Vale – on behalf of the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre
Dear Anita, family and staff of the Dutch Shop,
It is with sadness that we learned of the passing of Jan van Altena.
Jan was a well-known and highly respected Dutch migrant whose contribution extended far beyond Sydney. Through his entrepreneurship and personal commitment, he made a lasting contribution to Dutch cultural life in Australia.
For the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC), Jan’s willingness to make space available at the rear of the shop was of great significance. After we were required to vacate our location at the Abel Tasman Aged Care facility, this arrangement provided the DACC with continuity and stability at an important moment in our development. During this period, our professional library was able to grow steadily, and it laid the groundwork for the further expansion of the DACC, including its later online presence.
Under Jan’s leadership, the Dutch Shop was much more than a retail business. It served as a cultural meeting place for Dutch migrants and for Australians with an interest in Dutch and European products, traditions and history. We sincerely hope that this special enterprise can be continued and further developed.
Our association with Jan also enabled the DACC to contribute in a tangible way to preserving and sharing the history of Dutch migration to Australia, as well as the broader story of Dutch maritime history and exploration. Exhibitions and reproductions of seventeenth-century maps and artworks, including those dating from 1606 following Willem Janszoon’s landing on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, highlighted the often under-acknowledged Dutch role in the early mapping of Australia.
We are grateful to Jan for his support, his trust, and his engagement with the work of the DACC. He will be remembered with respect and appreciation.
With our sincere condolences,
Klaas Woldring
on behalf of the Board of the
Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC)
Jan and Anita van Altena founders of ‘t Winkeltje
The Dutch Shop, ‘t Winkeltje in ‘Holland House’ was founded by Jan and Anita Altena in Smithfield in 1985. Holland House at first it sold only imported Dutch furniture, but soon expanded to a supermarket (‘t Winkeltje), stocking the herring, cheese and liquorice that is signature Dutch fare. Inside, the warehouse building has been transformed. There’s a tiled floor, a low ceiling crossed with wooden beams, and wood-panelled walls, against which delft tiles and ceramic figurines are displayed. Under the wooden clogs and orange bunting that hang from the ceiling are aisles stocking sweets, packets of chocolate sprinkles, jars of pickles, containers of chocolate milk, boxes of pancake mix: an entire pantry of Dutch groceries.
Behind the shop is the cafe, a room of dark wood and low, golden light imitating a Dutch café from that period. Fringed lampshades hang down over the tables, which have thick, woven coverings and vases of pink artificial tulips decorating them. Around the edges of the room, in cabinets and on shelves, are clusters of objects, pennants from the NSW Holland festival, coffee tins, wooden skates, copper pots, Dutch joke books, more tiles, more clogs.
On the other side of the cafe the shop continues, with racks of Dutch CDs and LPs, then souvenirs and kitchenware, then the oak furniture showroom that started it all. There are loungeroom scenes set up, chairs and tables and cabinets with trinkets and books in them.
For many years until 2019 ‘t Winkeltje also hosted the Dutch Cultural Centre’s artefacts, library and archives. The DACC has since moved to the Anel Taman Village in Chester Hill, Sydney.
At 85 Jan passed away peacefully in January 2026.
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