Life ashore

Dutch navy personnel demonstrate their singing skills in a canteen in Sydney. Canteens were established in the main Australian cities to give Allied troops a chance to relax.

Life ashore

Amidst all the war efforts, the Dutch troops in Australia also had an opportunity to relax. Australian voluntary organisations and charities such as the Salvation Army and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in cities such as Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth set up recreational centres for that purpose. Allied servicemen were able to eat and sleep there for a modest sum, relax in a reading room, or play darts and table tennis. In addition, the Dutch authorities set up hostels in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where troops could spend the night.

Dutch servicemen made only modest use of these facilities. The naval crews often slept on board ship when they were in port. Officers tended to rent their own accommodation. This was beyond the means of the servicemen, who often chose to be billeted with local families. Later in the war, several camps were established for Dutch servicemen.

One of the reasons why Dutch troops made little use of the cheap facilities on offer was their fairly high income. Like the Americans, they received substantially higher pay than Australian and British servicemen. The local economy profited from that. A large share of their income was spent on taxis, local pubs and gifts for Australian women.

During this period, pubs were only open during the day. From March 1942 onwards, they had to close at 18:00. Alcohol was rationed and, given the limited stocks available, most pubs could only open a few hours a day. To get round this, creative Dutch servicemen smuggled supplies of alcohol off their vessels or from canteens on land. This was of course strictly forbidden to prevent black marketeering.

The troops also relaxed by visiting the numerous cinemas – an affordable way of escaping from everyday reality. Large numbers of seats were specially reserved for servicemen, often at reduced rates. This exposed Dutch troops to US influence, as most of the films were made in Hollywood and were a mild form of American propaganda.

A more active type of recreation for the Dutch troops was sport. Officers and servicemen had strikingly different preferences. Officers tended to play tennis and golf or went sailing and horse riding. Apart from the occasional football match, servicemen mainly went swimming at Australia’s beautiful beaches.

Back

	Dutch navy personnel demonstrate their singing skills in a canteen in Sydney. Canteens were established in the main Australian cities to give Allied troops a chance to relax. Life ashore Amidst all the war efforts, the Dutch troops in Australia also had an opportunity to relax. Australian voluntary organisations and charities such as the Salvation Army and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in cities such as Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth set up recreational centres for that purpose. Allied servicemen were able to eat and sleep there for a modest sum, relax in a reading room, or play darts and table tennis. In addition, the Dutch authorities set up hostels in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where troops could spend the night. Dutch servicemen made only modest use of these facilities. The naval crews often slept on board ship when they were in port. Officers tended to rent their own accommodation. This was beyond the means of the servicemen, who often chose to be billeted with local families. Later in the war, several camps were established for Dutch servicemen. One of the reasons why Dutch troops made little use of the cheap facilities on offer was their fairly high income. Like the Americans, they received substantially higher pay than Australian and British servicemen. The local economy profited from that. A large share of their income was spent on taxis, local pubs and gifts for Australian women. During this period, pubs were only open during the day. From March 1942 onwards, they had to close at 18:00. Alcohol was rationed and, given the limited stocks available, most pubs could only open a few hours a day. To get round this, creative Dutch servicemen smuggled supplies of alcohol off their vessels or from canteens on land. This was of course strictly forbidden to prevent black marketeering. The troops also relaxed by visiting the numerous cinemas – an affordable way of escaping from everyday reality. Large numbers of seats were specially reserved for servicemen, often at reduced rates. This exposed Dutch troops to US influence, as most of the films were made in Hollywood and were a mild form of American propaganda. A more active type of recreation for the Dutch troops was sport. Officers and servicemen had strikingly different preferences. Officers tended to play tennis and golf or went sailing and horse riding. Apart from the occasional football match, servicemen mainly went swimming at Australia’s beautiful beaches.



Back	previous \| 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| next