Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum

[Hollander]

Hello Fellow Hostel Dwellers,

My name is Ed Jonker. I stumbled on this site whilst searching for old friends from my early days in Australia. I have read your interesting stories and found that they echo many of my own experiences. I'll add my story in the hope that you'll find it equally interesting and who knows, you might be an old acquantance.

My family left our hometown of Amsterdam in September, 1964, when I was 15. We boarded the MS Aurelia in Rotterdam and headed for Sydney via Southampton, Port Said, Aden, Fremantle and Melbourne. I made some good friends during that journey. Many a day was whiled away in the little bar at the back of the ship, by the swimming pool. The jukebox seemed to have only a handful of songs in it and to this day, whenever I hear Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime", I could swear that I can feel the deck roll under my feet! I remember especially Mick and Keith Harrington and Barbara Brown. Unfortunately I lost track of them after disembarking in Sydney. All I know is that the Harringtons went to Dundas Hostel whilst my family went to Scheyville and then on to East Hills.

We only spent a couple of weeks at Scheyville. A number of other Dutch passengers from the Aurelia, also went to Scheyville. I remember the Jochems family and their daughters Mieke and Gerda and a boy my age called Bart (de Wit maybe). Scheyville is in the far north west of Sydney, about 55 Km from the CBD. Doesn't sound very far, but in those days, especially to an Amsterdam boy, it was the middle of nowhere. Bart and I spent whole days exploring the tracks and backroads around the camp, without running into another soul. Just bush, orange orchards, snakes and lizards. To get to the city, you first had to get a bus to Windsor. Then another bus to Riverstone, from where you caught a STEAM TRAIN!!! to Blacktown. I'll never forget the ride on that wonderful old museum piece with its timber panelling and wrought iron luggage racks and with a view of rolling country side against the backdrop of the Blue Mountains. I felt like I was in the Wild West! From Blacktown you could travel the rest of the way in the luxury of an electric 'red rattler'. The whole trip took hours. We left Scheyville just before Christmas 1964. I never saw Bart again. I heard that his family moved to the Bathurst/Orange area. We kept in touch with the Jochems for a while, but have long since lost touch with them as well.

From Scheyville we moved to East Hills Hostel, where we were the only Dutch family for a while. We stayed there for all of 1965, before moving to Liverpool. Like most of you, we lived in one of those tin Nissan huts. Ours was in the far back corner of the hostel, close to Williams Creek. I was enrolled in East Hills Boys High School, but had a couple of months respite, because of the summer break. I spent that time fishing in the creek, or swimming in the waterhole that others have mentioned also and ogling the sisters Linda and Sylvia (i don't remember their surname). The recent rail connection between East Hills and Liverpool runs directly over that swimmingspot. When school eventually started, you caught a minibus from the hostel to the footbridge across the Georges River. On Friday and Saturday nights I'd go out into the City with some friends, to places like "The Bowl" and "Beatlevillage" to see bands like The Easybeats and The Missing Links. Coming home after midnight, it was a bit of a hike from the station back to the hostel in the pitch dark. Still, after Scheyville, East Hills was almost metropolitan, only 20 minutes on the train to the heart of the city!! And on a modern 'red rattler'

But, speaking of rattlers, I do rattle on. So, if you've read this far, thanks for indulging my nostalgic moments.
Cheers
Ed Jonker

[Phyl]

Enjoyed your post Ed. I am always hopeful of the Dorsman family from Holland finding this site. Would love to know how they all are. They were at Cabramatta in 1956-57.We were at East Hills but not in you time there,but remember the places like the bridge etc. so can relate to your experiences .Though my children went to Hammondville Primary and Liverpool Boys High.
Anyway enjoyed your post .Hope you post more memories
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Kind regards,
Phyl

[Hollander]

Hi Phyl,
Thanks for your kind response. I do remember a fair bit about the East Hills Hostel and there are a few topics on the various forums that I will be adding to.

I had a quick look in the online Telstra White pages for the name Dorsman. (http://www.whitepages.com.au/wp/initResSearch.do?subscriberName=&location=) There are 21 listings pretty well throughout Australia, but if you have an idea as to which State and maybe their initials, I can ring a couple for you. I bet they're all related.

Cheers
Ed

[Phyl]

Ed that is nice of you.
I have looked in the Australian whitepages online and there are two possibles in Sydney one in Smithfield and one in Fairfield West. Both with the initial J. Of course they may not remember me but they nearly all spent a lot of time at our house at Cabramatta Hostel and I often wonder how they all are. They were nice kids. Three boys and a girl used to visit us.The J initials were Jaap and Jan.
Even if they were alerted to the site and my very kind regards were passed on would be great. We were Phyl and Tony Hobbs and had three sons a two year old and baby twins.
Thankyou so much.
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Kind regards,
Phyl

[Hollander]

Hi Phyl,

I've telephoned both the Smithfield and Fairfield West numbers and in each case left a message on an answering machine If they don't call back I'll try again on the weekend.

Cheers
Ed

[Phyl]

Thankyou so much Ed. I hope they do make contact.
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Kind regards,
Phyl

[Hollander]

Success Phyl!!

One of them is indeed Jan Dorsman and he does remember you. I told him about this site. We exchanged email addresses and I'll PM you his after I send this.

Ed

[Phyl]

Thankyou a million times Ed.
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Kind regards,
Phyl