbach, 1969 is a book that provides an overview of Australia’s history, geography, culture and society. It covers topics such as Australia’s physical features, climate, flora and fauna, population, economy and history The book

Girl’s book: Het geluk is vlakbij – 1956
Het geluk is vlakbij (Happiness is nearby) by Lenie Stafleu-Kruikemeier, a Dutch author. The book was first published in 1956 by Callenbach and has illustrations by Hans Borrebach. It was reprinted in 1981. The somewhat stubborn nineteen-year-old parentless Inge thinks she is too much mothered by her older married sisters

Jan Wakker jockey
Jan Wakker was a Dutch-Australian jockey who had a successful career in horse racing. He was born on January 10, 1943, in Groningen, and emigrated to Australia in 1950. His family settled in Moe. Fred Wakker (Jan’s father) found a racing pigeon in the family loft and decided to chase

The Alssema Milk Factory in Perth
The Alssema family is a Dutch family who emigrated to Australia in the early 1900s. The family patriarch, Jan Alssema, was born in Nieuw-Lekkerland in 1865. He married Geertruida van der Meer (born in 1871 in Hardinxveld-Giessendam) in 1889, and they had six children together. In 1903, the Alssema family

Dutch Folk Dancing Group
Dr. Cornelis Wouters was the founder of the Dutch Folk Dance Group, a group of over 30 enthusiastic Dutch immigrants (later joined by Australians who married Dutch immigrants). They performed folkloric dances at charitable association gatherings. No other group could boast such original national costumes, as all Dutch regional costumes

Captain Fideldij Commander 18 Squadron (NEI) RAAF
Bernardus Jacobus Fiedeldij was born on February 25, 1907 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Jacobus Fiedeldij and Maria van der Laan. He had two brothers, Hendrik and Willem, and one sister, Catharina. His parents were both from Amsterdam. His father was a carpenter and his mother was a homemaker. They were

Surf Champion Dorothy de Rooy
Dorothy De Rooy (Vidgen) is a former professional surfer and champion who was born in Breda, Netherlands in 1948. When she was three years old, her family immigrated to Australia, and they eventually settled in Mona Vale, where her maternal grandparents were already living. Dorothy attended Mona Vale Public School

Journalist and publisher Jan Rempt
‘Aan de rand der wereld. Een Hollandse emigrant in Australië’ with a foreword written by B.W. Haveman, Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie (Government Commissioner for Emigration) was published in Dokkum by Schaafsma & Brouwer in 1953. The book is written by Jan D. Rempt, a Dutch journalist who immigrated to Australia

Footballer John “Jack” Pannenburg
John “Jack” Pannenburg was born in1946 in Arnhem, the Netherlands. His family immigrated to Australia when he was young, and he grew up in Mount Gambier, South Australia. Pannenburg was a talented footballer, and he joined West Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 1966.

The18 Squadron NEI RAAF moves to McDonald Airfield, NT
Burkholder Field (sometimes referred to as Burkeholder), later known as McDonald Airfield (sometimes incorrectly referred to as MacDonald), was located 10 miles north west of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory. The airfield was built by Company “A” and HQ Detachment of the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion from 11 May to 16 July 1942

The Dutch trained at the air bombing range in Nowra – WWII
The Nowra Rifle Club is one of the oldest rifle clubs in Australia, having been founded in 1888. The club also had a strong patriotic spirit and supported the Australian troops during both World Wars. During World War II, the club played an important role in providing training and practice

Book: Australia, Her Heritage, Her Future – 1950
“Zó is Australië, land en volk” by Paul McGuire. It is a Dutch translation of the book “Australian Journey” originally written by J.L. van Tijn and published in London and Toronto by Heinemann in 1939. The Dutch edition was published by Heinemann in The Hague in 1950. The book explores

Geschreven portretten van Nederlandse emigrantenpriesters in Australië – 1994
A Book Review: Written Portraits of Dutch Migrant Priests in Australia The book Geschreven portretten van Nederlandse emigrantenpriesters in Australië, translates to Written portraits of Dutch migrant priests in Australia in English. It was edited and adapted by J.W.P. Elferink from the original manuscripts of Theo van der Meel, a

Australië… wonderland. Van strafkolonie tot land van belofte – 1968
Australië… wonderland. Van strafkolonie tot land van belofte is a Dutch-language book by H.O. Meissner that tells the story of Australia, from its early history as a penal colony to its development into a modern nation. It was first published in 1968 by Forum Boekerij. The book covers a wide

Children’s book: Australisch avontuur – 1958
The book is titled Australisch avontuur, which means Australian adventure in English. It is a children’s book that tells the story of a Dutch boy who emigrates to Australia with his family and experiences various adventures in his new country. The author is H. te Merwe, a pseudonym of Nicolaas

Emigration survey: Inpakken en wegwezen? – 1981
Ministerie van Sociale Zaken, Inpakken en wegwezen? Een onderzoek naar kenmerken en motieven van emigranten naar Australië, Canada en Nieuw-Zeeland. Onderzoek verricht door het Ministerie van Sociale Zaken met medewerking van het Instituut voor Psychologisch Marktonderzoek te Rotterdam en de Nederlandse Stichting voor Statistiek te ’s-Gravenhage. Den Haag: Ministerie van

Children’s book: Hollandse jongens in Australië – 1947
This is a book written by Nico Molenkamp and illustrated by Cor van Kralingen. It was published by Carpe Diem in Barendrecht in 1947. It is a children’s book about the adventures of Dutch boys in Australia. The title translates as Dutch boys in Australia. Bibliotheek online Nederland

Adrian van Leest – potato king
Adrian van Leest was born in the Netherlands, where his father had a community garden plot. When the family moved to Australia in 1955, they lived in Creswick, Victoria, on a large block cultivated by Adrian from one end to the other. He was given a small allotment of nine

Thesis: De teruggekeerde emigrant (The Returned Emigrant) – 1966
The document De teruggekeerde emigrant (The Returned Emigrant) is an unpublished thesis written by Heikina R. Scholten in 1966. It is a qualitative study on the reasons for return to the Netherlands of Dutch emigrants from Australia for the purpose of information provision. The thesis was submitted to the Haagse

‘Invisibility and selectivity’. Dutch migration in the 19th and 20th century – 2010
Marijke van Faassen is a Dutch historians who has been involved in several research projects and publications related to migration history. Marijke is a senior researcher at the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands, and has a specialisation in (digital) scholarly editing. She has worked on various topics

Baukje den Exter -Bathurst Migrant Camp
We have copied this information from the “Belongings Website” as that website has been archived. This was part of a collaborative project between the Migration Heritage Centre and Tweed River Regional Museum. Boukje was interviewed by: Immy McKiernan, Tweed River Regional Museum Boukje van Exter Cultural background: Dutch Place of

Stichting Emigrantenbelangen – 1952
The Stichting Emigrantenbelangen (Foundation for Emigrants’ Interests) was founded in 1952 in The Hague, with the aim of providing free advice and assistance to emigrants, in addition to the work of official agencies and confessional emigration centers. The foundation had its central office in Bazarstaat 16 in The Hague. The foundation

Children’s book: Zeven kleine Australiërs – 1896
‘Zeven kleine Australiërs’ by Ethel Turner is a classic children’s novel about the adventures and misfortunes of seven siblings who live on a farm in Australia. It is originally written in English and published in 1894 under the title ‘Seven Little Australians’. It is translated and edited by Marie ten

Emigranten en andere verhalen – 1933
It is published by Elsevier in Amsterdam in 1933. The book is written by Madelon Székely-Lulofs, a Dutch writer and journalist who was born in Indonesia and later moved to Hungary with her second husband, László Székely, a Hungarian planter and writer. She is best known for her novels about

Book: Two Ways Meet: Stories of Migrants in Australia – 1967
The book Two Ways Meet: Stories of Migrants in Australia is a collection of 16 short stories by different authors who share their experiences of migrating to Australia from various countries and cultures. The stories explore themes such as identity, belonging, adaptation, discrimination, and integration. Some of the stories are

Book: Australië by journalist Verberne – 1950
P.E.H.M. Verberne was a Dutch journalist and author. He was born in 1904 in Amsterdam, and died in 1968. He was a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II, and was imprisoned in a concentration camp for a time. After the war, he worked as a journalist for

Journalist Joop Waasdorp: shearer, crabber, and lumberjack- 1956-1962
Joop Waasdorp was born in Amsterdam in 1917. He grew up in Zaandam and Amsterdam. After three years of HBS (a type of secondary school in the Netherlands), he worked at various jobs, including as a journalist for United Press. During the Second World War, he was involved in the

Frisian book: Legge Hannen by Djoke Weening-Meijer – 1987
Djoke Weening-Meijer (1920-1990) is a Dutch writer who was born in Drachten, Friesland, in 1949. She studied Dutch language and literature at the University of Groningen, and after graduating she worked as a teacher and journalist. She is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW). She lives

Book: Een truck in the mist – Elly van Wijmen – 1970
Elly van Wijmen was born on June 26, 1927 in East Java. Before the Indies were occupied by Japan, the family left for the Netherlands. She later emigrated with her first husband to Australia, where she practiced the profession of beautician. After a number of years she returned to the

Ons tweede huis. Emigrantenvrouwen schrijven van verre – 1960
The book was published in 1960 by the Emigratie Commissie van het Nederlandse Vrouwen Comité in Den Haag. The book is a collection of 12 stories written by Dutch women who emigrated to different countries, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It was translated into English in

Taeke Cnossen – Reformed Emigration Vereeniging
Taeke Cnossen (Idzega, June 20, 1896 – Leeuwarden, January 12, 1988) was a Dutch journalist. He was editor of the reformed Friesch Dagblad (1919-1921) and the anti-revolutionary daily De Standaard (1921-1943). He was one of the co-founders of the Reformed Emigration Vereeniging (GEV), founded on November 23, 1927. After a

Book: Always more potato – 1951
Petronella E. Wilson is the author of a book titled Always more potato. From Deventer to Tallangatta. An Olthof family history, which was published by Wilson in Mooroopna, Victoria, Australia in 1996. The book is a family history of the Olthof family, who emigrated from Deventer, Netherlands to Tallangatta, Australia

Children’s Book: De dans van de wilde bij – 1997
Thea Klein Schiphorst-Witteveenn is the author of a book titled De dans van de wilde bij, which was published by Callenbach in Baarn in 1997. The book is a children’s book about a 13-year-old girl named Saskia who emigrates with her family from the Netherlands to Australia and has to

Australië. Het nieuwe vaderland – 1954
Australië. Het nieuwe vaderland is a travel guide and cultural introduction to Australia and New Zealand, written by E. en B. Degrood and published by Zomer en Keuning in Wageningen in 1954. The book provides information on geography, history, economy, society, and customs, and is illustrated with photographs and maps.

Report of the orientation trip to and through Australia and New Zealand – 1957
A. Drost & B.J. Spitholt, m.m.v. J.M. van Delden, Verslag van de oriëntatie-reis naar en door Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland, typescript, 1957 (Koninklijke Bibliotheek Den Haag, sign. NL 94 H 1000). This is a report of a trip to Australia and New Zealand by three Dutch officials: A. Drost, B.J. Spitholt,

Book: Op weg naar de toekomst – 1954
Klaas van der Geest (Schiermonnikoog, 27 november 1903-10 oktober 1964). Op weg naar de toekomst. Nijkerk: Callenbach, [1954] (2e dr. 1979; ook verschenen als grote-letter-boek (Eindhoven: Grootdruk-uitgeverij, 1989). Klaas van der Geest, Towards the future. Nijkerk: Callenbach, [1954] (2nd edition 1979; also published as a large-print book (Eindhoven: Grootdruk-uitgeverij, 1989).

Robert Hughes’ “The Fatal Shore and the Dutch explorers
“The Fatal Shore” by Robert Hughes tells the story of the early history of Australia, focusing on the period from the first Dutch explorations in the 1600s to the establishment of the British penal colony at Botany Bay in 1788. Hughes devotes a chapter to the Dutch explorers, who were

Book: Australia at first glance…. and…. on closer inspection – 1954
H.M. Koemans, Australië op het eerste gezicht…. en…. bij nader inzien. Hoorn: West-Friesland, [1954]. Translated in English in 1955 by Peter H. Waite and titled: Australia at first glance…. and…. on closer inspection. Hendrik Marinus Koemans was born in 1907 in the Netherlands. He was a journalist and writer and

Children’s book: De Zevende Hemel – 1977
De zevende hemel is the name of a neighborhood café. In that café Lize comes home after a long stay in Australia where her father had an important position at a large factory. When Lize said goodbye to her playmate Mazzel she was an innocent little girl. When Lize sees

Jan and Anita van Altena founded ‘t Winkeltje in Smithfield, Sydney.
The Dutch Shop, ‘t Winkeltje in ‘Holland House’ was founded by Jan and Anita Altena in Smithfield in 1985. Holland House at first it sold only imported Dutch furniture, but soon expanded to a supermarket (‘t Winkeltje), stocking the herring, cheese and liquorice that is signature Dutch fare. Inside, the

Textile artist Annemieke Mein
Annemieke Mein was born in Haarlem, in 1944. Her Dutch heritage has had a significant influence on her art. Growing up in the Netherlands had a profound impact on her appreciation for nature and the environment. She spent much of her childhood exploring her grandparents’ garden in the Netherlands and

Dr. Cornelis Wouters and the Dutch language
In the 1950s, Dr. Cornelis Wouters advocated for more attention to be given to the culture of the countries from which many immigrants had settled in Australia, in the country’s education system. He argued that this could be achieved by broadening the curriculum to include lessons in languages other than

West Australian Fitting and Furniture Factory founded by the Hazebroek family.
The Hazebroek family emigrated to Australia in 1952 on the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. They brought their furniture-making equipment with them in the ship’s hold and used it to establish a furniture factory in Perth. The patriarch of the family, Pieter Hazebroek, had been a master carpenter and furniture maker in

Netball champion Ingrid Huisken
Ingrid Huisken is a Dutch-Australian former netball player who had a successful career playing for both Australia and the Netherlands. She was born on January 16, 1961, in Leiden. Her family migrated to Australia when she was 12 years old in 1973. Ingrid began her netball career playing for the

Vossie’s Supermarkets in Tasmania
Roelf Vos was a successful Australian businessman and philanthropist, born on a boat in Bergum (later Burgum), the Netherlands, on 4 October 1921. During World War II, he was involved in the Dutch Resistance and had to hide from German forces. After the war, he opened a drapery store in

Volle last van de emigratie op de ‘tengere schouders’ van ‘flinke vrouwen’ – 2017
Volle last van de emigratie op de ‘tengere schouders’ van ‘flinke vrouwen’ is the title of the master thesis of Judith Calkhoven. It is about post-war emigration information and preparation for and by Dutch women, 1949-1961. Master’s thesis History: Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence. Universiteit Leiden, 15-6-2017 (S1261606) by Judith

The long Dutch relationship with the Southern and Southeast suburbs of Brisbane.
The long Dutch relationship with Southeast Brisbane began during World War II, when in 1942 the Americans established Camp Columbia in Wacol, Brisbane to stop the Japanese advance in the Southwest Pacific. The camp became the staging ground for the American campaign, covering an area of 20 by 15 square

Peter Tangelder discus throwing champion.
Peter Tangelder is a former Dutch-Australian discus thrower who had a successful career in the sport. He was born on December 13, 1958, in the Netherlands, and migrated to Australia in the early 1980s. Tangelder was a member of the Australian athletics team for several years and competed in many

The Effect of Mixed Marriage on Language Shift in the Dutch Community in Australia – 1980
This thesis was written by Anne Pauwels, a linguist and professor. The thesis was submitted as an unpublished master’s thesis at Monash University in 1980. The main focus of the thesis is to examine how mixed marriages between Dutch immigrants and native Australians impact the use and maintenance of the

Christel van der Laan: A Contemporary Jeweller
Christel van der Laan is a contemporary jeweller based in Perth, Western Australia. She was born in 1963 in Son en Breugel, the Netherlands, and moved to Australia in 1981. She graduated from Edith Cowan University in Perth with a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Fashion and Jewellery Design in

Manon van Kouswijk – jeweler
Manon van Kouswijk, a Dutch artist born in 1967, has been residing and creating in Melbourne since 2010. She received her education at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, where she later became the Head of the Jewellery department from 2007 to 2010. Central to Manon’s artistic approach is her

The Land of the Living Fossils- Animals in Travelogues for Dutch-Australian Emigrants,1950-1970
Ton van Kalmthout AbstractDutch emigrants who moved to Australia after the Second World War were confronted with anexceptional animal world, if only in emigration literature, including travel reports. This article discusses to which Australian animals such reports paid most attention, and how and why they didso. On the one hand,

Dairy cows and dairy products in Dutch-Australian emigration literature, 1945-1965
Melkkoeien en zuivel in Nederlands-Australische emigratieliteratuur, 1945-1965 This is the original article by Prof. Ton van Kalmthout with graphics, pictures and source references in Dutch. Below that is a PDF of the article’s English translation. Author: Professor dr. A.B.G.M. (Ton) van Kalmthout – senior-onderzoeker Literatuurgeschiedenis | Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van

Children’s book: Emigrante tegen wil en dank (Emigrant Against Her Will) 1955
Hella Jansonius’ Emigrante tegen wil en dank” (Emigrant Against Her Will) is a book published in 1955 by West-Friesland, a Dutch publishing company based in Hoorn. It tells the compelling story of a young woman named Ilja who is compelled to leave her beloved homeland, the Netherlands, against her own

Children’s book: Zes weken op de boot (Six weeks on the boat) 1980
Leijn Janse (b. Nieuw- en St-Joosland, 29-1-1914 – † Barneveld, 12-10-1991) was a Dutch author who wrote under various pseudonyms such as J. de Lange, L.J. Nijland, and Leo Polderman. He worked as a teacher in several places including Herkingen, Ederveen, Meeuwen, Uddel, Middelharnis, Meeuwen, and ‘s-Gravenpolder. In the early

16 Dutch books from the emigration Period
Books about Dutch girls in Australia (1960s) Dutch Children’s book”: “Stel je voor dat ik ging emigreren” Children’s book – Stampende hoeven. Tom Hoekstra als veedrijver in Australië Children’s book: Tula, de kleine houtsnijder Children’s book: Zes weken op de boot (Six weeks on the boat) Children’s book: Emigrante tegen

Books about Dutch girls in Australia (1960s)
Catharina Fenne Charlotte (Tine) Jager-Meursing was a Dutch author who wrote several books for children and young adults. She was born in 1891 in Amsterdam, and she died in Amersfoort in 1979. Jager-Meursing’s books are known for their humor, their heartwarming stories, and their positive messages. She was a popular

Dutch Children’s book”: “Stel je voor dat ik ging emigreren” (1954)
The book is in Dutch – translated as “Imagine if I emigrated” – and is written by Else Harting and illustrated by Hans Borrebach. The book was published by West-Friesland in Hoorn, Netherlands, in 1954. The book revolves around the theme of emigration, specifically targeting older girls as the intended

Unpublished transcript: “Emigration from the Netherlands” by Professor Geijl
This particular work is not widely known or may have limited information available, it doesn’t appear in the overview of his extensive list of publications. It is a typescript with handwritten additions, and it is located in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library) in The Hague, under number NL 94 B

Children’s book – Stampende hoeven. Tom Hoekstra als veedrijver in Australië (1954)
Achter stampende hoeven. Tom Hoekstra als veedrijver in Australië. Published in The Hague by Kramers, [1954] (in 1961 reprinted as Stampende hoeven. Tom Hoekstra als veedrijver in Australië). The book is in Dutch and written by Klaas van der Geest. Stamping hooves. Tom Hoekstra as a cattle herder in Australia

Children’s book: Tula, de kleine houtsnijder (1956)
Tula, de kleine houtsnijder (Tula, the Little Woodcarver) is a children’s book written by S. Franke and illustrated by G. van Straaten. It was published by Kluitman in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, in 1956. The book tells the story of Tula, a young Aboriginal boy who lives in the Australian bush.

You Take Yourself Overseas: A Personal Perspective on Post-War Emigration from the Netherlands to Australia – 2017
A book by Jan Fels and Brenda van Dijk provides a personal perspective on the Dutch migration experience in Australia. The book, titled “Je neemt jezelf mee overzee: Een persoonlijke visie op de naoorlogse emigratie van Nederland naar Australië” (You Take Yourself Overseas: A Personal Perspective on Post-War Emigration from

Study: Dutch Migrants in Australia: Challenges and Experiences – 1969
A study conducted by Corry Eykman (Eijkman) in 1969 explored the challenges and experiences of Dutch migrants in Australia. The study found that Dutch migrants faced a number of challenges, including the language barrier, the different climate, the unfamiliar culture, the loneliness of being away from their family and friends,

Dutch Women Share Their Emigration Stories – 1960
A book published by the Emigratie Commissie van het Nederlandse Vrouwen Comité (Emigration Committee of the Dutch Women’s Committee) features writings by emigrant women who share their experiences from afar. The book, titled “Ons tweede huis: Emigrantenvrouwen schrijven van verre” (Our Second Home: Emigrant Women Writing from Afar), was released

Emigration Commission of the Dutch Women’s Committee
The Emigration Commissieloon of the Dutch Women’s Committee, or in Dutch, “Emigratie Commissie van het Nederlandse Vrouwen Comité,” was an organisation dedicated to supporting Dutch women in the emigration process. The committee was active during a time when emigration from the Netherlands to other countries, such as Australia, Canada, and

Where Water Meets: Bonegilla, The Dutch Migrant Experience – 1997
The Dutch have a long and rich history of migration to Australia. In the 20th century, many Dutch migrants came to Australia in search of a new start after the Second World War. One of the main centers for Dutch migration was the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, which

Historical novel “De Coopers van Sydney”- 1962
De Coopers van Sydney (The Coopers from Sydney) is a Dutch historical novel by E. Eichholtz, first published in 1962. The novel tells the story of a group of Dutch coopers who travel to Sydney, Australia, in the early 19th century. The coopers are hired to build a new brewery,

De Australiër (The Northerner) – 1954
De Australiër, is authorised translation of The Northerner, 1954, written by Joan Colebook and translated by Hans de Vries. Den Haag: Zuid-Hollandsche Uitgeversmaatschappij, 1963. The Northerner by Joan Colebrook is a historical novel set in North Queensland, Australia, in the late 19th century. The novel tells the story of the

They Came to Australia: An Anthology – 1962
“They Came to Australia: An Anthology” is a book edited by Alan Brissenden and Charles Higham. Published in 1962 by Angus and Robertson, it is a collection of writings that highlights the experiences of various individuals who came to Australia. The anthology aims to provide a diverse and comprehensive perspective

Australian Explorers: A Selection from Their Writings – 1958
This is a collection of excerpts from the diaries and journals of twenty-one Australian explorers. The book was edited and introduced by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a professor of English at the University of Melbourne. The book is divided into three sections: The book provides a valuable insight into the lives and

Beyond Australia’s Cities – Kriskras door Australië – 1956
“Kriskras door Australië” is the Dutch translation of the book “Beyond Australia’s Cities” written by Bill Beatty and translated by J.E.L. Stoffers. The book was originally published in English in 1956 by Cassell, and the Dutch edition was published in 1959 by Het Spectrum. The author, Bill Beatty, was an

Paul Budde co-founder of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development
Paul was born in Vught on 8 September 1950. His parents Herman Budde and Annie Velthuis were born in Ootmarsum. (See also: The War of my Parents) In 1953 the family moved to Oss. Paul has a sister Monique and brother Rob. After his education and military service, Paul worked

Dutch schools and courses
Dutch Courses University of Queensland: https://iml.uq.edu.au/learn-language/learn-dutch Listen and Learn Australia Melbourne (online) https://www.listenandlearnaustralia.com.au/learn-dutch Dutch Language Institute Sydney https://sydneylanguagesolutions.com.au/dutch-course/ Centre for Adult Education Melbourne: https://www.cae.edu.au/course_category/all-languages/dutch/ Language one Perh https://www.languageone.org/locations/languageone-perth/ Schools Dutch School De Kangoeroe Sydney https://dutchaustralianculturalcentre.com.au/archive/dutch-culture/new-online-classes-at-dutch-school-de-kangoeroe-in-sydney-2/ De Duyfken School Brisbane: https://dutchaustralianculturalcentre.com.au/archive/dutch-culture/vacature-bij-de-duyfkenschool-in-brisbane/ Nederlandse school De Leesplank Melbourne: http://www.deleesplank.com/ Dutch school Abeltje Canberra

The evacuation of the Netherlands East Indies Flying Schools to Australia
The war In Netherlands East indies (NEI) led to the merging of the training schools of the air force of the KNILM (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army), the aviation service of the Royal Dutch Navy in NEI and the Vrijwilliger Vlieger Corps-VVC (Volunteer Pilot Corps), which trained private volunteers. With

The Duyfken – hosts the Compagnie Batavia
Scroll down for the picture gallery of the Compagnie Batavia sailing on the Duyfken on Sydney Harbour – May 2023 The first documented and undisputed European sighting of and landing in Australia was in late February 1606, by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon aboard the Duyfken. Janszoon charted the Australian

Samuel Jacobs and the Story of the WWII Dakota C-47 Crash near Mossman
On September 7, 1944, a Dakota C-47 aircraft carrying 20 people crashed into a mountain near Mossman, Queensland, while returning from a reconnaissance visit to Merauke, Dutch New Guinea. The plane was operated by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL) and had four crew members and 16 passengers

The Willemse Family – major mushroom suppliers
Petrus (Piet) Wilhelmus Johannes Willemse was born on 13 July 1933 at Liessel, Deurne, Nord Braband, Netherlands to Johannes Jozef Willemse (b 27.01.02 d 27 Oct 1944) and Francina Petronella Wilhelmina Spreeuwenberg (b 30 Nov 1906 D April 1968).

Everywhere Dutch (Overal Hollanders) book by J.P Risseeuw – 1965
“Overal Hollanders” by Pieter Johannes Risseeuw (1901 – 1968) is a historical account of Dutch migration and settlement around the world, focusing in particular on Australia. The book was published in 1965 by Bosch & Keuning N.V. in Baarn, the Netherlands. In “Overal Hollanders,” Risseeuw traces the history of Dutch

Dutch-Australian photographer Richard Woldendorp
This article is written with the assistance of Richard’s wife Lyn she also made the photo selection below. Lyn is a photo librarian and has been doing this for 60 years. Richard Woldendorp was born in Utrecht, Holland on the 1st January 1927, and lived for some time in Leeuwarden

Unilever and the Australian link to the rise of margarine.
In 1869, a French chemist named Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès invented a spread made from beef tallow and skimmed milk that he called “margarine.” Margarine was initially viewed with suspicion and was slow to catch on in Europe, but by the late 19th century, it had become popular as a cheaper alternative

The Dutch Houses of Coopers Plains
Sign petition to safe last of the Dutch Houses in Coopers Plain, Brisbane

Dutch emigration literature with regard to Australia 1946 – 1992
The following list of Dutch emigration literature (in a broad sense) includes book titles that specifically relate to emigration of Dutch people to Australia. The list, compiled by Ton van Kalmthout, does not claim to be exhaustive, but forms a first step towards a further inventory of reading materials available

Elisabeth Holdsworth poet and writer of short stories
Born in the Netherlands in January 1947, just after WWII in the south-western province of Zeeland, Elisabeth’s family name is de Rijke-Nassau, one of the branches of the Nassaus sharing the common ancestry of Charlemagne and Willem and Juliana de Rijke. The de Rijkes, and their identification as part of

Augustin Lodewyckx introduced the first university course in Dutch in Australia
Augustin Lodewyckx (1876-1964) was a Belgian scholar and professor who made significant contributions to the study of modern languages in Australia. He was born on December 8, 1876, in Booischot, Belgium, the son of Joannes Lodewijckx, a farmer, and his wife, Maria Dymphna Maes. After completing his secondary education in

VFA top football scorer 1966 – Ben Nusteling
Ben Nusteling was a Dutch Australian Australian Rules footballer who was born in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on February 27, 1939. His family immigrated to Australia when he was a child, and he grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran. Nusteling played for the Prahran Football Club in the Victorian Football

Marguerite Ruygrok – Olympic Breaststroke Swimmer
Marguerite Ruygrok was born on June 3, 1947, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She migrated with her family to Australia at a young age. She began swimming at an early age and showed considerable talent for the sport, particularly in breaststroke events. Ruygrok first came to national attention when she won

Henk Vogels Olympic Cyclist
Henk (Hendricus) Vogels (Haarlem, 1 November 1942 – 9 August 2019) was a Dutch professional cyclist who immigrated to Australia with his parents and siblings in 1955. His father, a plumber, settled the family in Riverton, Western Australia. His father supported him in establishing his cycling career and this resulted eventually

Nelleke Jol – founder Western Australian Women’s Gymnastics Association
Nelleke (Nelleck) Jol is a former Dutch Australian gymnast and coach who has made significant contributions to the sport of gymnastics in Western Australia. Jol was born in the Netherlands and moved to Australia in the 1970s. She represented Australia as a gymnast in the 1979 World Championships held in

Gymnastics Olympian Benjamin de Roo
Benjamin Hielke de Roo was a renowned Australian gymnast who was born on 11 February 1940 in Enschede. His family emigrated to Australia in 1957, and he became an Australian citizen in 1960. De Roo started his gymnastics career in the Netherlands and continued his passion for the sport when

Fencing Olympian Hilbert van Dijk
Hilbert van Dijk was born on 24 September 1918 in the Netherlands, and he grew up in Amsterdam. He learned to fence at a young age and became one of the top epee fencers in the country, consistently ranked among the top six. Van Dijk immigrated to Australia in 1948,

Paul Peter Couvret – military veteran, teacher, and local councilor.
Paul Couvret OAM JP (5 June 1922 – 5 July 2013) was born in Batavia, Netherlands East Indies, he signed up for the Royal Netherlands Navy when World War II came to the Netherlands East Indies in 1942. He was send to Pearce in Western Australia to complete his pilot

Peter Spyker very first immigrant to become Minister for Ethnic Affairs (Victoria)
Peter Spyker was a Dutch Australian who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1992. During his time in parliament, he held various ministerial portfolios, including Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister for Consumer Affairs. Spyker was born ion the 7th of

Harry van der Sluys famous Australian comedian
Hyam van der Sluice (sometimes spelled “Sluys”) was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1855 and arrived in Adelaide, Australia, in 1882. He married Amelia (nee Barnett)in Adelaide in 1886, and they had seven children. Hyam was of Dutch-Jewish heritage, while Amelia was of English-Jewish heritage. Hyam passed away in

The Colonial Warship the Doerga explored northern Australia (1825-1826)
In the 1820s the Dutch Colonial naval vessel Doerga (Dourga) the Dutch was sent by Netherlands East indies Government to northern Australia to establish Dutch claims to the region and to investigate the trepang trade. The voyages of the Dutch brig of war Dourga, were recorded by its Captain Dirk

Magician Rids van der Zee (1923-2003)
Rids van der Zee was a Dutch-born magician who immigrated to Australia in 1954. He was born in the Frisian town of Franeker, in 1923. Van der Zee was a skilled magician who specialised in close-up magic and sleight of hand. He performed under the stage name “Rids the Flying

William Lodewyk Crowther – 14th Premier of Tasmania
William Lodewyk Crowther was a Tasmanian politician who served as the 14th Premier of Tasmania from December 1878 to October 1879. He was born on April 15, 1817, in Haarlem, Netherlands, and later moved to Hobart, Tasmania, where he pursued a career in medicine and became a prominent surgeon. Crowther’s

Frank Broeze – maritime historian
Franklin Jan Aart Broeze, who went by Frank Broeze, was a prominent maritime historian and academic who was born on January 20, 1945, in Rijswijk, Netherlands. Broeze grew up in the Netherlands and attended Leiden University, where he earned his Ph.D. in maritime history. Frank Broeze emigrated to Australia in

Anthropologist Mark de Graaf
Mark de Graaf came to Australia in 1958. He studied a Claremont Teachers College and the University of Western Australia to become a geology teacher. He took part in the Perth Drama Festival and the first live television show produced in Perth. He also worked ads a part time actor

Johannes van Gemert president of the Association of Professional Scientists 1977
Johannes van Gemert was the president of the Association of Professional Scientists (APS) in Australia in 1977. The APS is a professional association in Australia that represents scientists, engineers, and technologists across various fields, including natural sciences, medical science, engineering, and applied science. The organisation was founded in 1924 and

Ornithologist Jonkheer Gerard Frederick van Tets
Jonkheer Gerard Frederick van Tets, also known as Jerry van Tets, was a renowned ornithologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of birds and prehistoric life. He was born on January 19, 1929, in London, England, to Dutch parents, jhr. Hendrik Barthout van Tets, heer van Goidschalxoord,

Sunrise Choral Society – Blacktown
Sunrise Choral Society was a Dutch choral group that formed in Blacktown in 1959 under the name “Morgenrood”. Initially their repertoire was purely Dutch., however they became increasingly more anglicised. They held an International Festival of Song, Dance, and Music in 1976 as a fundraiser for the Blacktown Hospital. Other

Dutch Choir and Folkloric Group Dee Why
The Dutch Choir and Folkloric Group Dee Why was a choral group formed by 25 Dutch parishioners of the Dee Why Presbyterian Church in Sydney, Australia in 1958. Initially, the group was primarily focused on performing liturgical music for the church, but it later expanded its repertoire to include Dutch

Professor Reinhard van Steveninck and Dr. Margaret Elva Van Steveninck- plants and soil scientists
Emeritus Professor Reinhard (Ted) Ferdinand Mathias Van Steveninck was a plant physiologist born on 28 July 1928 in Indonesia. He graduated from the State Agricultural University in Wageningen, Holland, in 1949, and earned an Ingenieurs (Ir.) Degree in March 1951. He worked as a plant breeder in charge of breeding

Jan Willem van Otterloo conductor of Melbourne and Sydney Orchestras
Jan Willem van Otterloo was a prominent Dutch conductor who achieved great success both in his home country and in Australia. He was born on December 27, 1907, in Winterswijk, Netherlands, and began his music career as a cellist before turning to conducting. He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and

Opera singer Pieter van der Stock
Pieter van der Stock was born on November 18, 1933, in Rotterdam. At a certain stage he moved to Britain, here he appeared in several BBC television shows and films, including “Z Cars,” “Doctor Who,” and “The Secret Agent.” According to the National Library of Australia, Pieter van der Stock

Ballet Dancer Willy de la Bye
Willy de la Bye was born on August 25, 1934, in The Hague, Netherlands. She began her dance training at a young age and went on to study with several renowned teachers and choreographers in Europe, including Maurice Béjart and Martha Graham. In 1957, de la Bye joined the Dutch

Jaap Flier Artistic Director of the Dance Company of NSW 1976-1982
Jaap Flier was born in Scheveningen the Netherlands, on 27 February 1934. He began dancing at a young age and went on to study ballet at the Royal Ballet School in London in the 1950s. After completing his training, Flier returned to the Netherlands, where he danced with the Dutch

Free Reformed Church of Australia
The Free Reformed Church of Australia (FRCA) is a Protestant denomination that has its roots in the Dutch Reformed tradition. The church was established in the 1950s in Australia, as a result of Dutch immigration to the country. The FRCA subscribes to the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg

“Het Kompas” for the Dutch Catholic Community in Sydney.
“Het Kompas” was a Dutch-language publication that was established in Sydney in the early 1950s, by Catholic Dutch Migrant Organisation (CDMO) (Katholieke Nederlandse Migranten Organisatie – KNMO). It was a Catholic publication aimed at serving the Dutch Catholic community in Sydney and the surrounding areas. Dr Cornelius Wouters served as

Dutch Catholic publication: the Contact Perth (established 1955)
“Contact” was a Dutch-language publication that was established in Perth, Australia in 1955. It was a Catholic publication aimed at serving the Dutch Catholic community in Perth and the surrounding areas. The publication focused on Catholic news and events related to the Dutch Catholic community. It also featured articles on

Sportblad S.C. Windmills – Dutch football club Perth
“Sportblad S.C. Windmills” was a Dutch-language publication that was established in Perth, Australia in 1958. It was the official publication of the Dutch soccer club S.C. “Windmills,” which was also founded in 1958 to serve the Dutch community in Perth and surrounding areas. The publication focused on soccer news and

“De Stuw” Dutch-language publication llawarra, 1952.
“De Stuw” is a Dutch-language publication that was established in Illawarra, Australia in 1952. It was the monthly stenciled organ of the Nederlands Australische Vereniging (Dutch Australian Association) in Illawarra, which was founded that same year to serve the Dutch community in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The

“Mededelingen” Dutch-language publication Hobart (1952- 1955).
“Mededelingen Ned. Vereniging “Abel Tasman”” was a Dutch-language publication that was established in Hobart, Australia in 1952. It was published by the Dutch Association “Abel Tasman,” which was founded in 1950 to serve the Dutch community in Tasmania. The publication focused on Dutch-Australian cultural and community news, as well as

“Je Maintiendrai” former Dutch-language magazine Adelaide
“Je Maintiendrai” is a Dutch-language magazine that was established in Adelaide, Australia in 1957. The magazine was published by the Dutch Australian Association of South Australia, which was founded in 1951 to serve the Dutch community in Adelaide and surrounding areas. The “Je Maintiendrai” (Ik zal Handhaven) motto represents the

Carl van Nieuwmans – artist influenced by the Australian desert.
Carl Van Nieuwmans (also known as Carolus Joannes Nieuwmans) was a Dutch-born Australian artist who was born in 1931 in The Hague. He studied at the Haagse Academy of Visual Arts in the Netherlands and after his arrival in Australia in 1950 at the Sydney Technical School. Van Nieuwmans travelled

De Nieuwe Wereld Dutch-language newspaper 1955 to 1961
De Nieuwe Wereld was a Dutch-language newspaper published in Australia from 1955 to 1961. The newspaper was founded by a group of Dutch immigrants who had settled in Australia after World War II, and it was intended to serve as a means of communication and community building for the Dutch

The Dutch immigration press
The post-World War II immigration to Australia began in 1947-8 with only a few persons of Dutch birth. However, the numbers increased rapidly, and by the time of the 1954 Census, 42,000 persons born in the Netherlands were enumerated in Australia. This number almost doubled by the 1961 Census and

Reformed Theologian Rev. John Vanderbom
Rev. John Vanderbom (1913-1992) was a Dutch-born Australian Reformed pastor. He was born in the Netherlands and migrated to Australia in 1951. His parish originally centred on Sydney but extended from Brisbane to the Victorian border. He later worked in southern Tasmania. After completing his theological studies in the Netherlands,

Trowel and Sword publication of the Reformed Church in Australia (historic)
Trowel and Sword was a publication of the Reformed Church in Australia, which was founded in 1953. The first editorial of this Christian magazine in Australia written by Rev. John Vanderbom in 1954. The first two editors (Revds. John Vanderbom and Bill Deenick) were in Australia, but Trowel and Sword

Dutch-language Catholic magazine – Onze Gids
Onze Gids was a Dutch-language Catholic magazine established in Australia in 1950. The magazine was published by the Catholic Printing and Publishing Company in Melbourne, Australia, and was aimed at Dutch immigrants to Australia. The magazine featured articles on Catholicism, current events, and cultural topics, as well as news and

Reindert Meijer on Dutch Literature
R.P. Meijer was born on 18 January 1926 in Amsterdam. He studied Dutch at the University of Amsterdam where he graduated in Dutch language and literature in 1950. He obtained his PhD in Dutch literature in 1958. Meijer has taught and researched at various universities in the Netherlands and abroad.

Cornelis Vleeskens – Performance Poet
Cornelis Vleeskens (1948-2012) was a Dutch-Australian poet, translator, and visual artist known for his experimental and wide-ranging works. Vleeskens arrived in Australia as a Dutch immigrant in 1958, and he spent much of his life exploring themes of cultural identity, politics, and social justice through his artistic pursuits. Throughout his

Lolo Houbein author of novels, histories, poetry, essays, and short stories.
Lolo Houbein is a Dutch-Australian author and conservationist known for her extensive portfolio of novels, histories, poetry, essays, and short stories. Lolo Houbein was born on January 20, 1935, in The Hague, Netherlands. Her father, Pieter Johannes Houbein, was a printer, and her mother, Maria Elizabeth Verburg, was a nurse.

Jean Orval Stained glass artist
Jean Orval was born in Tegelen, Holland in May 1911 and died in Hamilton, Victoria in March 1987. As early as 1926 his emerging talent won him 1st prize in drawing at a Home Industry Expo in Helden-Panningen, Holland. In 1927 a National newspaper honoured him with 1st prize for

Stained Glass Artist Rein Slagmolen
Marinus “Rein” Slagmolen (7 November 1916 – 29 January 1999) was a Dutch-Australian artist and sculptor with a background in chemical research. Slagmolen was born in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, as the youngest son of Gijsbertus Slagmolen and Mathilda Maria Slagmolen-Jacobs. As a young man, he spent some years

Hans Arkeveld sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printer
Hans Arkeveld was born on 27 August 1942 in Scheveningen, Holland. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1952 and lived in migrant camps in Victoria and Western Australia before settling in Collie, WA. Arkeveld left school at the age of 13 and worked as a builder’s apprentice and

Theo Koning founding member of the Western Australian Sculptors’ Association
Theo Koning was a prominent Australian artist who worked across multiple mediums including painting, sculpture, and printmaking. He was born in the Netherlands in 1950 and immigrated to Western Australia in 1953. Koning studied fine art at the Claremont Technical School and graduated in 1973, the same year he became

Adrian Mauriks – sculptor
Adrian Mauriks was a Dutch-born Australian artist who was born in 1942 and passed away in 2020. He emigrated to Australia with his family in 1957 when he was still young. His family was involved in the printing business, and Adrian completed his apprenticeship in printing before developing an interest

Gerard Havekes active in ceramics, painting, sculpture and tapestry
Gerard Havekes was born in ‘s Hertogenbosch in 1925. He did his military service in the Netherlands at the start of WWII. He immigrated to Australia in 1950. He was active in ceramics, painting, sculpture and tapestry. Despite being a self-taught painter and sculptor, he had successful exhibitions of his

Berend van der Struik – teacher, designer, sculptor.
Berend van der Struik was a Dutch artist, born on 24 July1929 in Beilen. He studied at the Akademie voor Industriële Vormgeving Eindhoven and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière (Parijs). He emigrated to Australia in 1957 and lived there until 1964. He was a teacher, designer, and sculptor, and

Ernst van Hattum – first director Mildura Art Gallery
(We are interested in further details and corrections on the personal info mentioned in this article). Ernst van Hattum was a Dutch-Australian artist who was born on January 29, 1923, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands from 1940 to 1942, before

Renown Potter Henri Le Grand
Henricus Alexander Theodorus (Henri) Le Grand, was born on May 10, 1921, in Zevenaar, the Netherlands. His parents were Petrus Egidius Hubertus Le Grand, a laborer of French-Dutch descent, and Elisabetha Antoinetta van Haren. Henri studied art and ceramics at the Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs te Amsterdam from 1938 to 1942.

Alex Rotteveel – founder Little Theatre Maryborough
We are looking for more information on Alex Rotteveel. Alexander Johannes Rotteveel was born August 11, 1916 at Assen, Assen, Drenthe, Nederland, he died in Toowoomba Qld December 18 1993. He was married to Bouwina Fekkes, born January 10th, 1919 at Assen, Assen, Drenthe, Nederland. She died in Brisbane in

WIM de VOS – Artist, teacher, musician.
Dutch-born artist Wim de Vos (1947-2018) was born in The Hague and migrated to Brisbane with his family in 1959. Wim’s passion for the arts led him to pursue diplomas in Commercial Illustration and Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art, where he received honors in Printmaking. After his

Pieter Zaadstra book illustrator artist
Pieter Zaadstra was a Dutch-born Australian artist born on January 15th, 1955, at Skraerd, Frisia. He is the son of an art historian. He began his art journey as a young boy sketching in various studios that followed the School of Den Hague impressionism style using cross-hatching oil painting techniques.

Hendrik Kolenberg Art Curator – Art Gallery of NSW
Hendrik Kolenberg is an Australian art curator and writer who was born in 1952 in the Netherlands and migrated to Australia with his family in 1959. Kolenberg was the senior curator of Australian prints, drawings and watercolours at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1989 until 2012. During

Abstract Painter – Fashion Design – Jan Riske
Jan Hendrik Riske was born on the Voorstraat in Dordrecht on 21 June 1932, the second of eight children, to Hendrik and Francine Riske. His father was a lead-light glazier who wanted to become an artist but had been discouraged by his staunchly Protestant family. Jan attended a private Montessori

Abstract impressionist Ian van Wieringen
Ian Van Wieringen (1943-2022) was a Dutch-Australian artist born on January 15, 1943, in war-torn Holland. His mother Betty was Jewish, and during her pregnancy, she and her husband were helping to smuggle Jews out of Europe, creating an environment of tension and drama that may have influenced his emotional
Mystery: Contemporary artist Maria Blansjaar
It interesting, we found reference suggestions for her (see belkow), but none of the links are working anymore, nor is there any info on her paintings mentioned in the collections. It is as if she has disappeared from the internet. Any further information is welcome. Maria Theresia Wilhelmina Blansjaar is

Alfred and Joke Calkoen – Dutch-Australian painters
Alfred Calkoen was a Dutch-Australian artist who played an important role in the development of the visual arts in Victoria, Australia. He was born on January 1, 1917, in Amsterdam he finished his study in the Netherlands in the Nieuwe Kunstschool (Amsterdam). During his career he also was an art

Netherlands East Indies Commission for Australia and New Zealand
Prelude Following hastily established diplomatic relationships in January 1942, the Australian Labor Government offered the Dutch, after the fall of NEI, shear unlimited support in relation to facilities and training, while at the same time providing them with a remarkable high level of independence for their operations in Australia. What

Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile in Australia (1944-1946)
Apart from policies regarding the direction of a post-war NEI there was tension between the Dutch-government-in-exile and the NEI government-in-exile, in relation to the decision-making process. Soon after the liberation of the southern Netherlands, on 14 September 1944, the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina decreed from London the official formation of a

Three unique Dutch movies during WWII from around Australia
Amateur movies made by Mr. Arie Berger. Source Netherlands Ministry of Defence Movie #3 – 1943 Beeldbank – Department of Defence – Netherlands Movie #4 1943 -1944 Beeldbank – Department of Defence – Netherlands Movie #5 1945 -1946 Beeldbank – Department of Defence – Netherlands See also: The Dutch at

Kingsford Smith flew in a Dutch plane with a Dutch co-pilot
After the successful trans-Pacific flight of the Southern Cross in 1928, Kingsford Smith and his team continued to break new ground in aviation. In 1930, Kingsford Smith and his crew, which included co-pilot Evert van Dijk, completed the first non-stop flight between Australia and England in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m aircraft

Dutch Navy involved in the search for the sunken HMAS Sydney in 1941
On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, an Australian light cruiser, was engaged in a naval battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran off the coast of Western Australia. During the battle, both ships were sunk, with the loss of all 645 crew members on board the Sydney and 81 crew

The Dutch and USA’s 7th Fleet
The United States 7th Fleet is responsible for operations in the Western Pacific Ocean. It was formed on March 15, 1943, in Brisbane, Australia, during World War II. The fleet was initially commanded by Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender, and it consisted of the cruisers USS Minneapolis and USS New

Koninklijke Pakketvaart-Maatschappij- Australian operation launched in 1912
De Koninklijke Pakketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM – Royal Packet Navigation Company – was established in 1888 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company was created by merging several smaller Dutch shipping companies that were operating in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). KPM’s main purpose was to provide a regular shipping service between

The Dutch at Batchelor Airport in the Northern Territory
Batchelor Airport is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base located in Batchelor, Northern Territory, Australia. The base was established in 1942 during World War II and was used primarily as a bomber base for the RAAF’s No. 1 Operational Training Unit. During the war, Batchelor Airport was also

Royal Netherlands Navy Wireless Telegraphy Station Batchelor, NT and Craigieburn, Vic.
Dutch message re Pearl Harbour attack was ignored. Identifying Japan as a potential aggressor, in the thirties the Dutch tried to strengthen their intelligence capability. In 1932 the Royal Netherlands Navy set up a radio intercept unit to monitor the activities of the Japanese Navy. Several weeks prior to the

A short overview of the Dutch exploration of Torres Strait
Scroll down and a map shows up with New Guinea connected to Australia but a small missing part on that map shows where in this perspective the Torres Strait could have been. See also: The Colonial Warship the Doerga explored northern Australia (1825-1826) Dutch Explorers in the Gulf of Carpentaria

Proposal to establish a Dutch settlement in South Australia (1717)
Jean Pierre Purry was a Swiss explorer who presented a plan to the Dutch Governor General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) in 1717 to establish a settlement in Australia. His plan was to settle in the vicinity of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Purry was

Jan Logeman and Juliana Village – Sydney
Juliana Village in Miranda in Sydney’s South came about thanks largely to the vision and drive of one man: Johan (Jan, John) Logeman (more info on Jan in the pdf below). The idea was born when he he was recovering from a heart illness. Talking to people around him it

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia
The Reformed Church in Australia has its roots in the Dutch Reformed tradition, which traces its origins back to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Dutch Reformed Church emerged in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it became one of the dominant religious and cultural

Dutch Settlers of the Latrobe Valley
“Settlers of the Latrobe Valley: A Sociological Study of Immigrants in the Brown Coal Industry in Australia” is book by Polish-Australian sociologist and academic Jerzy Zubrzycki. The book includes two detailed studies, of the Dutch at Moe and the Ukrainians at Newborough, directed to testing the validity of generalisations about

‘Little Groningen’ Dutch settlement at Kingston, Tasmania
In 1950, a group of Dutch immigrants arrived in Tasmania and established a settlement in the town of Kingston, located about 12 km south of Hobart. The settlers were mostly from the province of Groningen in the Netherlands, and thus the – now defunct – settlement became known as “Little

Maerten van Delft explored northern coast in 1705
Maerten van Delft was a Dutch explorer who conducted an expedition in 1705 to explore the western and northern coastlines of what is now known as Australia. The expedition was organised by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The expedition played a significant role in the early European history and

Marayke Jonkers – Paralympic Swimming Champion
Marayke Caroline Jonkers was born on 13 September 1981 in Hobart. Her parents are of Dutch descent and migrated to Australia before she was born. She moved to Queensland as a baby. She currently (2023) lives in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. She became a paraplegic due to a car

Rupert Gerritsen- influential historian in Dutch-Australian past and Vietnam activist
Rupert Gerritsen (1953 – 3 November 2013). He was born in Geraldton, Western Australia, of Dutch parents. He became an Australian historian who has made significant contributions to the fields of archaeology, anthropology, and environmental history. He has published extensively on the prehistory and history of Australia, particularly in relation

The famous tulip growing Tesselaar family
The following information is abstracted from the Tesselaar website. In June 1939 – just weeks before the outbreak of World War 2 in Europe – Cees and Johanna Tesselaar left their home in Beverwijk, the Netherlands and on their wedding day aboard the Strathallan. They were headed for Australia, bringing little

The Dutch Ladies of the Grail arrived in Australia in 1936
The Grail was started in 1921 as the Women of Nazareth by Fr. Jacques van Ginneken, a Dutch Jesuit. He felt that many new possibilities were opening up for women and that a group of lay women, unconfined by convent walls and rules, could make an immense contribution to the

Willem Siebenhaar social activist and writer (1863-1937)
He was born in The Hague on July 28, 1863 and developed a lifelong interest in chess at the age of fifteen and was exposed to Christian anarchist Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis during his early life. After graduating from Delft University, he moved to England in 1884 to become a teacher.

Jessie Catherine Couvreur- Dutch-Tassie author ( 1848-1897)
Born in Highgate, London, Jessie Catherine Couvreur was of Dutch, French, and English descent, with her father, Alfred James Huybers, originally a merchant from Antwerp. She arrived in Tasmania with her family in December 1852 and received her education in Hobart. In June 1867, she married Charles F. Fraser and

Early cubist artist Harry den Hartog (1902-1984)
Henricus Marie (Harry) den Hartog (1902-1984) was a Dutch-born artist who emigrated to Australia in 1923. He is known for his contribution to the development of cubism in Australia. Den Hartog was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and studied art at the Rotterdam Academy. After completing his studies, he moved to

Henri Benedictus Salaman Van Raalte curator Art Gallery of South Australia (1881-1929)
Henri Benedictus Salaman Van Raalte (1881-1929) was a talented etcher born in Lambeth, London. . His father, Joel Van Raalte, was a Dutch-born merchant and his mother, Frances Elizabeth (née Cable), was English. He studied at prestigious institutions such as the City of London School, St John’s Wood Art Schools,

Jacob Carabain Dutch-Belgian – Melbourne – 1885
Jacob Frans Jozef Carabain, also known as Jacques François Joseph Carabain, was a Dutch-Belgian painter. He was renowned for his Romantic-Realist style, particularly his depictions of cities and buildings. Carabain’s interest in Medieval and Baroque architecture often led him to paint busy marketplaces. Carabain initially studied at the Amsterdamer Kunstakademie,

Willem de Vlamingh – Visiting ‘Perth’ in1696
In 1696, De Vlamingh commanded the rescue mission to Australia’s west coast to look for survivors of the Ridderschap van Holland that had gone missing two years earlier. There were three ships under his command: the frigate Geelvink, captained by De Vlamingh himself; the Nijptang, under Captain Gerrit Collaert; and

Victor Victorszoon first painting of the Swan River in Perth – 1696
Victor Victorszoon was a Dutch artist (born 1653) as a painter and cartographer he accompanied the explorer Willem de Vlamingh on his expedition to Australia in the late 17th century. Victorszoon’s paintings are the sole visual record of the voyage and are among the earliest known images of the continent.

Dutch-Australian painter Henry Leonardus van den Houten (1801-1879)
Henry Leonardus van den Houten (1801-17 February 1879), was a Dutch-Australian painter, lithographer and art teacher. He was the son of Hendrik van den Houten and Anna Maria Goutier. He received his artistic education at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, where he studied under the Dutch

Dutch-Australian writer Francisca (Paquita) Delprat (wife of explorer David Mawson)
Francisca Adriana (Paquita) Delprat was a British-born writer and community worker, born on August 19, 1891, in Acton, London. Her father was a Dutch-born mining engineer Guillaume Daniel Delprat, who had moved to Broken Hill, New South Wales, in 1898 to join the Broken Hill Pty Co. Paquita spent the

Jacob Jansen/Johnson – (grand)father of famous Australian Footballers and Cyclists
Jacob Jansen (1848-1928), who later changed his name to Jacob Johnson, was born in Groningen and immigrated to Australia in the 1860s.. He became a Dutch-Australian businessman who owned and operated several cafes in Melbourne during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jacob Johnson’s cafes were popular gathering places

Was there a Dutch colony in Central Australia in the 18th century?
There are a number of stories and myths about a Dutch colony in Central Australia dating back to the 18th century. However, there is no concrete evidence to support the claim that a group of Dutch settlers ever established a colony in the region. The story seems to have originated

The extremely tough life of the Lubbs family in the Pilliga Scrub (NSW)
The Dutch Lubbs family came to Australia via South America. They were one of the pioneering families who settled in the Pilliga Forest, sometimes known as the Pilliga Scrub, constitute over 5,000 km2 of semi-arid woodland in temperate north-central New South Wales. They settled at Upper Cumble (ed. couldn’t find

Fokke Jacob de Jong – jumped ship and settled in Victoria
Fokke Jacob de Jong was born on December 18, 1841, in Oldeboorn, Friesland, Netherlands. His parents were Jacob de Jong and Antje Jans Rinzema. It looks like he jumped ship somewhere around 187e and settled in the Romsey area. According to Australian marriage records, Fokke Jacob de Jong married Sarah

Graham Gosewinckel – director of Australia’s first satellite company.
Graham Gosewinckel was born 24 February 1930. Brief overview of his career The highlight of his career was that he was appointed by the Government as the inaugural CEO of Aussat Pty Ltd, the Australian satellite telecommunications company, from 1985 to 1988. During his tenure, Aussat launched two satellites, Aussat

Van Alkemade’s Major Plains Limekiln in Lara Victoria
Petrus van Alkemade, also known (in Australia) as Peter Alkemade, was born in Noordwijk, Netherlands in 1835. Son of Petrus van Alkemade, also known (in Australia) as Peter Alkemade, was born in Noordwijk, Netherlands in 1835. Son of Cornelis Cornelisz Alkemade and Alida Aris van der Plas. He arrived in

An 1855 proposal for a Dutch Settlement in Moreton Bay (Brisbane)
The Referend John Dunmore Lang was a Scottish-born Australian politician and Presbyterian minister who advocated for the establishment of a Dutch settlement in Moreton Bay in the mid-19th century. Lang believed that a Dutch settlement in Moreton Bay would be beneficial for both the Dutch and the Australian colonies. He

Dutch Migrants and the gold rush of the 1850s.
Obviously the Big Australian Gold Rush that started in the 1850s and 1860s had also reached the news in the Netherlands. It looks like that several potential prospectors signed on as sailor on the many merchants ship with the aim to jump ship in Australia and try their luck on

Jan Vennik – and other Dutchmen at the Eureka Stockade (1854)
Jan Vennik: the Dutchman at Eureka. This Dutchman was present in the vicinity of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854, before he was arrested and charged with Treason together with 12 others.

Queen Wilhelmina Benevolent Trust Funds
Established in 1903 to support sailors who had jumped ship Established as the Queen Wilhelmina Benevolent Trust Fund, it was established in 1903 to support Dutch sailors who found themselves in need of financial assistance after jumping ship in foreign ports. At the time, many Dutch sailors were facing difficult

Colonial Dutch Consul-General to Victoria – J. W. Ploos Van Amstel – 1864
The brothers Ploos van Amstel Jan Willem Ploos van Amstel was born in the Netherlands in 1827. The Ploos van Amstel family was a prominent Dutch merchant family in the 19th century. The family roots can be traced back to the 15th century and the family produced important theologians, painters

Netherlands Amusement and Sport Club Wilhelmina started in Wentworthville
The club was founded on 1st June 1967 as a Netherlands Amusement and Sport Club. The club was licensed in 1979. They published a monthly newsletter called Wilhelmina N.A.S.C. that contained news, events, advertisements and stories. The club celebrated its 5th anniversary in 1972 and published a history of the

A small Dutch role in the story of the Mutiny of the Bounty
The Mutiny of the Bounty is one of the most famous mutiny stories ever. Captain’s William Bligh mission was to collect Breadfruit plans in Tahiti and deliver them to the Americas as it was seen as a cheap food for the slaves on the British plantations. The trip faced many

Dutch supplies for starving First Fleeters in Sydney – 1790
This story starts with the famous First Fleet of eleven vessels sailing into Sydney Cove in 1788. The plan was to establish a colony that would become self-sufficient. They brought with them supplies for 2 years for the 1000 people. After they had unloaded their supplies over a period of

Photo collection Evert Herman van Hummel – Flight Engineer Royal Dutch Airforce – KLM
These pictures are all from the Evert Herman van Hummel collection. He was a flight engineer from 1938 till approx. 1970. Unfortunately most photographs don’t have any accompanying information. This first section is most likely from his early period in the 1930 and early 1940s. During WWII he was stationed

Trying to unravel the death of Dutch WWII ABDA-international Keesje Trijssenaar on Ambon.
Cornelis Antoine Trijssenaar was born on 2 January 1909 in Arnhem. ‘Keesje’ grew up in an international family originally coming from Strassbourg to The Hague. He had family in Monaco, Austria and Switzerland where summer holidays were spent. Returning family occupations are either government administration or having artistic aspirations. Kees’

Overfishing and Dutch regulations saw an increase of Makassar fisherman in Australia.
Makassar centre of the trepang fishing Trepang fishing, also known as sea cucumber fishing, is a type of fishing that involves the collection of sea cucumbers, which are a type of marine invertebrate. Sea cucumbers are typically found on the ocean floor and are harvested for a variety of purposes,

First contact between the Dutch and the Aboriginal People
The first known Dutch encounters with the Aborigines in Australia took place during the 17th century, when Dutch ships were looking for new trading opportunities and made voyages of discovery to the region now known as Australia. It’s worth noting, however, that the lack of recorded incidents does not mean

Napoleonic Wars – British captured Dutch ship Swift and sold it in Sydney.
In 1795 the Netherlands was conquered by the French revolutionary armies and annexed by Napoleon. The Netherlands, now being a client state of France brought them in conflict with France’ s arch enemy Britain. As a result, the British launched a series of campaigns against Dutch colonies around the world,

Dutch persons among convicts transported to Australia
While most convicts transported to Australia came from Britain or Ireland there are also a remarkable number of Dutch names under the convicts. Some might have been Dutch people living in England, but others in one way or another also ended up in Australia. The following is a list of

Reis naar Nieuw-Zuid-Wallis. Uit het dagboek van een scheepsdokter – 1840.
A Voyage to New South Wales from the journal of a Ship’s Doctor An early Dutch writer on Sydney in the 1840s was P van Os. His book “Reis naar Nieuw-Zuid-Wallis. Uit het dagboek van een scheepsdokter” was edited for children. It is a curious semi-fictional work and although it
Looking for information on Jan de With
Jan Willem de With migrated to Australia from Indonesia in 1950 he was a Dutch conscription at 20.WE are looking for more information on him.
Dr. Edward Duyker, historian, author.
Dr Edward Duyker was born in 1955 to a father from the Netherlands and a mother from Mauritius. His mother has ancestors from Cornwall who emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1849. Edward’s father Herman, was born in Schaesberg, Limburg and emigrated to Australia in 1950 and arrived here on

The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command – 1942
The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in Southeast Asia, the area also included the supply port of Darwin, in the Northern Territory, Australia. ABDA had been established at Bandung, Java on 10 January 1942 and became operational following the declaration of war

Dutch language and schooling in Sydney
Despite the poor level of language retention among the descendants of the Netherlands-born, Dutch remains an important community language in Sydney. In 2002 a new Dutch syllabus was introduced to the New South Wales Higher School Certificate. However, the number of students sitting for Dutch exams at the end of

From Dutch cookies to lecturing and writing books – the immigration story of the family Ruijs
By Susanne Ruijs I arrived with my family in Australia in July 1980. Our family consisted of my husband Hein and me and our four children Eva (12), Saskia (11), Thomas (9) and Christine (6). Hein had been offered a position as lecturer in Hospitality at the then Agricultural College

Dutch Commandos – WWII Intelligence Service – Born in Australia
Introduction The Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) was a Dutch military intelligence service during and after World War II. The purpose of the NEFIS was initially to collect intelligence for the Allied forces with regard to the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) that was occupied by Japan. It operated from Melbourne

Evert Herman van Hummel survived a Catalina Crash in 1945
Evert van Hummel was born in Baarn in the Netherlands on 29 January 1916. Evert Herman Van Hummel (some called him Evert others called him Herman) left high school at the age of 15, because he was fascinated by engines. He first worked as an apprentice car mechanic at a

70 years since the 1953 North Sea Flood ‘Watersnoodramp’
Just as there have been extreme weather events in Australia last year carrying over into this year resulting in devastating floods over large areas of Australia resulting in loss of life, livelihood and billions of dollars’ worth of damage to property and infrastructure, so there was seventy years ago an

Jan Hendrik Scheltema Dutch-Australian Painter (1861-1941)
Two Dutchmen, both passed way, members of the same extended family, yet three generations apart, made a noticeable contribution to Australian culture, by just going about their business. The artist Jan Hendrik Scheltema migrated here in the 19th century, and the other was his great-nephew Cas Jeekel, who just visited

Jan Hendrik Scheltema Dutch-Australian Painter
Two Dutchmen, both now passed way, members of the same extended family, yet three generations apart, made a noticeable contribution to Australian culture, by just going about their business. The artist Jan Hendrik Scheltema by migrating here in the 19th century, and the other his great-nephew Cas Jeekel by just

The fascinating history of the DC3 Wielewaal (1937-now)
It was the 67th DC-3 (model Douglas DC-3-194B. c/n 1944) to be completed by the Douglas factory in California. It was the 10th DC3 purchased by KLM for the route Amsterdam-Batavia and received the name ‘Wielewaal’ (Golden Oriole). Initial registration sign: VH-ANR. The aircraft was flown from Santa Monica to

WWII Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service – Operating from Australia
Dutch Navy and Army Intelligence Service – 1941 The Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) was a Dutch military intelligence service during and after World War II. The purpose of the NEFIS was initially to collect intelligence for the Allied forces with regard to the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) that was

Kun je nog zingen zing dan mee – WWII book published in Melbourne
The first edition of the song book ” Kun je nog zingen zing dan mee” (If you can still sing, sing along) was published in 1906 and the book has had numerous editions since. It is one of the most published books in Dutch publishing., with over a million copies

Bible Restoration Project
The Bible was donated to the DACC by Ellie Zinsmeester. It dates from 1768 and was deaccessioned (officially disposed off) by the church around 1940. It was brought to Australia when Ellie’s father migrated to Australia. Karma Rowe from the Dutch Genealogy Group, who previously restored some books for the

Looking for information on military ancestors
Bent u op zoek naar informatie over uw militaire voorouder? Bent u op zoek naar gegevens over uw militaire voorouder? Als deze heeft gediend in de Nederlandse krijgsmacht dan is er altijd een militair persoonsdossier (Staat van Dienst). Om deze Staat van Dienst op te vragen moet u weten bij

Dutch Women Army Corps at Yeronga Park Brisbane (WWII)
he US Army had chosen Yeronga Park for a military camp in 1942. Camp Yeronga Park housed a variety of units among them the military police and the 99th Signal Battalion, US Service Army of Supplies ( USASOS) and the US Women’s Army Corps (WAC). The Australian Army placed an

Dutch Club of Sydney – Flying Dutchman Restaurant (1957-1962)
DACC researchers came across ‘The Dutch Club’ in Sydney. There are no records of this club, further research revealed that the Dutch Club of Sydney and the restaurant The Flying Dutchman in the City (Elizabeth Street) are always mentioned together. The restaurant was run by famous Dutchman Dick Groenteman. It

The Batavia and its many stories
Latest developments Wreck of the Batavia brought back to life in forensic reconstruction by Flinders University The Batavia – 1629 The Batavia, built in Amsterdam in 1628 was the company’s new flagship, she sailed that year on her maiden voyage for Batavia. On 4 June 1629, the Batavia was wrecked

Annual Nieuwjaarsduik in Bondi, Sydney
After a Covid initiated break of 2 years, on January I, 2023 Bondi Beach Australia turned orange again, also this year organised by Dutch Travel. Under different climate conditions the original event in Scheveningen takes place under more severe conditions. Afterwards the participants do get erwtensoep met UNOX rookworst

The history of Shell in Australia – since 1901
Shell Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. Shell has operated in Australia since 1901, initially delivering bulk fuel into Australia, then establishing storage and distribution terminals, oil refineries, and a network of service stations. It extended its Australian activities to oil exploration, petrochemicals and coal mining, and

Dutch Art Import Committee (Dutch Consulate) – early 1900s
There is an episode in the letters from Dutch-Australian painter Jan Hendrik Scheltema (JHS) – who we discuss extensively elsewhere – where he wrote having been asked by the Dutch Consul to become a committee member < with some title >, looking after ART to help import Dutch Art, including

Professor Tom Calma named Senior Australian of the Year 2023 – and his Dutch heritage
Professor Tom Calma was named Senior Australian of the Year 2023. Professor Calma became the Chancellor of the University of Canberra in January 2014. He is an elder of the Kungarakan people and member of the Iwaidja people. He is also proud to share that his heritage is 75% Indigenous

Archive files 1953 North Sea Flood ‘Watersnoodramp’
This post contains articles from newpares and magazines and archoval material from The DACC. Go back to the main article. Newspapers and magazines with pictures from the Flood You can open each newspaper in a new tab to read it. Books about Flood. Reporting on the flood for the Dutch

Kees Lumkes imported the first tulips in Australia
Written by his daughter Wilma Summerville Kornelius Berend Lumkes ( 26/2/1911 to 13/7/1984) son of Willem Lumkes was born in Groningen, Netherlands. His parents were old at his birth and his only sibling was 16 years older. His family were quite affluent and had a large grain farm. The house

David Groenteman Auschwitz survivor, ice hockey champion, restaurateur and Dutch community leader
Auschwitz survivor David Groenteman , born in 1923 in Amsterdam ended up as an eighteen-year-old Jewish boy In Auschwitz, where he had to carry away corpses, bury them and scoop coal for twelve hours in the bitter cold. After the war he fled from those painful memories. After the Germans

Australia on the Map 1606-2006
Australia on the Map” (AOTM) is the history and heritage division of the Australasian Hydrographic Society (AHS). This website consequently focusses on important themes in Australian hydrographic history and heritage. This includes maritime exploration and the mapping of Australia, and where relevant, New Zealand. As an educational resource, which was

Marta Dusseldorp – Actress
Marta Dusseldorp (born 1 February 1973), the granddaughter of Dick Dusseldorp, the founder of Lend Lease. Martha is an Australian stage, film and theatre actress. Her television credits include BlackJack, Crownies (and its spin-off Janet King), Jack Irish and A Place to Call Home. Her story is told in the

Guillaume Daniel Delprat (1856-1937) Metallurgist at BHP
Guillaume Daniel Delprat was born on 1 September 1856 at Delft, son of Major General Felix Albert Theodore Delprat (1812-1888), sometime minister of war, and his wife Elisabeth Francina, née van Santen Kolff. From 1873 to 1877 he served an engineering apprenticeship in Scotland. In 1879 he married Henrietta Maria

Refugees from Netherlands East Indies recuperating in Australia after WWII
After the surrender of Japan there were some 100,000 European people in the Japanese camps, many of them were close to starvation. An agreement between Australia and Netherlands East Indies governments led to the formation of the Netherlands Indies Welfare Organisation for Evacuees (NIWOE). The organisation emerged out of the

Personal recollections Camp Columbia – Jean van Schilfgaarde
Personal recollections Camp Columbia – Jean van Schilfgaarde The information below is the exact text of a letter from Jean van Schilfgaarde to Dr Jack Ford in 1992. Jack had contacted her for his research for his publication: Allies in bind: Australia and the Netherlands East Indies relations during World War Two. This

Dutch at WWII Camp Columbia Brisbane 1944 – 1947
Camp Columbia in the suburb of Wacol in Brisbane was a United States Army military camp. It was built in 1942 to accommodate American troops. The Sixth US Army Headquarters was formed and stationed here. It also hosted two hospitals and an Officer Candidate School till 1945. This was the

Akky van Ogtrop – Art Curator
Akky van Ogtrop graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, s-Hertogenbosch, TheNetherlands, majoring in printmaking, and has a Masters Degree Fine Arts, Sydney University. As a director and project manager of major arts events, Akky has worked for national andinternational arts organisations including: the Biennale of Sydney, ARTiculate Campaign,

Dr Ray Kerkhove Historian specialising in Aboriginal history
Ray was born in ‘s-Gravenhage (The Hague). In 1965, at the age of 4, he migrated to Sydney with his family – his parents Wim Kerkhove and Cornelia (in Australia ‘Corinne’) Kerkhove (Muusse), and sister Louise Wilhelmina Kerkhove (now Freebairn). In Indonesia, Ray’s father Wim served in the Dutch-Indonesian War

‘The Oasis’ famous (WWII) Brisbane resort frequented by the Dutch military.
‘The Oasis’ in the Brisbane suburb of Sunnybank was created by Mrs Mabel Pottinger and her two sons, Norman and Lewis. They had a flower, fruit, vegetable and poultry farm and turned that into a tourist attraction what became The Oasis. This started in 1937 when the family built a tennis court

Joan McConachy – secretary at the Dutch Army at Camp Columbia
By her son David Hill. Joan McConachy was a secretary at Camp Columbia, Brisbane working for the Dutch Army as she later told her son David (perhaps at NEFIS). Joan was born in 1924 at Winton (Central West QLD) and moved to Brisbane around 1943 from the then family home

Dr. Cas Jeekel Dutch zoologist and entomologist – expert in Australian millipedes
Casimir Albrecht Willem (Cas) Jeekel (Medan, 24 February 1922 – Breda, 13 March 2010. He was a former director of the Zoological Museum in Amsterdam. (now based in Leiden). Dr Jeekel was once the world authority on millipedes and, as a Dutchman, had a great influence on the study of

A fascinating link between the Boven Digul Camp, the 18th NEI Squadron and the Cowra WWII Cemetery
The Burgers Family from Cowra bring together several important historical events. It starts with Jan Hevel who is an Adjutant at the Political Prisoners Camp Boven Digul -Dutch New Guinea. The leaders of the Indonesian independence uprising of 1925/1926 were imprisoned in the remote jungle of Netherlands New Guinea. In

Long agriculture history between Australia and the Netherlands
Being the 2nd largest export of agriculture products, The Netherlands has a very long relationship with Australia in relation to agriculture. Already in the 1970 the Netherlands participated in agriculture events in Orange NSW. Further down below is an article from the Washington Post providing an overall state of the

Dutch Dugong fisherman killed by Aboriginal people in 1859
I came across a reference of a Dutchman killed by Aboriginal people in February 1859 in Moreton Bay, Brisbane. At this time, this was still part of NSW as the separation of Queensland only happened later that year.

Migration story of Dr Jurriaan Beek – GP at Casino NSW
This story outlines the history of how the Beek family (Father, Mother and two sons) came to migrate to Australia.

Jeff Crosbie – Australian Gunner at the 18 NEI RAAF Squadron
On 22 January 1944 RAAF Flight Sergeant Jeff Crosbie reported for duty at the aircrew headquarters tent of 18 NEI-RAAF Squadron at Batchelor, Northern Territory. When the Dutch had to flee Netherlands East Indies, after the Japanese invaded the country, Dutch planes, ships and military personnel regrouped in Australia. While

Professor Klaas Woldring – reflecting on Australian politics
Biography This is a personal story from Associate Professor Klaas Woldring the author of six short books on democracy and political changes that are needed in Australia to move forward. Klaas was born on 2nd July 1934 in Groningen. He went to Highschool there, completed two years compulsory military service, worked

Indonesian War Graves at Cowra (Netherlands East indies)
When the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, some 20,000 Dutch and Indonesians (Netherlands East Indies – NEI) fled to Australia. As Australia had a strict White Australian Policies, native people from NEI where housed separately. Of them 1,200 Indonesian internees were held at the Cowra POW Camp during WWII.

The history of the Dutch Australian Weekly
The Sydney-based Dutch Australian Weekly (DAW) w was founded in 1951 by Alfred Schuurman with the assistance of Cumberland Newspapers. The paper was established to serve the Dutch community in Australia, providing news, features, and information about events and issues of interest to Dutch Australians. In the 1960s and 1970s,

Dutch War Cemetery Perth incl. names of people killed
This is the only official Dutch War Cemetery in Australia. It is only one of three non Commonwealth War Cemeteries in Australia, the other two being the Tatura (German) War Cemetery in Victoria (250 graves) and the Cowra (Japanese) War Cemetery in New South Wales (523). At Cowra the Dutch

Nonja Peters Dutch historian, anthropologist, museum curator and social researcher.
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

The Smallgoods business story of Hans and Anthony van de Drift
Hans van de Drift – Hans The story of one of Australia’s largest sausage manufacturers ‘ Hans’ begins in the Netherlands. Hans van der Drift tried to escape being in the army (draft was still a thing back then) AND having to work for his dad on the weekends in

In 1854, the Dutch vessel ‘Bato’ rescues survivors of the three shipwrecks along the Queensland coast.
The ‘Fatima’ was bound from Melbourne to Batavia (Jakarta). On the 26th of June 1854 the vessel was wrecked on the Great Detached Reef, twelve miles south of Raine’s Island. The shipwrecked crew and passenger were recovered by the Dutch ship ‘Bato’ and arrived in Batavia on the 25th of

Dutch ship Kyverheid offered rescue assistance to the Island Queen – 1854
The Dutch barque De Kyverheid had some Involvement in the rescue of the crew of the schooner ‘Island Queen’ under command of Captain Porter. This ship was lost on the Great Detached Reef on 24 July 1854. The 27 passengers and crew crowded into the longboat and set out for

The wrecking of four Dutch ships on the Reef – 1854 – 1858
The Hester and the Doelwyck Two Dutch ships were wrecked on 21 April 1854 upon Kenn’s Reef. The crew of the 840 tonnes wooden vessel ‘Hester’ lost one man but the others were able to make it Port Curtis (Gladstone) and from there to Maryborough and eventually Sydney. It is

Langbroek – John-Paul: politician, Kate: comedian, radio and television presenter
The Langbroek family emigrated from the Netherlands to Australia in mid-1961, shorty after the birth of John-Paul. Their mother, Anne, is part Jamaican and American, and their father, Jan Langbroek, is Dutch, and they both worked as missionaries in Papua New Guinea. The family travelled around rural Queensland where Langbroek

Applying for a passport and Double Nationality
Applying for a passport The consular team from the consulate-general in Sydney has started again organizing consular sessions at other locations in Australia. Upcoming months visits are scheduled for Adelaide and Brisbane to take in applications for passports, identity cards and DigiD’s. Check on the link below when you can visit

Huygens Institute – The Netherlands
The Huygens Institute aims to make Dutch history and culture more inclusive. It also provides access to primary source material and text editions on which to base further analytical and interpretive research. In addition, the Huygens Institute takes the lead in developing innovative methods, tools and sustainable digital infrastructure. The

The Brisbane Borrelclub and Borrel Boomers
The Borrelclub (a club of Dutch gin drinkers) had its foundation in 1964, when the Officer-in-Charge of the local Dutch Emigration Service, Mr Cees Mossel, invited a few prominent expatriate Dutch businessmen for an after work ‘borrel’ at his office. Business problems and experiences of Dutch immigrants became the topic

Jan Zevenboom from gold-digger to Vice Consul (1856)
Jan Zevenboom born in 1822. He arrived in Melbourne from Amsterdam in 1856 his profession was listed as brush-maker. He travelled straight on the gold fields, but apparently was not lucky enough to become rich. He settled in Melbourne taking up his trade as a brush-maker in Beckett Street.

Jan Vennik – the Dutchman at Eureka (1854)
Jan Vennik: the Dutchman at Eureka. This Dutchman was present in the vicinity of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854, before he was arrested and charged with Treason together with 12 others.

The Vergulde Draeck – 1656 – New relics found November 2022
On the night of the 28 April 1656, the Vergulde Draeck struck a submerged coral reef midway between what are now the coastal towns of Seabird and Ledge Point, Western Australia. On board were 193 crew, eight boxes of silver coins worth 78,600 guilders and trade goods to the value

Can you assist the DACC with our Digital Hub?
We are looking for people to join this team so we can make the right selections for our Hub and can assist with the various elements of the digitisation process. While the physical archives are in Sydney, we also are looking at cloud-based projects which can be done from home.

Glen op den Brouw awarded the Order of Liverpool (Sydney)
The following is an interview with Glen published in October 2018 in the Daily Telegraph. A link to the Article is provided underneath, Liverpool Historical Society president Glen op den Brouw reflects on what he loves about Liverpool. 1. When did you move to this suburb and why? After migrating

Dutch Australian Native Warrior Joost Bakker
Dutch-born Bakker has floristry in his blood. His father was a fourth-generation tulip farmer and Joost and his three brothers grew up surrounded by flowers on their property.

Dutch-Australian Author Yvonne Louis and her book on Mondriaan
Yvonne Louis (born 1946) migrated to Australia as a child with her parents from the Netherlands. When raging bushfires threatened her family home in the Lane Cove National Park in Sydney’s northern suburbs Yvonne managed to save the treasured Dutch heirlooms that had been handed down to her by her

Student exchange collaboration Universities of Utrecht and Sydney
In early November 2022 a delegation of Utrecht University, including the Rector Magnificus Prof Dr Henk Kummeling and Margot van Sluis-Barten, director External Relations, visited the University of Sydney to discuss cooperation and a student exchange programme. It was agreed that there will be a large number of student exchanges

Emigrant story – Joop Mul
I was born in Gouda, the Netherlands during World War II. I migrated to Australia at the age of 12, on the migrant ship Johan van Oldenbarnevelt in 1956. My parents thought they would find a house and work easily in Perth but, after a brief talk with the family

Jacqueline van der Bie a Hoekse Waardse in Australia
In 2001 they visited her brother-in-law in New Zealand and both she and her husband felt there should be more to life than running the rat race they were in. So, the seed of migration had been planted.
Australia seemed the obvious choice. So, the visa process got started, but that took a long time. So, they decided to go on a tourist visa for 6 months and see what would happen. Well, that was a golden move, because while they were travelling around Australia their visa was approved!

Max Horstink – bombardier at 18 NEI Squadron RAAF and guerrilla fighter at Timor WWII
As a KNIL Officer, he was part of the Australian troops (Sparrow Force) in Timor. He was later placed as a bombardier at the 18 NEI Squadron RAAF in MacDonald airfield near Darwin. After that he became a NEI intelligent officer on Dutch New Guinea and Borneo and was killed during the Indonesian uprising, Bersiap.

Indonesian Political Prisoners held by the Dutch, freed in Australia
In 1926 the Dutch had imprisoned Indonesian freedom fighters in a camp in the jungle of Dutch New Guinea. When the Japanese advanced they were brought – under false pretences – to Australia in 1943. When the Australians did find it they were political prisoners they ordered the Dutch to free them.

Dutch Camp Casino WWII – Archive Jan de Wit
This post contains a unique collection of archives kept by Jan (John) de Wit. Jan joined the Dutch Airforce and became a guard at the Dutch Camp in Casino NSW. There were uprisings in the camp and people were killed. This became an embarrassment for Australia. The Australian Unions played a key role here as well.

Black Armada: Australian Boycott of Dutch shipping WWII
After the Japanese invasion of Netherlands East Indies, some 20,000 Dutch people fled to Australia, the majority were Indos. They were not well treated and the Australian Unions started to fight for their rights. As they became involved they understood these people wanted independence from the Netherlands. When, after the War, the Dutch wanted to recolonise NEI the Unions blocked all Dutch transport from Australia.

Surabaya Sue, eccentric but influential foreign freedom fighter in Indonesia
She is best known for her work as a radio announcer for the Voice of Free Indonesia in Surabaya, in the Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution. The foreign press gave her the name Surabaya Sue.

Philips in Australia
Looking for more information. In 1925 Anton den Hartog was send to Australia to establish a Philips office in Australia. The company opened its doors in December 1926, with seven staff members, in a small room in Margaret Street, Sydney. The following year the moved to Clarence Street. Later they

Children’s book about emigration to Australia (in Dutch)
Een vriendschap zonder grenzen. Voor meiden vanaf 9 jaar. In 2 Far moeten de twee elfjarige vriendinnen afscheid van elkaar nemen als Avrils ouders besluiten naar Australië te emigreren.

Heineken Tennis Tournament – Sydney 11 December
Back on! After missing out on two Heineken Tennis Tournaments in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid and the renovations of Primrose Park Tennis, Dutchlink is very pleased to invite you to the Dutchlink Heineken Tennis Tournament 2022 version which will take place on Sunday 11 December 2022.We’re back on

Hans de Vries Flight Lieutenant No. 18 Squadron NEI / RAAF
When the war reached Java, he fled on the merchant ship the KPM SS Boissevain to Freemantle. He was despatched to the RAAF training camp near Lake Macquarie and from here he was send to the Jackson, Mississippi to be trained on the B25 bombers. He was assigned to the No. 18 Squadron NEI / RAAF operating from the Batchelor Airfield, Northern Territory. He flew bombing missions against Japanese military strongholds and shipping. He was highly decorated.

Theo and Eef ten Brummelaar
Theo and Eef ten Brummelaar were among the initiators of Dutch Radio in Australia.

Dirk Hartog and the famous Hartog Plate
Dirk Hartog Dirk Hartog (baptised 30 October 1580 – buried 11 October 1621) was a 17th-century Dutch sailor and explorer. Dirk Hartog’s expedition was the second European group to land in Australia and the first to leave behind an artefact to record his visit, the Hartog Plate. His name is

Dutch internees from Japanese camps and POWs received medical recuperation in Australia
There were some of 42 000 Dutch military and naval personnel and 100 000 Dutch civilians who were captured when the Japanese conquered the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942. After the War around 6,000 internees and Dutch POWs who needed immediate medical assistance were brought to Australia where they were allowed to recuperate for between 3 to 6 months, after which they were either repatriated to the Netherlands or went back to Netherlands East Indies.

The 18 Netherlands East Indies Squadron RAAF – WWII – List of casualties added.
The 18 Netherlands East Indies squadron RAAF was established on April 4 1942 They destroyed many Japanese operations on NEI, sunk 6 Japanese ships and numerous smaller boats.

Abraham Crijnssen – Dutch minesweeper in the service of the Australian Navy (WWII)
The ship was built during the 1930s, she was based in the Netherlands East Indies when Japan attacked at the end of 1941. After the Japanese invasion the ship left for Australia. For its escape the ship was painted in camouflage colours and the ship was disguised as a tropical island with the help of nets, branches, and other greenery. It arrived in Geraldton. Here the ship served as a patrol vessel until 16 August 1942. After that the ship was in service with the Australian Navy.

The Steam Ship Volendam (1947) and the Motor Ship Volendam (2009) to Australia
The Steam Ship Volendam was a 15,434 GRT ton ocean liner operated by Holland America Line (Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij). She was built in 1922 by Harland & Wolff Ltd, in Govan, Glasgow. The ship was purchased by Holland America Line while under construction and launched on 6 July 1922. Her

Dutch immigrant ship Willem Ruys
Royal Rotterdamsche Lloyd (then Nedlloyd and now part of Maersk) started building the ship in 1938. The company was in the process to replace the aging fleet of ships on the Dutch East Indies route, her keel was laid in 1939 at De Schelde shipyard in Vlissingen, Netherlands. Interrupted by

Dutch immigrant ships to Australia
More individual information is available on the DACC database (see links below). The major ships bringing Dutch migrants to Australia include: Remembering the Dutch Ships contribution for the defence of Australia. Dutch passenger liners such as the MV Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Oranje, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Volendam to name just a

Dutch immigrant ship Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
When she was built in 1929, she was the largest ship yet built in the Netherlands. She had berths for 770 passengers: 366 in first class, 280 in second, 64 in third and 60 in fourth class. She had berths for 360 crew. She had four decks and could carry

Dutch immigration to Australia, history, stats and other resources
History Already in the 1800 we see Dutch people settling in Australia. A rather famous early immigrant was Willem Hendrik Paling who settled in Sydney in 1853. He established music stores in Sydney and Brisbane, wrote music, was a teacher and a performer. The 1911 caucus lists only 650 Dutch

Adri Zevenbergen – 100,000th Dutch emigrant to Australia – 1958
Adriana Zevenbergen, Australia’s 100,000th Dutch migrant, excited to start unpacking after arriving in Melbourne, 1958. The 50,000th Dutch migrant arrived had arrived in 1954.

WWI could have seen a different outcome for Australia and Netherlands
After the Franco-Prussian war in 1870/1871 – in which my grandfather fought – two important developments happened: This put Germany right in competition with Britain who was the global superpower of the day. Germany had a great (Prussian) army but didn’t have a strong naval force, rather the opposite of

Sailing on the Duyfken – new Channel 7 story on the Duyfken
The first documented and undisputed European sighting of and landing in Australia was in late February 1606, by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon aboard the Duyfken. Janszoon charted the Australian coast and met with Aboriginal people. Janszoon followed the coast of New Guinea, missed Torres Strait, and explored and then

Spectacular -mini series incl murder of two Australian tourists in Roermond (NL) -1990
Miniseries about a succession of IRA attacks that really took place in the late 1980s in Limburg, Germany. Team leader Jeanine Maes (Hadewych Minis) opens the hunt for the ruthless Fiona Hughes (Aoibhínn McGinnity). The Spectacular | SBS On Demand The movie also highlights the’mistake murders’ of two Australian tourists

Dutch involved in marine archaeology in Broome
The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) is currently involved in one project in Australia. In this project, the RCE and the Western Australian Museum in Perth together investigate Dutch amphibious aircraft wrecked in the Australian port city Broome during the Second World War. In the past, the RCE

An interactive ESG evening (Environment, Social and Governance) – Free event Sydney 9 Nov.
An interactive ESG evening (Environment, Social and Governance) – Sponsored by ING Wednesday 9 November 2022 – ING Level 28 60 Margaret St Sydney NSW 2000 ESG impact, transition and sustainability from various perspectives How will Australia meet its climate objectives? How do we transition from a carbon-based society to

Dutch Steamer Curaçao visits Australia in 1871
Reports concerning New South Wales, Queensland, the northern territory of South Australia (which then incorporated the Northern Territory), New Guinea and the Torres Strait by J.W. Ploos van Amstel, Consul-General of the Netherlands for Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. Ploos van Amstel’s accounts are signed Cardwell [North Queensland]; Sweers Island

Revealing colonial interview during visit of Dutch Navy to Sydney in 1910
In 1910 the HNLMS Koningin Regentes undertook a cruise to Australia to show the flag. Lieutenant Pieren was interviewed re the security in the region both in regarding to Japan and the situation in the Netherlands East Indies,

Dutch Treat by Theodora Biesheuvel
Theodora (Thea) Biesheuvel – was born in Schiedam, Netherlands in 1939 and emigrated to Australia in 1953. She grew up in country Australia. She has written poetry since she was 8 but started short story writing as an adjunct to telling stories.

Petrus Ephrem Teppema 1920-1932 Consul Generaal 1920-1932, Ambassador 1947-1950
Following the resignation of Consul General Willem Lodewijk Bosschart in Melbourne in 1921, Consul Petrus Ephrem ‘Peter’ Teppema in Sydney became Consul General, since 1922 Consul General. In 1947 he became the 2nd official Ambassador for the Netherlands in Canberra. Here we see Dutch Consul-General Teppema, Madame Teppema and Rear-Admiral

Consul General Bosschart promotes trade with Queensland – 1908
Source (Trove): The Week Brisbane 16 October 1908 Java and Australia. Fostering Relations. Netherlands Consul-General. As stated in our first edition, Mr. W. L. Bosschart, Netherlands Consul-General for Australia and Polynesia, whose legation is situated at Melbourne, is returning from a visit to the Dutch East Indies by the steamer

Australia misses out on Netherlands East Indies: Count Limburg Stirum – 1921
Sydney Morning Herald 21 April 1921 AUSTRALIA’S HANDICAP. IN NETHERLANDS-INDIES. Among the passengers who arrived by the steamer Houtman yesterday was Count Limburg Stirum, who has only recently retired from the post of Governor-General of the Netherlands-Indies, after five years’ occupancy of It, and who is proceeding to Holland, via

Australia Netherlands Holdings Ltd (Nationale Nederlanden) had een goede start – 1968
CANBERRA, ACT — Australia Netherlands Holdings Ltd. heeft bekend gemaakt, dat de naamloze vennootschap van 13 December 1967 — de dag van oprichting — tot 30 Juni 1968 een netto winst van $207,131 heeft gemaakt. Er werden 4 maal aan delen ter waarde van $ 1,00 uitgegeven tot een totaal

Steam Shipping Lines Australia – Netherlands – starting in 1864
The first attempts to establish steam shipping lines from Java to Australia date from 1864. Negotiations were initiated by the Chamber of Commerce in Batavia. There was a trial voyage but Parliament voted against the operation as it didn’t see any trading value in such an operation. In 1866 Ambrosius
Colonial Dutch Consul-General to Victoria – J. W. Ploos Van Amstel – 1864
Colonial Dutch Consul-General to Victoria made watercolour sketches and photographs during his travels around Australia. A sketcher and photographer, is known for a watercolour of a settler’s camp, dated 1855, watercolour landscapes and photographs of Aboriginal groups, dated 1860, and several watercolours of Sweers Island, Qld, one dated 1871 (all

Willem Frans Theodoor Brijl – merchant captain WWII
Willem Frans Theodoor Brijl was born May 17th, 1897 in Surabaya in the Dutch East-Indies, the son of Frans Hendrik Brijl. In 1910 he left for the Netherlands in order to have his HBS education. September 21st, 1914 he enrolled in the Merchant Navy Academy on the island of Texel.

Some members of the18 Squadron NEI RAAF
See the profiles and stories of Joop van Doorn and Hans de Vries and Max Horstink. Click here for more information on the 18 Squadron Nederlands East Indies Royal Australia Air Force The following information with thanks to TracesOfWar. Sidney Rudi de Kadt evaded from occupied country the Netherlands to

Gerard Johan Lugt Flight Commander at 18 NEI Squadron in Australia
Gerard Johan Lugt was born in Amsterdam, August 9th, 1917. When war broke out in the Netherlands on May 10th, 1940, he was in London studying aircraft construction. In August 1940, he left for the Dutch East Indies and was employed by Werkspoor in Surabaya from January 1941 onwards. Here

Sparrow Force – Allied guerrilla force in Timor WWII
Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other Dutch, British, US and Australian 8th Division units during World War II. The force was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire of Japan. It formed the main part of the

Major Jan Willem Zijlstra – Sparrow Force Timor WWII
Military record Born in Malang, Java, on 27 December 1910. Died at “Ladang” House, near Berry, New South Wales, Australia, on October 6, 1965. Army number 102417002 Second lieutenant KNIL Army (31-07-1932), First Lieutenant (31-07-1935), Captain. (27-05-1943), Major (17-12-1949). Well-known decorations: · Ereteken Belangrijke/Bijzondere Krijgsbedrijven/-verrichtingen BK,E.1,OHK.3,OV.1,XV,KLO· Bronze Cross K.B.

The Battle of Timor – 1942-1943
The Battle of Timor – the Dutch and Australians kept fighting after the surrender of Netherlands East Indies. The bombing of Darwin did bring WWII directly onto the shores of Australia. However, what is less well known is that the reason for the Japanese attack on Darwin and Broome was
Netherlands – Australia Memorial – Canberra
The monument commemorates the servicemen and women of the Dutch forces which operated from Australia between 1941 and 1945. The Dutch, along with the Americans, were the only non-Commonwealth countries to establish bases in Australia during World War Two. The original memorial was unveiled on the 7th December 1991 and

Mutiny on the Tasmanian ferry Abel Tasman -1985
The following is an abstract – with permission – from the Mitchell Bruce’s website Ferries of Australia Abel Tasman (IMO 7362108) sailed on the Bass Strait between 1985 to 1993. She started life as the Nils Holgersson, built in 1975. She commenced her regular route, linking Travemünde (Germany) to Trelleborg

Various ships named Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman – Bermuda Schooner This Bermuda Schooner, derived from the famous “America 1”, designed by George Steer. From this renowned fast yacht from the mid-19th century a few replicas have been built. Though “Abel Tasman” is not a pure replica, she has the same lines. She has been proven

Dutch mapping of the Indo-Pacific 1550 – 1750 (with emphasis on the mapping of Australia)
Presentation by Roland Spuij President Dutch Australian Cultural CentreFor the Abel Tasman Museum, Lutjegast on 10 October 2022 See also: Historic Maps of the explorers Maps from the Exhibition Maps of the Pacific. Abel Tasman Abel Tasman Museum Lutjegast, Netherlands

Dutch and Australian Relics from Camp Columbia Brisbane
Camp Columbia in the suburb of Wacol in Brisbane was a United States Army military camp. It was built in 1942 to accommodate American troops. The Sixth US Army Headquarters was formed and stationed here. It also hosted two hospitals and an Officer Candidate School till 1945. This was the

Crashed in the hostile nature of Netherlands New Guinea – Dutch, American, Australian, Indonesian and Papuan collaboration
Crashed in the hostile nature of Netherlands New Guinea- book by Bas KreugerTranslated by Thijs de Veen. Reproduced interview with thanks to Traces of War In the summer of 1944 not only Normandy was the stage of war against a ruthless occupier. In the East too the allied forces were

Netherlands Antilles ship capsized in Port Kembla (1986)
Shortly before noon on Thursday 14 August 1986 the Netherlands Antilles flag heavy lift cargo ship ‘GABRIELLA’ capsized and sank alongside No. 2 Products Berth in Port Kembla harbour New South Wales. The ship capsized and sank on its side very rapidly while discharging a lift of 237.95 tonnes. Two

Rembrandt Dutch Club – Sydney
Founded in 1978 We are open every Wednesday from 10am till 1pm and every Friday from 3.30pm till 8.30pm. Our Club is run purely by volunteers, from the barman to the cleaner, the chef and the gardener. The Club has several interest groups: Klaverjassers and Scrabblers. It’s a friendly place

Merchant ship SS Van Heemskerk tragically lost in 1943
(Source: Wikipedia) SS Van Heemskerk was a freighter built by N.V. Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw-Maatschappij. The ship of 2,996 Gross register tonnage (GRT) was launched 31 August 1909 and delivered for operation by Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) in the Dutch East Indies trade. Van Heemskerk was one of twenty-one KPM vessels that took

Australia and Netherlands working together on green hydrogen
In January 2023, a broad MoU was signed between Australia and the Netherland at the Port of Rotterdam. Key items include: In 2022 MoUs have also been signed between the Port of Rotterdam and the state governments of Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia. These are also aimed at

Netherlands Association of Queensland
It all started in 1952. Four Dutch men, recently arrived in Australia, started a `Klaverjas’ (Dutch card game-only known in the Netherlands) club. A constitution was sent to Fair Trading Queensland. Approval was received on the 6 July 1952 and the Netherlands Association of Queensland got incorporated and known as

When the Dutch in Bundaberg faced Communist threat
By Michael Gorey 22 April 2019 In Anzac week we reflect on the contribution our allies made to restoring peace in our region. No. 19 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF was a transport and communications unit of the Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger. The Netherlands East Indies Government

The Drama of Broome 3-3-1942
On 3 March 1942 Japanese Zero bombers arrived and within 15 minutes bombed 23 Alied aircrafts that were either laying in the Roebuck bay or which were parked on the aerodrome. Approx half of them were NEI airplanes, between 35 and 40 Dutch people were killed in the raid and some 60+ were badly injured.

Patricia Metcalfe and Wim van Wely met at Camp Columbia.
Patricia (Pat) Metcalfe (born 1929 in Cairns) moved to Brisbane when she was 4 years old and after she finished the St Columba school at Wilson, was employed at Camp Columbia as a typist and secretary, first with the Americans and since 1945 with the Netherlands-East-Indies Government. Here she worked

New Netherlands Consul General and Deputy Consul General
The team at the Netherlands Consulate General in Sydney welcomed the new Consul General, Hugo Klijn, and new Deputy Consul-General, Meike de Jong. Consul-General Hugo Klijn is also Head of Economic affairs, Trade and Investment in Australia. Mr Klijn has been working for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs since

Dutch-Australian ballerinas performing for WWII Allied troops
Born as Maria Louisa Frederika, “Darja” Collin (November 19, 1902 – May 6, 1967) was a Dutch ballet dancer and classical ballet teacher. She had been trained in classical ballet (studying under Preobrajenska and Trefilova), and also in Mary Wigman’s school. She was also influenced by the famous American/Russian dancer

Dutch migrants key members of The Easybeats – Australia’s greatest pop group of the mid-1960s.
The Easybeats are worldwide known for their 1966 superhit “Friday on My Mind”. It reached no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as

Geert (Gerry) Kroon – remembered by the Southern Highlands in NSW
Amersfoort, 20/9/1943 – Bowral, 27/2/2019 Born in Amersfoort; The Netherlands 1943 as one of 7 children in a small home of limited means. At age of 19 he moved to Nigeria; Africa for 2 years for development work until the Biafra war broke out and he was forced to flee

Dutch Australian Cultural Centre – online hub for Dutch culture and history in Australia.
Over the last 40 years the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC) have been collecting documents and information in relation to the rich Dutch history in Australia. They have now also established an online service, making it easier to access this treasure trove. There is increased interest in this information from

Old ties, new beginnings Dutch women in Australia
“Old ties, new beginnings” presents the stories of twenty Dutch-Australian women who migrated along with thousands of Dutch and other post-war migrants to Australia during the 1950’s and 60’s. Very little is known about those Dutch women who settled in Australia. Their “homesickness”is sometimes mentioned and blamed for “unsuccessful” or

Dutch participation in Battle of Milne Bay 1942
Most of the vital reinforcement of New Guinea in 1942 and 1943 – during the War in the South West Pacific – including troops, vehicles, weapons and supplies for the Milne Bay, Buna and Gona operations, was undertaken by Dutch vessels. The operation collectively known as Operation Lilliput, used the

A very personal WWII story from Ruth Leah
Our mother met a Dutch pilot during the war. His name was Fredrik (Pulk) Pelder and there are many mentions of his heroics on the World Wide web. One instance in particular that was widely publicised, was an escape from Java where Fred and Mendizabal (Canadian), Sgt Stuart Munroe (Australian), Alan

Anton Kool leading person in the Dutch Community
Antonie (Anton) Frederick Kool was born Feb 6 1920, Zevenhoven, The Netherlands and he died Dec 14 2002, Sydney, Australia Written by Helen Kool (one of Anton’s daughters) This is a short biography and includes anecdotes that I find interesting. If you would like to add some of your own

Pieter van Gent Winery & Vineyard – Dutch winemaker in Mudgee
The van Gent family tree can be traced back to 1790 and reveals a family of distillers and winemakers. It was Johannes Hermanus van Gent (1817 to 1859) ship owner, merchant, distiller of spirits, member of the Municipal Council, Chamber of Commerce and world traveller who influenced a long line

Migration Museum Rotterdam – opens in 2024
The museum is based in the Fenix warehouse at the waterfront on Katendrecht. It was built in 1923. At that time it was the largest warehouse in the world. The new FENIX is more than a museum it is a cultural location in Rotterdam. From its quays millions of Europeans

Archived: Archerfield Airport history presentations – Brisbane September 2022
Invitation to WWII presentations and tour of the Archerfield Airport Heritage Room Organised by Dutchlink Brisbane on 16 September from 2pm till 4pm This is the 2nd presentation as the one on 22/7 has been booked out. Please click here for bookings. Archerfield Airport has recently opened a Heritage Room

120 Netherlands East Indies Fighter Squadron RAAF – WWII
Not enough personnel to start a new Squadron The pre-capitulation situation in the Netherlands Indies was chaotic and the stubborn Dutch Government-in-Exile in London had no vision nor a plan fort an inevitable post surrender period. This was the main course why so few military people and material was saved

The Night Ship – Novel about the Batavia
A new book has been published about the doomed fate of the VOC ship the Batavia in 1629. In this case the historical story forms the background to fiction through the eyes of 9 year old Dutch girl Mayken. Read the review of ”The Night Ship” by Jess Kidd as

Dutch-Australian Movie –“ Everybody’s Oma”
Everybody’s Oma follows in the NSW Central Coast family’s footsteps as they navigate Oma’s failing health under the spotlight of an enthusiastic audience of well-meaning strangers. Jason van Genderen premiered My Town is Broken at Sydney Film Festival (SFF) 2008. His debut feature Everybody’s Oma premieres at SFF 14 years

The Merauke Force in Netherlands New Guinea – WWII
Merauke remained unoccupied during WWII In mid-1942, Merauke, on the south coast of Netherlands New Guinea (NNG) was one of only a few parts of the Netherlands East Indies ( NEI) that had not been occupied by Japanese forces. It was garrisoned by a company of infantry from the KNIL,

Seaplane crash saved people from Japanese attack on Broome – Gerard Lemmens 1942
Account of Journey from Soerabaia in Java to Australia during March 1942. Written by: Gerard Lemmens at the age of 16 years. Translated from Dutch during May 1994 for the benefit and interest of my grandchildren. Monday 2nd March 1942. It was midday of Monday 2nd March. I had just

Abel Tasman Museum Lutjegast, Netherlands
The DACC has special relationship with the Abel Tasman Museum in Lutjegast, a town in Groningen, where Abel Tasman was born. There have been visits from Australian to Lutjegast and the other way around. There is more information on their website. The images below are displays from the Abel Tasman

Fleeing Dutch mistakenly attacked at Karumba during WWII
When the Japanese invaded the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) during February and early March 1942, many Dutch people fled to Australia, most ended up in Darwin and Broome but a few fled via the Gulf of Carpentaria. This remote area of northwest Queensland was so open to invasion that a
ML-KNIL Dakota crashed in Moreton Bay – 1947
On 26 February, a ML-KNIL Douglas Dakota caught fire and crashed into the ocean about 23 minutes into a test flight from Archerfield, killing all six people – three Dutch servicemen and three Australian crew members – onboard. ML-KNIL = Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger – Royal Netherlands

Dutch Migrants at Bonegilla Migrant Camp – Victoria
Around 170,000 displaced persons came to Australia immediately after World War II. Nearly half lived at Bonegilla when they arrived in Australia. Some stayed for weeks, others for months. Migrants at the centre were taught English and learnt about life in Australia. They were then employed in areas where there were labour shortages, boosting

400 years ago Dutch ship Leeuwin encountered WA Coast – 1622 – Free journal
Four-hundred years ago, in March 1622, the Dutch ship Leeuwin encountered the south-west coast of Western Australia—the first recorded sighting of the area by Europeans. Known to the Wadandi Noongar people as Doogalup, the Dutch named it ‘t’Leeuwin’s Landt’, or ‘Leeuwin’s Land’. In 1801, in recognition of this early Dutch

Dutch WWII pilot Gus Winckel celebrated in Moruya
The following information comes from the book Allies in a Bind from Dr Jack Ford. Japanese attack on Sydney Harbour On 28 May 1942, Japanese submarine I-21 launched a floatplane. It flew over Sydney Harbour spotting 13 Allied warships including Dutch submarine K-IX. On 31 May, Japanese submarines I-22, I-24

119 Netherlands East Indies Squadron RAAF in Australia during WWII
The following information comes from the book Allies in a Bind from Dr Jack Ford. On 7 June 1943, the Dutch detailed a plan for a new Mitchell squadron, designated No.119, to replace No.18 Squadron as the latter had suffered heavy aircrew losses in the first half of 1943. The

History of the Dutch in South Australia
Dutch settlers in South Australia. Although the Dutch seem to be the first to have discovered Australia, including parts of Tasmania and South Australia, they have never made a great impact as a group of settlers. As there was never any real religious persecution or high unemployment in Holland, there

Dutch-Ambonese woman created first crack in the White Australia Policy – 1949
This story starts with Samuel Jacob he was a headmaster in Merauke in Dutch New Guinea, a job he combined with being a local civil administrator. Samuel and his family while having the Dutch nationality, were all born in Ambon. Together with his family he was evacuated in August 1942

Dutch representatives at the opening of Australia’s First Federal Parliament – 1901
Captain von Bosch and Consul General of Netherlands Mr. Bosschardt The First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia was opened at the Melbourne Exhibition Building on 9 May 1901. The new King of England, Edward VII, sent his son and heir, the Duke of Cornwall and York, to Australia as

Compagnie Batavia – 73rd Living History Reenactment group
The group was formed in 2016 and is Australia’s only 80 years war living history group. The group has around 40 members across the Eastern seaboard and has a very strong focus on an immersive living history impression. Winterfest at the Hawkesbury -2021 The Group participated in the Winterfest at

Grondwet wordt gewijzigd voor stemmen voor Eerste Kamer vanuit buitenland
Wat in 2015 met een motie op het D66 congres begon, eindigde in juli 2022, zeven jaar later, met een overwinning voor en erkenning van de rechten van de Nederlanders buiten Nederland: nota bene in de Eerste Kamer zelf werd vanmiddag de laatste horde geslecht om de grondwet te wijzigen.

Netherlands Chamber of Commerce Australia
The NCCA is the go-to organisation that connects the Australian and Dutch business communities. Its mission is to be an inclusive networking body that connects and provides measurable value for its members. Through our monthly events our members have the opportunity to meet like-minded people, expand their knowledge, and create business