For more than three decades, the Finsbury Migrant Hostel—later renamed the Pennington Migrant Hostel—was one of Australia’s largest migrant accommodation centres. Located in Adelaide’s western suburbs, it became a temporary home for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees who arrived in South Australia after the Second World War. Although Read more
The Benalla Migrant Camp in north-eastern Victoria provided temporary accommodation for approximately 60,000 European migrants between 1949 and 1967. Although less well known than the nearby Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Benalla played a distinctive role in Australia’s post-war immigration program. For many migrants, including families with Dutch connections, Read more
Although relatively few Dutch migrants appear to have stayed at Stuart compared with Australia’s larger reception centres, the hostel formed part of the national network established under Australia’s post-war immigration programme. It welcomed hundreds of migrants escaping the devastation of Europe and helped supply the workforce needed to develop North Read more
Following the Second World War, Australia embarked on one of the largest migration programs in its history. Between the late 1940s and the 1960s, thousands of migrants from the Netherlands chose Australia as their new home. While Bonegilla in Victoria is perhaps the best-known migrant reception centre, many Dutch migrants Read more
A DACC Research Series on Australia’s Post-war Migrant Reception Centres and Hostels Between the late 1940s and the 1970s, hundreds of thousands of migrants arrived in Australia under the Commonwealth’s assisted migration schemes. For many, their first experience of Australia was not a suburban home or country town, but a Read more
Teacher, community volunteer, alderman, Lord Mayor, Legislative Councillor. It is normal for the eldest son to inherit the farm. This has been true over the centuries, and in many places in the world. Jos (Adrianus Johannes Ansems), known to all as Lange Jos, refused the privilege. He had no heart Read more
When he was 18 years old, Jan van Herweynen was asked by his father to travel to Tasmania, purchase a piece of land and begin building a house. Jan was accompanied by his cousin Bob Brinkman and the sister of his mother, Janny de Jonge. They left Schipol airport in Read more
For centuries the Dutch connection with Australia has largely been told through stories of exploration, trade and shipwrecks. Dutch navigators were the first Europeans to chart much of Australia’s coastline, leaving traces of their journeys scattered along the continent’s shores. Today, those stories continue to be uncovered and interpreted through Read more
Dr William Graham Gosewinckel AO was a descendant of one of Australia’s early Dutch settler families and went on to become one of the nation’s most influential telecommunications pioneers. As the founding Chief Executive of AUSSAT, Australia’s first domestic satellite communications company, he helped lay the foundations for Australia’s modern Read more
The Van der Sommen Family’s Migration from Helmond to Mount Gambier Elly Anderson (née van der Sommen) | Written in 2014 In my small collection of Dutch books at our home in South Australia there is a 1950 hard cover publication titled Australië – Land van Vele Mogelijkheden by J.J. Read more