THE DOUBLE DUTCH THE NEW ZEALAND NETHERLANDS SOCIETY WELLINGTON INC. CLUB HOUSE SITUATED: AVALON HOUSE, 61 TAITA DRIVE, AVALON, LOWER HUTT

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1 THE DOUBLE DUTCH THE NEW ZEALAND NETHERLANDS SOCIETY WELLINGTON INC. CLUB HOUSE SITUATED: AVALON HOUSE, 61 TAITA DRIVE, AVALON, LOWER HUTT POSTAL ADDRESS: P O BOX 30060, LOWER HUTT 5040, NEW ZEALAND TELEPHONE (04) APRIL/MAY 2014 ISSUE 2014/2

2 THE COMMITTEE President Mr Kees Dorresteijn or Vice President Mr Pieter Koedijk or Secretary Mrs Anne-Marie Knibbeler or & Editor Double Dutch 21 August St, Stokes Valley 5019 Treasurer Mr Danny Langstraat or Assistant Treasurer Mrs Ann Beyk Events Manager & Assistant Secretary Ms Ellen van Dijken or Assistant Events Manager Ms Marije Postma or Committee Members Mrs Anna Heythuysen Ms Jeltsje Keizer Mrs Ina Kooistra Mr Theo Kooistra Mrs Yvonne van den Berg or Mr René van Lierop or Federation of NZ Netherlands Societies. Website: then click on Wellington in the side panel of the Federation s home page. There are 2 pages of information about our club, and you can access recent issues of The Double Dutch and the history of our club by opening Newsletters in the same panel. A photo album with photos of the 60 th Anniversary dinner of our club has recently been added. The Federation s De Schakel and other clubs newsletters are also posted on this website. ACTIVITY ORGANISERS Klaverjas, Tuesday Mornings... Mrs Ann Beyk Children s Dancing Lessons... Mrs Carolina van Rooy ( ) Wednesday Coffee Mornings... Mr Pieter Koedijk ( ) Librarian... Mrs Marianne Iwanek Dutch Costumes... Mrs Ann Beyk Gardens... Mr Kees Dorresteijn ( ) Friendly Support Network... Mr Bill van Waas... (04) the playgroup, which meets fortnightly on Fridays at the clubhouse REGULAR CLUB ACTIVITIES AVALON HOUSE Coffee Mornings 1 st and 3 rd Wed 10.00am Phone Pieter Koedijk on to offer your services if you can lend a hand. Klaverjassen Tuesdays 10.00am Instuif Sundays from 2.00pm to about 5pm Playgroup Fortnightly on Friday morning DATES TO REMEMBER KONINGSDAG Monday 28 April, 6-8pm, in The Rock Church, 4 Glover St, Ngauranga Gorge (see map on page 15) AGM Sunday 18 May 2pm at Avalon House, followed by wine and cheese Page 2

3 FROM THE PRESIDENT The next big event is our Koningsdag (King s birthday). We all are celebrating our first Koningsdag, a new event at a new venue with a new program with free drinks, finger food and great entertainment for young and old. Het Oranje Comité has been busy to put it all together, and the programme is included in this magazine. Make sure that you get your ticket or just turn up and pay at the door. On Sunday 18 th May we will be having our Annual General Meeting (AGM), at 2pm. I feel we are at the cross roads, with membership increasing and younger families joining our Society. A few long time committee members have indicated that they will not be available for the next committee and I ask the new members to the Society to come on board. I personally would like to take a back seat as well, the body is telling me to slow down and I can tell you that it is very rewarding to be part of the Wellington Netherlands Society and I speak out of experience. Nomination forms are available from the clubrooms and from the secretary, Anne-Marie Knibbeler. Although our membership is increasing, it is still sad to lose someone; Corrie Pilon passed away on the 5 th of February Corrie and her late husband (Luit) have been active members for a long time; they both have served for many years on the Wellington Dutch club committee. Our condolences go out to the family with their sad loss. Kees Dorresteijn FROM THE SECRETARY AND EDITOR I ve been busy with one thing and another these past two months, and the next two months promise more of the same! We are having our AGM on Sunday 18 May, at 2pm. We ve talked about the long-term future of the club in our committee and will ask for your ideas and opinions at the AGM please think about this. The minutes of last year s AGM and the agenda are in the centre of this DD and can be removed and taken to the meeting, as we will not have copies available at the meeting. Also, please be aware that you have to be a paid-up member for your vote to count at the AGM! Thank you to all of you who have already paid your membership dues; about 50% of the members. I ve included receipt and membership card in this DD for those of you who ve paid online or by mail everyone else should by now have received their receipt at a morning tea or card club. If you haven t paid, please do so now; details are on your invoice. It would save is so much time not having to ring people to remind them! The club will not organise an Easter Egg hunt this year, due to lack of interest in previous years, although the playgroup may have its own celebration. The cover photo is a picture from Keukenhof, which opened 20 March 2014 and will close on 18 May. If you are visiting Holland in this period, do go to Keukenhof it s well worth it! Best wishes to you all, Anne-Marie Knibbeler THE DEADLINE FOR COPY FOR THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE DOUBLE DUTCH IS 20 MAY. TICKETS FOR THE KING S DAY CELEBRATION ON MONDAY 28 APRIL ARE AVAILABLE FROM KEES DORRESTEIJN or OR ONLINE FOR DETAILS, SEE THE INVITATION ENCLOSED WITH THIS DOUBLE DUTCH. Page 3

4 50 YEARS IN NEW ZEALAND PART was an important year for us, because we both reached another milestone (my 60 th birthday and Dawn s 50 th ) and we celebrated this with our extended family and many friends at the Pavilion in Avalon Park. On the 5 th May 1995 The Wellington Netherlands Society celebrated the 50 th Anniversary Victory Europe by planting a Pohutukawa tree in Avalon Park. The tree was planted on a very wet day near our Clubhouse in Avalon Park with invited guests from our Dutch Embassy and also the Mayor of Lower Hutt. The tree has grown considerably since the planting and the Orange and the Red White and Blue ribbons are now well imbedded in the branches. On the 8 August 1995 a team of us went to Wellington to take part in the commemoration of the 50 th Anniversary of Victory Japan (photo with Wellington Mayor on the right) was my 5 th Anniversary of President of the Federation of New Zealand Netherlands Societies and I am a great believer that after 5 years it is time to vacate that position and step aside to have a break We received some more visitors from overseas, this time it was my second brother and his wife (pictured left). We traveled all over New Zealand again. I am not going into detail of all the places we visited, but I always tried to go to places where I haven t been before, so to see more of New Zealand myself. They were here for our birthdays and that was lovely for them to celebrate my birthday in the summer. In 1997 also after 5 years I made myself unavailable as President of the Wellington Society, although after one year I was re-elected as President of the Society. When I was doing some maintenance work at our flats a friend from one of the tenants approached me and asked if I had ever thought of selling the flats. I said that he came at the right time, because we had been thinking to have a break from renting out flats. We agreed on a price there and then and he said he would come back to me in due course. He just scribbled some particulars on a piece of paper and that was it. Because it was just a verbal agreement and he lived in Auckland and I had not heard from him for a long time, and the tenant did not know anything about the deal, I started to think that it was just a pie in the sky when I received a letter from his solicitor to say that his client was coming to Wellington to finalise the deal we had on the sale of the flats. When everything was finalised, we invested some of the proceeds in a commercial property with just one tenant - an undertaker. There will be a Post Mortem about that later in my follow up story. Page 4

5 Also during that year we received information from my brothers and their wives that they had booked to go with a group on a tour to Bali, Lombok and some other Indonesian Islands in September and they thought it would be a nice idea if we could meet up with them there. We informed them that we had no plans to take them up on their suggestion. Dawn and I thought about it later on and we thought it might be a nice idea to go after all and surprise them. We put the wheels into motion by getting in touch with the daughter of my oldest brother to get all the travel details and to promise not to tell anything about our plans. This was going to be a big task, because my niece and her mother were very close and to get all the information we needed and not to let the cat out of the bag, was going to be a difficult exercise. Our travel agent could deal with some of the details and we decided to get to Bali one day before the arrival of group from the Netherlands. We wanted the people from the hotel to know what our plans were and Dawn wanted to get something to cover her face so that she was not recognisable. A big long haired wig and sunglasses did the trick and when the people from the tour came up the steps from the hotel Dawn made a bee line straight to my oldest brother who just had had his birthday and wished him happy birthday with a hug. My sister-in-law was not impressed with this strange behaviour from this unrecognisable woman and showed this with the look on her face and that made Dawn laugh and it was then that she recognized that laugh and got all excited and the other people in the group could not figure out what was going on. In the evening they said that it was a pity that the group was only staying one day in Bali, because the following day the group was traveling by boat to Lombok, but we said that we were going to Lombok too, but we were going by plane. We had a nice time together and Dawn and I found our trip to Bali quite an experience, but we wouldn t go there again. In the next Part (20) another trip to the Netherlands Kees Dorresteijn Michael Feyen, manager of demolen in Foxton, let us know that demolen founder John Langen passed away peacefully on 14 March. Mr Langen s demolen is a lasting legacy to our Dutch culture and has been huge in terms of attracting people to Foxton and the Horowhenua. So many people have had great pleasure visiting the mill. Our sincere condolences go to Jan Langen s family. The demolen project began in 1995 and de molen was officially opened on 13 April It s the only working grain mill in New Zealand; it s run completely by volunteers, and is open 7 days a week. Guided tours are available. Page 5

6 TUESDAY KLAVERJAS CLUB It has been a good start of the year; everyone ready to play after the summer holiday and set to get the most out of the game, to see on the scores so far. Results from weeks 1-7 are: Week 1 4 February Harry v.d. Gulik 5325 Week 2 11 February Harry v.d. Gulik 5357 Week 3 18 February Harry v.d. Gulik 5321 Week 4 25 February Gerard Christenhusz 5087 Week 5 4 March Ton van Geet 5585 Week 6 11 March Ann Beyk 5849 Week 7 28 March Harry v.d. Gulik 5235 I would love to see some different names on the next list; play and show you can do it! Ann Beyk FRIENDLY SUPPORT NETWORK F.S.N. The Annual General Meeting of the FSN Wellington will be held on Wednesday 7 May at 1:30pm, followed by a short regular meeting. We would like to add two or three members to our group; you may not have to visit anyone, or even come to meetings, but we do need to increase our membership by 2. You can ring me at the number below, or our secretary Anne-Marie on Please do not hesitate to bring to our attention anyone who you think could do with a visit or a helping hand. If YOU could be a helper/volunteer do contact me or anyone in the appropriate area. You will find the telephone numbers listed below. Bill van Waas J.P. tel. 04/ or bsvw@xtra.co.nz Wellington F.S.N coordinator/chair. Upper Hutt: ; ; Stokes Valley: Lower Hutt: ; ; Wellington: ; ; ; Waikanae/Paraparaumu: ; Wainuiomata: THE BARBECUE IN FEBRUARY There we were, just 5 of us, on a sunny Sunday afternoon! No point in getting the barbecue out but we shared what we d brought and enjoyed each other s company. Anne-Marie Page 6

7 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2.00 P.M. SUNDAY 18 MAY 2014 TO BE HELD IN THE CLUB ROOMS: 61 TAITA DRIVE, AVALON, LOWER HUTT AGENDA 1. OPENING AND WELCOME BY PRESIDENT 2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE 3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM Held 19 May MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES 5. REMITS: 6. PRESIDENT S REPORT 7. FINANCIAL REPORT 8. NOMINATIONS FOR COMMITTEE: Written nominations Nominations from the floor. 9. APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR 10. GENERAL BUSINESS Some discussion about the long-term future of the club Finances membership dues, prices etc. 11. CLOSE OF MEETING AFTER SERVING WINE AND CHEESE, THE NEWLY ELECTED COMMITTEE WILL CONVENE A MEETING UPSTAIRS FOR THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Page 7

8 MINUTES OF THE AGM HELD Sunday 19 th May 2013 in the clubrooms, 61 Taita Drive, Avalon, Lower Hutt Opening and welcome by the President: The meeting was opened at 2.10 pm, Chaired by the President Kees Dorresteijn and the Minutes were recorded by the secretary, Dawn Dorresteijn. Kees welcomed everybody and thanked them for coming to the meeting - especially the new younger members. He expressed his confidence in a good meeting and invited everybody to stay afterwards for the traditional wine and cheese and he thanked Danny Langstraat for the wine that was donated by Harbour Funeral Services. Present (48): Kees Dorresteijn; Dawn Dorresteijn; Danny Langstraat; Caroline van Rooij; Ina Kooistra; Theo Kooistra; Lami ten Broeke; Ann Schrader; Anne-Marie Knibbler; Toos Philipsen; Jan Philipsen; Tini Vlaar; Pieter Koedijk; Wim Weijers; Pieter Koning; Ann Beyk; Nick de Graauw; Jo de Graauw; Riet Verhoeven; Walter Verhoeven; Anton Klaassen; Paula Klaassen; Caroline Nobelen; Ifah Abbott; Margaret Nieuwhuis; Bill Nieuwhuis; Evert Kremer; Betty Kremer; Jan Bakker; Emmy Vandeursen; Peter Vandeursen; Jos van Herk; Gretchen Woudt; Anna Vreeberg; Mary Boonen; René van Lierop; Corrie Pilon; Ellen van Dijken; Martin de Jong; Marije Postma; Leo van Stratum; Ann Bosch van Bunnik; Pieter Hibma; Mariane Iwanek; Chris Veenswijk; Jeltsje Keizer; Anna Heythuysen; Pieter Heythuysen. Proxy Vote: Yvonne van den Berg appointed Ellen van Dijken or failing her, Jeltsje Keizer as her proxy to vote for her on her behalf at the Annual General Meeting held on 19 th May Apologies for absence (12): Dita Scholten; Willem Knibbeler; Joanna Eikenbroek; Jan Tuinman; Maureen van Maren; Yvonne van den Berg; Wim van Ree; George Mulder; Tilly van Dalen; Nollie van Stratum; Els van Bekkum; Guy Duindam. That the apologies be accepted: Kees Dorresteijn/Theo Kooistra Carried Minutes of previous AGM, held 20 th May 2012: These minutes were published in the April May 2013 issue of The Double Dutch. That these minutes be accepted as a true and accurate record: Dawn Dorresteijn/Anne Bosch. Carried Matters arising from the minutes: There were no matters arising from these minutes. Remits: No remits received. Presidents Report: Kees Dorresteijn read out his report: It is with great pleasure I present this Report today. It has been an interesting year for me and the Wellington Society. As I mentioned in last year s Report of the changes of organising Queens Day celebration which was formerly organised by the Netherlands Embassy is now organised by our local Dutch community. A committee was formed (Oranje Comité) which still had the financial backing from the Dutch Embassy, but this assistance will be reduced this coming year and in future years this event will have to be self supporting. As I also reported in last year s Report, that the members of this Oranje Comité consist mainly out of more recent Dutch immigrants and I am pleased to report these members have joined our Wellington Netherlands Society and are willing to play a more active role in our Society. With the support of the members of the Dutch Play Group and the Dutch language school the future of the New Zealand Wellington Netherlands Society looks secure for years to come. This younger group has also organised the Easter Egg Hunt of 2012 and St Nicolaas celebrations which were very successful. We still had our annual events: Leidens Ontzet (with a full house); barbeque was enjoyed by the ones that attended in the club s back yard on a beautiful day. The twice a month coffee mornings are still very much appreciated and I thank Marianne Iwanic for organising the luncheons with the help of some volunteers. Page 8

9 In the winter months we have on the fourth Wednesday morning of the month a video and after the showing we enjoy a cup of coffee and a croquette. The Sunday afternoons are still enjoyed by the regulars although the numbers are declining. The card players still enjoy their weekly game of Klaverjas, under the watchful eye of Ann Beyk This year s Tulip Sunday celebrations in the Wellington Botanic Garden was a fantastic event, with beautiful weather, a complete difference than the previous year when the weather was lousy. I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to make it such a wonderful day. Ifah Abbot and her mother prepared a Nasi Goreng evening which was enjoyed by all the ones that attended and is worth a repeat. Last but not least I would like to thank everyone for their contribution for me to receive the honour to be rewarded the medal as Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau in April A special thank you to the committee members that have given their time and energy for the smooth running of our Society and I believe we can look forward to another exciting year. That the President s report be accepted: Kees Dorresteijn/Anne Schrader. All in favour. Carried Financial Report: Walter Verhoeven recommended that the term deposits in the bank be put into shares such as Mighty River. Kees replied that he was against the suggestion and gave an example of a previous occasion a few decades ago when $13, of the club s funds were invested in shares and lost. Peter Vandeursen agreed with Kees and said no shares are guaranteed, not even those from Mighty River. The audited financial report had been displayed in the club rooms for a couple of weeks before the meeting. That the financial report be accepted: Mary/Ann Beijk. All in favour. Carried Nominations for Committee: Four of the outgoing committee members were not available for re-election: Dawn Dorresteijn; Nic de Graauw; Jo de Graauw and Bill Newhouse. Written nominations to the committee received by the secretary: NOMINEE NOMINATOR SECONDER Kees Dorresteijn Ann Bosch Pieter Koedijk Pieter Koedijk Jeltsje Keizer Ellen van Dijken Ann-Marie Knibbeler Dawn Dorresteijn Ellen van Dijken Danny Langstraat Dawn Dorresteijn Jeltsje Keizer Rene van Lierop Jeltsje Keizer Ellen van Dijken Yvonne van den Berg Jeltsje Keizer Ellen van Dijken Ellen van Dijken Yvonne van den Berg Jeltsje Keizer Jeltsje Keizer Ifah Abbott Ellen van Dijken Marije Postma Dawn Dorresteijn Kees Dorresteijn Ina Kooistra Pieter Koedijk Dawn Dorresteijn Theo Kooistra Dawn Dorresteijn Pieter Koedijk Anna Heythuysen Dawn Dorresteijn Kees Dorresteijn Mary Boonen Ann Schrader Emmy Vandeursen Ann Beyk Marianne Iwanek Tilly van Dalen That the nominations be approved as listed. Kees Dorresteijn/Dawn Dorresteijn. Carried There were no nominations accepted from the floor. That the nominations be closed: Kees Dorresteijn/Dawn Dorresteijn. All in favour. Carried Page 9

10 Kees thanked those on the committee who had served for several years but were unavailable for re-election. He added that he was pleased to see some new Dutch immigrants starting to become more involved, especially by coming onto the committee. He said several attempts have been made to get first and second generation people of Dutch descent involved but they are just not interested. Appointment of Auditor: Peter Knipping has been the auditor for about 28 years and has set up a spreadsheet to transfer Mary s hand written information on to his computer. He said he is not available to be re-elected but offered to send the spreadsheet to the new treasurer. Dawn contacted Dick Lynn who is the auditor for the croquet club she is a member of and he has agreed to be nominated. Dawn nominated Dick Lynn, seconded by Kees Dorresteijn All in favour. Carried Coffee mornings: Marianne Iwanek, the convenor, said she was delighted to see so many new people on the committee and added that she was going away for a few weeks. She said more people were needed to run the coffee mornings. Theo and Ina Kooistra take their turn to do it but Els van Bekkum is away at the moment and it is not certain if she will help when she returns. Marianne said that a lot of people turn up for the coffee mornings one of the more popular regular events. She added that a number of people will cook the soup over the winter months but there needs to be more people making a commitment to help and suggested that maybe the new immigrants that have joined the club could help. Kees, in reply, said coffee mornings are a later addition to our regular events and started when more members had retired from their work. This worked well for a while but now a lot of the retirees are in their 80 s and the odd one in the 90 s. However, he didn t think that the younger and newer Dutch immigrants should be called upon when they have work and young families to see to. He said that they put a lot of work into organising the celebrations in Wellington for the 30 th of April accession to the throne of King Willem- Alexander, which would have been beyond the capabilities of the elderly members of the committee. He said that the different groups should be responsible for looking after themselves the Klaverjas club, the Dutch Playgroup, those that drop in on a Sunday afternoon, film mornings in the winter and the twice a month coffee mornings. Walter Verhoeven suggested that we could get outside caterers and just pay a bit more. Jeltsje and Marije said they were willing to get together with the older people to learn what would be required and it was left up to the incoming committee to sort out some of the issues. Voluntary Labour: Danny said that since the $35.00 subscription has not been increased for many years, it has been on the back of the volunteers and that is now waning so there might need to be some changes. Kees said that we are fortunate that we have an income from the George Rooker legacy because otherwise we would have a shortfall of $11, (instead of the $4,275.00). It was decided to leave it to the incoming committee to either find volunteers or professionals. Leidens Ontzet: Paula Klaassen asked if the new committee would hold Leidens Ontzet starting late afternoon instead of in the evening. Young Tulip Dancers: Martin de Jong said the group was still tenuous and put in a request for more children to join the group. Tribute: Pieter Koedijk, paid tribute to Dawn for all the years she has volunteered her time as the secretary and until last year, also the editor of the Double Dutch, and presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Close of meeting: The meeting closed at 3.05pm. Kees thanked everybody for coming and repeated his invitation to stay for wine and cheese. The meeting for the election of officers was scheduled to be held by the newly elected committee members immediately afterwards and would be recorded separately by the newly elected secretary. Page 10

11 FROM THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS EMBASSY Important news regarding Dutch travel documents 18 February 2014 The issue of Dutch travel documents is going to change worldwide, including New Zealand. Within the next two years, no later than 1 January 2016, the Honorary Consulates in Auckland and Christchurch will no longer issue Dutch passports and visas. From that day onwards you will only be able to apply for a passport or visa at the Netherlands Embassy in Wellington. The Embassy understands that these changes will have practical consequences for the Dutch community in New Zealand. To acknowledge the requirements of Dutch nationals, the following measures have been taken: From 9 March 2014 the validity of national passports for people 18 years and over will be 10 years instead of 5 years. For the future this means you have to apply for a passport less often. The price for the passport however will rise to from to cover the cost. You will also be able to apply for a passport at the following locations: 1. At a Netherlands Embassy in another country 2. At the Schiphol desk (7 days a week from 7.00am to 22.00pm, on appointment). You will be able to apply for your passport on arrival at Schiphol airport and pick up your travel document when you leave the Netherlands for New Zealand. 3. At the city council in the following Dutch border towns: Oldambt, Enschede, Maastricht, Montferland, Echt- Susteren, Bergen op Zoom and Den Haag. If you are applying for a passport only to keep the Dutch nationality and do not intend to travel you could also consider applying for a Bewijs van Nederlanderschap (Certificate of Dutch Nationality) which is For questions please contact the Netherlands Embassy in Wellington at wel-ca@minbuza.nl Please visit regularly to be informed of the latest interesting Dutch-New Zealand matters. Contact details: Royal Netherlands Embassy, PO Box 840, Wellington 6140, Telephone , Fax , WEL@minbuza.nl HIRE OF CLUB ROOMS The Clubrooms are available for our members to hire for functions such as birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, etc. The Hire charges are: 8.00am to 12 noon $40.00; 12 noon to 6.00pm $60.00; Evenings 6.00pm onwards $70.00; All Day $ Please contact Kees Dorresteijn on THE FEDERATION OF NEW ZEALAND NETHERLANDS SOCIETIES The editor of the Federation s De Schakel, and webmaster for the Federation s website is Reina Vijselaar, 9 Chandler Cres, Clyde 9330, Central Otago. Phone: (03) prea@wave.co.nz. Two copies of each issue of De Schakel are held in a lever-arch folder in our club rooms so that those who do not have access to the internet can read it. For those who have access to the internet, information about our club and a few previous issues of the Double Dutch are available on the Federation website (see page 1 in this issue for instructions for the Federation Website). Page 11

12 OPEN LETTERS (these are opinions of the writers and may not reflect the editor s or club s viewpoint) Als ik zo het schrijven van de President in Issue 2014/1 lees, dan stemt dat tot nadenken. Het is toch de moeite waard aan de toekomst van de club te denken. Er is inderdaad een groot hiaat tussen ons, de tachtig plussers, en de jongeren van de tweede generatie, die kennelijk verdwenen zijn in de Nieuwzeelandse gemeenschap. Ik denk dat dat is gekomen door de manier waarmee onze eerste generatie is omgegaan met Integratie. Wij kwamen uit een na-oorlogse nederlandse generatie, de meesten geboren juist voor of tijdens de crisistijd van Sociaal kwamen de meesten uit een lagere klasse, hoewel daar natuurlijk toch ook wel uitzonderingen op zijn. Een gedeelte was ongeschoold, anderen waren vakmensen. We wilden wat anders, we werden gedreven om iets meer te bereiken, hetgeen ons de sterkte gaf om dat te zoeken. We wilden weg uit die welbekende Verzuiling in de samenleving. Ons doel was daarom om na aankomst onmiddelijk aan de slag te gaan en ons aan te passen aan de nieue cultuur en sociale normen van het land. Een gedeelte trouwde bijna onmiddelijk (na 14 dagen!) met de partner die of meegereisd was of spoedig volgde. Anderen vonden al gauw een partner hier.vooral in deze laatste groep verdwenen de meesten vrij snel in de gemmeenschap. Alleen een relatief klein gedeelte vond nog enthusiasme en de tijd om, of een Dutch Club te stichten, of een reeds bestaande Club te vinden en zich daarbij aan te sluiten. Meestal vanwege de " gezelligheid". Dat zijn de mensen die nu in de groep van tachtigers te vinden zijn en die trouw aan de Club gebleven zijn. Maar ook zij zijn niet verschoond gebleven aan de druk van Integreren en dit in praktijk te brengen. Het moet dan ook gezegd worden dat zij hun kinderen aamoedigden een goed lid van de gemeenschap te zijn, ondanks het vasthouden van oude tradities, zoals Sinterklaas en Leiden's ontzet en anderen. Vergeleken met andere emigranten- groepen zijn ze daar bijzonder goed ingeslaagd, ondanks het feit dat het hard werk was om een gezin op te bouwen, de taal goed te leren, zich aan de passen en te wennen aan een andere werk-ethos. Volgens mij zijn dit de redenen, waarom de club dikwijls moeite heeft om met een steeds kleiner wordende groep mensen alles draaiende te houden. INTEGRATIE, waar beiden, de Nederlaldse en Nieuwzeelandse regering, een groot voorstander voor waren, is GESLAAGD! Laten we dat goed onthouden en aannemen! Mischien zullen de nieuwe, jongere emigranten, die hier in de laatste jaren gekomen zijn, iets willen en kunnen doen om door te gaan met de Club. Als dat zo zal zijn zal het wel gebeuren op hun " manier"! Maar laten we niet vergeten dat ze uit een verschillend Nederland komen. Bijna allen hebben een goede educatieve opvoeding gehad.komen uit een totale andere werk-sfeer. Ook zijn de sociale normen veel veranderd. Ze zijn zeer mobiel, en de verzuiling waarin wij, senioren opgegroeid zijn, kennen ze pracktisch niet. Ze zijn minder permanent dan wij hebben ervaren, zoals een Kiwi vriend laatst tegen me zei: "If they don't like it or spot better opportunities. they are off!" Ik ben blij, deze jonge mensen hier te zien, en ze te horen zingen, zoals in de laatste kerstviering. Zij laten me zien dat de nederlandse geest en moed om iets nieuws te zoeken, nog bij lange na niet dood is. Gijs Duindam. Geachte Nederlander in het buitenland, Gaarne wil ik de volgende feiten onder uw aandacht brengen. In 2013 heeft de regering besloten om de AOW leeftijd in fase te verhogen. Dit in het kader van de verhoogde levensverwachting van elke Nederlander. Op het moment is de verhoging bepaald, als je Page 12

13 geboren bent na 31 maart 1956 en voor 1 januari 1957 in 2023 de ontvanger van de AOW 67 jaar oud moet zijn. Echter deze leeftijd is fictief immers in de aangenomen wet is opgenomen dat de levensverwachting van het Nederlandse volk mee gaat spelen en dat verhoging van de AOW leeftijd om de 5 jaar getoetst kan worden. Voor wat dit betreft is alles duidelijk, echter wat niet duidelijk is het verdampen van de opgebouwde AOW-jaren. Volgens de loonbelasting wet in 1964 is bepaald dat elke Nederlander ongeacht hij/zij werkt 2% opbouwt vanaf zijn 15 levensjaar tot zijn 65 levensjaar. Dus dat je uiteindelijk 100 % AOW kon krijgen. Echter bij het aannemen van de nieuwe AOW-wet in 2013 zijn ineens de spelregels tijdens de wedstrijd veranderd. In de nieuwe wet gaat men niet meer uit van aanvang maar van het einde, zoals nu is bepaald de Nederlander krijgt zijn AOW op 67 dan tellen we 50 jaar terug, de opbouw begint op zijn 17 levensjaar. Geen enkel probleem zie ik u denken immers van 17 tot 67 is 50 jaar en dat maal 2% is 100 % AOW. Fout gedacht, want er zijn zo ongeveer stemgerechtigde expats, die dachten dat hun opbouw begon op hun 15 levensjaar, maar nu de wet is veranderd ineens 4 % opbouw kwijt zijn als ze pas op 67 hun AOW krijgen. Toen de nieuwe wet werd behandeld in de tweede kamer zijn daarover vragen gesteld aan de Staats secretaris Klijnsma, maar deze kon er geen antwoord opgeven hoeveel Nederlanders door deze regeling werden getroffen. Ik ga ervan uit dat ze dat in haar onschuld heeft gezegd of geen grip heeft op haar ambtenaren, want deze regeling bespaart zeker met de huidige uitkering al 300 miljoen euro over de komende 8 jaar. Geen bedrag dat je even niet weet, als er in de tweede kamer vragen worden over gesteld. Wat veel erger is dat als deze wet in zijn huidige vorm blijft bestaan, de levensverwachting die om de 5 jaar word hergewaardeerd het zo maar kan zijn dat straks pas elke Nederlander op zijn 70 levensjaar AOW krijgt. Dan verliezen de Expats geen 4% maar 10 % Conclusie: Het onrechtmatige afpakken van de opgebouwde percentage AOW tot Het onzorgvuldig handelen van de regering ten opzichte van de Expats Dreigende te korten van levensonderhoud van toekomstige AOW ers in het buitenland Verhoogd risico van terug keer van ouderen met alle gevolgen van dien Nu de het kabinet met een nieuw voorstel is gekomen om de leeftijd versneld te verhogen in 2015 en het recht om AOW te krijgen al in wil laten gaan als 67 bent in 2021, geeft dit een kans om deze onrechtmatigheid te reparen. Dus mail als stemgerechtige uit het buitenland aan de tweedekamerleden, eerste kamerleden en het ministerie van SZW Voor de duidelijkheid. Ik neem even mezelf als voorbeeld. Oude situatie tot 1 januari recht op AOW 5 december 2023 dus 65 jaar oud Geboren 5 december Volgens de wet loonbelasting 1964 opbouw van mijn 15e levensjaaar dus 5 december 1973 Uit Nederland vertrokken 1 oktober Opbouw = 38 jaar x 2%= 76 % AOW Nieuwe situatie na 1 januari 2013 Recht op AOW 5 december 2025 dus dan 67 jaar oud Opbouw nu = telling begint in 1975 Dus =36 jaar x2% is 72 % AOW. Misschien is het zo duidelijker. Ik hoop dat ik mij zorgen en grieven goed heb weergegeven, Met vriendelijke groet, Henk Veldhuis. familieveldhuis55@hotmail.com Page 13

14 DUTCH PLAYGROUP IN OUR CLUB ROOMS This is held once a fortnight on a Friday, from 10.00am to 12 noon. If you would like to mix with other young Dutch parents and their pre-school children, e -mail Ellen van Dijken on elvandijken@gmail.com or phone her on (04) Because there are young children running around outside, the gates must be kept shut at all times and absolutely no cars on the property, no matter what the reason it is too dangerous MEMBERSHIP (At present 168 households) Invoices for the membership year were included in the last issue of the Double Dutch. Thank you to all of you who have already paid. Your membership card will be included in this issue if applicable. If your invoice is still stuck to your fridge, or wherever you keep bills before payment, please pay it now. It will save us so much ringing up! And to be able to vote at the AGM you need to be a paid-up member. Please include your invoice, or the renewal membership form on the back cover if you pay by cheque. If you pay by direct debit (internet banking), make sure to include your initial and surname in the particulars/reference fields, plus dues otherwise we won t know who s paid their dues! Bank details are: Westpac NZ NETHERLANDS SOCIETY WGTN INC.) Danny Langstraat and Anne-Marie Knibbeler Congratulation to Corry Romeijn who turned 80 years of age recently! AND LET S FINISH ON ANOTHER LIGHT NOTE: Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive, double-pane, energy-efficient kind. Today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He complained that the work had been completed a year ago and I still hadn't paid for them. Helloooo? Just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast-talking sales guy told me last year... that these windows would pay for themselves in a year. Hellooooo? It's been a year, so they're paid for, I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot. Page 14

15 Park Avenue Continental Meats 829 High Street, Lower Hutt Phone Specialists in European (especially Dutch) Smallgoods We thank Harbour City Funeral Home for generously printing The Double Dutch in full colour for us. Page 15

16 New Zealand Netherlands Society (Wellington) Inc. P.O. Box Lower Hutt 5040 New Zealand If your address is NOT correct, please send a FREE CHANGE OF ADDRESS CARD (Obtainable from Post Shop/Office) with your correct address to: New Zealand Netherlands Society (Wellington) Inc., P.O. Box , Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand. The Double Dutch Magazine is produced six times per year and is available to all financial members of the New Zealand Netherlands Society (Wellington) Inc. It is also available on the website of the Federation of New Zealand Netherlands Societies: The New Zealand Netherlands Society (Wellington) Inc. is an affiliated member of the Federation of New Zealand Netherlands Societies Incorporated. For further Information, please contact our club secretary: Mrs Anne-Marie Knibbeler, 21 August St, Stokes Valley 5019; annemk@clear.net.nz or phone This is also the GOODS DELIVERY ADDRESS. Please do not send any correspondence or parcels to the club rooms. NEW ZEALAND NETHERLANDS SOCIETY (Wgtn) Inc., P.O. Box Lower Hutt 5040 Fee $35.00 Financial Year 1 April 31 March 2014/15 MEMBERSHIP INVOICE NAME:... ADDRESS PHONE:... ADVERTISING RATES Please assist the finances of our Club by obtaining Advertisers. If you know of anyone willing to advertise, please contact Anne-Marie Knibbeler, (04) SIZE MEASUREMENTS PRICE PER ANNUM A4 210 X 297mm $ % GST = $ A5 210 x 148mm $ % GST = $ A6 105 x 148mm $ % GST = $ A7 105 x 74mm $ % GST = $ (One Issue only advert, one quarter of above rates will apply: A4 = $143.75, A5 = $86.25, A6 = $57.50, A7 = $18.75 Direct debit: to Westpac NZ NETHERLANDS SOCIETY WGTN INC. include your name and dues so we know who s paid! Page 16