This picture shows my mother (second from right), her siblings and my grandparents about to leave Rotterdam in the Netherlands on the Wassenberg family’s voyage of emigration to Australia aboard the Groote Beer in 1955.
I stumbled onto this topic because I found Maggie walking around with a copy of this picture:
The Groote Beer was one of three emigrant ships owned by the Dutch Government after the Second World War. She was converted from the Costa Rica Victory and was used as a troopship under Nederland Line management.
In 1951-52 she was converted to an emigrant carrier and managed by Holland America.
A note on the back of the postcard my mother gave me says the family’s voyage in October 1955 was the last for the ship.
According to this site:
The ships were fitted with passenger accommodation for about 800 in a single class, with large dormitories outnumbering conventional cabins. The Groote Beer averaged 13 voyages to North America during its years of service as an emigrant ship. Voyages were also made to Australia and South Africa. In 1960, the Groote Beer was transferred to the Trans-Ocean Steamship Co and in 1963 was sold to John S. Latsis, Greece. She was renamed the Marianna IV in 1964 and back to Groote Beer in 1965. In 1968 she was once again the Marianna IV. By November 1968 she was laid up in Piraeus and finally scrapped in June 1970 at Eleusis, Greece.
The ship travelled to Australia via Cape Town because of the Suez crisis.
I often wonder why my grandfather decided on Australia instead of South Africa or Canada. Those countries were also actively encouraging Dutch migrants.
I’m pleased he came here, of course.
The Wassenbergs have a proud history which can be traced back over centuries.
I haven’t spent much time researching it, but plan to do so in the future.
The bottom picture is possibly the first of the Wassenberg family in Australia. Mum’s note says it was taken at Drouin in 1955.
Drouin is a small town in a dairyfarming district about 60 miles east of Melbourne.
I sailed with my family, mother, father and sister.
(My parents are deceased), On the groote beer in march of 53. a tough voyage that lasted almost 2 wks. I had a thriving business on board supplying sick passengers with arrow root cookies. They would be on deck so they could throw up over the railing and then recline on lounge chairs. I was 11 and remember the entire trip including the stop to pick up passengers on the british coast.
I also sailed to Canada with my family on the Groote Beer in April 1953 . A very rough voyage , the only place to survive was on deck in the fresh air . Waves were so high that it seemed like the ship was sailing down hill into the trough and you could look over the top of the boat , standing at the stern . at the next wave coming towards you . Then the ship would climb up the wave over the top and come down with an enormous bang that made the ship shudder . Paaltjes loopen that’s what Dad called it , a term used in the merchant marine for that condition . Before the war he was an engineer on the Merchant Marine . The first sentence after we left Hoek van Holland was ” It feels good to be on board a ship and feel the fresh air again ” . It didn’t take long and he was spending most of his time on deck with the rest of us . That went on for ten days before we landed in Halifax . I swore I never ever would sail on the open sea again and I never did . The only one who wasn’t seasick was Mother , I guess she felt responsible for her flock and had no time for that . The only boat I get in is my fishing boat these days but that’s as far as I go .
I love reading these stories and would be pleased to hear from anyone else with experience of The Groote Beer.
My wife and her family (11 of them) sailed from Holland to New York on the Groote Beer in 1957. She still has quite extensive info from the trip.
I sailed from Holland on the groote beer to sydney australia as a child in 1958.
I sailed on the Groote Beer from Holland to Canada in August 1953. I was 7 years old at the time and thought it was an amazing adventure. We had some really rough weather and high seas but it didn’t bother me a bit. My mother was sick as a dog! We were a family of six, mom, dad, 3 girls and one boy. Mom and the girls went into one cabin with two other ladies with kids and dad amd my brother went in another cabin with a bunch of men and boys. Not exactly a pleasure cruise! It took 7 days and we landed at Montreal. After that two days by train to Chatham, Ontario and a new life. What an adventure. I now live in the San Joaquin Valley of California where I have lived for 24 years.
My parents sailed on the Groote Beer in April 1953 and I am looking for a passenger list. If anyone can assist in finding one please forward this list to kvanvaals@oshawa.ca.
Thank you in advance.
My family,brothers,sisters and parents sailed on the Groote Beer in Sept 1955 and landed at Pier 21 in Oct. I’m looking for the passenger listof the Groote Beer for that time period. Could anyone provide that information? Thank you.
Mr father, Klaas Poelman, sailed from Holland to New Zealand (Wellington) in 1951, from August 17 to September 19. The trip lasted four weeks and four days.One of the other passengers was Bert de Ronde. The 50th anniversary was held in Taupo, NZ, in 2001. Was the fare 300 pounds, with the passenger paying about 60 pounds, and the balance paid by the Dutch govt?
Does anybody have any more photos and information?