Among the many Dutch families who helped shape post-war Australia, few have left such a lasting legacy as the Van Berkel family. Today, their name is synonymous with tulips, flower bulbs and horticulture in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges. Yet behind this successful family business lies a remarkable migration story—one that begins in the famous bulb-growing district of the Netherlands and continues through four generations in Australia.
It is a story of resilience, migration, entrepreneurship and community, illustrating how Dutch skills and traditions helped transform Australian horticulture while also supporting countless fellow migrants seeking a new life.
Growing up in the Dutch bulb district
The story begins in the small village of De Zilk, near Noordwijkerhout in South Holland, in the heart of the Bollenstreek—the Netherlands’ world-famous flower bulb region.
This landscape of colourful tulip, hyacinth and daffodil fields has been synonymous with bulb cultivation for centuries. It was here that Hendrikus (Henk) van Berkel was born on 10 August 1922, one of eleven children of Johannes (Jan) van Berkel and Johanna Bon.
The Van Berkel family had lived in De Zilk for generations. Their home at Kleine Zilk was surrounded by one of Europe’s most specialised horticultural districts, where flower bulbs were not simply a crop but an entire way of life. Growing up in this environment gave Henk and his older brother Leonardus (“Len”) van Berkel practical knowledge that would later become the foundation of one of Australia’s leading bulb-growing enterprises.
Although it has not yet been established whether the family owned its own bulb nursery or worked within the district’s flourishing horticultural industry, there can be little doubt that the brothers learned their trade in one of the world’s foremost centres of bulb cultivation.
War and a new beginning
Like millions of Dutch citizens, Henk spent his formative years under the German occupation during the Second World War. Between 1940 and 1945 the Netherlands endured military occupation, food shortages, economic disruption and the devastating Hunger Winter of 1944–45.
While no evidence has yet been found that Henk personally experienced imprisonment or forced labour, the war profoundly affected every Dutch family. For many young couples the years after liberation brought new opportunities but also severe housing shortages, limited economic prospects and an uncertain future.
Henk married in Noordwijkerhout in 1947 and, like thousands of other Dutch families, began looking overseas.
Australia, actively encouraging European migration under its post-war immigration programme, offered both security and opportunity.
Migration to Australia
Around 1950–51, Henk and his brother Len emigrated to Australia.
The precise details of their voyage are still being researched, but the brothers chose Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges, where the cool climate and fertile soils reminded them of the conditions required for successful bulb production in the Netherlands.
In 1953, they established what would become the Van Berkel nursery at Monbulk.
The timing was ideal. Australia’s expanding suburban gardens were creating increasing demand for ornamental plants, while few local growers possessed the specialised knowledge required for high-quality bulb production.
The Dutch brothers brought with them precisely that expertise.
Building a Dutch horticultural legacy
Starting from modest beginnings, the Van Berkel brothers steadily built a reputation for producing high-quality tulips, hyacinths and other flowering bulbs.
Their nursery gradually expanded into one of Australia’s best-known specialist bulb businesses, eventually supplying gardeners across the country through wholesale, mail-order and later online sales.
Today the enterprise continues through four generations of the family.
The succession has been remarkable:
- Henk van Berkel – founder
- Jos van Berkel
- David van Berkel
- Chloe van Berkel
Few Australian family horticultural businesses have remained in continuous family ownership for more than seventy years while successfully adapting to changing markets and technologies.
Helping fellow Dutch migrants
Perhaps the most remarkable—and least well-known—aspect of the Van Berkel story is the family’s role in helping newly arrived Dutch migrants.
As their nursery expanded, the Van Berkels regularly employed fellow Dutch immigrants, often providing accommodation as well as work.
One example is the Broekhof family, who arrived in Australia in 1959. Nick Broekhof had attended school with Henk in the Netherlands. Upon arriving in Melbourne, Henk personally met the family at the docks, brought them to Monbulk and offered both employment and accommodation in a former bulb-packing shed while they established themselves.
The Broekhof family would later create their own successful bulb-growing business nearby.
A similar story unfolded with the Van Horick family. After arriving through the Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre, Gerry van Horick’s father found employment with the Van Berkels and the family lived on the nursery property for almost fourteen years.
These were not isolated acts of generosity.
Like many successful Dutch migrant businesses, the Van Berkel nursery became an informal settlement centre where newcomers found trusted employment, housing, advice and friendship during their first difficult years in Australia.
The nursery became much more than a business—it became part of a Dutch community.
Building a Dutch Monbulk
The Van Berkels were among several Dutch horticultural families—including the Tesselaars, Van Graases and others—who transformed the Monbulk and Silvan districts into Australia’s premier flower-bulb region.
Together they transferred centuries of Dutch horticultural knowledge to Australian conditions.
The close-knit nature of this community became especially evident during the devastating 1962 Dandenong Ranges bushfires. Local accounts recall Dutch families gathering at the Van Berkel property before later evacuating together as the fires approached. The two Van Berkel brothers alone had twenty-one children between them, illustrating both the size of the extended family and its central place within the Dutch community.
Preserving a Dutch identity
Today David van Berkel, representing the third generation, has become an advocate for preserving Dutch-Australian heritage.
Reflecting on his family’s story, he has spoken of his regret that the Dutch language has gradually disappeared from younger generations. Like many post-war Dutch migrants, the Van Berkels embraced Australian society while seeing aspects of their cultural heritage slowly fade.
Yet the family’s enduring business, their continued celebration of Dutch traditions, and their contribution to the Dutch-Australian community demonstrate that heritage can survive in many forms.
The tulips that still bloom each spring at Monbulk are living reminders of a tradition that began centuries earlier in the fields around De Zilk.
A legacy that continues to grow
More than seventy years after Henk and Len first arrived in Australia, the Van Berkel family remains one of the outstanding success stories of Dutch migration.
Their contribution extends far beyond horticulture.
They brought specialist knowledge from one of Europe’s great agricultural regions, established an enduring Australian enterprise, supported fellow migrants in building new lives, and helped create a thriving Dutch community in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges.
Their story is also a reminder that post-war migration was not simply about individuals seeking opportunity. It was about communities transplanting skills, traditions and values across continents.
In doing so, families like the Van Berkels quietly helped shape modern Australia.
See also SBS article: The ‘invisible migrants’ no-one talked about — until now
