Born: Zeist, Netherlands on 9 March 1946. Adrian is the oldest child in a family of seven children. Migration: The family left for Melbourne, but disembarked in Fremantle, Western Australia (WA) on October 12, 1954. Adrian’s parent’s hoped migration would improve his father’s health (the fumes at the steel factory had impacted his Read more…
The history of Dutch Community Radio in Western Australia is rich with dedication and passion from its volunteers. It began nearly 50 years ago with reel-to-reel tapes and has evolved significantly since then. Initially established through the Multicultural Radio and Television Association (MRTA), the Dutch program aired on Radio 6NR Read more…
MORE than 5000 Dutch soldiers will migrate to Australia soon after demobilization in Java. Their entry will be under a mutual agreement between the two countries, to be concluded soon. It is understood that the Australian Government stipulated in the agreement that the men should be single and under 30. Read more…
For Gerard and Hendrika, it is love at first sight in a dance hall in Amsterdam in 1953. The war years are thankfully behind them and joy is returning to the Earth. But for Gerard, the eldest of fourteen siblings, his family still faces starvation, lack of money, opportunity, and Read more…
This autobiographical account of the author’s first ten years is based on his mother’s letters written in Australia and sent to relatives in Holland. Tells of the family’s migration to Australia in 1952, their time in Bonegilla Migrant Camp, their travels to Walwa, Benalla and Wodonga, and their eventual settlement Read more…
Theo Paap’s journey from Amsterdam to Perth in 1956 marked the beginning of a remarkable career in Australian football. Born in Amsterdam in 1943, Paap quickly immersed himself in the local Dutch football scene, joining the Windmills Football Club (now Morley Windmills). He immediately made an impact, rising through the Read more…
John (Jan) Berends was born in 1937, in a village near Zwolle, where he attended high School (HBS – B). After successfully completing his secondary schooling, he was conscripted into National Service, although not quite voluntary, serving for 21 months. He obtained the rank of sergeant and was discharged in Read more…
A research on the change in transnational ties of Dutch post-war migrant children in Australia On November 1, 2018 Anne Brehler defended her Master thesis ‘We were the ones that integrated’: Dutch post-war migrant children in Australia. She got cum laude Congratulations. This research focuses on children of post-war Dutch Read more…
The preservation and digitalisation of Dutch- Australian Migrant Registration Cards Over the decades, the Netherlands Embassy and Consulates in Australia maintained a card system documenting migrants from the Netherlands. The system contains over 55,000 cards, representing 80-90% of Dutch people who emigrated to Australia between 1946-1991. In 1998, The Consul-General Read more…
Mike Petersen, born of a Dutch father and an Australian mother on May 6, 1965, in Melbourne, emerged as a stalwart midfielder whose illustrious career spanned continents and left an indelible mark on Australian football. Rooted in his Dutch heritage, Petersen’s journey from the grassroots of Port Melbourne juniors to Read more…