Mathieu Smedts was a Dutch journalist, writer and resistance fighter who became famous as the editor-in-chief of the political weekly magazine Vrij Nederland. He was born in 1913 in a small village in Limburg, a Catholic province in the south of the Netherlands. He wanted to become a priest, but Read more…
Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie, Bureau Onderzoekingen, Annulering van emigratie. Een onderzoek bij 500 Australië-units naar de redenen, waarom zij van emigratie afzagen. ’s-Gravenhage: Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie, Bureau Onderzoekingen, 1959. This is a title of a report published in 1959 by the Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie, Bureau Onderzoekingen (Government Commissioner for Emigration, Read more…
The earlier Dutch migrants that arrived in the late 1940’s had made several attempts to establish Dutch clubs in WA, such as the Dirck Hartogh Society and the Australian Dutch League, but these all folded after a short while. But during the early 1950’s the Dutch migrants arrived in larger Read more…
Nelly de Rijk-Zaat, ‘Toen wij uit Nederland vertrokken’. Ervaringen van Nederlandse emigranten in Australië. ’s-Gravenhage: Katholieke Vereniging van Ouders en Familieleden van Geëmigreerden, [1983] This is a book that contains the experiences of Dutch emigrants in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, South Africa and France. The book is edited by Read more…
Jan Wakker was a Dutch-Australian jockey who had a successful career in horse racing. He was born on January 10, 1943, in Groningen, and emigrated to Australia in 1950. His family settled in Moe. Fred Wakker (Jan’s father) found a racing pigeon in the family loft and decided to chase Read more…
The Alssema family is a Dutch family who emigrated to Australia in the early 1900s. The family patriarch, Jan Alssema, was born in Nieuw-Lekkerland in 1865. He married Geertruida van der Meer (born in 1871 in Hardinxveld-Giessendam) in 1889, and they had six children together. In 1903, the Alssema family Read more…
Dr. Cornelis Wouters was the founder of the Dutch Folk Dance Group, a group of over 30 enthusiastic Dutch immigrants (later joined by Australians who married Dutch immigrants). They performed folkloric dances at charitable association gatherings. No other group could boast such original national costumes, as all Dutch regional costumes Read more…
Dorothy De Rooy (Vidgen) is a former professional surfer and champion who was born in Breda, Netherlands in 1948. When she was three years old, her family immigrated to Australia, and they eventually settled in Mona Vale, where her maternal grandparents were already living. Dorothy attended Mona Vale Public School Read more…
‘Aan de rand der wereld. Een Hollandse emigrant in Australië’ with a foreword written by B.W. Haveman, Regeringscommissaris voor de Emigratie (Government Commissioner for Emigration) was published in Dokkum by Schaafsma & Brouwer in 1953. The book is written by Jan D. Rempt, a Dutch journalist who immigrated to Australia Read more…
John “Jack” Pannenburg was born in1946 in Arnhem, the Netherlands. His family immigrated to Australia when he was young, and he grew up in Mount Gambier, South Australia. Pannenburg was a talented footballer, and he joined West Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 1966. Read more…