Van Dyk Rev Neeltje (Nellie) Elisabeth
| Type of person | Individual |
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History of Neeltje Elisabeth (Nellie) van Dyk ===
I was born in Arnhem Holland, on the 9th of February 1944. My mother told me that I was born as Arnhem was being bombed. We lived not far from the famous bridge over the river Rhine on which the movie “The Bridge Too Far” was based.
My mother was Jannetje Barten, my father Arnoldus Jacobus (Felix) Bresser. During the war, my father was part of the Dutch resistance, or “Underground” as they called it. I have an older brother, Gradus Albertus “Bert” and a younger sister Felicia Fransisca (Lia).
My father was employed as a chauffeur, although his parent owned a Butchering and Smallgoods business in which he had learnt the trade. But, as a lot of young folk, he was not eager to work in that trade. He drove for a company that hired out cars for weddings and funerals, as well as private taxi service. He loved driving, and was dressed in a very smart uniform with the appropriate gloves for every occasion.
After the war, as with most of Europe, the country went through a time of depression. There was a lot of unemployment, and my father found himself without work for a considerable time. It meant that life was a struggle. It was during the early 1950’s that a lot of my father’s mates decided to immigrate to Australia and we began to receive a lot of mail urging us to do the same. My father was very keen, but my mother who belonged to a close-knit family of six other siblings, was not at all keen to move so far away. However, after several years of struggle, it was decided that we would also immigrate. I was nine by this time, my brother twelve, and my sister just one year old. We left Holland in May 1953 on the ship the Sibajak, an old Troop carrier that had been converted to carry immigrants. Our journey lasted six weeks.
Our ship journey was our first real holiday, and we children were allowed to roam around the ship freely. It was an exciting time as we visited a number of very exotic countries where we were introduced to fruits we had never seen before such as pineapples and mangoes. These were usually traded for whatever we might have on hand.
During our voyage, we also celebrated the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, we were treated to a special dinner and we were reminded that she would now be our Queen.
We arrived in Sydney Harbour some time in July, and because our infant sister had become ill on board, she was transferred to the Sydney Children’s Hospital, and we were placed in a migrant hostel called Scheyville, just outside Sydney. We remained there for six weeks, while baby Lia recovered.
Our stay in the hostel was not the most pleasant, in fact, my mother was so disappointed over not only the accommodation but also the general attitude toward immigrants, that she was ready to turn around and go back to Holland. However, our father persuaded her to give it a chance, so after my sister was discharged, we continued our travels across country by train to the South East of South Australia.
Our train journey lasted four days with dad constantly getting off onto the platforms at stops so that he could warm up Lia’s bottle on a little mentholated spirit’s burner. We lived on sandwiches as we travelled from Sydney to Melbourne. From Melbourne to Wolseley in the South East, there we waited in the dead of night for the train from Adelaide to Mount Gambier. It was in the middle of August, and it was exceedingly cold. We had left all our winter clothes behind because we were informed Australia was a country of a very warm climate. We froze as we waited on the platform. Finally the train arrived, and there were at least foot warmers on the floor for us to warm ourselves. In Mount Gambier we caught the train to Millicent, where the wife of one of dad’s friends greeted us. She took us by taxi to Mount Burr a little timber-milling town where work and a house had been arranged.
In due course, when our belongings arrived in a large crate, we were moved into our own home, Bert and I commenced school, and a new life began. We had no English yet, but we children especially, very soon learnt the basics.
After several years of living in Mount Burr, we moved to Millicent, where in the course of several years, our father had worked at a number of different labouring jobs, including a station hand at a sheep station about 36 miles out of Millicent. Eventually however, dad applied for a position as butcher, a job he was very familiar with, and we settled in the town of Millicent where our parents were able to buy a house for the sum of one thousand pounds.
I attended the Millicent primary school and high school. Later, I trained as a Telephonist at the then P.M, working for seven pounds a week. While it wasn’t my chosen occupation, it was felt I would do well there in a fairly well respected job.
Several years later, we moved to Mount Gambier, where our dad bought a business and started his own butcher and smallgoods shop. We lived in several rented homes before mum and dad bought another home.
In the meantime I was transferred to the Mount Gambier telephone exchange where I worked for several years before I met John van Dyk who had also arrived from Holland on his own. After some years of going out together, we became engaged and married and in due course, we became parents of three children, Teresa, Robert and Michelle.
As a child, my mother ensured that my siblings and I became involved in the church, first through Sunday school and then by attending church with her. I continued to attend church after our marriage, and, some years after our marriage, became an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Later, I was encouraged to participate in a course conducted locally to become a Lay preacher. Something I enjoyed immensely and began preaching around the district.
During the early 1980’s I felt a strong sense of “Call” to the ministry. After much soul searching and discussions with our local minister, I candidated for the ministry of the word, an 18-month long process of interviews. Finally I was accepted to train for the ministry at Parkin - Wesley College Adelaide to commence a five-year course of study. Supported by my husband John, who gave up his position with the Mount Gambier TAFE College, we moved to Adelaide.
After five years, I was accepted as a minister of the word, Ordained at Mount Gambier, and moved to our first parish of the Rocky River. My Churches consisted of Laura, Appilla and Wirrabarra. We were there for three and a half years, after which we moved to Gawler where I commenced as one of three ministers. I was responsible for three Churches again, Willaston, Sandy Creek and Williamstown. I served Gawler for eight years, when a new job was created in the Wakefield presbytery of Presbytery Minister. It was to be a Pastoral position, as well as resourcing congregations and ministers. I applied, and became the inaugural Presbytery Minister of Wakefield, a job I held for four years, until John’s health deteriorated. I retired from active ministry in 2002.
Since then I have worked on a supply basis, in the Adelaide Plains Parish, at Eldercare as a chaplain, and in the Gawler parish working at Sandy Creek as a minister in association.
John and I enjoy living at Gawler South. I am still working at Sandy Creek and enjoy what I do. We also enjoy a much more leisurely pace of life, seeing our family, going to the movies, and I enjoy writing poetry, while John enjoys pottering in his shed.
Sadly we have learnt that Nellie passed away this week and her funeral service will be held on Monday 29th March at 11am at Tod Street Uniting Church.
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