From migration camp to Dutch houseThe story of Fred and Marie van Breemen The history of Dutch migration to Brisbane after the Second World War was shaped not only by organised migration schemes and housing initiatives, but also by personal Read more
Johanna Cornelia Maria Penders (19 September 1937 – 9 April 2026) The Dutch community in Australia is built on the efforts of individuals who quietly but consistently contributed to its continuity, cohesion and cultural life. One such person was Ann Read more
Flying boats designed for the Netherlands East Indies The Dornier Do 24 was a three-engined flying boat designed by the German Dornier company to meet requirements established by the Royal Netherlands Navy. The Netherlands needed an aircraft capable of patrolling Read more
Many thousands of post-war migrants passed through Scheyville Migrant Accommodation Centre, including large numbers of Dutch arrivals beginning new lives in Australia. For many families, Scheyville represented the first Australian chapter of their migration story — a place of uncertainty, Read more
Interview with Vicki Mynott ca 2014 I was eight when we arrived in Australia in 1959. Like many immigrants, we docked in Sydney then took a train to South Brisbane, then a bus on to Wacol Migrant Camp. The Dutch Read more
Bernhard Jan “Ben” Ruesink’s short life connected the Netherlands East Indies, occupied Europe, Britain, Australia, New Guinea and postwar Indonesia. After escaping from the occupied Netherlands by a difficult route through Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar, he reached Britain in Read more
Marinus Willem Reith’s military career followed an extraordinary path from the Netherlands East Indies through Japanese captivity in Java and Thailand to aviation training in the United States and postwar service with Dutch military aviation in Australia and New Guinea. Read more
Willy Erkelens was a Netherlands East Indies military pilot whose career extended from prewar flying training through Japanese captivity and into the violent struggle surrounding Indonesian independence. After qualifying as a military pilot shortly before the Pacific War, he was Read more
One of the most striking aspects of Dutch–Western Australian history is the disconnect between early European discovery and later patterns of settlement. As outlined by Neil Foley in Dutch connections with Western Australia 1829–1920, the Dutch were among the first Read more
In a quiet cemetery in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, far from Australia, two young Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airmen continue to be remembered. Their graves are not tended by family members, but by a Dutch family who never Read more