Meeste Nederlanders in Australië naar hun zin
Abstract
Article on sociologist Joed Elich's research, who interviewed Dutch migrants in Australia. His research would be analysed for his PhD thesis at Leiden University. One of his conclusions was that most Dutch people enjoyed their lives in Australia, but they wanted to return to the mother country for a holiday.
Translation
Most Dutch people in Australia are happy SYDNEY - Drs Joed Elch has collected as much information as possible about Dutch immigrants in Australia since July 1984. The intention is to analyse these data in his dissertation to obtain a doctorate in sociology at the University of Leiden.
Joed Elich has spoken with almost 300 Dutch people in Australia and with about 100 Australians (and people of another ethnic origin) at ministries, universities and government institutions.
His journey passed through Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, some country towns in Victoria and Queensland, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Tasmania.
On his route from Dubbo to Bourke, he did not see much. A few houses, a car every hour and a single kangaroo or emu.
He also saw few road signs because there are hardly any side roads. However, on the back of those plates is always chalked up: 'Asians out' or 'keep Australia white'. Where almost no people live, let alone immigrants, such expressions of displeasure can still be found.
It is one of many contradictions Joed Elich encountered on his study tour of Australia.
This country includes desert and rainforest, is modern and old-fashioned, moreover one of the most multicultural nations.
Just Different
The question he was asked the most was:
What do you think of Australia?
In response, Elich (except for the contradictions above) wants to summarise a lot in one sentence: everything seems to be the same in Europe (or the Netherlands), but everything is all slightly different.
People live in houses here, but the layout and furnishing differ despite the frequent 'Dutch' influence.
The trees and shrubs in the gardens have different shapes, colours, and they feel different.
The Dutch still speak a lot of Dutch among themselves, but so much (translated) English is used that it is almost a different language. The slogan 'you have to have been yourself to understand something' does not seem without truth to Joed Elich after this journey.
It is, therefore no easy task to put this 'different' into words and to make it clear in the Netherlands. In the first place, there is not that much interest in the Netherlands for Australia.
It is too far away and is often still regarded as a lagging country.
Nothing could be further from the truth, but there is a second, more important point.
The idea prevails in the Netherlands: those emigrants did not think the country of birth was good enough, so let them cook in their own juice. Gloating
It is, therefore, not surprising that after the KRO television documentary 'Getting old far from home' some gloating arose in the Netherlands.
There were reactions like 'You see, they have their problems as well over there in Australia'. Although the KRO film did not give a complete picture of the Dutch here, it does touch on an important point that should not be overlooked: the Dutch background becomes important again for the elderly.
It is customary to divide emigrants into two groups: the failed and the successful.
Elich considers this highly unfortunate.
In the Netherlands, people are not classified into those two groups either; Why would one do that to immigrants? Understandably, people want to know whether it is 'better' or 'worse' here, but it is impossible to set criteria.
Whether they think they are in bad or good shape is important for emigrants themselves.
Elich's interviews show that most Dutch people think they enjoy themselves here and only want to return to their motherland for a holiday. Issues
However, there are also problems, he observes.
Some of these are not the result of being an immigrant and are everywhere: marital difficulties, signs of old age, illness, and children’s education.
On the other hand, other problems are caused by not being born in Australia: loss of language, need for reminiscing, lack of friends due to long distances, and children estranged from the parents.
Elich believes one cannot speak of 'the' Dutch in Australia. There are so many differences between people, there is no single type of emigrant.
In his research yet to be elaborated, he will study the general aspects of migration and less the individual migrants.
One of those aspects will be the way in which the Dutch organise themselves or, on the contrary, do not go to social clubs. The latter is, in his opinion, the majority though they often form informal friendship networks.
Joed Elich has spoken with almost 300 Dutch people in Australia and with about 100 Australians (and people of another ethnic origin) at ministries, universities and government institutions.
His journey passed through Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, some country towns in Victoria and Queensland, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Tasmania.
On his route from Dubbo to Bourke, he did not see much. A few houses, a car every hour and a single kangaroo or emu.
He also saw few road signs because there are hardly any side roads. However, on the back of those plates is always chalked up: 'Asians out' or 'keep Australia white'. Where almost no people live, let alone immigrants, such expressions of displeasure can still be found.
It is one of many contradictions Joed Elich encountered on his study tour of Australia.
This country includes desert and rainforest, is modern and old-fashioned, moreover one of the most multicultural nations.
Just Different
The question he was asked the most was:
What do you think of Australia?
In response, Elich (except for the contradictions above) wants to summarise a lot in one sentence: everything seems to be the same in Europe (or the Netherlands), but everything is all slightly different.
People live in houses here, but the layout and furnishing differ despite the frequent 'Dutch' influence.
The trees and shrubs in the gardens have different shapes, colours, and they feel different.
The Dutch still speak a lot of Dutch among themselves, but so much (translated) English is used that it is almost a different language. The slogan 'you have to have been yourself to understand something' does not seem without truth to Joed Elich after this journey.
It is, therefore no easy task to put this 'different' into words and to make it clear in the Netherlands. In the first place, there is not that much interest in the Netherlands for Australia.
It is too far away and is often still regarded as a lagging country.
Nothing could be further from the truth, but there is a second, more important point.
The idea prevails in the Netherlands: those emigrants did not think the country of birth was good enough, so let them cook in their own juice. Gloating
It is, therefore, not surprising that after the KRO television documentary 'Getting old far from home' some gloating arose in the Netherlands.
There were reactions like 'You see, they have their problems as well over there in Australia'. Although the KRO film did not give a complete picture of the Dutch here, it does touch on an important point that should not be overlooked: the Dutch background becomes important again for the elderly.
It is customary to divide emigrants into two groups: the failed and the successful.
Elich considers this highly unfortunate.
In the Netherlands, people are not classified into those two groups either; Why would one do that to immigrants? Understandably, people want to know whether it is 'better' or 'worse' here, but it is impossible to set criteria.
Whether they think they are in bad or good shape is important for emigrants themselves.
Elich's interviews show that most Dutch people think they enjoy themselves here and only want to return to their motherland for a holiday. Issues
However, there are also problems, he observes.
Some of these are not the result of being an immigrant and are everywhere: marital difficulties, signs of old age, illness, and children’s education.
On the other hand, other problems are caused by not being born in Australia: loss of language, need for reminiscing, lack of friends due to long distances, and children estranged from the parents.
Elich believes one cannot speak of 'the' Dutch in Australia. There are so many differences between people, there is no single type of emigrant.
In his research yet to be elaborated, he will study the general aspects of migration and less the individual migrants.
One of those aspects will be the way in which the Dutch organise themselves or, on the contrary, do not go to social clubs. The latter is, in his opinion, the majority though they often form informal friendship networks.
| Subject | Emigration and immigration |
|---|---|
| Australia--Emigration and immigration—History | |
| Australia--Social life and customs | |
| Cultural assimilation | |
| Happiness--History | |
| Netherlands--History | |
| Dutch newspapers | |
| Category | 5. Cold War (including Decolonisation) |
| Publisher | Windmill Publishers |
| Keywords | Joed Elich |
| Creator | Dutch Australian Weekly |
| Current Holder | National Library of Australia |
| Date | 1985-11-01 |
| Series Number | page 10 |
| Access Rights | Digitised |
| Country Of Origin | Australia |
| Place | Sydney |
| Language | Dutch |
| Physical Format | Newspapers |
| Transcription | Meeste Nederlanders in Australië naar hun zin SYDNEY - Drs Joed Elch heeft sinds juli 1984 zoveel mogelijk informatie verzameld over Nederlandse immigranten in Australië. De bedoeling is deze gegevens te analyseren in zijn proefschrift tor verkrijging van de graad doctor In de sociologie aan de universiteit van Leiden.
Joed Elich heeft met bijna 300 Nederlanders in Australie gesproken en daarnaast met ongeveer 100 Australiers (en mensen van andere etnische herkomst) op ministeries,
universiteiten en overheidsinstellingen.
Zijn reis voerde langs Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, enkele 'country towns' in Victoria en Queensland, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, en Tasmanië.
Op weg van Dubbo naar Bourke kwam hij niet veel tegen. Een paar huizen, een auto per uur en een enkele kangaroo of emu.
Hij zag er ook maar weinig verkeersborden want er zijn nauwelijks zijwegen. Op de achterkant van die borden staat echter steevast gekalkt: 'Asians out' of 'keep Australia white'. Waar bijna geen mensen wonen, laat staan immigranten, vindt men toch dergelijke uitingen van ongenoegen.
Het is een van de vele tegenstrijdigheden, die Joed Elich op zijn studiereis door Australië is tegengekomen.
Dit land omvat woestijn en regenwoud, is modern en ouderwets tegelijk en bovendien een van de meest multiculturele naties. Net Anders
De vraag, die hem het meest werd gesteld is:
wat vind je van Australië?
Als antwoord daarop wil Elich (behalve de eerder genoemde tegenstrijdigheden) veel samenvatten in een zin: alles lijkt hetzelfde als Europa (of Nederland) maar het is allemaal net anders.
Men woont hier in huizen maar de indeling en inrichting is anders ondanks de veelvuldig voorkomende 'Hollandse' invloed.
De bomen en struiken in de tuinen hebben andere vormen, kleuren en voelen anders aan.
Nederlanders spreken nog heel wat Nederlands onder elkaar maar er wordt zoveel (vertaald) Engels gebruikt, dat het bijna een andere taal is. De leuze 'je moet zelf geweest zijn om er iets van te begrijpen' lijkt Joed Elich na deze reis niet zonder waarheid.
Het is dan ook geen eenvoudige opgave dat 'anders' onder woorden te brengen en in Nederland duidelijk te maken. In de eerste plaats is er in Nederland niet zoveel belangstelling voor Australië.
Het is te ver weg en wordt toch veelal nog als ' een land beschouwd, dat achterloopt.
Niets is minder waar maar er is een tweede belangrijker punt.
In Nederland heerst de gedachte: die emigranten vonden het geboorteland niet goed genoeg, laat ze nu ook maar in hun eigen sop gaar koken. Leedvermaak
Het is dan niet verwonderlijk, dat er na de KRO-televisie documentaire 'Oud worden ver van huis' enig leedvermaak ontstond in Nederland.
Er waren reakties te horen als 'zie je wel, ze hebben daar in Australië toch hun problemen'. Weliswaar gaf de KRO film geen volledig beeld van de Nederlanders hier, ze raakt wel een belangrijk punt, dat niet over het hoofd gezien mag worden: de Nederlandse achtergrond
wordt voor ouderen weer belangrijk.
Het is gebruikelijk emigranten in twee groepen in te delen: de mislukten en de geslaagden.
Elich beschouwt dit als hoogst ongelukkig.
In Nederland worden mensen immers ook niet ingedeeld in die twee groepen; Waarom zou men dat met immigranten wel doen? Het is begrijpelijk, dat men wil weten, of het hier 'beter' of 'slechter' is maar het is ondoenlijk daarvoor maatstaven aan te leggen.
Voor emigranten zelf is het belangrijk of zij zelf vinden, dat zij er slecht of goed aan toe zijn
Uit Elichs interviews is gebleken, dat de meeste Nederlanders vinden, dat zij het hier naar hun zin hebben en alleen nog voor vakantie naar het moederland terug willen. Problemen
Er zijn echter ook problemen, zo constateert hij.
Sommigen daarvan zijn niet het gevolg van het immigrant zijn en komen overal voor: huwelijks moelijkheden, ouderdomsverschijnselen, ziekte, opvoeding van de kinderen.
Andere problemen daarentegen worden wel veroorzaakt door het feit, dat men niet in Australië is geboren: verlies van de taal behoefte aan het ophalen van herinneringen, gebrek aan vrienden door grote afstanden, kinderen, die vervreemd zijn van de ouders.
Elich vindt dat men niet over 'de' Nederlanders in Australië kan spreken. Er zijn zoveel verschillen tussen mensen, er bestaat niet een type emigrant.
In zijn nog verder uit te werken onderzoek zal hij de algemene aspecten van migratie bestuderen en minder de individuele emigranten.
Een van die aspecten zal zijn de wijze, waarop Nederlanders zich organiseren of juist niet naar gezelligheidsverenigingen gaan. De laatsten zijn naar mening in de meerderheid maar zij vormen vaak informele vriendschapsnetwerken. |
| Related Resources | Nederlanders in Australië |
| Bibliographic Citation |
Log In to add your own notes to this record.