The history of No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF is often told as one of Allied cooperation and operational success. Yet in its early period in Australia, the squadron experienced a profound internal crisis that culminated in one of the most controversial legal cases involving Dutch forces in exile Read more
The story of the B-25 Mitchell N5-185, known as “Lienke”, is one of the most compelling examples of how wartime aviation, personal history and Allied cooperation came together in Australia during World War II. Operated by No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF, this aircraft was not only part of Read more
Between the Netherlands and Australia The end of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia led to the large-scale displacement of people connected to the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Between 1945 and the early 1960s, around 300,000 individuals left the archipelago. The majority settled in the Netherlands, while a smaller but Read more
This document by Desmond Cahill analyses the history, community dynamics, and assimilation patterns of Dutch Australians within the broader context of Australian immigration and multiculturalism. Dutch Australian Community’s Historical Context Settlement Patterns and Ethnic Integration Cultural Core Values and Adaptation Strategies Impact of Historical and Personal Factors Primordial Cultural Traits Read more
A 2006 episode of Andere Tijden titled Australië: integreren met hindernissen revisited postwar migration from the Netherlands to Australia. What makes this account particularly valuable is that it challenges the long-standing perception that Dutch migration was a largely smooth and successful process. Instead, it highlights a more complex reality—one in Read more
When and why did you move to Australia? I moved to Melbourne five years ago to live with my new partner. He is Dutch too and moved here fifteen years ago. I found out I was pregnant with my first child just before moving here. It was a huge surprise, luckily Read more
Peter Reef recently self-published his memoir The Road from Wagga Wagga: Recollections of a Migrant Son (2026). Peter’s parents migrated from the Netherlands to Australia an astonishing three times between 1951 and 1965, and the book recounts his experience of growing up between the two countries and cultures, and how Read more
One of the most remarkable pilots of the Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL) in Australia during World War II was Gerson (Guus) Hagers, who served with No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF. In February 1942 he was part of the group tasked with receiving newly acquired B-25 bombers Read more
Life in Java in the early 20th century Henriette Adriana Margaretha Thomas (nee Kuneman) was born on 22 January 1930 on the Badek Estate, a coffee and rubber plantation, near Kediri, East Java in the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Her father Jan Hendrik Kuneman (7 April 1885 – 9 March Read more
By Dr. Nonja Peters Between 1945 and 1949, around 300,000 Indies-born and Eurasian Dutch relocated from the Netherlands East Indies to the Netherlands as a result of the Japanese Occupation of Java and Sumatra and the Indonesian Revolution. Not only did the Indos (Eurasian Dutch) have to leave members of Read more