Email: daccdutch@bigpond.com

Website: www.dacc.com.au

Dear Dutch Immigrant and Family,

Thank you for showing an interest in our project that endeavours to capture the names and a brief history of individual Dutch immigrants to Australia before the space of time will fade or even erase these details.

Dutch immigrants are known as the "invisible migrants" . The desire to restart their lives in a new country and to assimilate within the Australian society as fully and as quickly as possible has been responsible for this description. Often parents decided to speak only English within the home so the children of Dutch parents could not even speak the Dutch language. Whereas other migrant groups had the need to live close to each other and have created specific cultural areas or suburbs, the Dutch have never had that desire. In fact some real estate agents will tell you that it was difficult to sell a house to Dutch immigrants where the neighbours would also the Dutch immigrants.

From the aspects of integration and assimilation the immigrants of the Netherlands or Netherlands East Indies are considered by the Department of Immigration to be the most successful of all.

Sadly however, we may find that many of the original Dutch immigrants of the 50's and 60's are no longer with us. Details of their arrival in Australia as well as their achievements here are no doubt still with their children or friends.  

These details will slowly disappear forever if nothing is done NOW to recapture these.

This project is called the DIMEX Project, the Dutch Immigration Experience. It aims to gather and preserve vital information before it disappears and to establish a database of Dutch immigrants and their descendants.

By completing the questionnaire, your details and short history may be displayed on a website if you choose so. All those who return the questionnaire will be part of a database, which will retain this information for posterity. Often second or third generation descendants of the original immigrants have a need to recapture their roots, perhaps more so than their parents or grandparents. We are particularly interested in any information regarding past or present Dutch Clubs to which you may have belonged.

If enough people will participate and do not mind being part of the website it will be possible to look up acquaintances and friends made on particular voyages, friends made in migrant camps or other Dutch citizens from one's home town, who have come to Australia. However, we have decided not to use full names and addresses on the website itself.

Persons interested in accessing the complete data will need to contact the DACC and establish their bonafides as relatives, friends or researchers.

 This project is executed with the co-operation of and under the auspices of the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre Ltd.  Please feel free to add information to particular questions on a separate sheet of paper but keep it fairly short.

Although there are quite a few questions we don't require long answers.

Some of you may feel overwhelmed by the questionnaire, especially those of advanced age. Perhaps someone can assist you to complete it but we do very much hope that you participate - even if the answers are very short. 

We hope to make this a really comprehensive record of the Dutch Migrant Experience in NSW.

Apart from this explanatory letter you will find a questionnaire and one blank sheet in this envelope together with an addressed return envelope.

Questionnaire. This is the main information request form to be filled in by the original immigrant (whatever their age upon arrival in Australia) or for him/her by someone else in case they have difficulties with it or have passed away.

Please make sure that this form relates to one person only. If a family of several people have come here each member needs to complete the form (separately) as each will have different details and a different story to tell of their life in Australia. More forms can be requested (or photocopied).

Please record a brief history of your life in Australia in no more than 500 words.

Make this as factual as possible.

Example:  Arrived 17-4-53 per Zuiderkruis with family of four: wife, daughters aged 12 and 9, and son aged 3.  Went to Villawood Migrant Centre, stayed there 5 months, was allocated a commission house in Wentworthville, address.......... Found work at Ford Company in Homebush. Wages were 13.5 pounds per week. Took a course for supervisors and became foreman of my section in 1957. Resigned in 1959 to start own small engineering company in Silverwater, address........etc.

Personal achievements and social integration (like joining Australian clubs or organisations, organising events, etc) are most important. Please, if you write your story, do it clearly because we will scan rather than retype information into our database as part of your personal details.

We encourage you to include some photographs (with dates and names). These then become part of your database. We would like to see some early clear images of yourself and your family.  If you like your photos returned please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

The project will become more meaningful and valuable the more people participate. At one stage there were some 250.000 Dutch immigrants in this country. Some have returned, for various reasons, when conditions in the Netherlands allowed them to do so.

However most have stayed on and by doing so have contributed greatly to the desirable place to live that Australia has become.

Our freedom, democracy and quality of life are due in no small part to the multitude of immigrants.

Let us all be proud of the contribution that the Dutch immigrants have made to Australia and let us not lose the details and particulars of all the individuals who made this contribution possible.

Klaas Woldring,

DIMEX Project Coordinator,

Dutch Australian Cultural Centre,

PO Box 2059, Smithfield 2164.

Email: daccdutch@bigpond.com  or Email (webmaster): jo@ozcloggie.com