Adriaan van de Graaf was born in Papendrecht, South Holland, on 4 March 1927. He was the eldest son of Gerrit van de Graaf (1903–1987) and Jacoba Verweij (1908–1963).
Before emigrating, Adriaan lived at 5 Plein in Het Zand, part of Papendrecht’s Kraaihoek district.
On 22 July 1950, he departed from Schiphol at six o’clock in the morning aboard a KLM flight bound for Australia. The surviving aircraft seating plan records him in seat H2. He arrived in Sydney on 26 July 1950.
Adriaan subsequently established his life in Australia. He married Margareth Lorraine, who had been born on 22 November 1932. They had five children: Paul, Louise, Anthony, Julie and Helen van de Graaf.
Their son Anthony George van de Graaf was born on 8 May 1956. His life represents the next Australian-born generation of a family whose origins remained connected to Papendrecht.
Adriaan died on 10 December 2003 and was buried at Altona Memorial Park in Altona, Victoria. Margareth died on 28 July 2009 and was buried at the same cemetery.
Anthony George died on 1 September 2011, nearly eight years after his father, and was also laid to rest at Altona Memorial Park.
Adriaan’s story reflects the experience of a young Dutch migrant who travelled to Australia through the organised migration project of 1950 and established a permanent family life in his adopted country.
This account is based on family-history and migration research undertaken by Fred Stuij. Photograph of Plein, Papendrecht: Oud-Papendrecht. Gravestone photograph and cemetery information: Find a Grave. Adriaan van de Graaf.pdf
For the wider history of this organised migration project, see From Sliedrecht to Williamstown: Dutch dredging workers in post-war Australia.
More related company histories, archival sources and personal stories are available through the Dutch Dredging in Australia Research Portal.
