Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

 

(Newspaper clippings)

 


 

Article in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Saturday 30 September 1950

 

Big ship with

a big name

THE longest-named ship ever to visit an Australian port is due in Melbourne next week.

The "mouthful" is the 19,500 ton Dutch liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. She will be carrying several hundred Dutch migrants.

There are  22  letters in Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, and of the 10,500-odd steam and motor driven ships over 500 tons listed in Lloyd's Register Book, 1950, only about 12 ships have names containing 22 or more letters.

Two French vessels top the long names list with 25 letters apiece. They are the Chef Mécanicien Annand Blanc and the Enseigne Marie Saint Germain.

The Johan, &c. &c. was built in Holland in 1930 and was a Royal Mail steamer on the Netherlands-Java run. During the war she was converted for troop carrying.

Since 1945 she has returned to her original route, but was chartered recently to carry migrants to Australia. This will be her first visit here.

While on the subject of ships' names, the shortest named vessel to enter Melbourne is the British freighter Age which is being used as a collier between Newcastle and Melbourne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article in The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) Saturday 14 October 1950

Ship's Gold Wallpaper,

Hippopotami Lighting

DEC0RAT10NS in the Dutch liner Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt, which is now in Sydney, include wallpaper embossed with gold leaf, and a dining saloon with lighting fixtures consisting of the gaping jaws of hippopotami.

The 20,000 ton vessel, built in 1930 is one of themost ínteresting ships afloat. She arrived on Thursday from Amsterdam with 850 migrants, 358 of whom were young children.

Since I942, when the Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt was last in Sydney, she has been carrying troops and Dutch settlers between Indonesia and Holland.

The ship is named after a 16th century Dutch statesman and martyr who was born in 1547 and beheaded in 1619 after being unjustly convicted of treason.  The wallpaper in the ship comes from his home.

The paper, blackening with age but well preserved, is in the smoking-room, which is a copv of the smoking-room in the martyr’s 16th century castle in Holland.

The hippopotami are carved in stone, and electric light bulbs are set in their mouths.

On another deck is a mosaic floor depicting Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt's coat of arms in stone.

The ships next assignment is to pick up 1,900 Dutch settlers in Indonesia and return them to Holland.

 

Article in The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) Sunday 6th May 1951

Firebug Aboard Big

Dutch Liner

The Dutch liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, which arrived in Sydney yesterday, had aboard three Dutch detectives who are investigating six fires on the ship at the start of its voyage to Australia.

There have been no more fires since the detectives joined the ship five weeks ago.

The detectives suspect the fires were started by a member of the crew.

Two of the fires were discovered before the ship set out from Amsterdam.

Two were extinguished when the liner was two days out, off the Isle of Wight, and two more in Amsterdam after the captain had put back for investigations.

In Amsterdam, Captain H. Broere called the police, and three State police officers travelled with the liner when she resumed her voyage to Australia.

The Dutch police on the 19,500-ton liner are Major A. K. Holthuis and Detectives G.A. Moes and J. Donkelaar.

Sydney C.I.B. detectives F. G. Passmore and N.R. Walker met them when the ship berthed.

Major Holthuis said that one fire broke out in the crew’s quarters and another on the top deck when the ship arrived back in Amsterdam.

Fifteen men and two officers were detailed as fire-watches when the ship sailed again.

Major Holthuis said that he had questioned members of the crew and passengers during the voyage.

“Five of the fires were in crew-members’ lockers,” he said

The Johan van Oldenbarnevelt will sail for Holland via Indonesian ports on Monday.

It bought more than 1,000 Dutch migrants to Australia.

 

Article in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Wednesday 5 March 1952

 

Dutch

DUTCHMEN - especially those of the sea, apparently -love their local gin (which is almost a national drink) and quaff  it down neat in great quantities.

Yesterday on the visiting migrant ship Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, which has just been refitted at the cost of £ 1 million, we discussed this with one of the officers.

"Marvellous stuff," he . told us. "Better for you than beer - even though it is one-third alcohol."

Why was it so popular in Holland?  we wondered.

"That's easy," the officer replied, "Gives us Dutch courage!"

 

Luxury Ship For Dutch Immigrants

 

By A STAFF  CORRESPONDENT

THE Dutch ship Johan van  Oldenbarnevelt, now at Sydney, is probably the best-appointed migrant ship seen in Australian waters.

Although she has been refitted to suit her present strictly utilitarian role, she retains the character of dignified luxury which marked her prewar service on the rich East Indies run.

Bulkheads have been taken down to rearrange cabin space and to provide dormitories; laundries have been provided tor migrants to do their own washing; dining arrangements have been reorganized to cater for larger numbers.

But the massive wooden panelling, the lofty ceilings of handworked beaten copper, the wide sweep of deck space, and the chairs of heavy ebony are reminders of her days in the blue waters of the Dutch colonial empire, now the Indonesian Republic.

The Johan van  Oldenbarnevelt was built in 1929 and named after a 17th century Netherlands patriot. From 1930 the ship operated on the Holland-East Indies run, and during the war was used as a troopship.

After the war she made a number of voyages carrying troops and migrants, and in January, 1950, went into dock for conversion as a regular migrant vessel. She emerged from dock in January of this year and, on her first voyage, carried 1,440 Dutch migrants to Australia.  

The new Johan van  Oldenbarnevelt has two-berth, four-berth, and six-berth cabins and 11 dormitories each accommodating from 12 to 30 persons.

On the way from Amsterdam seven ship's nurses looked after the young children in a large, airy nursery.

 

Article in The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) Thursday 13 March 1952

 

70 m.p.h. gale wrenches liner from Pier

 

Copy of Article in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Wednesday 17 September 1952

 

 

FOUR tugs fought yesterday's sudden 70-m.p.h. gale to save the 20,000-ton Dutch migrant liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt from being blown hard ashore at Port Melbourne.

The liner carried 600 migrants, and had arrived four hours earlier from Holland.

An elderly migrant scrambled back to the ship as the gangway collapsed under him when the ship swung away from the pier.

He didn't heed warning shouts until someone shouted to him in Dutch. He turned and regained the ship in time.

A two-ton gantry, supporting the gangway, was dragged across the pier and toppled into the water; three iron bollards were torn from the pier and four remaining mooring lines snapped like cotton as the wind caught the vessel.

Captain H. A. Broere, master, ordered the anchor dropped, but the mounting gusts swung the stern on to soft mud 200 yards from the shore of the Port Melbourne beach.

The tiny tug Swiftness towing the departing 28,000-ton liner Orcades, cast adrift and raced to the Dutch liner's aid.

For 30 minutes the liner’s engines and the Swiftness fought the gale.

Two other tugs hurriedly reberthed the Orcades and dashed to join the Swiftness.

A forth tug raced from Williamstown to join them in the struggle to save the liner from going hard ashore.

At 5 pm the liner was out of danger, and 30 minutes later berthed, stern first, at Station Pier.

 

Article in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic)Saturday 13 DECEMBER

SHIPPING

YESTERDAY

IN: WONIORA, Devonport. 6 S. Wharf: KANIMBLA. Fremantle, 13 N. Wharf: ASPHALION, Singapore, 20 V. Dock: IRON MONARCH, Geelong, 1 V. Dock: TAMERLANE,  Brisbane, 6 V. Dock.

OUT: TAROONA, Princes Pier, Devonport; CITOS. 21 V. Dock, Japan; MERINO. 3 N. Wharf, . Launceston; EASTERN STAR. 1O V. Dock, Japan; MULCRA, 15 N. Wharf, Adelaide, WAIWERA, Princes Pier. London, BURNSIDE, 20 S. Wharf. Singapore, NARA COOPA, 9 S. Wharf. Currie, NESTOR, 27 S. Wharf. Svdney: PORT , ST. JOHN. 7 V. Dock. Adelaide, EUROA, Station Pier, Regatta Point, SYDNEY. Station Pier, Sydney; LANENA. 7 S. Wharf. Devonport; P1KEPOOL, diy dock, Wyalia.

TODAY

DUE IN: JOHAN VAN OLDEN BARNEVELT. Amsterdam, Station Pier; PORT FREMANTLE, London, 9 V. Dock; WILLIAM McARTHUR, Newcastle, 25 S.Warf; LARANAH, Launceston. 9 S. Wharf; JAMES STOVE, Bahrein. 3 Newport. LU CERNA, Southampton. 4 Newport. WHEATFIELD, Baton Rouje. Yarraville.

DUE OUT: KANIMBLA, 13 N Wharf. Sydney; MANUNDA, 12 N Wharf. Cairns.; TRIADIC,  14 N Wharf, Nauru; TONGARIR0,Princes Pier. Liverpool; ANSHUN , 12 V. Dock, Japan.

 

Article in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)Saturday 4 July 1953

 

1440 Dutch on way here

Amsterdam,Friday

The Johan van  Oldenbarnevelt left Amsterdam yesterday with 1,440 Dutch migrants for Australia.

So far this year 5,000 Dutch people have migrated to Australia. About half those on board have jobs waiting for them, while 500 others will be put, to work by the Netherlands Emigration Service in Australia.

 

 

 

 

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