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 Read more
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Temporary display at Juliana Village, Miranda, Sydney – April 2024 Philips Electronics Pty Ltd Pierre van der Eng The predecessor of Philips Electronics Pty Ltd in Sydney was one of the largest Dutch companies that operated in Australia. In 1970 Read more
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 Read more
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.