From European Mission To Australian Sanctuary: The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters In Brisbane

Missionary origins and the road to Australia In the late nineteenth century, there was growing interest among Catholic women in becoming actively involved in overseas missionary work. This development was closely linked to the rapid expansion of European colonial empires and the social conditions that accompanied them. In many colonial Read more

Concordia Dutch-Australian Society Newcastle and Districts – January – February 2026 newsletter added

The following text is from a booklet published by the Federation of Netherlands Societies Ltd. in February 1985. The research for this booklet was done by Mijntje Hage Initially, there were several small Dutch clubs in the various immigrant hostels in and around Newcastle, with Camp Greta being one of the bigger Read more

From broken promises to reluctant realignment: How ABDA failed Australia and the Netherlands East Indies

Introduction: a coalition without equal footing When the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) was created in January 1942, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) entered the arrangement from very different political positions. Australia was formally allied to Britain and had long relied on imperial defence guarantees centred on Singapore. The Netherlands, Read more

From Brisbane to the Netherlands and Indonesia: the long journey of HMAS Ipswich / Hr.Ms. Morotai

During the Second World War, the Royal Netherlands Navy operated extensively from Australia following the collapse of the Netherlands East Indies in early 1942. Dutch naval forces, including submarines, surface vessels, and support units, were integrated into Allied operations in close cooperation with the Royal Australian Navy and the United Read more