Herman van Praag
| Town/City | Devonport |
|---|---|
| First name | Herman |
| Last name | van Praag |
| Country of Origin | The Netherlands |
| Date of Birth | 8/4/1934 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 21/12/78 |
| Submitted by | Walter van Praag |
Story
Having survived WW-II a la Anne Frank, hidden in Amsterdam, moving from one home to another, Herman was not too happy about the Cold War prospect in the 1970s. As Russia and America were putting rockets all around Europe Herman decided to go away as far as possible to avoid a repeat of his WW-II experience.
Herman applied for the family to migrate and was approved as the last family not to be subjected to the ‘point system’. Under the point system he never would’ve gained entry as we all had medical conditions of sorts, we were not wealthy and had no desirable profession. Herman was specialised in EEC law, working for the Dutch Government, and that experience is of no use in Australia! Herman sold the family home, gave away most possessions, packed the bags and started a stamp investment business in Australia – just before we got the greatest recession of all. After struggling to keep the business afloat he became an Australian and joined the public service in Canberra.
It was hot in Canberra, it felt tropical. Canberra was going through heatwaves. It was as far away from the cold Holland we had left behind. We had nothing and had to wait for 3 months for our crate to arrive. Son Walter saw the Captain Cook Memorial jet spouting a hundred meters into the air and thought it was a geyser, and considering how foreign everything else was this seemed plausible. Walter and Frank, the two sons, were put into ESL classes immediately and were given a personal tutor to learn English before school started. All they could say was Yes Sir, No Sir. In school they were called ‘Dutchy’. To make up for the loss of friends and toys from Holland we were promised a Brady Bunch car (a Ford Falcon), and a dog and two cats. We wanted to become Australian. Bringing a plate to a neighbours BBQ for us meant literally that, an empty plate. And when we were invited for ‘tea’ at 6pm we could not understand why a cup of tea would not be had at 4pm, and did not expect to eat dinner! And so we slowly merged in.