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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.
Place information
Location
Place type
Military camp
History
On 7 March 1942, just prior to the fall of Java to the Japanese, the NEI Lieutenant-Governor Herbert Van Mook and 14 officials flew to Australia to establish an NEI administration to continue the struggle. Van Mook was recalled to London but on 8 April, he established the NEI Commission for Australia and New Zealand. Based in Melbourne, the Commission worked with the Netherlands Ambassador Van Aerssen Beyeren in Canberra.
On 14 September 1944, the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, residing temporarily in London, decreed the formation of a NEI Government-in-Exile led by Van Mook. To prepare for Van Mook’s return, the NEI...
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