Dutch origins and migration
The Otterspoor family came from Utrecht in the Netherlands. Twins Servanus (John) and Arnoldus (Harry) were born there on 19 November 1892, and their younger brother Franciscus Jacobus (Frank) followed on 15 November 1894. Their parents, Servanus Otterspoor and Hendrika Johanna van Kesteren, raised the family in Utrecht before they migrated to Queensland in 1912 aboard the S.S. Gneisenau. After a brief return to the Netherlands in 1913, the family resettled permanently in Australia, making their home at Coopers Plains, Brisbane.
Franciscus Jacobus (Frank) Otterspoor
Frank was the first of the brothers to enlist, joining the 31st Battalion, AIF on 19 July 1915. He was sent to the Western Front, where his battalion entered the line at Fromelles. On 19 July 1916, during one of the darkest days in Australia’s military history, Frank was killed in action. He was 21 years old. Today he lies in the Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery near Fleurbaix, France, and his name is listed on Panel 119 of the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Servanus (John) Otterspoor
John followed his brother’s example and enlisted in Brisbane on 9 February 1917. He was allocated to the 4th Pioneer Battalion, a unit combining infantry training with engineering skills. On 13 June 1917, he sailed from Sydney aboard HMAT Hororata bound for Europe. In early 1918 he joined his battalion in France during the desperate struggle to hold the line against the German spring offensive. On 22 May 1918, near Villers-Bretonneux, John was killed in action at the age of 25.
John had married Trintje (Trijntje) Haarsma, herself of Dutch heritage, before going to war. She was noted in contemporary Brisbane newspapers as “Nurse Otterspoor” of Annerley Road, South Brisbane. After his death she later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, but her husband’s sacrifice continued to be honoured in both Australia and the Netherlands. John is buried at the Daours Communal Cemetery Extension, near Amiens, and remembered on Panel 174 at the Australian War Memorial.
Arnoldus (Harry) Otterspoor
The third brother, Arnoldus, served with the 11th Light Horse Regiment. He fought in the Middle East campaign and survived the war, returning to Australia in 1919. His survival carried the family legacy forward, though at the cost of two brothers’ lives.
Legacy of Dutch Australians in war
The Otterspoor brothers exemplify the contribution of Dutch migrants and their families to Australia’s war effort. Their story blends migration, integration, and sacrifice. In Australia they were Queenslanders; in heritage they remained Dutch. Their service and deaths link the two nations through shared history.
Preservation of the Yeronga memorial
John’s name is inscribed on the Yeronga Memorial Park cenotaph in Brisbane, one of 97 servicemen from the former Stephens Shire honoured there. Sadly, the memorial has suffered neglect and even desecration (by dog pee) in recent years. Community members, descendants of the fallen and heritage groups are now seeking action from both Australian and Dutch authorities to ensure proper restoration of the cenotaph. Preserving this monument safeguards not only the memory of John Otterspoor but also of all who are remembered on its stones.
Yeronga Memorial Park Honour Avenue & The Cenotaph
The details below are based on Dr Richard Walding’s thorough research and writings on the Yeronga Memorial.
Otterspoor Brothers – Frank & Harry from Holland
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| Frank Otterspoor’s plaque beside tree No. 30. | Servanus (John) Otterspoor. Tree 64 was flame tree but never survived. It has never been replaced. |
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| Frank Otterspoor’s tree (No. 30) – a lovely weeping fig that looks like it is a replacement for the original. | Flowers left at Frank Otterspoor’s tree by the Year 5 students of Yeronga State School – 2014. |
Three Otterspoor brothers – all born in Holland – served in the Australian Army in WW1. They were the twins Servanus (Junior) – known as “John”, and Arnold – known as “Harry” – born 18 November 1892, and Frank born in 15 November 1894. They were the sons of Servanus (Snr.) and Hendrika Johanna Otterspoor (née Van Kesteren) from Utrecht, Holland. The family arrived in Brisbane on S.S. “Gneisenau” on 26 August 1912. Aboard with their parents were Arnoldus (Harry), Franciscus Jacobus (Frank), Engelina (Lina) b. 5 July 1897, Theodorus b. 28 February 1903 and Hendrika Johanna (Rika) b. 24 Nov. 1905. The oldest son John – imbued with a strong anti-militarist sentiment – fled Holland in 1911 to get away from the dreaded Germans and headed for Cleveland, Ohio in the USA where he trained as a engineer. The family settled in to the house “Estor” in Ipswich Road, Brisbane. Hendrika became pregnant again and she wanted to go back to Holland for the birth, so husband Servanus left first, then Hendrika travelled with the three youngest children (Lena, Theo and Rika), leaving Arnold and Frank in Brisbane. Jeannetta Aletta – the youngest child in the family – was born in Holland on 26 November 1913.
Son John left the USA in 1914 at the age of 20 and came to Brisbane, Australia and obtained a job as an engineering draughtsman.When the war began, the first to enlist was Frank – who worked at Smellie and Co. engineering in Brisbane and had become a renowned violinist. On the 18 July 1915 he enlisted in the 31st Bn AIF and was straight off to France. The second to enlist – exactly one month later – was Arnold (known as “Harry”), aged 23, an engineering fitter at the Cannon Hill abattoir who joined the 11th Light Horse and was also off to France soon after. By July 1916 Frank was dead – killed in the field at Pozieres, France. His father asked for the inscription on his grave at Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, France to read:
| Your loving child I still remain Oh Blessed Parents You whom I loved with all my heart; And though I died that all might live From you dear ones I’ll never part. |
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The above verse that Servanus wrote for his son Frank’s gravestone was not allowed; the family has the letter telling him it was too long. John became naturalised in 1916. He married Trijntje Koolhoven (née Haarsma) in Brisbane the same year. She had married Pieter Cornelis Koolhoven in Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands on 24 December 1910, at age 23, but divorced in 1915 and come to Australia. Her marriage certificate lists her as a “verpleegster” (nurse) which explains why she was training to be a nurse at the Diamantina Hospital in Brisbane. It seems that her nursing qualifications from the Netherlands were not recognised in Australia so she had to retrain. John enlisted in February 1917, at the age of 25, with the 4th Australian Pioneers. He was killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux, France, on 22nd May 1918 by an aircraft bomb. His wife Trijntje said of her husband “He died for his principles – he was anxious to help crush German militarism”.
Harry (Arnold) was still in France at the time but by September 1919 was declared medically unfit for service and discharged in Australia the following month. The following year (17 April 1920) he married local (Brisbane) girl Ivena May (“Ivy”) McNeilly who lived in the family home “Rockmount” directly opposite the Mary Immaculate Church on the corner of Ipswich Road and Ferndale Street, Annerley, Brisbane. They had daughters Pearl and Daphne. Pearl became a nurse with the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS) in WW2. Harry became an active committee member of the South Brisbane RSL. The Otterspoor family came back to Australia on S.S. “Orvieto” with the three youngest children in 1920. John’s wife Trijntje was finally registered as a nurse in 1919 and she remarried in 1927 (to George Lees Paxton) and had a son James the following year. Trijntje Paxton (44) and her son James (4) migrated from Brisbane to London aboard the Strathaird arriving 20 May 1932 and, as a nurse, was able to stay at the British Royal Nurses Club at Queens Gate until they were settled. Servanus and Fredrika bought a 39 acre farm at Boundary Road Coopers Plains and lived there until their retirement in 1933. Servanus died in 1950. Grand-daughter Daphne said recently that it was difficult to find the arrival details of her grandparents in Australia. Servanus Otterspoor was recorded as Otterspoor Servanus, so his son Arnold (her father) was recorded as Arnold Servanus. My thanks also to Alexander Brands – great-nephew of Trijntje Haarsma – for help in completing this entry.
See also:
John Otterspoor Roll of honour
Frank Otterspoor Roll of Honour
