Celebrating the long and enduring relationship between the Netherlands and Australia

On Thursday 28th January, 2016, I was fortunate to receive an invitation to the Australian Residence in The Hague, the Netherlands.  The Ambassador, The Hon Dr Brett Mason, hosted us with grace in his beautiful home.

From the invitation: “This celebration is timed to coincide with Australia Day on 26 January and the date 400 years ago, on 23 January 1616, when Dutch Explorer, Dirk Hartog, set sail with his ship Eendracht on the historic voyage that took him to the west coast of Australia. Ambassador Mason takes this opportunity to celebrate our deep and time-honoured bilateral relationship with a display of Aboriginal artworks, a short musical performance, and Australian food and wine.”

It was a lovely evening.  I asked if I could share some photos, for this blog post, which he said was fine – however unfortunately my camera was not working well that evening!  You can still get an idea below.

We were treated to a wonderful performance of an upcoming production by ODD Continent.  Some information from their website:

I had the pleasure of meeting Artistic director, Malcolm Rock (an Australian), and we were the first to ever hear some beautiful songs from something special they are planning for later this year – I’ll share more information soon!

We also had the chance to look at some fascinating historic maps:

…and gorgeous Aboriginal Art, on loan from the AAMU: Museum of contemporary Aboriginal Art in Utrecht.  I plan on taking my children there soon.

Finally, a photo with the Ambassador, and Fabian – an intern working at the Embassy at the moment, via where I teach at The Hague University.   I do social media strategy and consulting via my business Zestee Social Media and have had the pleasure of working with the Australian Embassy recently.

Make sure you check out the Facebook page for the Australian Embassy in the Netherlands: https://www.facebook.com/AUSinNL/ and you can also follow Ambassador Brett Mason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ambbrettmason

A memorable evening and I look forward to sharing more about the Dirk Hartog commemorations this year, full details here: http://www.dirkhartog2016.nl

Renee