From ‘The Artist’s View,’ a column written by Petrus Spronk for his local newspaper. When I was a young boy I lived in Haarlem, Holland. Across the road from our house was a canal. For a long time this canal represented the edge of my life. The edge of life Read more
From ‘The Artist’s View,’ a column written by Petrus Spronk for his local newspaper. Any war does not, as the historians like to have it, run from, let’s say, 1940-1945 as was the case with the WW2, but has reverberations till long after the date. Some to this very day, Read more
From ‘The Artist’s View,’ a column written by Petrus Spronk for his local newspaper. Memories of the last century. The last century, which holds the roots to the tree which will grow in the next. From my childhood I remember my room in a distant Dutch attic. My room where Read more
In the beginning: My name is Petrus Spronk, a name which got me introduced once, when I was on tour with my portable ceramic workshop in Ireland, as a one-man Rock & Roll-band. As a result I had a lot to live up to, but being in Ireland I did. Read more
This article was written in 2006 Mathilde is the popular producer and presenter based in the Sydney office of SBS Dutch Radio. Born: Djalan Semarang, Jakarta on 3 March 1950 Arrival in Australia: 27 May 1981 Qualifications/Training: Secondary education: Rotterdamsch Lyceum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Tertiary education: Diploma – Ecole HÙteliËre Read more
Lolo Houbein, of Aldgate in the Adelaide Hills, came to Australia from The Netherlands with her husband and children in 1958 at the age of 24. She did not speak English, yet eleven years later she matriculated as an adult student and Lolo is now an accomplished and prolific writer Read more
In 1953 my parents and my four siblings migrated to South Australia. We initially spent six very hard months in Glossop, Berri, where we lived in an old workman’s out shed while my father was seeking house and work in Adelaide, while staying with Australian friends he had met in Read more
When and why did your parents move to Australia? I grew up during war. Dad was a soldier; my mom raised me. As a teenager, I arrived in Australia with my family, parents and brothers, in 1956. When we arrived, we didn’t speak a single word English. My aunt had Read more
When and why did you move to Australia? We travelled around Australia in 2004, and had this really strong feeling of coming home, feeling at home. It is hard to describe. In Australia people work hard, but it also has a culture of leisure and it is less stressed compared to Read more
When and why did your parents move to Australia? The first time I heard about Australia, was in 1995 when my boyfriend went there to travel. I decided to go backpacking for a few months as well when I needed a break from my studies. My parents had given me a Read more