Dutch Artefacts
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre hosts a large quantity of Dutch memorabilia. The collection is currently located at the Abel Tasman Village. The organisation also hosts an extensive book library.
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre was established in 1983 with the following two main aims:
The DACC has its offices and meeting rooms in the Abel Tasman Village, Chester Hill, NSW .
The current Board of DACC, of five members, is detailed on the Contact page. We welcome more members or volunteers to become involved in the research, collection and preservation of our collection and in making it accessible to as many people in Australia as possible.
In 1602 the Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC, English: Dutch East India Company) was formed, the first international corporation. Their journeys brought them in contact with Australia. The Dutch-Australian relationship started over 400 years ago. The next chapter began during WWII when Australia hosted the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile. Following the war large numbers of Dutch people migrated to Australia contributing to Australia’s multiculturalism and economic development. More recently new political and military relationships between the two countries have been established.
Already during the convict period Dutch companies and ships provided their services to the British colony. Australia and the Netherlands were neighbours in relation to the Netherlands East indies. Since the 1930s aviation was added to the mix. Globalisation saw many Dutch corporations opening their offices in Australia and the Netherlands became one of the major investors in the country. On a smaller scale Dutch retail shops started to emerge with the arrival of the immigrants.