History
Dutch migration to Australia began well before the large-scale post-war migration movement. During the nineteenth century, Dutch settlers established themselves in several Australian colonies. One notable early migrant was Willem Hendrik Paling, who settled in Sydney in 1853 and became an influential music retailer, composer, teacher and performer, establishing businesses in Sydney and Brisbane.
The 1911 census lists only 650 Dutch born in Australia.
In 1913 the Netherlands Association Emigration (Nederlandse Vereniging Landverhuizing) was established to promote Dutch emigration. After a merger with the Emigration Centre Holland (Emigratie Centrale Holland) in 1931 they formed the Netherlands Emigration Foundation (Stichting Landverhuizing Nederland).
The newspaper article below from 1929 is an indication of the early efforts.
The 1933 census stated 1300 born in Netherlands and 200 born in Netherlands East Indies.
Migrants in 1930s required £40 landing money, which was an obstacle for many. A better agreement was reached in 1938. After WW II this agreement was picked up again and a separate scheme for ex-service men was introduced and landing money was lowered. This resulted in 1946 in 3600 applications, a significant number of them Dutch military personnel from Java. (see NAA files below).
Three million Dutch left the Netherlands
| After WWII, in 1946, almost a quarter of the Dutch were considering leaving their native land, according to the director of the Netherlands Emigration Foundation, and within a year that number increased to a third of the population. They included farmers who needed agricultural land, as well as craftsmen, civil servants and members of the liberal professions, especially young people aged between 25 and 35. Many Dutch people actually went ahead and emigrated; over 81,000 in the peak year of 1952. In total, nearly three million Dutch citizens left in the years 1946-1992, of whom more than 763,000 left for Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Brazil after 1948. |
The agreement of 1938 was followed in 1951 with a formal agreement between Netherlands and Australia. (The first one of that nature between Australia and a country other than Britain). Netherlands Australia Migration Agreement – 1951
The Netherlands Emigration Foundation was in 1952 renamed the Dutch Emigration Service (Nederlandse Emigratiedienst).
Top immigration years 1949-1970
The years from 1949 to 1970 represented the principal period of post-war Dutch migration to Australia. Approximately 160,000 Dutch migrants are reported to have arrived during this period, although the precise total depends on the statistical definition and source used. Many settled in Victoria, which became the largest centre of the Netherlands-born population in Australia.
- 1952 – 16.000 Dutch immigrants.
- In 1958 Adriana Zevenbergen was the 100.000st immigrant from the Netherlands
- In 1961 – 102.000 Dutch born emigrants in Oz (highest number in percentage of all immigrants)
- In 2022 ca.380.000 with Dutch descent in Australia.
Statistics from the 1981 Census for Dutch in NSW
The following information is from a booklet published by the Federation of Netherlands Societies Ltd. in February 1985. The research for this booklet was done by Mijntje Hage. (use the rotator in the pdf).
Dutch in NSW -2005
Dutch Australians – demographics 2006
In the 2006 census, birthplace was enumerated as was date of arrival in Australia for those not born in Australia. For the major post-war period non-English speaking immigrant groups enlarged by the arrival of immigrants to Australia after World War II, they are still major demographic groups in Australia.
The distribution, by state and territories, show that Victoria continues to have the largest number with 22,830 followed by New South Wales (18,820), Queensland (15,260), Western Australia (10,110), South Australia (8,500) and Tasmania (3,000).
| Population measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Netherlands-born residents | 78,924 |
| Arrived in 1979 or earlier | 62,495 (79%) |
| Aged 60 or over | 52% |
| Australian citizens | 59,502 (75%) |
The Dutch in Victoria
By 1911, 186 Netherlands-born people lived in Victoria.
The growth of the Dutch community in Victoria in the post-war period was dramatic. In 1947, 625 Netherlands-born people were recorded; by 1954, the number had increased to 15,996. Within five years the community had more than doubled to 36,284.
In 2016, the Victorian population was 19,814, the largest number of Netherlands-born people of any state in Australia. 65% of the community was Christian; 66% spoke English at home, and 32% spoke Dutch. Nearly half of those employed worked in professional roles, while many others were employed in clerical, sales, service, production and transport-related roles.
the Dutch community is concentrated in the outer metropolitan areas of Melbourne, including the Dandenongs, Frankston and Berwick.
See also: Dutch in Victoria 1947–1980: Community and ideology
Melbourne’s Dutch community at a glance – 2011
- 18% of Dutch migrants choose to live in Melbourne (approx)
- 1300 Dutch people migrated from the Netherlands to Victoria since 2011.
- Average age: 64 years.
- 45% of Dutch migrants are families with no children and 20% are families with children (approx)
- 76% have Australian citizenship.
Dutch Australians – demographics 2021
Dutch Australians refers to Australians of Dutch ancestry. They form one of the largest groups of the Dutch diaspora outside Europe. At the 2021 census, 381,946 people nominated Dutch ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), representing 1.5% of the Australian population. Based on the same census 66,481 Australian residents were born in the Netherlands.
Dutch ststistics 2016 census
Dutch-Australian records at the National Archives of Australia
On 7 November 2022, the National Archives of Australia presented a webinar introducing its digital collection of records relating to Dutch-Australian history.
The collection includes material concerning maritime history, military cooperation, migration and commercial relationships between Australia and the Netherlands. Particularly important are records documenting the Second World War, the evacuation of Dutch military personnel and civilians from the Netherlands East Indies, and subsequent migration to Australia.
The digitisation project received support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Australia
The NAA only digitises (and include on their website) government documents. For other documents contact should be sought with National or State libraries or migration museums. In 2022 they held 11000 Dutch documents of which 1,000 are digitised, there are furthermore five videos.
The key collection areas are:
- Maritime
- Military
- Migration
- Mercantile
Focus on 2nd WW. Evacuation of military and civilians from Dutch Indies to Australia. Many still employed by Dutch government. After war people from the Japanese camps to Australia.
Dutch migrants were artisans, traders, farmers. Many were self-employed and established a large number of Dutch-Australian businesses. 1960 government questionnaire saw many Dutch business owners, who said there were good opportunities, provided they worked very hard.
Supported by Dutch Embassy
The digital project has been assisted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia.
For more information: Netherlands NAA
Other DACC information
Dutch Emigration Ships to Australia – Portal
Dutch Migrants at Bonegilla Migrant Camp – Victoria
Wacol (Brisbane) Remembered 1949-1987
Other Migration history on the DACC database, including personal stories
Nederlandse emigratieliteratuur m.b.t. Australië
Other sources:
Dutch immigrants to Australia Database
Immigration History from Netherlands to Victoria
Dutch | The Dictionary of Sydney
