In 1955, the Broekman family became part of the great wave of post-war Dutch emigration. That year, young cook Bert Broekman was working aboard the emigrant ship SS Zuiderkruis. On the same voyage, his older brother Jan, sister-in-law Annie and young nephew Henk were leaving the Netherlands to begin a new life overseas, following two brothers who had emigrated before them.
Farewell at the Javakade
On 19 April 1955, the family gathered at Amsterdam’s Javakade. Bert joined the ship as a crew member, while Jan, Annie and Henk boarded as emigrants.
For many Brabanders, some of whom had rarely travelled beyond their own province, departure was an overwhelming experience. Long paper streamers thrown between the ship and the quay provided a final, fragile connection with those remaining behind. Handkerchiefs were used both to wave farewell and to wipe away tears.
For Bert, the separation was temporary. If everything went according to plan, his work aboard Zuiderkruis would bring him back to Amsterdam in July. For Jan, Annie and Henk, however, the departure represented a more permanent farewell to their homeland.As tugboats moved Zuiderkruis away from the quay, the ship passed Amsterdam’s Coenhaven and Petroleumhaven before reaching the Hembrug and continuing towards IJmuiden. Once through the locks, the North Sea and the long voyage ahead lay before the passengers.
Working and travelling aboard the same ship
Zuiderkruis was one of three former American Victory troopships acquired by the Dutch Government in 1947. Together with Groote Beer and Waterman, she was converted into an emigration ship carrying approximately 830 passengers.
The ship was practical rather than luxurious, but she possessed the facilities needed to support a community at sea. There was a shop, hairdresser, hospital, cinema, dining rooms and recreation spaces. Bert worked long hours in the galley helping to prepare meals for hundreds of passengers and crew.
Although his relatives were aboard, Bert remained a member of the crew and had to observe the ship’s working rules. He was sometimes able to visit his brother and family in the evening, but for much of the voyage their experiences remained different: one as a seaman at work and the others as emigrants travelling towards an uncertain future.
Across the Atlantic and Pacific
The first port of call after the Atlantic crossing was Willemstad in Curaçao. Zuiderkruis then passed through the Panama Canal and continued across the Pacific to Tahiti.
Passengers had hoped to go ashore in Tahiti, but an outbreak of measles among children aboard prevented them from disembarking. The ship continued to Wellington in New Zealand before proceeding to Australia.
The voyage combined anticipation with homesickness and uncertainty. Weeks at sea could feel endless, but new friendships, music and shared Brabant traditions helped passengers adjust to life aboard.
For Bert, the voyage eventually ended with his return to the Netherlands. For Jan, Annie and Henk, arrival in Australia marked the beginning of a completely new chapter.
The Broekman family’s experience captures two sides of the emigration voyage: the work of the crew who operated the ships and the hopes and anxieties of the families they carried. For thousands of Dutch emigrants, ships such as Zuiderkruis formed the passage between the world they had left and the country in which they would establish their future.
Source and acknowledgement
This article is based on the recollections and family collection of Bert Broekman. The original Dutch account was published by the Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum and includes additional photographs.
Read the original Dutch account: De SS Zuiderkruis – Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum.
Related personal stories
Read Letter from 1954 — an early account of the Broekman family’s migration story, told through the letters Tenne sent from his new life as a pioneering surveyor in Western Australia.
Read The Forgotten Bag — a light-hearted follow-up memory from the Broekman family, about a lost bag that travelled halfway around the world to be returned in Fremantle, Australia.
