Vertrek is a lively, wide-ranging social biography about fifteen postwar Australian-Dutch families, taking central stage is the Paulusse family. Candidly narrated by Kees Paulusse, the son of Dutch immigrants to Melbourne in the early sixties, this chronicles the family’s adventure and his own perceptions and experience. Vertrek begins on November 9, 1961, when his family sails Australia bound on the iconic Dutch colonial liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. This fast-paced and intriguing social biography resonates with the indomitable spirits of postwar Dutch immigrants. This vivid chronicle details the lives of fifteen divers Dutch families whom Kees befriended when he became a postman at Portarlington, a fishing village where his dad, Piet Paulusse, and other Dutch families lived.
Keith (Kees) Paulusse
Keith Paulusse was born in the city of Terneuzen, situated in the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands. At age eleven, he migrated to Australia. He left school at thirteen to start work in an Australian butter factory; at fifteen years, he become a postman. He completed his secondary education by working and studying part-time, paying his way. Keith attended Deakin University part-time and studied social science, majoring in psychology. His life was shaped by championing social justice. At various times, he was an entrepreneur, starting and publishing cultural magazines. For the past six years, he has operated a tuition-free school of languages for international students, refugees, migrants, and Australians with literacy challenges. He has written articles about Dutch innovativeness, people living with AIDS, and his experience of caring for his parents, who suffered from Alzheimers and Parkinson. He lives in an Australian coastal town near the Great Ocean Road amidst dunes, lakes, rivers, and sea.
