The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) was the short-lived Allied supreme command for the South-East Asian theatre in the opening months of the Pacific War. Formed at Bandung, Java, on 10 January 1942 and led by British General Sir Archibald Wavell, it Read more
Hendrik Johan de Haas was born in Batavia (now Jakarta) on 28 November 1904, the son of Jozef Hendrik de Haas and Johanna Frederika Susanna Jostein. He married Hendrina Maria van der Meer Mohr in Batoeroesa on 2 January 1911. Read more
By Dr Nonja Peters This paper examines the complex experiences of Dutch, Eurasian, and Indonesian evacuees who fled the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies during the Pacific War and found temporary refuge in Australia. Drawing on archival sources Read more
When the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) collapsed under Japanese attack in early 1942, hundreds of Dutch airmen, sailors, and soldiers found themselves in Australia. Among the many military units reconstituted there was the 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron of the Read more
The Japanese advance through Southeast Asia in early 1942 brought the Allies to the brink of disaster. Ambon, a strategic island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), was garrisoned by Dutch and Australian troops under the Gull Force detachment. When Read more
Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS): Dutch intelligence in exile in Australia The Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) was the wartime intelligence arm of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) government-in-exile. It emerged after the collapse of the NEI in early 1942, Read more
Brief biography Gerrit Bernardus (G. B.) Salm held the rank Kapitein-luitenant ter zee (equivalent to naval commander) in the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN). He arrived in Australia in early 1942 following the fall of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), and became Read more
In 1705, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) launched an exploratory expedition to the Tiwi Islands, north of Arnhem Land in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia. The expedition, led by Commander Maerten van Delft, was one of Read more
Conrad Emil Lambert Helfrich (1886–1962) was a senior officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy and one of the Netherlands’ most prominent military leaders during the Second World War. Born in Semarang, Java, he spent much of his career in the Read more
Early life and education in the Netherlands Professor Richard de Grijs was born in Amsterdam and grew up mainly in Friesland, living from the age of eight in Wolvega. He was the first in his family to attend university, pursuing Read more