Transnational struggle : Asian seafarers and the struggle for Indonesian independence in Australia

The struggle for Indonesian independence that arose in the aftermath of the Second World War did not only involve the Dutch imperial forces and Indonesian nationalists, nor did it occur strictly within the confines of the archipelago; the circumstances of the war meant that the independence struggle would, in part, be played out via a political campaign in Australia. The Australian aspect of the Indonesian independence struggle, which took place from August 1946 until November 1949, is usually portrayed as a campaign that was initiated by Indonesian ‘rebels, refugees and exiles’ within Australia, and received support from the Australian maritime unions. In reality, the campaign waged within Australia in aid of an independent Indonesia comprised a far more diverse body of supporters and, moreover, it was transnational in nature. The often neglected transnational context of the Indonesian independence struggle is explored in this paper