Aert Driessen
| First name | Aert |
|---|---|
| Last name | Driessen |
| Country of Origin | Hong Kong |
| Date of Birth | 5/10/1938 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1952 |
| Submitted by | Aert Driessen |
Story
In supplying my details for this application, I had to think twice when I came to the question ‘Country of origin’. I decided to enter Hong Kong because I was born in Hong Kong, and I came from Hong Kong to go to boarding school in Sydney. However, ethnically I am Dutch and both my parents and their ancestors are buried in Holland. Both my parents’ families have a long history in Indonesia where my father worked for KPM, a shipping company. That company did a lot of business with China and so my father, recently married, was posted to Shanghai in 1937. When the Japanese invaded China he was relocated to Hong Kong (where I was born in 1938) and subsequently he was recalled to head office in what was then Batavia (Jakarta). When the Japanese invaded Indonesia in March 1942, we were all interned in concentration camps, my mother, I, and a sister Jifke born in Batavia in January 1940 in Tjideng (a women and childrens’ camp) and my father on the island of Flores. We all survived and in November 1946 we were repatriated to Holland. It was my first time in Holland. In 1948 my father returned to Hong Kong to work at head office for the same shipping company, now called Royal Interocean Lines. My sister and I went to King George V School in Hong Kong until December 1951, at which time my parens felt that our long term future would be best served by an Australian education.
My sister and I arrived in Sydney early 1952 aboard the Nieuw Holland, a Royal Interocean Lines ship. I went to St Josephs College, Hunters Hill and she went to Marist Convent, Woolwich. She now lives in the US. We returned to our parents in Hong Kong every Christmas. We both completed the Leaving Certificate in 1956. My sister stayed in Hong Kong and subsequently returned to Holland with the whole family in 1958 when my father retired, and I returned to Sydney to complete a Science Degree at Sydney University. I graduated in 1960 as a geologist.
Having worked as a geologist in some of the remotest parts of Australia, I can surely say that this is the most beautiful and unique country in the world. In 1965 I married Shirley Boag and we have four children — Carolyn (1966), Paul (1968), Mark (1970), and Catherine (1977). In 1966 I became an Australian Citizen. All of my children have been to Holland and have met all their relations. While they savour many aspects of Dutch culture, they are true-blue Aussies.