Christiaan Slotemaker de Bruine
| Town/City | Canberra |
|---|---|
| First name | Christiaan |
| Last name | Slotemaker de Bruine |
| Country of Origin | The Netherlands |
| Date of Birth | 7th May 1941 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1964 |
| Submitted by | Christiaan Slotemaker de Bruine |
Story
Reason for leaving homeland – Studying Forestry in Australia
About the Journey – By ship, the Flavia; 5 weeks on the high seas.
I arrived in Sydney in September: a modern western city with a fantastic harbour. The city lacked the sophistication of European cities, but the bush made more than up for it. My first walk was in the Blue Mountains, Blackheath, where I wondered at the “naked trees”, the gum trees, which appeared to have no bark, as compared to the European trees!
I was enrolled in Sydney University for two years in their Science course, but after working at Vanderfield and Reid, the timber yard, until March, boarding in Cremorne and working a night shift in office cleaning in North Sydney, I was told that the Uni. quota was full…..Fortunately my Dutch embassy came to the rescue and secured me a place at the ANU in Canberra.
In the following 4 years of the course I worked during the Uni holidays in all the States in some form of Forestry, before taking up an appointment as Forest officer in W.A. in Dwellingup in 1969. In 1970 I realised that Forestry was a totally commercial operation as compared to the European forestry and that I was more suited to the involvement of people in nature. After travelling for some months in the world, I returned to Canberra and got a job in Parks and Gardens as manager. In 1971 I married and stayed here until the present day. Canberra is the best city I know for my interests: close to the mountains, small but not too small, relatively close to Sydney and the beach.
My wife and I had two great boys in the ensuing years and I completed the landscape architecture degree at the CCAE. In 1986, while working as landscape architect in City Parks Administration, I proposed the idea of a Floriade for Canberra as the Department’s contribution to the Bicentennary. This was accepted and I designed and organised the establishment of the Floriade, together with Peter Sutton, the horticultural manager.
In 1988 the first festival was opened by the first Chief Minister Rosemary Follett. I designed the festivals in 1989 and 1990, before resigning and starting my own Landscape business, from which I resigned in 2009.