As promotion for the government’s migration programs,
much was made of milestone arrivals, such as
the 100,000th Dutch Migrant Mrs. Adriana Zevenbergen.

Celebrities

‘I was too young to remember our arrival but growing up I was always reminded that Mum was famous. With all that attention, she saw herself as a celebrity!’

ADDO ZEVENBERGEN, interview January 2012

The government of both countries made the journey of the 100,000th Dutch migrant a true media spectacle to ensure maximum publicity. Mrs Zevenbergen was interviewed back home in Abbenbroek, on the boat to Australia and at formal occasions. Official photographers took numerous pictures to be used in the newspapers. The family was presented with gifts to help them settle into their new life including a new fridge and washing machine.

_{What photos of your relatives are kept in the archives?}

Why did they go to Australia?

‘Letters from a childhood friend now living in New South Wales brought Adriana Zevenbergen, her husband, and two young sons to Australia.’

Womans Weekly, 15 Oct 1958

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The Australian dream

In 1960 Cornelis and Adriana Zevenbergen with their sons Kees and Addo moved into their own three-bedroom brick veneer home. It was built to Cornelis’ design in the Geelong suburb of Newtown. ‘We grew up in a semi-rural area on the outskirts of Geelong,’ Addo recalls. ‘We spent our time swimming in the river, catching rabbits and snakes and lizards. It was a great area to grow up in.’ A third son, Ricky was born in 1963.

Adriana and Cornelis continued to live in the Geelong home long after their children grew up and left. ‘They never moved from the original house,’ Addo says. ‘It was a good spot. In the 1970s they built upstairs.’ After Cornelis died in 1983, Adriana stayed in the family home until her death in May 2006, aged 75.

INTERVIEW WITH ADDO ZEVENBERGEN, January 2012

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