Personal stories Archives - Page 29 of 35 - Dutch Australia Cultural Centre

Major Jan Willem Zijlstra – Sparrow Force Timor WWII

Military record Born in Malang, Java, on 27 December 1910. Died at “Ladang” House, near Berry, New South Wales, Australia, on October 6, 1965. Army number 102417002 Second lieutenant KNIL Army (31-07-1932), First Lieutenant (31-07-1935), Captain. (27-05-1943), Major (17-12-1949). Well-known decorations: · Ereteken Belangrijke/Bijzondere Krijgsbedrijven/-verrichtingen BK,E.1,OHK.3,OV.1,XV,KLO· Bronze Cross K.B. Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsOctober 16, 2022 ago

Military and Political History

Patricia Metcalfe and Wim van Wely met at Camp Columbia.

Patricia (Pat) Metcalfe (born 1929 in Cairns) moved to Brisbane when she was 4 years old and after she finished the St Columba school at Wilson, was employed at Camp Columbia as a typist and secretary, first with the Americans and since 1945 with the Netherlands-East-Indies Government. Here she worked Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsSeptember 20, 2022 ago

Art, Music, Film, Theatre

Dutch migrants key members of The Easybeats – Australia’s greatest pop group of the mid-1960s.

The Easybeats are worldwide known for their 1966 superhit “Friday on My Mind”. It reached no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsSeptember 13, 2022 ago

Dutch businesses in Australia

Geert (Gerry) Kroon – remembered by the Southern Highlands in NSW

Amersfoort, 20/9/1943 – Bowral, 27/2/2019 Born in Amersfoort; The Netherlands 1943 as one of 7 children in a small home of limited means. At age of 19 he moved to Nigeria; Africa for 2 years for development work until the Biafra war broke out and he was forced to flee Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsSeptember 12, 2022 ago

Military and Political History

A very personal WWII story from Ruth Leah

Our mother met a Dutch pilot during the war. His name was Fredrik (Pulk) Pelder and there are many mentions of his heroics on the World Wide web. One instance in particular that was widely publicised, was an escape from Java where Fred and Mendizabal (Canadian), Sgt Stuart Munroe (Australian), Alan Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsAugust 27, 2022 ago

Dutch Organisations

Anton Kool leading person in the Dutch Community

Antonie (Anton) Frederick Kool was born Feb 6 1920, Zevenhoven, The Netherlands and he died Dec 14 2002, Sydney, Australia Written by Helen Kool (one of Anton’s daughters) This is a short biography and includes anecdotes that I find interesting. If you would like to add some of your own Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsAugust 20, 2022 ago

Dutch businesses in Australia

Pieter van Gent Winery & Vineyard – Dutch winemaker in Mudgee

The van Gent family tree can be traced back to 1790 and reveals a family of distillers and winemakers. It was Johannes Hermanus van Gent (1817 to 1859) ship owner, merchant, distiller of spirits, member of the Municipal Council, Chamber of Commerce and world traveller who influenced a long line Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsAugust 16, 2022 ago

Art, Music, Film, Theatre

Dutch-Australian Movie –“ Everybody’s Oma”

Everybody’s Oma follows in the NSW Central Coast family’s footsteps as they navigate Oma’s failing health under the spotlight of an enthusiastic audience of well-meaning strangers. Jason van Genderen premiered My Town is Broken at Sydney Film Festival (SFF) 2008. His debut feature Everybody’s Oma premieres at SFF 14 years Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsAugust 11, 2022 ago

Aviation and Shipping

Seaplane crash saved people from Japanese attack on Broome – Gerard Lemmens 1942

Account of Journey from Soerabaia in Java to Australia during March 1942. Written by: Gerard Lemmens at the age of 16 years. Translated from Dutch during May 1994 for the benefit and interest of my grandchildren. Monday 2nd March 1942. It was midday of Monday 2nd March. I had just Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsAugust 8, 2022 ago

Aviation and Shipping

Dutch WWII pilot Gus Winckel celebrated in Moruya

The following information comes from the book Allies in a Bind from Dr Jack Ford. Japanese attack on Sydney Harbour On 28 May 1942, Japanese submarine I-21 launched a floatplane. It flew over Sydney Harbour spotting 13 Allied warships including Dutch submarine K-IX. On 31 May, Japanese submarines I-22, I-24 Read more…

By DACC, 2 yearsJuly 25, 2022 ago