Biennale of Sydney: 2 Dutch contributions
Get excited as from 12 March – 13 June 2022 the 23rd Biennale of Sydney will take place: rivers, wetlands and other salt freshwater ecosystems will feature in this Biennale, titled ‘Rivus’. The Bieannale is all about the varying political awareness of dynamic living systems: Can a river sue us over psychoactive sewage? Read more
Dutch internet radio station Pinguin Vintage
Since February 2022, 1st Vintage radio is aired and plays 24/7 songs from the fifites, sixties and seventies (no news, no commercials) with a lot of attention to the forgotten hits, album-tracks, Billboard Hot 100 and unknown songs you’ll wonder why they didn’t make it and including a lot of Read more
Documentary: The Past Ended On Mango Street
The Netherlands Embassy in Canberra is delighted to announce that the documentary ‘The Past Ended on Mango Street’ funded by their Shared Cultural Heritage Programme, is now available to watch online. The film-making team of Jean-Baptiste Brelière and Thomas Watson spent 6 years making the documentary. ‘The Past Ended on Read more
The van Tassel aerial exhibitionist performing in Australia – 1890
The Dutch – Australian connection here is a bit convoluted, but as it is too interesting to not cover it, so please bear with me. It starts with the van Texel family. Jan Cornelis van Texel was one of the first Dutchmen that arrived in America. He was one of Read more
Mirusia Louwerse – Silver Memories Ambassador
Mirusia is an Australian born Soprano with Dutch heritage. She was born on March 29, 1985 to two Dutch parents in Brisbane, Australia. Her mom is originally from Brabant and her dad from Zeeland. Mirusia’s parents, a boiler-maker and a nurse, moved from The Netherlands in their twenties after being Read more
Abel Tasman Explored Australia in 1642 and 1644
In August 1642, VOC despatched Abel Tasman and Franchoijs Visscher on a voyage of which one of the objects was to obtain knowledge of “all the totally unknown provinces of the kingdom of Beach”. This expedition used two small ships, the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen. Starting in Mauritius both ships Read more
Dutch TV TV Channel 31 Melbourne and Geelong
Dutch TV is a weekly television program on community TV Channel 31 in Melbourne and Geelong (Australia) and Foxtel Aurora. (Australia wide) They have been broadcasting for 6 years. The program is about Dutch people living in Australia and is presented mostly in Dutch with English subtitles so that we Read more
Willem Hendrik Paling early Dutch immigrant 1853
Willem Paling (1 September 1825 – 27 August 1895) was born in Woerden, near Rotterdam. He was an accomplished Dutch violinist and composer. He was the son of music publisher and piano builder Jan Hendrik Paling and Aagje Paling. He moved to Sydney in 1853 followed by his brother Richard Read more
The Sydney Railway Waltz by Willem Paling – 1855
The waltz was composed by Willem H. Paling, who had immigrated to Australia in 1853 from Woerden in the Netherlands. The music was arranged by Robert Evans for the NSW Transport Institute Band. It was first performed at the Railway Ball, 2 October 1855 for the opening of the first Read more









