Written by Leo Barry – AIYA National Blog Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indonesian translation by Wes Trianugeraha \u2013 AIYA National Translation Team<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read the Indonesian version here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Republic of Indonesia only gained independence 79 years ago, successfully ending some 300 years of Dutch rule. Today, Indonesia\u2019s National Revolution (1945-1949) remains a cornerstone of Indonesian nationalist identity, its symbols, rhetoric, and aesthetics, all still highly relevant in modern Indonesia. However Indonesia\u2019s struggle for independence was not simply a national affair. It galvanised support from all around the world and set the stage for Australia\u2019s first official relations with its neighbour to the north. The \u201cbeginning<\/a>\u201d to the Australia-Indonesia story contains a piece of under-appreciated history that sheds new light on the foundations of an almost century old relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia is now remembered as being one of the first Western nations to support Indonesia\u2019s bid for independence. In 1947, after the Dutch launched the \u2018First Police Action\u2019 against the young Indonesian Republic violating previous diplomatic agreements, Australia referred the conflict to the UN, boldly naming the Dutch as the instigators of the violence. Australia would subsequently be nominated by the Indonesian Republicans to broker a ceasefire with the Dutch, and when Indonesia eventually became independent, Australia would be one of the first to recognise the new nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is perhaps less well known is the history of Australian trade unions and their successful struggle towards supporting the Indonesian independence movement. This pushed public opinion and policy against the actions of the Dutch in their former colony. From the beginning of the war to its end, an alliance of Australian maritime trade unions would block Dutch shipments of arms and munitions crucial to their war effort from Australian ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia\u2019s ports were staffed by many international workers, among them were Indonesian seamen, many of whom developed a strong bond with Australian workers over mutual working class interests. In Sydney, a dispute over pay had seen the Indonesian seaman backed by the Australian Seamen\u2019s Union, and in 1942, Indonesian political prisoners brought to Sydney harbour by Dutch ships fleeing the Japanese were released after protests from workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crux of this fascinating relationship took place between 1945-1949, wherein almost 600 Dutch ships were blocked from using Australian ports by an alliance of Australian maritime trade unions and foreign dockworkers. From September 1945, workers refused to work on Dutch vessels carrying weapons, munitions, or any other supplies deemed important to the Dutch war effort. While the strikes originally started in Sydney, they soon spread to Melbourne and Brisbane, dealing a significant blow to the Netherland\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n