“Old ties, new beginnings” presents the stories of twenty Dutch-Australian women who migrated along with thousands of Dutch and other post-war migrants to Australia during the 1950’s and 60’s. Very little is known about those Dutch women who settled in Australia. Their “homesickness”is sometimes mentioned and blamed for “unsuccessful” or return migration to the Netherlands (Beijer et al 1961, Blauw and Elich 1984, and Hofstede 1964). Why did they come in the first place, and why did they mostly stay? What was it like for these women to start new lives in an unknown country on the other side of the world? And how has life been for them in Australia? These stories go some way to answering such questions.
Contents
| Acknowledgments | ||
| Foreword | Elly Zierke | I |
| By Way of Introduction | Wendy Walker- Birckhead | VII |
| “Living in the land of promise and new opportunities.” | Petra, Victoria | 1 |
| “I had dreams of this country, dreams about working in the outback.” | Tieneke, Victoria | 9 |
| Bride by proxy. | Jenny, Victoria | 15 |
| “I have never been sorry.” | Laura, Queensland | 21 |
| “Australia has a character all its own and I love that !” | Ellen, Victoria | 27 |
| “My creativity saved the day.” | Henriette, South Australia | 43 |
| “On the whole I love the freedom here and Australia has not been bad for us.” | Saskia, Victoria | 49 |
| “Wappan” or our first home in OZ : A Sheep Farm. | Janneke, Victoria | 55 |
| “Farewell dear Fatherland.” | Hester, Tasmania | 61 |
| “We were never disappointed.” | Johanna, Victoria | 65 |
| “One hardly knows what it’s going to be like to be a migrant.” | Leonie, Victoria | 71 |
| “In the end you belong to neither country”. | Katrina, Victoria | 81 |
| “To have most of your close relatives here really makes a difference.” | Hetty, Victoria | 85 |
| “We really did not have any idea what it would be like to live in Australia.” | Noortje, Victoria | 93 |
| “I never lost my optimism, nor regretted that I came.” | Margreet, Victoria | 97 |
| “As soon as I land in Amsterdam I am at home, yet I choose to live in Australia.” | Els, Victoria | 103 |
| “Migrating is an adventure when you are 21 years old.” | Ineke, Victoria | 111 |
| “This is home !” | Nel, Victoria | 117 |
| Pictures in my mind. | Martina, Victoria | 123 |
| “All I wanted was somebody to talk to.” | Monique, Victoria | 131 |
See also:
Where waters meet, Bonegilla : the Dutch migrant experience in Australia / Dirk Eysbertse, 1997
Never good enough : assisted migrants from the Netherlands at Bonegilla / Bruce Pennay, 2007
