Titia Jacomina van Riel (née Vijverberg) was born in The Hague on 21 May 1922. Her life spanned the German occupation of the Netherlands, the turbulent years of Indonesian independence and the challenges of establishing a new home and raising a family in post-war Australia.
Titia studied law at Utrecht University, where she met her future husband, Johan Hendrik Kees van Riel. Her university education was interrupted by the Second World War. According to family recollections, she also carried documents for the Dutch Resistance. The couple married in Leeuwarden in August 1945, shortly after the liberation of the Netherlands.
Following the war, they moved to Lombok in the Netherlands East Indies, where Johan worked as a Crown Prosecutor. Political developments surrounding Indonesian independence eventually led the family to return to the Netherlands before emigrating to Brisbane in August 1951.
Initially settling in Brighton and later Mitchelton and Tarragindi, Titia raised five children while maintaining strong connections with Brisbane’s Dutch community. She was involved in the Dutch Club, the Princess Marijke Relief Fund and various community organisations. Her interests extended to Indonesian culture, literature, music, yoga, sailing and social welfare. She also volunteered as a telephone counsellor with Lifeline and was active in Children by Choice.
Titia died in Brisbane on 9 August 1991, aged 69.
Her son, Ted (Tjeerd Auke) van Riel, has written a richly illustrated, 23-page personal account of her life, revised in September 2023. Drawing on family memories, photographs, letters and other records, it provides a valuable insight into the experiences of a Dutch woman whose journey from the Netherlands through Indonesia to Australia reflects a wider history of war, migration, adaptation and community life.
The complete family history, Titia Jacomina van Riel – Her Story, is available in the PDF below.
