- A border police station was established in 1842, starting a long history of law enforcement in Queensland on this site.
- In 1942 the Sixth US Army headquarters were formed and stationed on this site. They named it “Camp Columbia”. Here they established a camp with an extensive infrastructure, including an officers school, hospitals, sewerage plants and housing for its personnel. This was the main Allied Staging Camp for the war in the South Pacific during WWII.
- In 1944 the site was taken over by the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile. This was the first time that a foreign government was hosted on Australian soil. There was close co-operation between the Australian and Dutch transport squadrons. They looked after all transport, between Australia and the Dutch East Indies, from food and medicines to ex-prisoners from Japanese internment camps. The last Dutch transport plane left Archerfield airport in September 1947.
- After World War II, parts of Camp Columbia were used by the Australian military and then served as a migrant reception and training centre. Other parts are now occupied by the Brisbane Correctional Centre.
- The site of the Camp earmarked for the Heritage Park is the publicly accessible Pooh Corner Environmental Reserve.
Remnants of Camp Columbia in Pooh Corner Bushland Reserve
Aerial Photographs and Maps of Camp Columbia
Artefacts founds at the site of previous Camp Columbia
Launch of the project by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Australia.
In the presence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Australia, H.E. Mrs Marion Derckx, at an event hosted in May 2022 by the Pooh Corner Environment Centre and Dutchlink Brisbane a plan was launched to preserve the last remaining heritage items of Camp Columbia (which are situated in the Pooh’s Corner Bushland Reserve). This precinct is of international importance and its history has largely been lost. At the meeting it was suggested to investigate an international collaborative project to save the last remnants of the Camp and tell the very important story of the Camp through the creation of a heritage and cultural site within the Reserve.
The Dutch Government had provided a grant to the University of Queensland for archaeological research at the previous Camp Columbia. At the meeting findings of this project were presented to the Ambassador and representative of Brisbane City Council, Queensland History, Heritage, Military and Environmental Organisations and members of the Dutch Community. Click here for the Archaeological Research Project.
Below, pictures of the Camp Columbia Event 19 May 2022 by Vaughan Kippers
