On September 7, 1944, a Dakota C-47 aircraft carrying 20 people crashed into a mountain near Mossman, Queensland, while returning from a reconnaissance visit to Merauke, Dutch New Guinea. The plane was operated by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL) and had four crew members and 16 passengers Read more…
Paul Couvret OAM JP (5 June 1922 – 5 July 2013) was born in Batavia, Netherlands East Indies, he signed up for the Royal Netherlands Navy when World War II came to the Netherlands East Indies in 1942. He was send to Pearce in Western Australia to complete his pilot Read more…
Peter Spyker was a Dutch Australian who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1992. During his time in parliament, he held various ministerial portfolios, including Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister for Consumer Affairs. Spyker was born ion the 7th of Read more…
In the 1820s the Dutch Colonial naval vessel Doerga (Dourga) the Dutch was sent by Netherlands East indies Government to northern Australia to establish Dutch claims to the region and to investigate the trepang trade. The voyages of the Dutch brig of war Dourga, were recorded by its Captain Dirk Read more…
Prelude Following hastily established diplomatic relationships in January 1942, the Australian Labor Government offered the Dutch, after the fall of NEI, shear unlimited support in relation to facilities and training, while at the same time providing them with a remarkable high level of independence for their operations in Australia. What Read more…
Apart from policies regarding the direction of a post-war NEI there was tension between the Dutch-government-in-exile and the NEI government-in-exile, in relation to the decision-making process. Soon after the liberation of the southern Netherlands, on 14 September 1944, the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina decreed from London the official formation of a Read more…
Amateur movies made by Mr. Arie Berger. Source Netherlands Ministry of Defence Movie #3 – 1943 Beeldbank – Department of Defence – Netherlands Movie #4 1943 -1944 Beeldbank – Department of Defence – Netherlands Movie #5 1945 -1946 Beeldbank – Department of Defence – Netherlands See also: The Dutch at Read more…
On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, an Australian light cruiser, was engaged in a naval battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran off the coast of Western Australia. During the battle, both ships were sunk, with the loss of all 645 crew members on board the Sydney and 81 crew Read more…
The United States 7th Fleet is responsible for operations in the Western Pacific Ocean. It was formed on March 15, 1943, in Brisbane, Australia, during World War II. The fleet was initially commanded by Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender, and it consisted of the cruisers USS Minneapolis and USS New Read more…
Batchelor Airport is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base located in Batchelor, Northern Territory, Australia. The base was established in 1942 during World War II and was used primarily as a bomber base for the RAAF’s No. 1 Operational Training Unit. During the war, Batchelor Airport was also Read more…