Dutch Community

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:29): It is my pleasure to rise today to speak about two important events that were proudly organised by the Dutch community of South Australia. The first event I would like to highlight is the Dutch Festival, which was held on 27 April 2015. It was proudly organised by the Adelaide Dutch Club based at Greenfields, and I place on the record my sincere thanks to the hard-working president, Mr Maurice McLeod, his family, committee members and volunteers for inviting me to make the opening speech and launch the Dutch Festival this year.

They had a successful festival in 2013, which I also attended. The Dutch Festival is a biannual festival where the Dutch Club opens its doors to the Australian community and encourages everyone to embrace all things orange and Dutch. The Dutch Festival is held in celebration of King Willem-Alexander's birthday in the Netherlands and known as Koningsdag.

Orange is the Dutch national colour and is worn at major festivals and sporting events. Yes, if you must know, I wore a bright orange hat and matching scarf for the happy occasion. There was orange everywhere—balloons, T-shirts, hats, costumes; very bright, proud and beautiful. It was a great day for the community. There was entertainment, arts and crafts, traditional Dutch meals, live music, kids entertainment—you name it, they had it.

The second event I would like to highlight today is the 70^th liberation and remembrance day ceremony of the fallen of World War II. It was held on Saturday 9 May. The moving remembrance service and wreath-laying ceremony was organised by the Netherlands Ex-Servicemen and Women's Association in Australia (SA Branch). The national patron of the association is the delightful Ambassador for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mrs Annemieke Ruigrok, and the SA Branch patron is Honorary Consul Mr Willem Ouwens, who is a wonderful community leader. It was great to see both of them at the ceremony.

Other distinguished guests on the day included the Governor of South Australia, His Excellency Hieu Van Le and Mrs Le. The Liberal Party was well represented. I was joined by my wonderful colleague the Hon. Michelle Lensink—as many of you may know, she has a proud Dutch heritage—and also the shadow minister for veterans' affairs Dr Duncan McFetridge. Other VIP guests included Colonel Harold Jacobs, Defence Attaché, Embassy of the Netherlands, Mr Odenwalder represented the government, and Deputy Mayor Brad Vermeer represented the City of Salisbury.

It is my great honour to acknowledge the great work of the president, Mr Eddy van Reeuwyk, secretary and treasurer, Mr John van Dulken, Mrs Joanna Kegel, their families, committee members, veterans and volunteers of the Netherlands Ex-Servicemen and Women's Association for their hard work and dedication in organising the meaningful commemoration service. The committee has been working hard to keep the association relevant in South Australia so that their children and grandchildren will know that the Dutch veterans are survivals from World War II. I recall some of the words spoken by Joanna Kegel on the day. She said:

It isn't just Americans that won the war, Dutch soldiers did as well...Unless NESWA flies the flag, Australia and Australians will forget that Holland was and still is, a valuable part of the UN and NATO...Our children and grandchildren will only find out if those of us that are still alive and still remember, make our presence known, by flying the flag and our banner on days like ANZAC Day. Our members march and ride in a jeep on the ANZAC Day March. I am a very proud Australian, but Holland has still a large part of my heart.

Her emotional message resonated with veterans and members of the Dutch community present that day. The Dutch-born population is one of the oldest culturally and linguistically diverse population groups in Australia. According to 2011 Australian Census, 27,375 South Australians are reported to have Dutch ancestry. As the shadow parliamentary secretary for multicultural affairs it was a great honour for me to be a part of the Dutch Festival and the 70^th liberation and remembrance service. I want to convey my heartfelt congratulations and say thank you to the Dutch community for the wonderful events that they organise and also for making a great contribution to South Australia.