In 2022, Dutch-Australian historian Dr Nonja Peters resolved a longstanding maritime mystery by identifying Jan Fransz of Hoorn as the skipper of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) vessel Leeuwin on its 1621 voyage from Amsterdam to Batavia. The Leeuwin sailed along the south-western coast of Australia in 1622, contributing Read more
Biography Dr Nonja Yvonne Huberta Maria Peters is a Dutch-born Australian historian, anthropologist, museum curator and social researcher whose work has made a significant contribution to the understanding and preservation of Dutch-Australian history. Her research encompasses migration and settlement, cultural identity, migrant entrepreneurship, maritime history, the Netherlands East Indies, and Read more
Dutch migrants and Tasmania’s building industry The growth of Kingston following the Second World War was closely associated with Dutch migration. Among the businesses contributing to the area’s development was Laver Construction, a building company with connections to the Verdouw family and the wider Dutch community. The company became involved Read more
From the Netherlands to Tasmania Dirk Verdouw was born on 5 July 1936 in Leerdam, the Netherlands. His childhood was shaped by the Second World War and the economic difficulties experienced by his family in the years that followed. His father operated a bakery and his mother a cake shop. Read more
Origins in the Kingston Dutch community Christian Homes Tasmania traces its origins to 1970, when individual members of the Christian Reformed Church in Kingston began considering how they could provide suitable accommodation and care for their ageing parents. Many of these families belonged to the Dutch migrant community that had Read more
From migrant settlement to community service The Dutch migrants who established Little Groningen at Kingston in 1950 contributed to more than the construction of houses, churches and schools. Over subsequent decades, members of the community also became involved in welfare initiatives serving the wider Tasmanian population. One example was Jireh Read more
Rokus Huisman was born in Sliedrecht, South Holland, on 28 June 1927. He was the son of J. Huisman, a pastry baker who lived at 4 C.M. van Reesstraat in Sliedrecht. On 22 July 1950, Rokus departed from Schiphol Airport aboard a KLM flight bound for Australia. The aircraft seating Read more
In June and July 1950, two specially organised KLM flights carried Dutch dredging workers and members of their families to Australia. The passengers were associated with the establishment and early operations of Australian Dredging and General Works Pty Ltd, although the precise connection of several individuals with the company remains Read more
Abraham Dubbelman was born on 25 September 1926. His birthplace and the names of his parents have not yet been established. The surviving passenger information places Abraham aboard a KLM flight to Sydney in 1950. His name appears beside seat E4 on the hand-drawn aircraft seating plan. The flight formed Read more
Firsthand recollections of Dutch emigrants who travelled aboard the MS Sibajak from Rotterdam to Melbourne in May and June 1951. In May 1951, the Visser and Koopman families, longstanding friends from Bergen in North Holland, embarked on a six-week voyage to Australia aboard the Dutch passenger ship Sibajak. Their emigration Read more