I am Petronella Wensing.  I was born in the Netherlands 22nd of January 1924 in a small place outside Breda.

There was a period in the Netherlands when there was a lot of unemployment and if you got married you were fortunate if you could find a room because everything was bombed so you had to put up with people. So, we decided we might be better off if you can work all the time, so that’s why we came to Australia.

It was on the Sibajak, which used to be a troop ship from Indonesia.  As a family we went on board, my husband and I, Luke 3 years old and Fred nearly a year old, and I was expecting another one.

We went to live in Skyview in a big migrant camp. Skyview was a holding centre which meant that people could stay there longer than in a normal migrant camp and there was never any trouble. When I think back on that time I am amazed because you are all different nationalities.

When I was in the camp I was having my third baby and he was exactly on time. So I said to the man in charge, 'I might need know where to go for the baby'. 'Oh' he said, 'You’ve got plenty of time.'  I said 'That’s what you think, I’ll have to get you out of the bed.'  We had to get him out of bed and then I never forgot this because I had stitches on the way (laughs). The ambulance was telling me in English where they were, that is Parramatta and that is this, and that is that (laughs). They had the siren blaring and there was not a chicken on the road (laughs).

When I was in the big camp my husband would leave on Monday morning and not come back until the Friday night. He could paper hang, he could do sign-writing, he could do all those sorts of things and the Catholic priest said to my husband 'Go to Canberra.' I said 'Nobody complains.' So then instead of going to Sydney to work he went by train to Canberra and people were waiting at the railway station to take him and gave him a job and organised his accommodation and a couple of months afterwards I went as well.  And we bought an old house at Russell Hill, which is now Campbell, when there was still some houses left. No electricity and the toilet in the back somewhere (laughs). But that’s alright, you were free, and the kids could play around and you know… so ok.

I was awarded the Order of Australia for working with migrants as well as for the fine arts because of the embroideries and the silks that are everywhere, the lace that I make. I was rather surprised to, but I got a thrill of course, because I thought you know, me, just little me. But you do what you can and otherwise a friendly face and a cup of tea goes a long way doesn’t it? When you’re in a strange country, goes a long way.

So, when I had long service leave. When I’d been teaching for a number of years we were going back to the Netherlands to visit family and everything and I said to my husband 'I want to go to that big institute and do lacing in Belgium.'  And then I was allowed to teach it here for the Higher School Certificate. I even made the lace on my dress. I made the lace on some of my wedding dresses of the family members because you know it’s nice to do. I’ve been a President of the Canberra Lace Makers, I’ve been President of the Embroiderers Guild. You’ve got to try and encourage the kids to learn and if you can give a kid a love of learning then it doesn’t matter what level they qualify, it’s the satisfaction of doing something. A pat on the back and a bit of praise goes a long way. 

In 2016 the Dutch Queen and King came to Canberra. It was very nice because it was only a small group of us and it was very relaxed and they were just as any other couple. Funny enough they had all sorts of information on me, all our arrival and where we went and when we changed address and everything else.

Well, when I look back I think we made the best decision that we could have made. If it’s good between man and wife you can face an awful lot of things together. You can resolve things, you can face anything. I’ve never regretted that we came here and when we’re 25 years here my grownup kids thanked us for coming.