'It's like a family': Dutch community closes in on 75 years

While debate rages across Australia about current immigration rates, a group of Dutch migrants are continuing a tradition dating back to a golden era for migration in the Illawarra in the 1950s.

It was on a rainy night in July 1952 that a group of Dutch immigrants came together at Wollongong Surf Club with the aim of creating an organisation to assist Dutch migrants who had decided to make their new home in the Illawarra.

It was a time of rapid post-war growth. Wollongong's population surged from 73,000 in 1950 to more than 100,000 people by 1954 as the city became a thriving industrial hub.

Challenging early years

For those new migrants from the Netherlands, it was a tough time. Some lived in hostel accommodation, others lived in tents in Stuart Park and the Corrimal camping grounds. The creation of a club which embraced both Australia and their Dutch heritage provided comfort and friendship for those making a whole new start in life.

At the beginning the club was called Nederlandse Vereniging in Illawarra; now it's the Dutch Australian Society in Illawarra (DASI), and nearly 75 years later, the organisation's motto remains the same: unity, solidarity and mutual assistance.

Regular events were organised – film nights, stage plays, dances and card nights – all aimed at giving new arrivals to the region regular social activities.

Gerard van Duin from Woonona and Bill Fikkers from Tarrawanna were young boys when their families arrived in Wollongong via the Bathurst migrant camp in the early 1950s. Both of their fathers secured work at the Port Kembla steelworks, a common path for the thousands of migrants arriving from Europe.

Both were from big families. Bill was the eldest of eight kids while Gerard was the fourth oldest of 10.

In its early years, DASI rallied to support the Dutch migrant community. In 1954, the Steunfonds bij Overlijden (death benefit fund) was created, by which everyone who contributed $2 would receive a $200 benefit when their spouse died.

Creating a meeting place

In 1957, a building fund was established and fundraising began to create a permanent home for the Dutch community to meet. It wasn't until 1966 that DASI was able to purchase a weatherboard hall at the site of their current home base on the Princes Highway in Woonona.

The building was officially opened in 1968 by the Dutch Consul-General, and over the years, it has undergone major renovations to enable the group to conduct even more activities and events.

Gerard van Duin, who organises billiards every Friday, says he loved the "great atmosphere" and the variety of events on offer at the hall each week. Gerard joined the ambulance service in 1972 and worked as a paramedic based in Bulli and Wollongong for 35 years.

Bill Fikkers worked at Telstra for 37 years and has been a stalwart at DASI for as long as he can remember. Bill says "it's all about the people, they're like a family".

In 2010, Bill produced the book, Dutchies in the Illawarra which traced the stories of 12 Dutch immigrant families. The book, he wrote, "illustrates some of the difficulties, anxieties and ultimate triumphs" they had experienced.

Finding a "safer place"

DASI's president of the past five years, Jos Kusters, married an Australian in the Netherlands and he said a move to Australia "was always on the cards".

Originally from Australia, Jos's wife, Jola, was pregnant with their second daughter when they decided to make the big move.

"Part of our decision was to find the best place to raise the girls,'' he said. "When 9/11 (the New York terror attack) happened, we decided to find a safer place to raise the children." That safer place turned out to be Wollongong.

"I felt the community was tight-knit," Jos said. "Culture and heritage are important to the people of the Illawarra, and it's important to me. It's a great place to live."

Jos works at Ampol in environment protection.

He was introduced to DASI when he took his girls to an end of year children's party. "Out of the blue, the president approached me to join the committee."

It wasn't long after that he was effectively tapped on the shoulder to take on the president's role during the challenging COVID years.

"I'm lucky to have a great committee; it's a very steady group of people," Jos said.

The Illawarra Flame was invited to meet the committee members during their latest weekend working bee.

"Wouldn't live anywhere else"

DASI secretary Maria O'Hearn's family still lives in the Netherlands but she makes regular visits. She moved to Wollongong in 2001 and admits she took a little convincing, having driven past the city on many occasions.

"My first impressions of Wollongong was that it didn't look all that inviting from the freeway, but once I moved here, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

A qualified translator and recently retired, Maria enjoys the friendships she's created at DASI "and the ability to sometimes speak Dutch. It's a really tight community," she said.

In 2022, DASI celebrated its 70th birthday with a big event, attended by close to 300 people at Woonona-Bulli RSL. Planning is about to get under way for how they'll celebrate the 75th anniversary next year.