Tine is actief op RedBubble, een Australische website die fungeert als ontmoetingsplaats van creatieve mensen uit alle werelddelen. Via RedBubble ontmoette Tine een vrouw van Nederlandse afkomst, die thans in Healesville, Victoria, Australië woont. Haar naam: Danielle Maassen. Er ontstond een e-mail uitwisseling en al gauw bleek Danielle bereid haar verhaal op te schrijven. In het Engels. Maar we zijn hier allemaal zó internationaal op deze website, dat dat geen probleem mag zijn.
Het gezin Aders, hier nog in Nederland
Lift van
My family emigrated to Australia in 1951 when I was 8 years old. We were not assisted migrants as my parents payed for their way over which included the freight of our belongings in a huge shipping crate which we called a liftfen and which I now know is called a lift van. This huge crate became our backyard storage shed. If my parents had known that a free immigration scheme was perhaps possible things may have been a lot different for us, determining where we settled and who my father worked for. As it was, we settled fairly happily in Ringwood, Victoria, staying with some Dutch friends in their house for 6 months after which we bought our own house in the same suburb.
Danielle aan boord van de SS Waterman
Seeing land
It was December and I still remember feeling the hot summer temperatures. I thought that all the people in Australia would be black and was very disappointed to see white people on the wharf when we landed. I really thought I would become very dark skinned too. Funny how children perceive things. The ship was The SS Waterman and it took 4 weeks to travel from Rotterdam to Melbourne. I remember sea sickness and flying fish and crossing the equator with a king Neptune feast and breaking my leg and spending time in the ship’s hospital. Going through the Suez Canal was another experience with Arabs trading their wares and trying to climb aboard. There was so much sea to see standing at the back of the ship that it was exciting eventually seeing land.
My parents
We briefly met a relative in Fremantle, Western Australia before going on to Melbourne Victoria.
Thinking about it now, it must have been such an adventure for my parents traveling with 5 young children. They wanted to have a better life for us because of the memory of the second world war. My father worked hard as a type writer mechanic and financially it was always a struggle for him. He was actually quite homesick at times, but my mother took to this country very well. She had been born in Indie/Indonesia as her father was a teacher there and only went back to Nederland when she was 14 years old. I don’t think she ever could handle the cold very well and she thrived here. Her English was good because she had been an English teacher in Nederland. When she became old it was very sad to see her have dementia. The interesting part of that was that she did revert back to her Dutch language and luckily we could understand her.
Language
Language is such a funny thing. We arrived in the Australian school holidays but soon had to go to school the following February not knowing any English at all. It doesn’t take long to learn a new language as a child but I still vividly remember some stumbling blocks along the way. People were very friendly and when I accidentally broke a glass milk bottle, milk being a daily school supplement, the children said to me, “It doesn’t matter.” I thought they said, “Een duizend meeter” and so I picked up the glass and threw it as far as I could. They looked at me as if I was a crazy person and it wasn’t until I could speak English that I realized what that was all about! With skipping with a rope, when it was my turn, they called out, “slow!” because they must have thought I needed assistance. I thought they said “sloom” and felt so bad. Eventually you realize that your dreams are in English and you are on your way to mastering another language and world. We loved that new world and grew up reasonably happy in it but always with a sense of feeling that little bit different.
And for me it is here in Australia
Because there are so many nationalities here, that difference is not awkward for me and I am very proud of my Dutch heritage. I’ve married a Dutchman and we have 4 children. Two years ago I went back to Nederland for the first time and caught up with some of my relatives. I also met my hartsvriendin who I hadn’t seen or heard of for 54 years. I managed to find her through the internet. Imagine seeing a 62 year old person who you last saw as an 8 year old! That was an emotional meeting for me. I must have felt some sense of loss when I had to leave her all those years ago. My father’s sister was still alive and she recognized me, which was amazing. She didn’t know I was coming and to see her smile as she did was very special. I’m glad I went back to have a look, but the strong bond I feel for my adopted country is amazing. I felt that especially after traveling in the Australian outback for 10 months.
Home is where the heart is, and for me it is here in Australia.
Danielle op RedBubble
Zoals gezegd is ook Danielle actief op RedBubble. Danielle maakt prachtige foto's en digital art. Ik raad jullie van harte aan even een kijkje te nemen in haar portfolio. Je vindt Danielle's hoekje van RedBubble hier.
Upstairs
Danielle Maassen
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