The following is an English translation of the original Dutch account. The complete Dutch document is attached below.
In the first half of 1950, the lives of the brothers Joost and Teunis de Jong were about to undergo a major change. They were preparing to leave the Netherlands for Australia, a country that was undoubtedly still largely unfamiliar to them.
Joost de Jong was born in Sliedrecht on 18 December 1903. He was the son of Teunis de Jong and Lena Slagboom. He grew up in Sliedrecht and, on 24 December 1928, married Geertrui Zeelen. Geertrui had been born in Sliedrecht on 21 January 1905 and was the daughter of Leendert Zeelen and Janna de Waard.
More than twenty years after their marriage, Joost decided to take the major step of travelling to Australia. He appears on the passenger list of 22 June 1950 as a passenger travelling to Sydney.
His younger brother, Teunis de Jong, is also recorded on the same passenger list. Teunis had been born in Sliedrecht on 5 February 1916. The two brothers travelled together and occupied seats E1 and E2.
The journey to Australia must have represented an enormous change in their lives. For Joost, his departure also meant temporarily leaving his wife Geertrui behind in the Netherlands. One month later, however, she followed him to Australia.
On 22 July 1950, exactly one month after Joost and Teunis had departed, Geertrui began her own journey to Sydney. She appears on the passenger list as Mrs G. de Jong-Zeelen and occupied seat D5. By following her husband to distant Australia, Geertrui joined him in beginning a new chapter in their lives.
The journey undertaken by Joost and Teunis marked the beginning of the De Jong family’s connection with Australia. The two brothers left the Netherlands together, after which Geertrui followed her husband a short time later.
Teunis eventually returned to the Netherlands. He died in Leiderdorp on 17 May 1987.
Joost and Geertrui remained connected with the story of Dutch migration to Australia. Their decision in 1950 took them from the familiar surroundings of Sliedrecht to a new life on the other side of the world.
Geertrui died in Altona, Victoria, on 4 November 1982 at the age of 77. Joost died in Williamstown, Victoria, on 27 June 1991 at the age of 87.
Source and acknowledgement: This account was supplied through the Historische Vereniging Sliedrecht as part of its research into the Dutch dredging workers and their families who travelled to Australia in 1950. The complete original Dutch account is attached.
