“Oz Cloggie” is his name on Facebook so I definitely had to interview him for this site! I like that in the interview question “name” he has both a Dutch (Joop Mul) and Australian version (Jo Mulholland). Any other Dutch Australians out there who have the same? I’ll use Joop in this interview.
Born in Gouda, Joop is now 68 and lives in Revesby, Sydney. I’m sure he’s already known to many Dutch Australians. For those who don’t yet know him, I have great pleasure in sharing some details about his interesting life. He is an absolute treasure trove of information about Dutch Australian history, living it himself as well as being a driving force in encouraging retention of culture and language.
Connections to Australia
Two of my uncles came in the early 50s to Australia. One stayed with Pater Maas. The other had jumped ship. Apparently had some “adventures.” Possibly thrown out of Randwick Race course. I’ve never known the exact details.
Below is a photo Joop has shared of himself and his parents, they arrived in Australia in 1956.
Connections to The Netherlands
Born there and have kept in contact with relatives and friends there as well as being involved with Dutch-Australian activities, here (55 years).
What is your level of fluency in English/NL?
Learnt English here, when I arrived, age 12, in 1956, without help. Continued speaking Dutch with my parents and their friends. Taught it, briefly, in a few venues. Used it when I joined the Dutch SBS Radio program, when it first went to air, in 1979.
Family background
Daughter and son were both born, in Kogarah, a suburb of Sydney.
They were not “raised bilingually” but daughter had little trouble understanding and communicating in Dutch when she spent time in Amsterdam, as an exchange student, at UvA. My son has not needed Dutch, in this way. Has a fair understanding. They both loved being minded by my doting parents, when they were little and absorbed a lot of Dutch.
Tell us some more about your connections to both countries
Australia is where I have been, for 55 years and, while the Netherlands (as well as U.K., France, etc.), were great places to visit, Australia is “home”, is relaxed, and very “comfortable” because of space, climate and my understanding of the Australian attitude to life and others.
Love visiting the Netherlands. Have done it five times. I like the fact that, apart from having an accent, I can just “carry-on from where I left off” when I am back there. Could not permanently live there. Climate is interesting but too much of a topic and the country’s simply too crowded.
The article below was in the Algemeen Dagblad on my visit in 2009.
The number of relatives is dwindling, in the Netherlands. The www has taken over from all those aerograms, letters and cards, of the past. Birthdays are good reasons to ring.
After just a brief period of letting it go, my parents and I revived Sinterklaas, when the Australian mother-to-be of my children encouraged us to do so. In recent years I have played Sinterklaas tunes in quite a number of venues.
Because, at first my father was chairman of a Dutch-Australian Club and later I became more and more involved, the Dutch Queens Birthday celebration has also been part of my (our) lives.
During my 37 years of teaching primary school, my pupils were always aware of my background.
When ‘multiculturism’ ‘arrived’, in the late 70s, my Dutch background was an advantage. I liked being on the Dutch syllabus committees, advising the Department of Education, NSW. I liked being involved in the initial start of the Saturday Schools of Community Languages. And , being deployed as advisor, multicultural education resources. Enjoyed teaching Dutch. Particularly enjoyed joining the group of people who started off the radio programs in the Dutch language, for SBS Radio 2EA.
When my father needed to ‘retire’ as chairman of the Netherlands Society in Bankstown, I kept it going, by being ‘president’ for a year.
In the 70s I encouraged the board of the Federation of Netherlands Societies in NSW to support the learning of Dutch and obtained a little support.
In more recent years, particularly as I retired a little earlier to look after my parents, I joined the board of the Federation of Netherlands Societies NSW, as well as the Dutch Australian Cultural Centre.
When the www became accessible, in the nineties, I set up a website, which I called “A Dutch-Australian Connection.” When I was retired to be a carer, I was happy to help a lot of Dutch people find relatives, or, if they came here, to give them a tour of “my side of Sydney.”
I was pleased that, in the lead-up to the Sydney Olympics, the AVRO radio ‘people’ contacted me, via the www and I was able to be of some assistance, when they ‘got organised’ to do live broadcasts.
I see having that extra language and culture as an advantage. It played a large part in my studies for my Graduate Diploma in Educational Studies (Mult.Ed.) through the University of New England.
It’s been an honour to interview Joop and there is such a wealth of information and leads of interest to Dutch Australians that I’m sure I’ll be featuring him again at some time! He is also a talented artist and musician, I’ve just been watching some YouTube videos online but am looking forward getting to know you better, thanks so much for sharing your talent Joop! You can visit his site Oz Cloggie for many more entertaining stories and videos.
I’m excited to have the opportunity to share some interviews with Dutch Australians…would you like to share your story? Contact us.
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