
The Netherlands Indies Government Information Service (NIGIS) was a civil secret service and propaganda organisation based in Australia, during and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
NIGIS was affiliated with the
Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service
Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) was a Dutch World War II-era intelligence and special operations unit operating mainly in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia).
Soon after the evacuation from th ...
(NEFIS) and the
Netherlands Indies Civil Administration
The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (abbreviated NICA; nl, Nederlandsch-Indische Civiele Administratie) was a semi-military organisation, established April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonia ...
(NICA).
Conrad Helfrich
Lieutenant Admiral Conrad Emil Lambert Helfrich (11 October 1886 – 20 September 1962) of the Royal Netherlands Navy was a leading Dutch naval figure of World War II. He was born in Semarang.
World War II
Helfrich was appointed overall com ...
, commander of Dutch forces in the Netherlands East Indies, attempted to have NIGIS merged with NEFIS, for which he had responsibility. Helfrich's attempts were resisted by
Hubertus van Mook
Hubertus Johannes "Huib" van Mook (30 May 1894 – 10 May 1965) was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the Acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948.Kahin ...
, acting
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...
, who wished NIGIS to retain its civil status rather than be absorbed by the military apparatus.
The service was established in April 1942,
and was based in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, on the tenth floor of the Temple Court building at 422
Collins Street.
In July 1944, Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...
decreed that a
government in exile
A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...
be established at
Camp Columbia, a former
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
camp located in
Wacol, Queensland
Wacol is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wacol had a population of 3,761 people.
Geography
Wacol is bounded to the west by the Brisbane River and to the north loosely by Wolston Creek. It is south-west of ...
. The Melbourne-based agencies NIGIS, NEFIS and NICA all moved to Wacol to support the new administration.
Divisions and operations
NIGIS operated an English language radio service to monitor radio reports from the Netherlands East Indies during the Japanese occupation, and to broadcast "messages of hope" to residents of the colony living under Japanese rule.
From 1942 to 1945, NIGIS produced an
Indonesian language
Indonesian ( ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has be ...
newspaper called ''Penjoeloeh'' (Indonesian for "Torch"). The paper was produced, written and translated by Indonesian former internees of the
Boven-Digoel Boven-Digoel may refer to:
* Boven Digoel Regency
* Boven-Digoel concentration camp
Boven-Digoel was a Dutch concentration camp for political prisoners operated in the Dutch East Indies from 1927 to 1947. It was located in a remote area on the b ...
prison camp.
The service also produced a
Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
journal called ''Oranje''.
The service also employed special correspondents to write articles for the press, many of which were published verbatim in Australian newspapers. Correspondents such as Wolfe Preger for ''
The Cairns Post
''The Cairns Post'' is a major News Corporation newspaper in Far North Queensland, Australia, that exclusively serves the Cairns area. It has daily coverage on local, state, national and world news, plus a wide range of sections and liftouts c ...
'' wrote tales of Dutch bravery
and Japanese villainy,
as well as keeping Australian readers apprised of events in Europe, such as the
Dutch resistance's acts of sabotage against the
occupying Nazis.
NIGIS operated a film and photographic unit. The unit was linked with the Australian production company Southern Seas Productions headed by Fred Daniell and his son, cameraman John Daniell. Southern Seas produced several commissions for NIGIS, including the film ''Indonesian Harmony''.
Directors of NIGIS included administrator
Charles van der Plas
Charles Olke van der Plas (15 May 1891, Buitenzorg – 7 June 1977, Zwolle) was an administrator in the Dutch East Indies colonial government who served as the Governor of the state of East Java from 1936 to 1941.Huygens ING – Den Haag. Bronverm ...
and naval spokesman
Huibert Quispel
Huibert Victor Quispel (3 June 1906 – 2 May 1995) was a Dutch naval officer. During World War II, he was the director of the Netherlands Indies Government Information Service based in Australia – the service was established as an intelli ...
.
Indonesian independence
After the end of the war and the
surrender of the Japanese, NIGIS turned its focus to asserting Dutch sovereignty over the newly proclaimed independent Indonesia during the
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...
. NIGIS and its sister agencies claimed that the Netherlands supported Indonesian independence, however promoted the line in Australia that the Republic of Indonesia was a "
Quisling
''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for ''traitor''. The word ori ...
Japanese-sponsored government".
When Australian maritime trade unions blockaded the Dutch shipping fleet in Australia in what was called the "
Black Armada
The Black Armada ( id, Armada Hitam) was a name applied to Dutch merchant and military vessels which were prevented from sailing to the newly proclaimed independent Indonesia from Australian ports due to waterfront strikes or 'black bans' by mari ...
", NIGIS produced and distributed pamphlets claiming that the supplies to Indonesia were humanitarian in nature, and were not military materiel and personnel intended to suppress the independence movement.
References
{{Authority control
1942 establishments in Australia
Australia in World War II
Australia–Netherlands relations
Intelligence agencies of the Dutch East Indies
Indonesian National Revolution
Intelligence services of World War II
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies
Organisations based in Melbourne
Organizations established in 1942
Propaganda film units
Propaganda in Indonesia
Propaganda organizations
World War II propaganda