
Maryse Jansen – photographer
Maryse Jansen had always lived in Rijswijk and Den Haag in the Netherlands, until she made Australia her home in 2009. A different lifestyle, a warmer climate and lots of natural space beckoned. Maryse and her partner took their chances, applied for permanent residence in Australia and ended up just

Merchant Man Derk Johannes Kippers
Derk Johannes Kippers was born in The Hague, Netherlands, 9th November, 1909.Graduated with First Class Wireless Operators Licence, about 1928. Partly because of the Great Depression, he did not enter the Dutch Merchant Navy until a few years later. The Merchant Navy ships he served on sailed the Atlantic, Pacific and

Dr Chris Roelfsema – preserving reefs in Australia
In June 2022, the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Sydney and Dutchlink Sydney welcomed Dr Chris Roelfsema, Associate Professor at The University of Queensland to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. Dr Roelfsema presented a lecture on ‘Maps Connecting People To Help Save Reefs’. The theme of the lecture indicates the priority that the Netherlands

Henk Paardekooper- Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies
At the time of the Japanese invasion in the Dutch Indies Hendrik (Henk) Paardekooper was employed – since 1938 – by the Droogdok Maatschappij Surabaya (DSM) being responsible e.g. for the floating docks and cranes used for the maintenance and repair of larger sea-going vessels, including those of the Dutch

Beppe Goote – ‘Dutch Mayor’ at Wacol, Brisbane
Hans and (Luberta) Beppe Goote migrated from Indonesia to Australia in 1956 after Indonesia nationalised all Dutch assets. The Goote family worked on a Dutch-owned tea plantation in Indonesia. They had the following children: Henny, Meika, Josje, Hans (jnr) and Conny. That is oldest to youngest. Hans (snr), Beppe and

Auschwitz survivor David Groenteman fled to Australia.
In Auschwitz, David Groenteman, as an eighteen-year-old boy, had to carry away corpses, bury them and scoop coal for twelve hours in the bitter cold. After the war he fled from the painful memories. In Australia he built a new life. But he learned that the aftermath of the war

John van Lieshout the first Dutch-born billionaire in Australia
John (Jan) was born in the Netherlands in 1946. The family of 13 – headed by father Karel and mother Anna – emigrated to Australia in 1960 initially settling at Brisbane’s Wacol Migrant Camp. Karel Van Lieshout, was a plasterer and John had an early but unsuccessful stint in the

Oma’s Coffee House and Clog Barn – Coffs Harbour
The Clog Barn is one of Coffs Harbour’s longest running tourist attractions. The business is still run by the family. There are regular demonstrations of clog making at the barn. Tom Hartsuyker and his wife Rita immigrated from the Netherlands in 1951, where they settled in Musswelbrook in the Hunter Valley.

Grenzeloos Verliefd en Baby in het buitenland (TV request)
Mijn naam is Ashley en ik werk als redacteur voor de Nederlandse televisieprogramma’s Grenzeloos Verliefd en Baby in het buitenland. In het eerstgenoemde programma volgen we Nederlanders die voor de liefde naar het buitenland vertrekken en daar een leven opbouwen. In Baby in het buitenland wonen de Nederlandse vrouwen vaak

Visit of Ayaan Hirsi to Sydney – June 2007
Personal report from Paul Budde about his meeting with Ayaan Hirsi. Written in 2007 Her full name is Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She was born in Somalia, in Africa. This is a worn-torn country, which already for many decades doesn’t have a proper government, it doesn’t have a banking system nor

Paul Budde receives Heritage Volunteer Awards – 2002
Convict Trail Chairman and instigator Paul Budde received one of the inaugural Heritage Volunteer Awards – on 28 August 2002 from the Deputy Premier, the Hon Dr Andrew Refshauge, at a special ceremony in the NSW State Library. Paul moved from Oss in the Netherlands to Sydney, Australia in 1983,

Jennifer Mary Seaton
My parents and 6 mt old brother arrived on the MS Fairsea, 2 April 1952 Jennifer remembers going to the Catholic Church at Wacol. Father Nouwens was the priest. He buried my 11 yr old brother Louie van den Elsen at St Brendans, Moorooka. (he was accidentally killed by a

Hennik Family on the Zuiderkruis
This is the ship on which the Hennik family immigrated to Australia it has a list of the people on board and the crew signed the page. Dochter Wilhelmina also has the document her dad travelled with. They arrived 17 Feb 1959 at Fremantle and were taken by train to

Bert van Wijk – Richlands, Brisbane
Personal story from Bert van Wijk. Source; 150 years Richlands, Inala & Neighbouring Suburbs in Brisbane’s South West by Vicki Mynott, 2009
Ben Morcus Brisbane
Article published in “150 years Richland, Inala, Neighbouring suburbs in Brisbane’s South West by Vicki Mynott – 2009
Interviews met Antropoloog Ad Borsboom
Gesprekken met antropoloog Ad Borsboom die in de 70 er jaren bij de Aboriginies in Arhem land woonde met zijn gezin.
Dutch TV
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

Wacol Remembered 1949-1987
In the immediate post-War World years, refugees from war-torn Europe were resettled in different places across Australia. By 1949, it is estimated that one-tenth of the American/Dutch/Australian Army’s Camp Columbia area became the Wacol East Displaced Persons Holding Camp. In the early 1950s the camp was developed to become the

Isodoor Berkelouw moved the book business to Australia
The story of the famous Berkelouw bookstores goes back to Rotterdam in 1812. Several generations continued and grew the business in the Netherlands. By WWII they had one of the most well know antiquarian book business in Europe. However, during the bombardment of Rotterdam in May 1940, the bookshop was

Willem Hendrik Paling
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
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

Willem Paling and the villas ‘Woerden’ and ‘The Lodge’ in Stanmore, Sydney.
One of the first known Dutch immigrants to Australia was Willem Paling, born in Woerden. He arrived in Sydney in 1853 and established a famous music and entertainment business along the East Coast. His story is told here. He also became an Alderman in Petersham and its Mayor in 1881.

Five minutes with Jeroen ‘Dutchy’ Hulleman (interview)
Republished with permission from Baking Business. Original article: https://bakingbusiness.com.au/five-minutes-with-jeroen-dutchy-hulleman/ Dutchy’s Bakehouse on the Sunshine Coast not only has a unique product range, with traditional recipes brought over from a long family history of baking in the Netherlands. We spent five minutes with owner Jeroen ‘Dutchy’ Hullemen and found out a

Righteous Among the Nations
The Righteous Among the Nations, are non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust. Rescue took many forms and the Righteous came from different nations, religions and walks of life. What they had in common was that they protected their Jewish neighbours at a time when hostility

Hans Hulsbosch, independent brand designer
Born in Valkenswaard just south of Eindhoven, the Phillips city, age 62 in 2014. Hans married Marianne in the Netherlands before emigration to New Zealand. Marianne’s father had knowledge of Australia and had positive views of the country. Hans was trained in design and advertising and worked principally for a well-known design

Marijke Greenway, renowned artist and former world-class trampolinist
Marijke Greenway is an achiever, in different countries, South Africa and Australia, and in quite different fields. Her story is exceptional in many ways. She was born in the Netherlands in 1943, in Halfweg/Zwanenburg, close to Amsterdam, the fourth child of six in the Van den Boogaard family. Two of

Dick van Leer, People Lover and Entrepreneur
Not long ago, a book was published about Dick under the title The Incredible Life of Dick van Leer. This very readable account of Dick’s life, a family history really, written jointly with Aubrey Cohen, starts with his birth in 1922 in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies. Dick wasn’t there long though

Dutch migrants key members of The Easybeats – Australia’s greatest pop group of the mid-1960s.
The Easybeats are worldwide known for their 1966 superhit “Friday on My Mind”. It reached no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as

Dick Dusseldorp 1918-2000 – founder of Lend Lease
Born in Utrecht in the Netherlands in December 1918, Gerardus Dusseldorp was known as Dik as a child, the anglicised version of which stuck with him for the rest of his life. At the age of 15, he enrolled as a marine cadet, with the aim of becoming a captain

Dutch Windmill – Coffs Harbour
In 1968 Mr Franz De Kever, a Dutch architect working in Melbourne and his wife Rie De Kever purchased the six acre site with a view to build a Motel and authentic Dutch restaurant. After completing ten Motel units, construction on the Windmill Restaurant began in 1972. Originally the most

Dutch Windmill The Lilly – Amelup Western Australia
Pleun Hitzert left ‘s-Gravendeel in 1980 with his wife Hennie and his daughters. Here he built a piece of ‘Hoeksche Waard’. Including a mill, for which the one in his birthplace stood model. He based his final design on De Lelie from his native village Puttershoek, but he also used

Dutch-Australian Filmmaker Paul Cox 1940-2016
Born on April 16, 1940 in Venlo, Limburg, Netherlands. His father Wim Cox was the publisher of the Catholic newspaper Nieuwe Venlosche Courant. He was commissioned in 1938 by the chairman of the ‘RK Bond voor Groote Families’ (Catholic Association for Large Families) to make the film Levensgang (‘The Journey

Dutch-Australian Artist Henk Guth (1921-2002)
Henk Guth was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, and studied there at the Academy of Art and Design from 1938 to 1942. After graduating from the Academy, he moved to Amsterdam to pursue his career. In 1960 he emigrated to Melbourne, and in 1966, moved to Alice Springs, where he opened

DACC Paper-based ARCHIVES
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre was founded in 1983 and gives as its aims and objectives in its mission statement, the collection, preservation, promotion and dissemination of Dutch culture and heritage in Australia. The Centre immediately started the collection of material for the archives and Library and now, after almost

Profile Dutch ecological geneticist Professor Madeleine van Oppen
Senior Principal Research ScientistA Healthy and Resilient GBRAustralian Research Council Laureate Fellow (2019-2023) https://www.aims.gov.au/our-people/prof-madeleine-van-oppen
Dutch born Jeroen Weimar: From ‘trainspotter’ to Victoria’s COVID-19 commander
Jeroen Weimar has his hands full in Victoria as the Covid -19 response Commander. Click on the link above