ROYAL NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES ARMY
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WWII

In about early March 1942, some Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel escaped to Australia. Some of the Indonesian personnel were interned in Australia as there were suspicions that they may have side with the Japanese. By the middle of 1943, KNIL headquarters for Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger or Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was established at an 18-roomed mansion called "Oban" at 431 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

A Royal Netherlands East Indies Army camp was established at Casino in northern New South Wales in 1942. It may have been known as Victory Camp. When the Indonesian Republic was announced, the Dutch soldiers in the battalion at Casino interned and imprisoned 500 of their own Indonesian service personnel. These men were treated poorly by the Dutch soldiers. Two KNIL Indonesian soldiers died during this time. One of the men possibly committed suicide and the other was one of the protest leaders. The locals in the Casino area were unhappy with the situation and forced the Australian authorities to repatriate all the Indonesian soldiers who had been detained.

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This page first produced 15 September 2022

This page last updated 17 September 2022