John Adams

1. The direct Verschoor line is traceable over 15 generations back to 1540, and these early generations were under Spanish rule in the 1500’s. The Verschoors hung around the same area of Rotterdam for a long time! There are excellent online records of them available from the Rotterdam Archives. Recycling of names between generations is very common. For example, Willempje Blok’s father was Huibrecht and her mother was Leentje, and these became names of two of Opa’s younger siblings. His other younger siblings Lijntje, Gerrit, Lodewijk, Johanna etc were all named after direct past relatives.

2. With so many generations and so many children, there are literally thousands of “indirect” Verschoor relatives. An interesting one (unconfirmed as he comes from a place 40km south of Rotterdam) could be Jan Willemszn Verschoor, who worked for the VOC in West Java and was a Director. In 1605, he commissioned Willem Jansz and the ship the Duyfken to survey the south coast of New Guinea. He ended up “discovering” Australia in March 1606 and mapped some 200 miles of the west coast of Cape York Peninsula (around Weipa), 164 years before Captain Cook!

3. There have been 5 generations of first-born male Verschoor’s named Leendert. Opa (Leendert) had an older brother named Leendert, born in 1899, but died aged 4 months. Recycling names of babies who died was a very common practice. Another example was Opa’s younger sister Leentje, who died in 1907 aged 11 months. The next female born in 1908 was also named Leentje. All up there were 11 siblings born over 12 years in Opa’s generation, 2 of whom died as babies.

4. The mother of Opa was Willempje Blok, who died in 1911, 12 days after the youngest child (Jan) was born. She was 38 years old. His father (also Leendert and a Butter Merchant) remarried in 1914. His second wife (Aagie Kleingeld) died in 1929 and Opa’s father died in 1947. I have found a Trade Directory for Rotterdam dating from 1900 which lists his business at 129 Zuidhoek (South Corner), which is in the Old Charlois district of Rotterdam, by the port area.

5. Wal’s maternal grandfather was Wouter Lagendijk and was probably named after him. He married Antonia Maria Lagendijk, who may have been a distant cousin. Going back several generations from him, Jan Simonsz Lagendijk married Aagje Willems Verschoor on 16/09/1797. This may have been a “shotgun” marriage, as she gave birth 3 ½ months later! His father, Simon Arysz Lagendijk married Geertje Willems van der Schoor on 02/12/1764. A bit of intertwining over the generations!

6. Maaike (Oma) Lagendijk was one of 8 siblings. The youngest was probably still born, however, as it was not named. So Oma was effectively the youngest of her siblings.

7. The oldest traceable Lagendijk is Saloman Jacobsz Lagendijk, who was born ca. 1602 and died in April 1661.

8. On the marriage certificate of Opa (Leendert) and Oma (Maaike) dated 19/09/1928, his occupation is stated as “Fabrieksarbeider”, which translates as “Factory Worker”. On Wal’s 1953 marriage certificate, Opa is listed as a “Manufacturer”.

9. Wal had a Diploma from the Juliana School in Rotterdam awarded 19/06/1948. He was awarded a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and Technical Design on 03/07/1951 from the Technical College in Rotterdam. This is awarded after a 5 year course, so he crammed it in.

10. There is a letter from A. Grootveld, the Managing Director of Nemag N/V (a heavy engineering firm), dated 10/09/1951 thanking Wal for his service as a junior and hoping he makes his fortune in Australia (and to do so in Holland’s service!). It appears he started there on 09/09/1948 (aged 17 ½ years). So he was working and studying at the same time.

11. Wal and Leo arrived in Fremantle, WA, via the ship Mariekerk, on 16/10/1951, so they would have left ~mid-September. A note from his parents regarding Wal’s emigration to Australia was notarized on 07/08/1951. Wal was 20 years old and so not an “adult”. Bill and Gre arrived by KLM aircraft to Sydney on 08/01/1958. Their wonderfully detailed immigration records are available online via the National Archives of Australia website. Their parents, Leendert (Opa) and Maaike (Oma) arrived by aircraft on 10/09/1958. After WWII, the family lived at 861 Dordtsestraatweg in Rotterdam, which now appears to be an apartment block.

12. A letter dated 27/11/1951 was sent by the Mayor of Rotterdam to Wal in Perth saying he was supposed to report to an Artillery Regiment in Holland and he was a naughty boy for nicking off! This would be for his 2 year National Service. He could apply for an exemption, though.

13. Wal worked as a Draftsman/Assistant Engineer for Cuming Smith & Mt Lyell Fertilisers in North Fremantle from 19/02/1952 to 08/07/1953 after doing some manual laboring jobs. He worked on mechanical handling equipment and steelwork for acid towers.

14. There is a letter from the Dutch war office dated 25/04/1952 giving Wal an exemption from military service PROVIDING he stays in Australia and providing there is no outbreak of war (don’t forget the Russians were sitting in East Germany at the time). New Guinea was then a territory of Australia.

15. Wal and Vilma were married on 19/09/1953 in the Presbyterian Church at Brunswick in Melbourne. He was living at 27 Stewart St in Brunswick and she was living in 10 New St in Brunswick. He worked as a Design Draftsman at ACI in Spotswood in 1953/54.

16. The 1954-1960 crazy period!

• Wal worked as an Engineering Draftsman for the C of A Dept of Works from 15/04/1954 to 12/12/1956 in Papua.

• Between October 1954 (building) and September 1955 (site drainage), Wal had plans drawn up to build 4x2 bedroom flats (plus native quarters) at Allotment 35, section 6, Boroko, Port Moresby. He had purchased the land for 60 pounds on 24/08/1954. His first real estate deal!

• On 10/12/1956, there are two forms issued by the PNG territory at Port Moresby permitting Wal & Vilma to re-enter Papua (method of entry unknown; where had they been and why?). With Vilma’s form there is a hand written note: “accompanied by infant 6 months”! If accurate, this would mean the infant would have been born ~June 1956 and conceived ~October 1955. Martha would have been conceived ~mid-July 1956, so one guess is that it was someone else’s baby (there is no name or sex recorded). However I think the most likely scenario is that the note is referring to a 6 month PREGNANT Vilma and the UNBORN Martha, and it is just a poorly worded record.

• On 10/12/1956 Wal paid off his CBA Hire purchase outstanding amount of 58 pounds for his Standard Saloon car. • Wal was granted paid and unpaid leave from the Dept of Works from 13/12/1956 until 26/11/1957.

• Wal is stated to be flying to Sydney on 13/12/1956 on aircraft VH EBL. What did Vilma do?

• There is an unusual letter from the Dutch Minister of Justice dated 14/01/1957 to Wal granting him permission to work for a “foreign State Service” (the Department of Works in New Guinea), but he had already been working there since 1954.

• On 08/01/1957, the Bank of New South Wales in Port Moresby wrote to Wal c/o Stanley Potger in Perth confirming an airmail transfer of 400 pounds to R. Mees & Zonen (or Loonen in another letter) of Rotterdam. Another letter was sent by them on 17/01/1957 responding to a letter from Wal in Perth dated 14/01/1957.

• Martha was born in Rotterdam on 18/04/1957. I’m guessing in this period the details to bring the whole family to Australia were finalised (Leo was still in Geelong). Wal, Vilma and Martha departed Holland on 28/09/1957 on the ship Johan van Oldenbarneveld and arrived in Melbourne on 31/10/1957 and the rest as above in 11.

• On 12/11/1957 the Bank of NSW in Port Moresby wrote to Wal at 5 Kestrel Court, Norlane, Geelong re. cancelling the transfer authority to Holland. This would have been Leo’s address no doubt.

• On 23/11/1957 the Dept of Works wrote to Wal at 31 Wilton Avenue, Somerton Park accepting his resignation. He was paid out a sum of 95 pounds on 29/11/1957.

• Wal worked as a Design Draftsman at Forwood, Down & Co. at Kilkenny from January 1958 to June 1960, when he resigned to concentrate full time at Static Engineering, which had been founded in 1958.

• Wal was notified on 30/06/1958 that his application for Australian citizenship was approved. He was naturalized on 26/09/1958 in a ceremony at the Brighton Municipal Offices in Adelaide (Certificate No. EM (2) 15942). They were living at 31 Wilton Avenue, Somerton Park at the time.

• On 28/07/1958 the Adelaide branch of the Bank of NSW wrote to Wal approving an overdraft limit of 1,500 pounds secured against the Contract of Sale for his Boroko property (a suburb of Port Moresby). This was for Static.

• On 20/05/1959 Wal received a friendly reminder from the Bank of NSW that Static was overdrawn by 1,675 pounds against a limit of 1,500 pounds. The first of many reminders!

• On 25/08/1960 Wal and Vilma signed a contract for the purchase of an existing house at 16 Broughton Rd, Elizabeth Vale, for 3,920 pounds. They had been living at 24 Argent St, Elizabeth Grove from 1959 having moved from Somerton Park.