FINDING WORK
Klaas Moen arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia on 19 June 1949 and immediately set about looking for work. It is interesting to read the details of his Incoming Passenger Card and the clear intention to “stay forever” to settle. It was his intention to continue his passage to either Brisbane or Sydney. He had arrived with several other Dutchmen who no doubt assisted him in finding a job and accommodation in Perth. He immediately joined the union and using his work papers was issued with a ticket to work as a pastry cook. The social security/labour exchange found him a number of jobs and he lived for some time in lodgings situated at 155 Pier Street, Perth before moving to Cannington that was a few miles south of Perth. Permanent accommodation was difficult to find and as Klaas missed his young family he keenly set about finding suitable lodgings for his wife and child.
Klaas’s third job was at a food factory in Cannington “Gardener Mumzons” which made food products including tomato sauce and mango chutney. Klaas was good at his job and was quickly promoted to leading hand. Conditions in the factory were encouraging with early morning starts, a forty-hour working week and bonuses. Through this work Klaas was able to establish some financial security and rented a small room on the verandah at the back of a house at 53 Wimblode Street, Cannington. Having achieved this he was able to send the necessary papers to Holland and secure the passage for his family’s immigration to Australia. Klaas wrote a number of times to Holland explaining how good conditions were in Australia. He was careful not to mention the difficulties he was experiencing, as this would have made family in Holland reluctant to release his wife and child.
Klaas soon realised that the cramped conditions on the back verandah of this house in Cannington would be totally unsuitable for his family and he set about finding something more permanent. He was assisted by a friend and placed an advertisement in the West Australian for “Wanted - A Property in the Hills”. A work colleague knew of Klaas’s requirements and contacted a Mr Conigrove the Armadale Real Estate Agent who was able to show Klaas two properties. One with 30 acres of land at Fremantle and the other with eight acres located off the Albany Highway, Bedfordale - two miles south of the historic Narrogin Inne, Armadale.
On inspection, Klaas was very impressed with the Bedfordale property. There was a house, partially supported on wooden stilts, of weatherboard construction that had a large lounge room built into the side of a hill known as the Darling Ranges. It also had a strong and permanent creek “the Neerigin Brook” flowing through the middle of the property on land that Europeans had once described as a dry country. There was even rumour that a Russian had kept an aircraft in the properties shed. This was a little hard to believe but it helped to secure the plot. The Fremantle property was less appealing and peas were growing there at the time.
In the meantime Klaas met Jacob Segbore who agreed to come into partnership with Klaas on the purchase of the property. They purchased the property in Bedfordale for £1450 pounds and paid a £10 pound deposit to secure the deal. It should be remembered that this was a new country to Klaas and there was no advice available on property acquisition and investment strategies. Additionally Klaas spoke limited English and there was always the possibility of someone wishing to take advantage of these new Australians. The property was purchased from an Englishman Mr. Tom Gazley and repayment terms agreed. The agreement was that property would be paid off by regular payments in addition to a £3 pounds a week for rental. This was a strange arrangement and caused problems as time went on. It was shortly after Erica and Martin joined Klaas that the problem was addressed. By a considerable stroke of luck they happened to assist a passing motorist with mechanical problems who after befriending then advised they should seek legal advice.
Klaas worked hard at the Cannington factory to keep up the repayments, but there was something amiss. The taxation office was after the old owners for tax payable on the £3 pound rent that was being claimed as a tax deduction. There were even taxation concerns on the income my parents were earning from the chooks (chickens) which were alleged to be part of the deal with the original owners. This was later resolved with no tax being paid by my parents on the income from the chooks.
Every two to three weeks repayments were made to Gazley’s agent, called Conigrove. This man was very persistent and it transpires that the Gazley wanted the land back and was hoping the Moen’s would default on the repayments. Property values had started to rise dramatically and Conigrove wanted to bankrupt Klaas’s assets. However it was not to be and repayments continued. Klaas was very keen to succeed and made it clear that he would meet the payments.
In the meantime Erica Moen arrived and some time after sought advice from Solicitor Solomon’s about the repayment arrangements. She realised that there was something odd about paying rent in addition to regular property re-payments. Solomon suggested that the matter should be left alone as to fight it was not worth the trouble. It was then decided that the Armadale branch of the Commonwealth Bank should be approached to arrange a bank loan to facilitate payment of the outstanding amount owing. The Commonwealth Bank however declined to advance the outstanding £650 pounds. Not to be deterred another approach was made to the opposition Armadale Branch of the Bank of New South Wales (now known as Westpac) who decently agreed to provide sufficient overdraft facility to both enable repayment and provide additional cash for development of the farm. So here was the Moen’s first introduction to borrowing money from banks. It was something Klaas detested and it made him even more determined to repay his debts as quickly as possible.
ERICA AND MARTIN ARRIVE FROM THE NEDERLANDS
Erica and Martin travelled on board the SS Volendam from December 1949 to January 1950
From 1950 to 1961 a substantial wave of some 116,000 Dutch immigrated to Australia. With a post war baby boom, food and housing shortages and heavy demands on civil construction, the Dutch Government actively encouraged families to leave its shores. In 1951 Australia signed an assisted passage agreement with the Nederlands under which both governments contributed to the cost of passage while the Australian government accepted responsibility for temporary accommodation, employment and after care. The cold war in Europe also made the land “down under” attractive, although migrant applicants were required to declare that they would undertake any work, regardless of their specific higher skills. A previous understanding of English or readiness to learning plus their work ethic put the Dutch amongst the most quickly settled of the New Australians. Unlike most other post-war immigrant groups, most of the Dutch did not choose to live in inner city suburbs but were attracted to semi-rural areas on the fringes of larger cities
Erica and Martin Moen obtained passport in Amsterdam, number 734028, issued on the 13 June 1949, and embarked from Rotterdam, Holland as Third Class passengers aboard the “SS Volendam”. The SS Volendam was built in 1922 at Harland & Wolff in Govan near Glasgow. 1940-1945: in charter by Ministry of War Transport, London, 1940: torpedoed and grounded, raised and refurbished into troop transportship, 1951: laid up at Rotterdam, 1952: scrapped at Hendrik Ido Ambacht”
They arrived at Port Fremantle, Western Australia in the heat of 19 January 1950. Their Incoming Passenger Card shows them as having “Permanent Residence”. There had been a storm the night before and they embarked from their boat in the morning. Most of the heavier baggage would follow later, but Martin’s playpen was dragged over the railway bridge to the railway station. Klaas father was very pleased to meet his family and assisted with the locomotive train trip from Fremantle to Perth and then to Armadale.
Arrangements had also been made to go by taxi to go to their new home in Bedfordale. It was Mr. Billing’s old Ford and on the way they experienced a flat tyre and the driver disappeared into the Narrogin Inne whilst Erica sat waiting in the taxi. By the time they reached the property it was dark and not really much could be seen of the house or the surrounding bushlands.
This was the rustic setting that greeted Erica as her new home in Western Australia. The house was shared with Nel and Jacob Segbore. This family was supposed to share costs but they proved to be a burden and moved out shortly after, leaving all the financial responsibilities to Moens. There had been warnings by friends who knew that the Segbore’s were trying to get the Moens out of the house and property. Nel was ill and mentally disturbed, as she had spent time in an Indonesian Concentration Camp under Japanese occupation and Jacob had come with Klaas on the boat from Singapore.
Erica Moen was somewhat astonished by her “luxurious surroundings”. She had expected similar comforts to her home in Loosdrecht and would have walked back to Holland had the opportunity presented itself. However it was a home and settled down quickly making the best of a difficult situation.
The front door to the house that was to be Erica Moen’s future home in the rural setting of Bedfordale, Western Australia from 1950 to 1975.
Nel had put a newspaper tablecloth on the kitchen table and had sawed off the backs of the old chairs for greater comfort. Martin slept on a high stretcher bed and was attached with rope via his harness to prevent him falling out of the bed. Erica believed it was safer to have this type of restraint than have the risk of Martin falling onto the timber floor.
A few days after Erica arrival, her heavy luggage was delivered. Mr. Pat Matthews was the cartage contractor. He transported much of the future farm produce to the Metropolitan Market Trust in West Perth. In those days there were no JCB’s or mobile cranes available so getting their huge timber case with all the family belongings off the truck was not a problem - it was simply pushed off, luckily nothing broke and the packing case was converted into handy household items such as cupboards and a wheelbarrow for Martin.
Within a few weeks Erica settled down and all she needed were some saucepans. She had brought with her a double bed, tables, chairs and cutlery. She quickly mastered that modern kitchen stove which was fed with long pieces of timber- they didn’t have any tools to cut the lengths of timber and these would stick out of the hearth ready to trip up an unwary or unwanted intruder. Erica and Klaas decided to travel to Perth to buy the remaining utensils. They were purchased from either Boans on Wellington Street or Bairds on Murray Street. Klaas had met a chap, Bill, several days after his arrival in Perth and decided to pay him a visit whilst in town. They lived upstairs and Erica describes the living conditions of this family as the most revolting she had experienced for some time. She never again complained about her new home in Bedfordale. Bill had at one time worked for the Golingers (relations of the Mossenson’s) as a tradesman or some sort of assistant - he had jumped ship.
Erica describes a funny incident when one day she wanted advice from the Dutch Consulate in Perth when to her surprise he only spoke English and wasn’t of any assistance.
It wasn’t 3 months before other Dutch immigrants came knocking at the Moen’s door. These people were generally unhelpful and put a lot of strain on Erica and Klaas. Erica fed them, helped them find accommodation and work and assisted wherever possible. They stayed for some 9 months and quickly adjusted to Australian life. Martin remembers Hank and Henny Brakele who arrived in 1951. They had three small children and Martin was fond of the father. Hank was a carpenter and carried a bag with long shinny metal nails that always fascinated Martin. Martin could never convince Hank to give one or maybe he was too shy to ask. Hank’s brother and family were also made welcome by Hank and also stayed a short time at the Moen’s house.
Erica Moen tells the story of Hanks brother, Wim an electrician, who came also with 3 children. It transpires that during Hank’s stay at the Moen’ collected his brother and family and Cor and Frown Donker. An additional seven people just off the boat at Fremantle trying to find a place to stay presented them selves to the front gate of the Moen’s property (a horse had to keep in). What was Erica to do but welcome these people? It was a total 12 people who had to be cared for. Erica assisted Wim in finding a job at the Cross’s Apple Orchard and not long after found a place to live there. Erica recalls that they did do much to assist and finally when Hank was still there 9 months later insisted Klass ask them to move or she would return to Europe?
Martin Moen recalls his memories of the living conditions:
“The house was without power and relied on kerosene lamps for lighting, there was no phone, few glass windows, a leaking corrugated roof, no ceilings and ample rats that playing on the rafters. My father became an expert rat catcher for many years after this training period. He graduated as a “professional” rabbit trapper and caught many of these varmints trying to knock off his fresh fruit and vegetables. There were no flywires and the bush flies would have a great time zooming in and out especially when there was something meaty being prepared in the kitchen. I do remember the Coolgardie safe and the house roof was covered with that fashionable rusted corrugated iron. I distinctly remember that the sound of the rain banging of the iron would scare the hell out of me when thunderstorms crossed the ranges
There was an outside toilet that seemed miles away and finding it in the bloody dark was a real challenge.
We had only newspaper in those days and as a youngster I used to have such fun lighting matches and burning the paper in the bog. It didn’t do much for my complexion though. I needed the matches to find my way in the dark as sometimes the kerosene lamp ran out of fuel. The property’s toilet was constructed from timber weatherboard with the throne consisting of a solid smooth contraption constructed from thick jarrah board. It was clearly built for warmth and comfort with a wooden flap to keep the flies and spiders at bay..
The outside dunny was Dad’s pride and joy and he’d spend a great deal of time giving it the fireman’s flush from top to bottom and then drowning it with disinfectant. At that time he had a 2.5 horsepower diesel pump that was able to reticulate a considerable portion of the property. To his credit I can never remember it being unhealthy although I knew when he’d been. He was an addicted smoker in those days and the afterburn was always very distinct. Never mind the seat was warm. He never let the 4-gallon drum overflow and spread the contents over the land. We had many a sweet tasting imperial mandarin fed on this first class waste”.
MAKING A LIVING
How did Erica and Klaas make a living? For many years Klaas would peddle his fixed wheel bike down from the 20 mile peg on the Albany Highway to the Armadale railway station and then train to Cannington. It was some years before they made use of the land. They learnt to plant turnips at the wrong time of the year, but were very successful at growing fresh garden peas. They tasted very sweet when picked and to this day Martin prides himself as being able to select the best gourmet peas at his local growers market.