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Mara Agnes Scholte and Frank Zindler aboard the SIBAJAK
Mara Agnes Scholte and Frank Zindler aboard the SIBAJAK

Mara Agnes Scholte and Frank Zindler aboard the SIBAJAK

Publisher
Date1954
Object numberANMS1453[025]
NamePhotograph
Mediumphotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 164 × 121 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionBlack and white image of Mara Agnes Scholte, the 50,000th Dutch migrant to Australia, and her fiancé Frank Zindler aboard the SIBAJAK on its arrival into Sydney.HistoryNewspaper clipping attached to the back to the back of the photograph reads ‘50,000th Dutch migrant arrives. Twenty-year-old Mara Agnes Scholte is one of the prettiest Dutch girls ever to come to Australia. Officially she is the 50,000th Dutch migrant to arrive in Australia from Holland since the war. But off the record, she is just like any other young girl in love. This morning she was unhappy. As the Dutch ship SIBAJAK drew slowly into Station Pier, she excitedly ran the length of the upper deck, scanning faces in the crowd below. But there was no sign of her fiancé. Vain Search – After 10 minutes of searching, Miss Scholte retired to the lounge room of the ship and fought to hold back the tears. Asked if she was happy at arriving in Australia, she slowly shook her head and answered “no”. She explained she had been up since daybreak, preparing up for the moment she would see her fiancé for the first time in nine months. It was then that her fiancé Frank Zindler, who arrived in Australia from Amsterdam last November, rushed breathlessly into the lounge. Immediately Maria was transformed. Her face flashed with pleasure as she and Frank embraced in front of a large crowd. The confused and slightly ruffled young man, seen here greeting his fiancée, later explained he had been at the Station Pier at 9am but went away to get coffee after being told the ship would not berth until 11. The SIBAJAK arrived half an hour early. “When I returned and saw the ship anchored at the wharf I had one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life,” Frank said. The couple will be married on Saturday at the Dutch Presbyterian Church, Carlton. Maria was a hairdresser in Amsterdam and she plans to get a similar job here. Frank is a draughtsman in a city office. Tonight the couple will be guests of the Commonwealth Immigration Department at a dinner aboard ship. The Minister for Immigration, Mr Harold Holt, will officially welcome Maria as the 50,000th Dutch migrant to Australia since the war. The Netherlands Ambassador, Mr A.M.L. Winckleman and the State Minister for Immigration Mr W. Slater, will be present. Maria will be presented with a bouquet of Dutch hyacinths imported from Holland for the occasion and in the Australian red, white and blue colours.’ SignificanceThis image is one of a series of photographs taken by Fairfax photographers that provides a unique window into how immigrants were viewed and immigration policy articulated in the popular press in Australia. They represent something of the personal face to Australia's massive post-war immigration push and show immigrants from many European nations, USA and China.