Jan Schooneveldt
| First name | Jan |
|---|---|
| Last name | Schooneveldt |
| Country of Origin | The Netherlands |
| Date of Birth | 2/2/2017 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1950 |
| Submitted by | John Schooneveldt |
Story
THE SCHOONEVELDT STORY
The Schooneveldt family arrived in Australia from Holland in two stages: Jan (John) Schooneveldt (b1917) arrived in Melbourne in 1950 to prepare the way for his family who arrived 6 months later.
Jan had served in the Dutch army before and during the World War II and took part in the Indonesian campaigns of 1946/7 whereupon he gained the rank of Captain. He had married Elisabeth Hooij in 1942 and by 1950 had four children: Jan Christiaan (b1943); Simon Peter Maria (b1946); Gertrudis Maria (b1949) and Franciscus Wiro Maria (b1950). Another child, also baptised Gertrudis Maria (b1944) had died from meningitis at the age of five months.
Economic and social conditions in the Netherlands during and immediately after the war were difficult. The Netherlands had remained neutral during WWI and did not expect to be invaded in WWII. While the actual invasion was swift, the Dutch resistance during the lengthy occupation resulted in serious German reprisals, the effects of which lasted many years.
Jan Schooneveldt had worked in Germany for a brief period during the war and his involvement in Indonesia had opened his eyes to opportunities outside Europe. He was ambitious, confident in his own abilities and convinced that emigration was the right course for him and his family.
His wife Elisabeth was less sure but agreed to stay behind while he found employment for himself and accommodation for the family. Within a few months of arriving he had found work with the Hickling brothers in Greensborough (a Melbourne suburb) who operated a home construction business in the area. One of the brothers, Des, owned a small bungalow in which he and his wife Jose lived while building their own house. Des helped Jan locate and purchase a suitable block of land nearby.
Full of optimism, Jan wrote to Elisabeth that they now owned land (at a cost of £66) and that he was getting ready to build. In the meantime Elisabeth, who was expecting another child, had the dilemma: should she go to Australia now with four children and before the birth of her next baby, or wait till after the baby was born. She decided that a six weeks voyage with four young children would be challenging enough but still easier than doing it with a new baby. She sold the furniture, purchased the tickets, arranged passports and visas and at the end of January 1951 while six months pregnant and with four young children (one not yet walking) she set out on a six-week voyage to Australia.
The ‘Maloja\’ was an English vessel that carried a mixture of Dutch and English immigrants, both assisted (£10) and like the Schooneveldt family, full fare-paying passengers. It left Plymouth mid January, arriving in Perth on 12 February 1951 and Melbourne a week later.
Jan was there to meet the family and escort them to the bungalow that was to serve as their temporary home until the promised house could be built: a process that was to take almost seven years, the last four of which were like living on a construction site. The house was sold in 1958 when the family moved to Healesville. By this time three additional children had been born: Elisabeth Margaretha Maria (b1952); Claire Christine Maria (b1954) and Margaret Anne Maria (b1957).
The move to Healesville involved the purchase of some bushland, a restaurant and guesthouse. It was a joint venture where Jan and Elisabeth joined Elizabeth\’s brother Gerard and his wife Barbara in managing the project. It was doomed from the start. While located in a beautiful part of the country, the quality of the facilities were inadequate, none of the partners had any experience in running a restaurant nor a guesthouse, there was no capital to do the necessary renovation and by then people tended to take their holidays further afield.
In addition to these problems, Elizabeth and Barbara had ten young children between them. Both were again pregnant: Barbara with her third child and Elizabeth with her tenth, Gregory Paul Maria (b April 1960). Both families lost heavily and moved into rented premises in Melbourne where they had to start again. Gerard and Barbara subsequently moved their family to Papua New Guinea and later to Indonesia and Jan and Elisabeth chose to remain in Melbourne.
Jan and Elisabeth had an 11th child, Anne Maria (stillborn) in 1962. Jan never came to terms with the Healesville debacle, but with a large family to support, had little choice but to struggle on. He died after a long battle with diabetes and alcohol in February 1982.