The Dutch Connection Our Pioneers from The Netherlands (Holland)

There was only sporadic immigration to Australia from the Netherlands (Holland) before World War 2 as the Dutch had their own colonies and close ties with South Africa. However, after the war the situation was different.  The Netherlands was overpopulated and much land was lost through floods and salinity. Dutch colonists were expelled from the East Indies. As a result, the number of migrants increased dramatically. Many looked to Queensland because of its climate and being highly skilled in tropical agriculture, they were easily absorbed into the local population.

One Dutch family with descendants still living in the district is the Spoor Family. Patriarch of the family, Rommert Spoor, had a factory in Holland making and exporting wooden casks. He had five sons and a daughter. When the business went broke, the sons went their different ways. The eldest, Pieter, took his two sons to Australia when his wife died, leaving Holland in 1911 and settling in Mundubbera. He sent for his brother, Atze who, with his family of four, arrived in Australia in 1912. Atze had worked on trains in Holland and took a job in Cloncurry. They had two more children – Jim and Wietske. Jim was a carpenter and he built quite a few houses in Proserpine.

The second eldest son, Dirk, whose first wife had also died, migrated to Australia and also settled in Mundubbera. He went in for cattle and reputedly sold some to Faust station. He also visited the Proserpine Show with some of his cattle, Illawarras.

Tietstke, the only Spoor daughter of Rommert, married Koos van Noort. They settled in Australia pre-1920, firstly in Brisbane where Koos, a very skilled tailor, made a suit for the Prince of Wales. The Van Noorts never had any children and later came to Proserpine to live. Here Koos worked for Mr Tom Byers.

In 1924, on a trip back to Holland, they persuaded more members of the Spoor family to migrate. When Fred Spoor heard they were returning for a visit, he sold up their hardware store and with his wife, Sara, and three daughters, Wietske, Elizabeth and Mary, he headed off too. When they came to Proserpine, Peter and Bob were already farming in the area. Fred grew cane for a while and started a sawmill for tomato cases. He was a good cabinet maker and very good at French polishing, making many a beautiful chess table for locals.

Later, Fred bought a lorry and used to take a crowd to the beach on sports days. Weekly, they carted groceries for farmers – Baumgartens, Cowans, Valmadres, Thorogoods, Sinclairs and Gaspers. They also carted groceries for Happy Valley miners.

Mary married Wal Spencer and Wietske married John Holcombe. Elizabeth married their cousin, Bob Spoor, and they had three girls and one boy, Piet, who continued farming in the area.

Bertus Mazijk also migrated from Holland and eventually married one of the Spoor daughters, Christine.

Descendants of both the Spoor and Mazijk families still reside in the district with one of Piet’s sons, Dale Spoor, still farming in the Kelsey Creek area. Just one member of Rommert Spoor’s family remained in Holland.

Story courtesy of Proserpine Historical Museum and “Memories” by Mary Spencer (nee Spoor); photo courtesy Spoor family.

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