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My piece in the last newsletter reminded me of other students, who found a haven in Kilbreda, both of whom I met and heard their story first hand. In early December 2000, a past pupil from Holland Gonny Huis in’t Veld, travelled to New Zealand for a wedding. While in the Southern Hemisphere, Gonny stopped over in Melbourne to visit her old school. Gonny’s father brought his family to the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies, where he was a teacher. Gonny was born there in 1930. In January 1942, the family received a call for all women and children to escape to Australia due to the threat of attack. Whilst he and others had to stay behind and continue with their “war jobs”, the women and children escaped just in time, with Japanese troops taking control of the island four days later. Gonny’s father was then imprisoned for four years. 

Narrowly avoiding an attack by a Japanese submarine, the ship made it safely to Perth, where the family, who had nothing, having to flee in the middle of the night, lived in a convent for a few weeks. Local families, hearing of their plight, provided clothing and food for the refugees. A few weeks later, news came from the Dutch consulate that the Japanese were expected in Perth, and they were advised to make haste to Melbourne.

Arriving here on St Patrick’s Day 1942, a day commemorated forever after by Gonny’s mother, they had nothing and were once again forced to rely on the goodness of local people. One such couple, the Mitchells from Elsternwick, offered their holiday home in Frankston, which was gratefully received. Gonny started school in Grade 6 at St Francis Xavier’s and found it very difficult with little English, a story to which I know Sr Lia will relate.

As Gonny’s mother was pregnant with her fifth child when they left Ambon and with a three year old to care for, it fell to 12 year old Gonny to travel to Melbourne by train to collect an allowance from the Dutch Consulate. ”Every time I passed Mentone, I was impressed by the big red building and admired the carefree girls in their pretty uniforms. I longed for the day when I could dispose of my Red Cross garments and be smartly dressed in bottle-green! Not in my dreams, but in reality, I ended up at the big front door and it was Mother Margaret Mary who admitted me as a pupil of Kilbreda College”.  

Gonny threw herself into her studies and sport and other activities at Kilbreda, but, “the war in Germany was too close to home and two uncles hade been killed. So I refused to study German and studied Latin instead”. 

Eventually, when the war ended, Gonny’s father was released and the family was eventually reunited and returned to Holland, where Gonny studied to become a teacher. “On July 29 1946, we left Australia for good. I think that was one of the most unhappy days of my life. Slowly the ship sailed westwards, leaving Australia behind us. I stood on the railing, watching Australia slowly disappear in the distance. Yes, I stood there with nobody around me until the last strip of land sank away behind the horizon. Goodbye Australia and thank you!”

Damian Smith

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Quotes from an interview with Damian Smith, Kilbreda, December 5 2000.