Historic Remnants and Artefacts from Camp Columbia

The Pooh Corner Environmental Reserve is the only area of Camp Columbia where there are still sewerage, pipe and road infrastructure as well as building foundation. The site is split in two by the Sandy Creek.

In that same area Vic Suchocki has found the relics presented in the pictures below.

The pictures were taken by him after each investigation and after cleaning. The photos showing tags and the hinges from furniture seem to show an NEI/Indonesian flavour and may be relevant to the story. The buttons and badges are from Dutch/NEI military and there are coins from Australia, NEI and the Netherlands..

A couple of other pictures.

Dutch helmet.
Dutch Nivea container with cream inside.
This might date from the time the area was a migration centre.

The following is a list of dog tags found by Vic at Pooh Corner. There are no Dutch tags. However, Malaysian born Beng Kiam Oe (1st on the list) arrived in 1944 on a US submarine in Freemantle where he was detailed it looks like he was later interrogated and released by the Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service (N.E.F.I.S.) in Western Australia.

Danny Sleath and Keith Stoneman have also found Dutch relics at the same spot, including a Dutch dog tag of Willy de Eerens. We tell his story here.

Return to Camp Columbia Heritage Park, Wacol, Brisbane TOC