Kees (Cornelis) Zonneveld

Story

I was born in The Netherlands in a village called Leiderdorp on 23 March 1946. My migration story starts after I completed my National Service in 1968. My reasons for leaving Holland was driven by mixed emotions and desires and the fear of boredom, as I wanted to ‘re-invent myself’ and was keen to start a new life as a single man in search for a more exciting and adventurous life. This does not mean that I did not value the loving and memorable childhood and upbringing I had in Holland, but I just wanted another challenge in my life. I felt that I needed more space and freedom around me and had the urge to travel and see more of the world. And one place that attracted me most was this far away continent called ‘Australia’ that offered this opportunity, a country with different climates, casual way of life and many job opportunities and where everybody was given a fair go and where the class system was almost negligible.

The promise by the Australian and Dutch Governments propaganda to start a new life in Australia also sounded very attractive to me and my close friend Ton. We did our due diligence and responded positively and applied for an assisted-passage scheme and were notified two months later that our applications were successful. We were accepted by the Commonwealth of Australia for selection in an assisted-passage by air transport. We both gladly signed on the dotted lines of the required documents as to us it seemed like a very affordable ticket to our land of adventure and high hopes.

The day of truth had arrived on the 6th March 1968, a day my friend Ton and I will never forget. Each with our suitcase packed we had to say goodbye to our loved ones. I nervously exchanged hugs, kisses and tears with my parents Gerrit & Jo Zonneveld, my brother Martien and two sisters Hetty and Fanny and other relatives. We finally boarded flight 843, a KLM Douglas DC 8, at Schiphol airport and we both felt excited and full of expectations and we were looking forward to seeing our new homeland. Strangely at that moment I was filled with trepidation and numerous thoughts were going through my mind whilst boarding the plane. ‘What are you doing?’É’Why was I leaving my beloved family behind?’É A bizarre feeling, but once we were up in the air those thoughts faded away and excitement took over. The 36 hour flight wasn\’t very comfortable as the plane was filled with nervous parents and crying kids, but we finally arrived in the early morning hours at Mascot airport in Sydney.

After immigration formalities, we collected our suitcase and were greeted by immigration government officials. They put us on a rather poor looking small bus and our trip through Sydney\’s suburbs to our final destination had begun and we were tired and anxious to know what was waiting for us at the end of the journey.

Finally we arrived at the migrant centre called Villawood Hostel and our first impression of this hostel was a harsh and blunt introduction to life in the new country. We waited for a long time on the lawn before a supervisor designated a cabin for us. The cabin was located in one of the old style corrugated-iron army barracks and was fairly basic accommodation. The room was very small and the furniture was two squeaky single iron beds and two old single wooden wardrobes. I had the feeling that I was back in the army again. However, after settling in we made friends quickly with other migrants and our first introduction to life in Australia had begun. To adjust to our new life, we stayed at the hostel for the next two months which allowed us to absorb the habits of our new country and overcome the culture shock. Eventually we moved out of the hostel and started our new adventurous life afresh Ð far away from home with our first new jobs.

As I reflect upon my life now some 41 years later, I feel that I\’m living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world – a country of vast contrasts with more than 200 nationalities happily co-existing. For me it\’s this diversity that makes Australia stand out from the rest of the places I\’ve been in the world. During this time I married (and divorced) and had a son Adrian who is married and lives on the Gold Coast with his wife Jacquelyn and their two beautiful children Diana and Xavier.

Whilst sitting here at home in Melbourne behind my computer writing this story and before submitting my story and press the Send button, I felt an inner warmth and satisfaction coming over me, a feeling that my decision back in 1968 to come to Australia has been the right one and that I also have fallen in love with this beautiful land. I have never been ashamed of my Dutch origin, roots and upbringing as this laid the strong foundation for my now enjoyable life as an Aussie in my new homeland

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