Jelte Lubertus Bakker was born in Bussum on 1 April 1920. He was the son of electrical fitter Lubertus Jelte Bakker and Trijntje Hilferink. Jelte later worked as a seaman and mechanical engineer, acquiring technical and maritime experience that would accompany him to Australia.
His future wife, Lizelotte Staudinger, known as Lotte, was born in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia on 17 September 1929. She was a daughter of Josef Staudinger and Katarina Ahacic. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Lotte emigrated with her parents and brothers aboard the Anna Salén. They departed on 22 June 1949, bound for Sydney.
Exactly one year later, on 22 June 1950, Jelte departed from Schiphol Airport aboard the KLM flight to Australia. He occupied seat C4 and arrived on 27 June, with Brisbane recorded as his final destination.
Jelte and Lotte met in Australia and married there. Their different European backgrounds became part of a shared Australian story. They had two children, Steven Mark and Gretl Ann, establishing a family whose roots extended across the Netherlands, Yugoslavia and Australia.
On 14 March 1957, Jelte became a naturalised Australian citizen. This formally confirmed the permanent new life that had begun with his departure from the Netherlands almost seven years earlier.
Further research may reveal where Jelte and Lotte lived, where Jelte worked and how their family life developed in Australia. The available records nevertheless preserve the outline of two post-war migration journeys that eventually came together in a new country.
This account is based on family-history and migration research undertaken by Fred Stuij. Photographs and documents are from 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.
