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Station Hilkemeijer

Short documentary, 2001, 40 min.

Andries Hilkemeijer, administrator in the Dutch colony of New Guinea, was murdered in 1961 in unexplained conditions, together with two Papua police officers. Director Thom Verheul tackles the story in two stages. First, he reconstructs the situation with the help of former colleagues and archival footage. Despite his good intentions, Hilkemeijer comes out as a rather naive man. Without being properly armed, he traversed an area on foot that had not often been visited. Next, he made the probably crucial mistake of having a few Papua houses demolished without replacing them. Secondly, Verheul interviews Hilkemeijer's wife and daughter about their personal perception of the tragedy and of the visit they recently made to his jungle grave, along with a group of Papuans. Together, these stories illustrate the ideas the Dutch people in New Guinea had at the time, and their persisting frustration about the failed policy.

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