The origin from the current club lay with the Wilhelmina Club and the Football Club Hollandia, who shared resources. They split in 1960 and it looks like the club slowly disappeared.
Together with a friend I started the current Canberra Dutch club in 1970, It grew exponential and after many wine-bottling, progressive dinners, kick-a-ton and major KLM lotteries we had the money together to build a e clubhouse.
Again, we had many builders including me that helped building this two-storey club. It was opened by the then Princess Beatrix and Prins Claus.
I also founded the Windmills a great bunch of carnaval drinking bodies which again grew exponential as they travelled all over the country to meet likewise groups with the same interest
When the new club opened, we had 1600 members with renewed Dutch and Australian businesspeople. Soon afterwards I separate from the Club
Due to mismanagement the club got into trouble and in 2014 I stepped in again.
In 2019 we had 6000 people all revelling at what started as the Canberra Dutch festival, followed by the Dutch food festival to now Dutch Fest Canberra.
Due to the Covid and most great committee members moved away from Canberra that it’s very hard to bring gezelligheid back again.
During the last two years we had to cancel all functions bar the one night we had in the German club last year.
By Hans van de Zandt, January 2022
Groeide uit tot wel 2000 mensen in Sydney
The following text is from a booklet published by the Federation of Netherlands Societies Ltd. in February 1985. The research for this booklet was done by Mijntje Hage.
