Colonial period meeting with Portuguese officials in Dili in July 1939 In July 1939, Australian air minister
James Fairbairn visited
Portuguese Timor on behalf of the
Menzies government to investigate the possibility of an air service between
Dili and
Darwin. Fairbairn obtained support from the colony's acting governor, although they faced a language barrier and had to negotiate partly in French. On his return, Fairbairn stated that an air service was necessary to prevent Australian oil concessions from being lost to the Japanese. Fairbairn, a qualified pilot, flew to the island himself on a
Lockheed Model 10 Electra chartered from Guinea Airways, departing from Darwin and returning on the same day. It has been suggested that his visit "was most notable for being the first time anyone had left the country, landed on foreign soil, and returned to Australia in a single day. An agreement for the Darwin–Dili air service was signed in late 1940, following approval from the Portuguese government, and representatives from Australia's
Department of Civil Aviation visited in January 1941 to conduct a survey of the aerodrome and proposed flying boat base. During World War II, Portuguese Timor was notionally neutral (in line with
Portugal's neutrality), but was deemed of strategic importance and occupied by Australian and Dutch forces in December 1941 following the start of the
Pacific War. Japanese forces occupied the territory in February 1942, but Australian soldiers remained present on the island for three years in the resulting
Battle of Timor. Aviation official
David Ross was appointed as Australia's first official representative in Portuguese Timor in 1941, but did not obtain consular rank. In October 1945, the
Chifley government announced the establishment of an Australian consulate in Dili, with
Charles Eaton appointed as consul in January 1946. Portuguese Timor's colonial governor
Óscar Freire de Vasconcelos Ruas conducted an official visit to Australia in 1947, while his successor
César Maria de Serpa Rosa visited in 1951.
Indonesian occupation Australian Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam told Indonesia that his government would not oppose an
annexation of East Timor in 1975, a decision that quickly proved controversial at home. In October 1975, Indonesian troops poured across East Timor's border with Indonesian West Timor at the town of
Balibo. Among those killed by the advancing Indonesian troops were five Australia-based journalists, who came to be known as the
Balibo Five. Many in Australia and elsewhere were convinced that the murder of the unarmed reporters was intentional. Australian support was criticised at times. Australia and Indonesia concluded several contracts about the boundary between Timor-Leste and Australia during occupation time, which is causing several quarrels between independent Timor-Leste and its bigger neighbour.
Post-independence period Timor-Leste reachieved their independence on 20 May 2002, after 24 years
occupation by Indonesia and three years of UN administration. The process of Timor-Leste independence began by a
referendum arranged by
United Nations, Indonesia and the former colonial power
Portugal to choose between autonomy within Indonesia or independence. Eventually the Timor-Leste voted overwhelmingly for independence. Australia led the
INTERFET during the following
1999 East Timorese crisis to stop Indonesian militias and army attacking the East Timorese civilians, and to establish the UN administration. Since 2002, Timor-Leste had begun as the first new sovereign nation of the 21st century. Australia's involvement with Timor-Leste has deepened since independence, especially after the
internal conflict in 2006 and the sending of Australian peacekeepers. == High-level visits ==