G'day, my name is Bill Nijhuis

I was born in April 1949 (yes, THAT long ago) in Almelo in The Netherlands. At the age of three my parents decided to leave Europe & make a new start in Australia, so naturally I tagged along. Seemed a good idea at the time!! My two sisters came along as well, for the ride.

We left Amsterdam on board the 'm.s Johan van Oldenbarnevelt' ( JVO for short  ) under Captain H. A. Broere on 11 November 1952, and after a five week voyage sailing by way of the Suez Canal (21st November), Aden (24th November), & Fremantle (7th December),  we arrived in Melbourne on Saturday the 13th of December at 3 p.m., after having been in quarantine in Portsea for one day. Disembarking in Melbourne under the Dutch Migration Scheme, were 354 Dutch migrants and 129 German assisted Migrants. Both parties were destined for Bonegilla. A special train left Port Melbourne on Sunday 14 December at 11 a.m. I have absolutely no recollection (probably due to my age) of the voyage so you're probably wondering how I managed to get hold of the itinerary. Well I have to thank my fellow countryman Reuben Goossens on that score. He was kind enough to dig up the info for me. I was also able to dig up a bit of info  in the Nationa Archives of Australia.

In the following years we moved around here, there & everywhere. Naturally, as was the done thing in those days, we started off in a migrant hostel up near the NSW border at Bonegilla. As soon as was possible we moved back to Melbourne and in 1960 we finally settled down in Mooroolbark. 
 
After primary school at St. Anthony's School in Oakleigh & St. Edmunds in Croydon, I continued my education at Aquinas College in Ringwood and later on at Mooroolbark Technical School. I was a brilliant scholar (!) so it seemed logical that I start my career in banking. Went to work for the ANZ Bank in January of 1967, at the Ringwood branch. Had a lot of fun there, met tons of great Aussies (for the insiders - Big Bah). In 1968 after working in quite a few branches around Melbourne, I ended up in head office, in the Nominees Dept.
Seeing as this wasn't really my kettle of fish, I decided it was time for a change. Thought Europe might be fun for a while. 
 

So in November of 1968, I boarded the tv Castel Felice at Port Melbourne, bound for Southampton. Once again my youngest sister Angela decided to come along for the ride. After a six week voyage, of which I have little recollection (due to an overdose of alcohol), we arrived in Southampton on the 4th of January. After saying our goodbyes to shipboard friends, we travelled on to  London by way of train. Seeing as our following train to Harwich was due to depart in the evening we spent the day in London. Just as well to seeing as my sis was pretty crook & ended up in hospital for the day. Luckily she was fit enough to travel on to Harwich. We caught the night ferry to Hoek of Holland, near Rotterdam, arriving there in the early hours of the morning of January 6th. The beginning of my new life!!!

We (Angela & I) had bed & breakfast lined up in Borne with my uncle & auntie, so no worries there. The idea being to stay there for a while & then head on out into Europe. We had jobs lined up in London at the ANZ, head office.

But, as usual, things don't always turn out the way you plan.................
Angela returned to the wonderful Land of Oz. She went back in 1971 & picked up her life again there. I was left here on my ownsome.

Meanwhile...................45 years down the road, I'm married to Janny. I've got two fantastic sons, Rob & Mark (and two daughters-in-law; Monique & Eva) and am the proud grandfather of 4 grandchildren; Jesper & Sanne; Emma & Sven. I live in Almelo, The Netherlands & am now happily retired.

But...................................I Still Call Australia Home!!

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