Herman van Tol was born in Delft on 9 May 1899. He was the son of Arie Jacob van Tol, a labourer, and Margaretha Vergragt.
On 15 June 1927, Herman married Jacomijntje Kattestraat in Delft. Jacomijntje had been born in Waddinxveen on 20 April 1901 and was the daughter of Gerrit Kattestraat and Sara Helena Streefland.
Herman and Jacomijntje had four children: Corrie, Gerard, Arie and Herman.
Following the Second World War, the family decided to establish its future in Australia. Herman travelled there by KLM and arrived on 29 June 1950. The surviving passenger information records him in seat G4.
Herman and Jacomijntje returned to the Netherlands for a short visit later in 1950. They subsequently travelled back to Australia aboard the Dutch passenger ship Sibajak. The vessel sailed from Rotterdam via Fremantle and arrived in Melbourne on 7 June 1951.
The couple continued to build their life in Australia and eventually became Australian citizens. In 1972, they returned from another visit to the Netherlands aboard KLM Flight 845.
Herman died at Dandenong, Victoria, on 7 August 1979 and was buried at Springvale Botanical Cemetery near Melbourne. Jacomijntje died on 24 August 1997 and was also laid to rest there.
Their repeated journeys between the Netherlands and Australia demonstrate that permanent migration did not necessarily end migrants’ connections with their country of birth.
Anyone with further information about Herman, Jacomijntje or their family is invited to contact Fred Stuij at info@alblasserwaard-genealogie.nl.
This account is based on family-history and migration research undertaken by Fred Stuij. Source document: National Archives of Australia. Gravestone photograph: BillionGraves. Herman van Tol.pdf
For the wider history of this organised migration project, see From Sliedrecht to Williamstown: Dutch dredging workers in post-war Australia.
More related company histories, archival sources and personal stories are available through the Dutch Dredging in Australia Research Portal.
