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Australia Connect: Exhibition explores forgotten Australian-Indonesian history
Titled “Two Nations: A Friendship is Born”, the ongoing exhibition at the National Museum in Central Jakarta explored the connections between Australia and Indonesia.
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Sharing the past: Attendees at the opening night of “Two Nations: A Friendship is Born” look at a panel depicting Australia's support for Indonesia's sovereignty during the 1945 to 1949 period. The exhibition at the National Museum will run until Dec. 14. (JP/Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak)
B
ack in July 1947 the students of Sydney University organized a demonstration at the Dutch Consulate in the wake of the Dutch armed forces’ “aggression” against Indonesian independence forces.
The protesting students were arrested and made headlines in The Sydney Morning Herald, one of the leading newspapers in Australia. The paper published reports in favor of self-government in Indonesia.
This was one of the forgotten stories uncovered by the Australian National Maritime Museum that showed the strong connection between Australia and Indonesia during the latter’s struggle for international recognition of its sovereignty from 1945-1949.
Titled “Two Nations: A Friendship is Born”, the ongoing exhibition at the National Musem in Central Jakarta showed a collection of news clippings, photographs, sketches and copies of official letters of support from the Australian government and private citizens.
The exhibition highlighted the solidarity of Australian maritime workers who boycotted Dutch vessels at port to stop them from transporting ammunition and other materials to Indonesia.
There was also the story of Molly Warner, a journalist who dedicated her life to the Indonesian revolution and had a pivotal role in spreading news about the young republic to the world. She later became President Sukarno’s English speechwriter and press secretary.
In one of the panels of the exhibition, a newspaper clip, dated September 1945, showed Indonesian seamen holding a demonstration in Wynyard Square in the port city of Sydney. The panel tells a touching story about how locals cried “Merdeka!” (Freedom!) and “Down with the Dutch!” as cargo ship Esperance Bay left port to transport hundreds of Indonesian soldiers home after months in exile.
