Jacob Adrianus den Hartog was born in Utrecht on 25 February 1921. He was the son of the unmarried Maggeltje den Hartog. Jacob chose a maritime career and worked as a merchant seaman with the Dutch shipping company Nievelt. His Dutch merchant-shipping personnel card records his address as Zouwendijk B 112 in Meerkerk.
Following the German occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, the Dutch merchant fleet became part of the Allied war effort. Dutch seafarers transported troops, weapons, ammunition and essential supplies under extremely dangerous conditions. Under the wartime vaarplicht, or compulsory sailing obligation, merchant seamen were required to remain in service and many were unable to return to their families in the Netherlands for several years.
Jacob’s surviving merchant-shipping personnel card documents his wartime service and voyages. It places his later migration to Australia within the broader history of Dutch seafarers whose working lives had already taken them far beyond the Netherlands.
On 22 July 1950, Jacob departed from Schiphol Airport on a flight to Sydney, occupying seat B3. He arrived in Sydney on 26 July and continued to Williamstown, where the Dutch dredging project was underway.
This journey appears to have marked the beginning of a new period in his life, but no further information about his employment, family or later years in Australia has yet been identified. Australian migration, employment and naturalisation records may provide additional details.
This account is based on family-history and migration research undertaken by Fred Stuij. Sources include Jacob’s Dutch merchant-shipping personnel card and records and photographs held by the National Archives of Australia.
Related DACC research
Read the broader story in From Sliedrecht to Williamstown: Dutch dredging workers in post-war Australia.
For related personal stories, migration accounts and company histories, visit the Dutch Dredging in Australia Research Portal.
