Camp Columbia, Wacol, Brisbane, 1945

Charles Gesner van der Voort and Dorone van den Brandeler shared a 'mess' in Shanghai, while working there for Dutch companies Holland-China Trading Company and Java-China-Japan Line. Dorone arrived in 1935, Charles in 1939. After the outbreak of WWII in The Netherlands, many young men abroad were called to arms. Charles had a brother serving in the army and was exempted, Dorone van den Brandeler went to England to join Princess Irene Brigade. In January 1942, he was sent to the Netherlands East Indies, with Insulinde Corps, together with his childhood friend Lou Bierens de Haan. Upon arrival in February 1942, the Netherlands East Indies were captured by the Japanese and the troops remained in Ceylon, current Sri Lanka. After training in Ceylon and British India, they were sent to Australia, where they served with NEFIS III, Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service. Under command of Dorone van den Brandeler, one of the missions was to the Digul river area in Dutch New Guinea, to investigate Japanese presence in the area. They were helped by local Dutch representatives and Papua population.

Dorone van den Brandeler's widow told me stories of this period in her husband's life. She mentioned photos made by her husband's friend Lou Bierens de Haan. It triggered a search for relatives and I found Lou Bierens de Haan's daughters, who provided me with a description of this period by their father, in a letter to his parents at the end of the war. He had donated his photo album to Cavalry Museum in Amersfoort, who kindly provided me access to these unique images, which I could use for my book, "Charles in Shanghai".

It was a wonderful experience to meet with Lou Bierens de Haan's daughters and other relatives at Cavalry Museum to review their father's album, when they were in the Netherlands for a family reunion.

This photo shows Lou Bierens de Haan at Camp Columbia. Camp Columbia in Wacol nearBrisbane, Australia, housed the Netherlands army in exile as well as the US Women's Army Corps.

www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place?id=1787
"Queensland WWII Historic Places
Camp Columbia (Dutch Forces 1944-45)
NEI Government-in-Exile/NICA/NEFIS/NIGIS Headquarters

Established at the former US Army Camp Columbia at Wacol in July 1944, the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Government-in-Exile is the only foreign government to be established on Australian soil. Other agencies - the Netherlands East-indies Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS), the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) and the Netherlands Indies Government Information Service (NIGIS) moved from Melbourne to support their administration. A NEI transport unit maintained and flew Dakota aircraft at Archerfield."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Columbia_(Wacol)
"Camp Columbia was a United States Army military camp located in Wacol, near Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built during World War II to accommodate American troops. The Sixth US Army Headquarters was stationed there and it was an Officer Candidate School from 1942 to 1945. After World War II, it was used by the Australian military and then served as a migrant reception and training center. The camp was then known as the "Wacol East Dependants Holding Camp for Displaced Persons". The old Wacol Army Barracks had been converted into the Wacol Military Museum."

Dr. Jack Ford, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at the University of Queensland, wrote a book about Australian-Dutch cooperation during WWII, "Allies in a Bind, Australia and the Netherlands East Indies in the Second World War" (Loganholme: Netherlands Ex-Servicemen and Women’s Association, Queensland branch, 1996). For the book, he corresponded with many NEFIS veterans.

Courtesy Cavalry Museum, Amersfoort
www.cavaleriemuseum.nl/Engels/index.html

Dutch National Archives (Nationaal Archief) have the report Dorone van den Brandeler filed about his missions in New Guinea. I visited the archives with his widow Jacqueline in 2019. "There was very little knowledge about this part of Dutch history. After WWII, if my husband mentioned the war in New Guinea, many people did not know about it, even at government levels. It would be nice if there is recognition for these men's efforts when the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII is celebrated in the Netherlands in 2020."

An article about archeological research at Wacol, Camp Columbia was published 7 December 2021 by Dutch Australia Cultural Center.
dacc.net.au/archive/dutch-australian-history/military-pol...

Taken in: Australia / Queensland / Wacol (show map)

Taken on: January 1, 1945

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