Soldiers, volunteers, businesspeople have been part of the community

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Relations between the peoples of Australia and Indonesia stretch back hundreds of years to the time when fishermen from Makassar in South Sulawesi traveled to northern Australia in search of sea cucumbers. But records suggest that it was not until World War II that an Australian community was first established in Indonesia.

It was the arrival of the Australian troops as part of the allied forces during the war, that marked the beginning of the temporary settlement of Australians.

The ties, however, began during Japanese rule in the 1940s. After the collapse of the resistance in the Netherlands' East Indies to the Japanese, thousands of Australian prisoners-of-war found themselves working alongside Indonesian romusha or forced laborers in places such as Singapore and Thailand.

By the end of the war there were some 50,000 Australian soldiers in Indonesia, most of whom had been engaged in campaigns in Kalimantan and northern Maluku against the Japanese.

Historian Anthony Reid noted that they were well-remembered in eastern Indonesia, and in late 1945, one of the founders of the Indonesian Republic, Sutan Syahrir, was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that the Australians understood Indonesians better than Europeans did, given their support for Indonesia's independence.

Most Australians opposed Dutch colonialism and sympathized with Indonesia's struggle for independence. Australian workers rallied to the aid of the new republic, embargoing Dutch supplies, ammunition and troops.

The second pioneers of the Australian community here were the volunteers who came to share their skills in education, to help fill the gap left by departing Dutch teachers.

At an international students conference in Bombay, India, in 1950, the Indonesian delegation invited Australian university graduates to make their expertise available, and hoped that the graduates would live and work alongside Indonesian colleagues, "deliberately crossing the barriers of expatriate life in favor of solidarity", historian Peter Britton wrote.

Britton noted that the invitation inspired a group of people at the University of Melbourne, who said that they were willing to be paid the same as their Indonesian counterparts, whilst learning more about the people and their lives.

That same year, renowned Indonesianist Herbert Feith, Britton added, was the first Australian volunteer who sailed to Jakarta to work as a translator with the ministry of information. Feith's assignment marked the beginning of Australia's international volunteer program, now known as Australian Volunteers International. Thousands of volunteers have come to Indonesia since. Feith, a long-time lecturer at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, is fondly remembered not only in academic circles, but also among Yogyakarta's students and locals.

Warm relations between the people of the two countries were enhanced by the fact that the Australian government helped the fledgling nation's struggle for international recognition of its independence. Australia became Indonesia's nominee on the UN Good Offices Committee set up to mediate conflict with the Netherlands. Historians noted that from 1947 to 1949, the critical period of Indonesia's struggle, Australia became the most prominent diplomatic protagonist of the Indonesian government.

Throughout the 1950s and the first half of 1960s, Sukarno's campaign for Papua's inclusion in Indonesian territory, and the period of "confrontation" with Malaysia, slowed down official relations, also affecting people-to-people relations.

Although both countries experienced ups and downs in diplomatic ties under second president Soeharto, relations in the business and social fields as well as cultural life continued to flourish after 1966, supported by Indonesia's growing economy,

Thousands of professionals and businesspeople, along with their families, started to come to live in Indonesia, mostly in Jakarta and Bali. It was estimated that after the economic crisis of 1998 around 20,000 Australians remained in Indonesia, according to the website of the Australian & New Zealand Association (ANZA). ANZA is just one of many organizations here which Australians have joined.

ANZA, founded over 30 years ago, holds a mid-year bazaar, a charity grand ball, and a Christmas bazaar.

To accommodate the community's need for Australian-based education, the Australian International School (AIS) was founded in 1996 although students are not restricted to Australians, and many Australians also attend other international schools here.

In 1989, the Australian government established the Australia Indonesia Institute to contribute to a more broad-based and enduring relationship between the two countries.

The institute has many programs, including youth exchange, fellowships and scholarships.