Date of birth:

December 9th, 1897 (Amersfoort,The Netherlands)

Date of death:

March 7th, 1942 (Tjiaterstelling, Lembang)

Buried on:

Dutch War Cemetery Pandu
Plot: I. Grave: 156.

Nationality:

Dutch

Before his promotion to Major in 1940, when he became military commander of Semarang, Java, Captain Teerink served as a military commander of three KNIL brigades, each headed by a Dutch Lieutenant and consisting of KNIL soldiers, to protect a small team of American, Dutch, Australian, and Canadian researchers (botanists, zoologists, entomologists, etc) in the 1938-1939 Netherlands-Indies-American expedition to the Snow Mountains what was then Dutch New Guinea (aka Irian/West Papua).
Aided by a large Catalina ("flying boat") which landed on highland lakes and rivers, the team not only explored and collected below the snow-covered Mount Wilhelmina, but also (accidentally) discovered the soon-to-be world famous Baliem Valley. The "brigades" (or what we now call platoons) under 40-year old Captain Teerink's command were augmented by scores of Dayaks from northeast Borneo (they were skilled in carving dug out canoes, building bridges, and expert canoemen in wild-streaming rivers), and Javanese laborers (as carriers).
Importantly, but never officially recognized as such, Captain Teerink was the first non-Papua to ever enter that isolated territory. In total, he visited that highland valley in the deep interior of Western New Guinea three times in the course of 1938.

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!

• - MEIJER, H.G., Bronzen Leeuw, Bronzen Kruis, De Bataafsche Leeuw, Amsterdam, 1990.
  - Oorlogsgravenstichting
  - Dapperheidsonderscheidingen aan Nederlanders voor de Tweede Wereldoorlog
  

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