Personal Stories

Camp Columbia and the U.S. Sixth Army: A Signal Officer’s First-Hand Account

This paper draws on the autobiography of Lt. Mark Twain Muller, a U.S. Army Signal Officer assigned to Base Section 3, to illuminate the operational and Allied significance of Camp Columbia, located west of Brisbane, during the critical early years of the Pacific War. Muller’s first-hand account provides rare insight into the establishment of Camp

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Elva Mary Bennett, Gerk van der Land and a family at war

This article is based on personal documents, military records and a recorded wartime interview provided by Elva Mary Bennett’s son, Russ Morison, together with supporting Australian and Dutch archival sources. The wartime history of the Bennett–van der Land–Morison family connects Australia, the Netherlands, the Netherlands East Indies, Burma and the Middle East. It is a

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Reunited at Camp Columbia and married in Brisbane: the wartime journey of Jack and Truus Hompe

This article is an English abstract of the two-part Dutch biography of Jack and Truus Hompe, published on IndischHistorisch.nl and based on Louise Hompe’s family chronicle Uitgestelde huwelijksnacht. Their story shows how the Netherlands, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies intersected during the final phase of the Second World War. Early background and wartime separation

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Saluut Batavia – Uncovering the untold story of female KNIL soldiers in Indonesia

In October 2024, Dutch journalist and copywriter Jorien Wallast published a groundbreaking work titled Saluut Batavia: Het verhaal van de vrouwelijke KNIL-soldaten (Salute Batavia: The story of the female KNIL soldiers), offering a rare window into a little-known facet of Dutch post-war military history. This non-fiction book explores the experience of young women who joined

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From Symposium to Strategy: Securing Brisbane’s Place as WWII Allied Capital

Turning commemoration into opportunity: defence ties in 2027, global heritage in 2032 The Allied Co-operation in Brisbane during WWII: Australia, USA, Netherlands, UK symposium, held at the University of Queensland on 30–31 August 2025, brought together a full house of delegates, historians, community representatives, and descendants to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of

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KNIL soldier Anne Beetstra: A Dutch-Canadian woman at Camp Columbia, 1944–46

This compelling first-person account, written by her daughter Claire Smith-Burns, traces the remarkable wartime journey of Anna Wiebrigje Beetstra, a Dutch-Canadian woman who served in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) during the final years of World War II. Born in Friesland in 1923 and raised in British Columbia, Anne was inspired to join

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Vale Dr Jonathan (Jack) Ford

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr Jonathan (Jack) Ford on 29 June 2025, at his home in Brisbane. Jack had recently returned from hospital following heart treatment and, when we last spoke two days before his untimely death, he told me that the new medication had given him a

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