Brisbane History, Published 22 May 2026
If you were standing at Kangaroo Point on 10 September 1910 watching the sunset, your view across the Brisbane River would have looked very different from today. Those two massive silhouettes on the…
If you were standing at Kangaroo Point on 10 September 1910 watching the sunset, your view across the Brisbane River would have looked very different from today. Those two massive silhouettes on the water? Not ferries. Not cruise ships. Dutch warships.
To view: Place your finger on the image and slide left or right to scroll.
Meet the visitors:
• De Ruyter - the sleek cruiser on the right
• Hertog Hendrik - the formidable coastal defence ship on the left
These impressive vessels sailed into Brisbane on 10 September 1910, drawing huge crowds and plenty of curiosity. Their visit wasn’t just a spectacle - it was a moment of international diplomacy and a reminder that Brisbane was already becoming an important port city more than a century ago.
The ships were part of a Dutch naval squadron travelling from the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) on a goodwill tour of Australia. After turning heads in Brisbane, they continued on to Sydney and Melbourne later that month.
It’s wild to imagine warships anchored where CityCats and kayakers glide today - a perfect reminder of just how much history our river has witnessed.
Original image sourced from the public domain. This reconstructed version has been digitally enhanced and animated using modern software techniques. While every effort has been made to preserve the historical integrity of the original scene, the final result remains an artistic interpretation and may not perfectly represent the event as it originally appeared. Image is produced strictly for educational, non-commercial history sharing.
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