.Willem Krins, born on 4 June 1907 in Dordrecht, he married Johanna Paulina van Roijen on 23 December 1931 in The Hague. They had at least 1 son. Willem passed away on 1 November 1980 in Templestowe, Victoria, Australia, at 73 years old and was buried in Templestowe Cemetery.
Willem Krins, founded, Dutch Australia Book Depot in 1951. He initially transported books in a wheelbarrow from the post office in Ocean Grove. With his son, he trundled back to the family’s home. The family business evolved into Australasia’s primary library supplier of science, technology, and medical publications.
Between 1952 and 1976 the Dutch Australia Book Depot employed most of the Krins family and outgrows several offices until they establish a permanent site. In 1976 the Krins family purchase a permanent site in Station Street Mitcham Vic and the company name shortened to D.A. Book Depot Pty Ltd. The company now started refining its distribution arrangements and became more active in communicating with overseas publishers in sciences, technology and medicine.
In that same year son Peter Krins set up the Promotions Department. Each month new book and journal announcements are mailed all over Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea to keep customers informed of forthcoming publications in their specific field of interest. This service was later to be known as the New Title Alert Service (NTAS).
In 1986, three of the four Krins brothers leave the company and were replaced by two new partners who had each worked with the business for many years. Nick Krins becomes the managing director of the firm, which now employed 56 staff and acted as exclusive Australian agent for 58 international publishers. The family business which literally began in a wheelbarrow becomes the region’s major supplier of books and journals in nearly 400 scientific, technical and medical fields, servicing customers in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
The service provided by DA has evolved to meet the changing needs of library customers, transitioning from merely selling books to offering a range of information resources. The company has gone through several transformations and is now known as About3 Learning.
DACC Board Member Jacoba Black mention in 2024 that her parents bought books from them in the 1950s as they were the only ones importing Dutch books and encyclopaedia for the migrant community.
