Hooray for holidays

Firstly, thanks one and all of the overwhelming support for my initial blog.

So, the two week mid-trimester break is here (finally), which means a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of research (and catch up on copious amount of study).

A few weeks ago I popped into the Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV) for their open day, and subsequently joined as a member. They have an amazing amount of resources on hand and very willing and able to help with my research and have a group dedicated to international settlers research.
Whilst I love researching my ancestors, it doesn't take a lot to become overwhelmed and find myself floundering, and this is where I am at the moment.

My Grandfather & Java

My grandfather, Hendrik (Hank) Wilkens immigrated to Australia in the 1950s and it's almost as if his life began the moment he stepped off the boat and on to Australian soil.

Hank was Dutch, however he was not born in The Netherlands, but in Java in the Dutch East Indies - now Indonesia. We believe his father was a doctor for the Dutch Army, and Hank and his brother Louis were both born and raised there. It is also believed that both of his parents, Helena and Francois were born in the Dutch East Indies, but married in The Netherlands.

The Wilkens Family in Java, Dutch East Indies, c. 1924. From left Helena holding Louis and Francois with Hank.

The Netherlands

We know that the family relocated to The Netherlands, possibly in the early 1940s. However, we can't be sure when and why they decided to leave Java. I believe the explanation lies in the Second World War and the very real threat of Japanese invasion during the Pacific campaign in the early 1940s. All we know is that the family survived the war, and the family sans Hank went on to live in The Netherlands for the rest of their lives, possibly in Zeist.

Australia

We believe that Hank arrived in Australia in the early 1950s, however after researching alien arrivals records through the National Archives of Australia I am still no closer to finding any information. He is the ever elusive mystery man.
In 1957 he married my grandmother, Erica Russell in Geelong and they went on to have 3 children (one is my father) and lived in Lara, Meredith and Torquay. Hank was a qualified industrial chemist, an extraordinary horseman and one of Victoria's, if not Australia's leading dressage teachers.
He passed away in 1991, just before his 71st birthday.

Right: Hank & Erica Wilkens on their wedding day. Geelong, 1957.



Left: Hank looking rather dapper riding one of his horses.

 

 

 

Prologue 

Last year I embarked on a trip to The Netherlands to try and uncover more about Hank's life. I made little progress in the way of further information about him, but was able to delve a little further into the lives of his ancestors. He is very much a mystery man, but I will continue to attempt to Google translate Dutch documents, analyse old photos and hassle the National Archives. I WILL persist!!

The National Archives in Den Haag, The Netherlands, 2011.

Stay tuned. Hopefully there will be much more to come.



Phoebe