- NAME
- Zevenbergen, Adriana
- BIRTHDATE
- 16-10-1930
- PLACE OF BIRTH
- Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- NATIONALITY
- Dutch
- RELIGION
- Dutch Reformed
- OCCUPATION
- housewife
28-4-1958
Selection
During the selection procedure, the Zevenbergen family was described as “an excellent family group”. That is why the government chose Adriana to be the 100.000th emigrant to serve as promotion for the Australian migration programs. Her husband Cornelis was advised to state in his last employment certificate that he worked as an engineering fitter and not as a plant operator, which might allow him to change his worker classification as such. Cornelis had not received this certificate when he boarded the ship Johan van Oldenbarnevelt more info
8-1958
Propaganda
Photo of the Zevenbergen family in front of their home in the Netherlands. The Dutch and Australian governments propagandised emigration to Australia by taking photos of carefully selected Dutch emigrants to showcase their ‘success’ stories. They paid special attention to the family of the 100.000th emigrant. Already in the Netherlands, pictures were taken of their daily lives. Additional photos can be found in the National Archives of Australia and in the Dutch National Archives more info
8-1958
Employment
Cornelis was a skilled engineering fitter at the oil refinery at Pernis, near Rotterdam more info
5-11-1958
Migration AU
On their arrival in Melbourne, Adriana and her family were treated to gifts, went to dinner receptions with government officials and received a lot of media attention to ensure maximum publicity more info
11-1958
Propaganda
Photo of the Adriana who was welcomed to Australia. There was a lot of media coverage and the family received a lot of gifts to settle into their new home. Additional photos about their arrival in Australia can be found in the National Archives of Australia and in the Dutch National Archives more info more info
13-12-1958
Support
An article about Adriana and her family was published in the ‘Nieuwe Wereld’ (12-12-1958), but the article consisted of several mistakes.There was also a lot of gossip by Dutch people in their surroundings that Zevenbergen received a home and a car from the government more info
19-4-1959
Employment
Cornelis failed his exam as engine driver. He had the possibility to try the exam again in six weeks
1960
Employment
Cornelis became a fitter at the Ford Motor Company at Geelong
1960
Propaganda
Photo of the Zevenbergen family in front of their home in Newtown. Additional photos of their daily life can be found in the National Archives of Australia more info
5-3-1983
Deathday
Cornelis died in 1983
16-3-2018
Documentary
In the documentary ‘Vaarwel Nederland’, Addo (Elberth) Zevenbergen was asked about his mother and how the Zevenbergen family experienced all the media attention they received during their emigration to Australia Documentary Vaarwel Nederland
2022
Interview
A podcast was made by the Australian media organisation SBS-Dutch in Australia in 2022. They interviewed Kelly Pendlebury, the granddaughter of Adriana Zevenbergen. They talked about her grandmother and her Dutch family Podcast SBS