This article is informed in part by a contemporaneous Australian account published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 February 1946, reproduced below. That article examined claims raised during United States Senate hearings into the Pearl Harbor attack and addressed Australia’s handling of a warning originating from the Netherlands East Read more
From collapse in the Netherlands East Indies to allied operations from Australia The rapid Japanese advance through the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) in early 1942 forced surviving Dutch air personnel and aircraft to withdraw to Australia. What followed was a remarkable episode of Allied cooperation. From Australian bases—most notably Archerfield Read more
This document presents a first-hand civilian account of work at Archerfield Aerodrome in Brisbane during the Second World War and the immediate post-war years, with particular relevance to the Dutch and Netherlands East Indies presence in Australia. Written by Jean White (née Forrester), the memoir begins with her early employment Read more
In a striking twist of history, the Netherlands and Australia are converging around Indonesia’s deep human past. What began as a late-nineteenth-century Dutch scientific quest in the former Netherlands East Indies is now being reframed through Indonesian custodianship and contemporary Australian research. Anthropology, rather than diplomacy or conflict, has become Read more
Vale – on behalf of the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre Dear Anita, family and staff of the Dutch Shop, It is with sadness that we learned of the passing of Jan van Altena. Jan was a well-known and highly respected Dutch migrant whose contribution extended far beyond Sydney. Through his Read more
The Douglas DC-5 was one of the most unusual transport aircraft to see service during the Second World War. Designed and built in the United States by the Douglas Aircraft Company, it featured a high wing, tricycle undercarriage, and a wide fuselage optimised for passenger transport. These modern features, however, Read more
In November 1942, a rare Dutch (American build) transport aircraft came to rest on an Emergency Landing Ground east of Charleville after a forced landing that ended its flying career. By then, the Douglas DC-5 Wakago had already survived a redirection to the Netherlands Caribbean island of Curacao following the Read more
The newspaper article by Malcolm Quekett explores postwar migration to Western Australia through the history of the Graylands Reception and Training Centre, later known as the Graylands Migrant Hostel, and through the personal experiences of migrants who passed through it. The story brings together Dr Nonja Peters’ research on migration Read more
Post-war Dutch migration to Australia reshaped not only industry and housing but also community life. Football became one of the most effective ways for Dutch migrants to build social networks, maintain cultural continuity, and integrate into Australian society. In Sydney, one of the clubs that emerged from this environment was Read more
In 1596, the first Dutch ships arrived at the islands of the Moluccas (Spice Islands), marking the beginning of trade relations between the Netherlands and the Indonesian archipelago. This was part of the broader European exploration and colonisation wave. The Dutch East India Company, known as the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Read more