When and why did your parents move to Australia? I grew up during war. Dad was a soldier; my mom raised me. As a teenager, I arrived in Australia with my family, parents and brothers, in 1956. When we arrived, we didn’t speak a single word English. My aunt had Read more
When and why did you move to Australia? We travelled around Australia in 2004, and had this really strong feeling of coming home, feeling at home. It is hard to describe. In Australia people work hard, but it also has a culture of leisure and it is less stressed compared to Read more
When and why did your parents move to Australia? The first time I heard about Australia, was in 1995 when my boyfriend went there to travel. I decided to go backpacking for a few months as well when I needed a break from my studies. My parents had given me a Read more
When and why did you move to Australia? I came to Australia as a backpacker, to travel and work. My sister advised me I could work on farms and do other casual jobs. I travelled to Queensland from Sydney with a guy I met there (we keep in touch until this Read more
When and why did your parents move to Australia? My parents arrived separately in Australia after WWII. My mother was 19, and came with her family, while my father was 25 and came on his own. I have always been interested in their story. It can’t have been easy for them to Read more
Zing! Sing in Dutch Zing! is a Melbourne based Dutch choir that was formed in mid-2016 from an expressed interest in the Dutch community for a place to sing in Dutch, and meet other Dutch speakers. The choir is open to all people – whether or not they have previous Read more
Motivation, Intention and Assimilation Author: Kees Wierenga A thesis submitted as part of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History, School of History and Classics University of Tasmania October, 2005. The object of this thesis is to examine the motivations, intentions and the attempted Read more
What is DAAAG? DAAAG is an innovative new concept dedicated to the digital preservation of Australian immigrants’ cultural heritage. It appreciates that there is a story in the life or family history of every newcomer and new ethnic group. It argues that the digital rescue and preservation of immigrants’ memories and other ephemera not only Read more
By Elisabeth (Elly) Anderson – October 2006 Whilst researching the early history of a mainly Irish-administered Catholic community in the Adelaide Hills some years ago I was intrigued to find that the first documented visit of a priest, back in the 19th century, had been by a Dutchman. Being Dutch-born Read more
Johanna Binkhorst I was born in 1918 to a Dutch father and German mother. I was educated in Germany, where I lived and enjoyed a comfortable family life until the depression began. Due to political unrest, my father decided to take the family to Holland, not an easy transition to Read more