Australian Embassy
Indonesia

Australia Gifts Independence Era Documentary to Indonesia

Media Release

5 December 2023

The Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM presented a digitised copy of the historical documentary "Pandit Nehru Visits Indonesia" to the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) at a handover ceremony on Tuesday, 5 December 2023.

The documentary film captures significant events during the initial years following Indonesian independence. It records President Sukarno hosting a visit to Indonesia in 1950 by Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India and is a remarkable portrait of Indonesia at that time.

Australian academic David Hanan from the University of Melbourne recently discovered that a copy of the documentary brought to Australia by a Dutch cameraman in the 1950s and held at the Australian National Film and Sound Archives (NFSA) was the last known copy in existence.

"We are honoured to hand over a copy of 'Pandit Nehru Visits Indonesia' to ANRI. This documentary is a valuable record of a significant moment in Indonesian history," said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM.

“Pandit Nehru Visits Indonesia” can now become a resource for current and future generations of Indonesians to learn about the period following Indonesia's independence.


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