Theodorus A Reyntjes
| Town/City | Jan Juc |
|---|---|
| First name | Theodorus A |
| Last name | Reyntjes |
| Country of Origin | Holland |
| Date of Birth | 28/03/40 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1952 |
| Submitted by | Anthony Reyntjes |
Story
Theo, his younger sister Gerda and brother Tony departed from Holland aboard the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt with their mother Grada on 11th November 1952. They sailed via the Suez Canal to meet up with their father who had already been in Australia for one year. On way to Australia Theo broke his arm falling between decks of the ship. His father (Theo Senior) came to Australia to work on the construction of the Shell Refinery at Corio, Geelong. They had a home at the Shell Housing Estate.
Theo and his siblings were all born in Arnhem in Holland during the war and life for the family was difficult during the German occupation. He has strong memories of his early years in Holland including living in the cellar of their home, being evacuated from their home to a country area, the arrival of the Canadians forces and the liberation of Holland. He tells of how he ran behind the vehicles and the Canadians soldiers gave him bread and cigarettes for his mother. He had not seen white bread before that. He remembers also good times as a child, swimming with his Dad on Sundays, ice-skating, picking lavender and selling it.
The family arrived in Melbourne on the 12th December 1952. It was raining heavily and the first thing they had to buy was gumboots. There were no kangaroos hopping down the street as they had expected! Settling in was difficult for Theo at Geelong High School as he could not speak any English. His younger sister and brother went together to the local primary school where there were many other Dutch students. They all had to learn English. He found two friends at school who helped him and they remain very strong friends to this day.
He attended the Gordon Institute of Technology in Geelong and qualified as a Civil Engineer in 1962. He married an Australian girl, Rosemary, in 1964 and had three children – Kerrie, Anthony and Jason. He had a successful career as a Civil Engineer, retiring from Barwon Water in 1995. He now lives in Jan Juc, enjoys playing golf and is involved in community work with the Lions Club.
Theo is very proud of his Dutch heritage, but he is also very much an Australian. He became a naturalised Australian on the 29th February 1960. He feels his parents made a good choice to come to Australia all those years ago.