The Netherlands Indies Government Information Service (NIGIS) was a civil secret service and propaganda organisation based in Australia, during and after World War II.[1] NIGIS was affiliated with the Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) and the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA).
Conrad Helfrich, 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, acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, who wished NIGIS to retain its civil status rather than be absorbed by the military apparatus.[1]
The service was established in April 1942,[2] and was based in Melbourne, on the tenth floor of the Temple Court building at 422 Collins Street.[3] In July 1944, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands decreed that a government in exile be established at Camp Columbia, a former United States Army camp located in Wacol, Queensland. The Melbourne-based agencies NIGIS, NEFIS and NICA all moved to Wacol to support the new administration.[4]
- ^ a b Dennis, Peter (1987). Troubled Days of Peace: Mountbatten and South East Asia Command, 1945–46. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719022050.
- ^ Poeze, Harry (October 2012). "From Foe to Partner to Foe Again: The Strange Alliance of the Dutch Authorities and Digoel Exiles in Australia, 1943–1945". Indonesia (94): 57–84. doi:10.5728/indonesia.94.0057. JSTOR 10.5728/indonesia.94.0057. S2CID 150747310.
- ^ "Digital Photograph – Men & Women Working in Office, Netherlands Indies Government Information Service, Melbourne, 1942". Museum Victoria Collections. Museum Victoria. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Camp Columbia (Dutch Forces 1944–45)". Queensland WWII Historic Places. Queensland Government. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2015.