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 intended to be 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.
- Comment below or in the forum.
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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 .
Hi My name is Harry Suender I was surfing the net and came across a passenger list of the Groote Beer in which my family was included. This was Nov 1952, and I was five at the time. When we came over the Groote Beer broke down with engine problems and according to my parents we were two weeks late. They had to ration food, and of course everyone got sea sick because we had no power and adrift.
One thing I remember as if it was yesterday was, somehow I got away from my parents and went on deck in a savage storm. I was hanging on the rails when a woman started screaming because she was fearful I might fall over. She ran to get me, but with the ship bobbing she slipped, fell and broke her arm. Out of nowhere came my dad, grabbed me and of course I got a spanking.
I also remember the ship running out of Barf Bags and every morning my mom had to open my eyes with warm water because my lashes would crust over with salt which cause me extreme panic because I couldn’t see. To this day I can not sleep in a totally dark room because I have to know if I can open my eyes. quite a experience for a five year old.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
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.
My family also travelled on the Groote Beer in 1957 -we launched in Quebec and came to BC
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.
Surprise! Dear Thea,
Just to let you know that I have the original List Of Passengers on board the s.s. Groote Beer dated September 26th 1955. I can see 8 members of your family is on this list. My family and I also were on board sailing from Holland to New York. I can make a copy of the first page and the passengers page with your family’s name on it, if you’re still interested. Please let me know where to send it to.
Sincerely,
George Sulski
I have a website about the Groote Beer. Please send me a copy of the passenger list for 26 Sep 1955. Much thanks. hugo@accountant.com.
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?
I sailed on the “Groote Beer” on February 23 1955 from Rotterdam to New York via Halifax. I have been trying to find a passenger list with no luck. It was a rough trip and my mother was sick the whole time. I was 13 at the time and now live in Michigan.
I too sailed on the Grote Beer at the end of January in 1955. We were a family of 6: our parents, 2 girls and 2 boys. I was 7 and spent the entire voyage in my berth. They took me to the ships doctor everyday for transfusions because I couldn’t keep food or water down. My father picked me up and carried me on his shoulders to see the Statue of Liberty in New York, USA. When we disembarked we were denied entry because our sponsors had withdrawn. Old family friends became our sponsors and we went through Ellis Island. The large crowds of people speaking so many different languages frightened us. We were also very afraid we wouldn’t be able to immigrate into the USA because our father was a welder and knew that he had a small spot on one of his lungs. It wasn’t noticed. We went through customs smoothly as well and took a taxi to the train station. The Dutch government paid for our boat fare as well as our train fare to Southern California. Our father had $29 left to feed us during the 4 day trip. Our mother worked out that problem: in Holland they were both in choirs and had taught us all to sing in harmony (a little like the Von Trap family) so she had us sing to entertain the other people in the train. They in turn bought us food. We loved our first Pepsi Cola. Our friends had rented a small house and furnished it with used furniture and our very first “ice box” refrigerator. We thought we were rich. Within the first week our father had his first American job as a welder. We walked him to his job until the next week when he bought a used bicycle. Then six months later his first used car. He taught himself to drive and told the world to watch out. He was a terrible driver. Within a very short time we met and befriended other Dutch immigrants and they became our surragate “family”.
Hi Annelies,
I bet the the ships carpenter on your voyage on the Groote Beer was my father Leendert Van Vliet.
Aye
Leo, Perth, Australia
Dan my father came form the netherlands to New York in 1957. I would love to hear some of the info. My father passed away in 2009 and I just found this ship on ancestry.com. 3/15/1957
I travelled on the Grote Beer in August 1959 as a student returning from Rotterdam to Quebec, and then flew home to Texas. Glad to see the other descriptions of journeys – I don’t think my family and friends quite believed my description of the weather! I was in a 6-berth all women cabin at the very front of the ship (the outer wall curved with the shape of the ship…). In the top berth, I kept thinking my head was going to bump the ceiling as the ship bucked the waves! I can still remember the smell – everyone was sick. I’m sure I remember seeing icebergs gliding by as we sat on deck, unable to bear staying inside. Talking with Dutch passengers, I first heard of Ann Frank. Trying to learn to knit to pass the time, I was tutored by an old lady who taught me with gestures, as I didn’t speak Dutch! Altogether a memorable voyage – was so glad to see land as we glided up the St Lawrence!
My family and I were on the Groote Beer in 1960, heading for australia. I am looking for a passengerlist.
I travelled from Germany to Melbourne Australia on the Grotte Beer as a 7 year old, in November 1957, I would appreciate any help in getting a passenger list for that voyage
Hello Gerd.
You can obtain passenger lists from the Maritime Museum in Fremantle or possibly from the WA State Library.
Aye
Leo, Perth
Thanks Leo
Would Melbourne’s State Library of Victoria, and Sydney’s State Library of NSW, and the Maritime Museums in those 2 Capital Cities, also have the passenger lists?
Contact them on their websites.
Thanks Rolf
I’ll check it out
Gerd
I just entered the ship name and dates and found our passenger list
My sister Helen came to Canada in August of 1955 on de Groote Berr. I am looking for the passenger list for this ship and this date. Can anyone help me?
I came over on the same voyage and have been searching for the same list, please let me know if u are able to locate it, I would appreciate a copy
thanks
john
My father (Leendert ‘Len’ Van Vliet) was a ships carpenter on the Groote Beer, Sibijak and Johan Van Barnelveld during the early 1950′s. He took many Dutch immigrants to Australia, Canada and the USA. He finally settled in Melbourne (Australia) in the mid 1950s. My mother’s family emigrated to Melbourne too around the mid 1950s. I served 27 years in the RAN (followed my fathers foot steps) and now work at Fremantle Port where many Dutch immigrants first hit Australian soil. An amazing history !!!!!
I came to Canada on the Groote in 1957 to Quebec
We left Holland on Oct 20, 1953 on De Groote Beer. And 58 years later, almost to the week, I visited Halifax on the MS Maasdam. Both Holland America Line ships! Apparently I was sea sick the whole trip across. My dad found a salami in Halifax, this was all we had to eat for 2 days until we arrived in Toronto by train.
Pier 21 is now a museum, very moving to be there again.
July 1954, the beginning of my American adventure. In Rotterdam, I board the Groote Beer and immediately find myself immersed in a microcosm of the world’s languages and cultures. 19 uneventful (?) years of childhood and boring school lie behind me, 19 years of life in a little German cow-town. I throw them overboard and look with great expectation at my future. My first encounter with the ocean. I breath a curious mix of brisk, salty air and exhaust from the huge chimneys, sea gulls shriek in excitement. A last look at the sad mass of people left behind. Prevailing color: GRAY. Go west, young man. For the first time in my life, I am completely on my own. I feel rich with $30 cash and an American Airlines ticket , NY to LA, in my pocket. A vague concept of what expects me at the end of this trip. What the heck, I’ll handle my life one day at a time. One sure thing: I know Oxford English (but will have to learn American English, an unending series of colloquialisms: “Would you be so kind as to shut the door“ translates into “Shut the f***ing trap behind you, dammit“)
July 29, 1954. After nine days of feeding the fish in a rough sea, we pass Manhattan on the way to Hoboken, NJ. Scores of speed boats with bikini clad , smiling blonds waving at us. On the left, Miss Liberty brightens this scene with her raised torch. Groote Beer responds with monotone bursts from her foghorn. Prevailing color: BRIGHT, WARM PASTELS. It is a very hot, soggy day. I have 10 hours to take the grand tour: Central Park, Empire State Bldg, United Nations — all per pedes Apostulorum. I wear my European suit, with shirt, tie, pullover under my formal jacket. In front of the UN building I jay-walk across a wide, busy boulevard. The traffic noise is overbearing and I can’t hear, nor understand, the angry language thrown at me as taxi drivers are forced to slam on their brakes. In a dingy restaurant I ask the waiter, what I should order. He brings me a huge, tough, salty steak, for $3. I nibble at the edges, then leave in hopeless despair. The waiter calls me back and demands a tip. Later, an endless flight across the continent, in a four-propeller plane loaded with soldiers returning from the European tour of duty. Looking out the window at the pitch-dark night, I see absolutely nothing except sparks and flames coming from the engines. I am tempted to call the stewardess to tell her the plane is on fire. But nobody seems to care and hours later the plane safely lands at LAX.
I awaken from my youthful dream of illusions. I have enrolled in the school- of-hard-knocks. But heck, now, 57 years later, I would do it all over again, given my energy and enthusiasm at the time.
Hans
you were fortunate to be of an age that you remember the voyage. I was only 5,I was seasick the whole time. My older brother remembers dorm type accommodations though . The only lasting memory of that voyage was a life-long sensitivity to smelling diesel fuel when on a boat. When I eventually bought a sailboat, it had a gas engine for that very reason.
We recently visited Halifax Pier 21 on the MS Maasdam, another Holland America line ship. Felt very strange to see the hall where it all began for us in Canada. Wonderful reception by the staff once they know you are an alumni.
I plan to try and get cruise day credits for the trip across in 1953
Gerrit
Twitter: q
says:
I came to Canada on the Groote Beer in April of 1954. I was 7 years old. ( I came with my mom and dad, 3 sisters and two brothers.) My dad’s name was Aan Bergsma and my mom was Heijlkje Bergsma. We arrive in Quebec city and now I am trying to find a copy of the passenger list that shows I was on the ship. I need it to apply for OAS and CPP. Does anyone have a copy? I have searched on line for hours and have not found it yet. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Type in the ship name and dates,I found mine that way
Hi
Your name is on the list here: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~dutch/beer54.html
Best of luck. But are you certain that you need it to apply for OAS? If you became a Canadian citizen there should be no need to provide this or a landing card.
Gerrit Visser
Toronto
Twitter: q
says:
Thank you so much for the information Gerrit. I did go to immigration this morning and I don’t need it. As long as you were a Canadian Citizen before 1977 you are o.k. But thank you for the link to the passenger list which I am passing on to my siblings as I’m sure they would like to have it as well. Also, one of my boys loves all this heritage information so I have sent it to him as well. Thanks again.
Please, does anybody else remember the trip on which I commented above? Groote Beer. Rotterdam/Halifax/New York. Approximate dates: Leave Rotterdam July 18?19?20? 1954. Arrive New York: July 29, 1954. I know I wasn’t the only passenger. For some reason, nobody ever comments on that trip. I sometimes wonder if I was dreaming.
Are there any passenger lists for that trip floating around ?
Hi Hans,
http://culturetrunks.pier21.ca/netherlands/artefacts/ The 8th image under Ship Memorabilia is the one.
You might try contacting Pier 21. They have a scan of the front page of that passenger list so it apparently was a reality
There was a UFO sighting reported in mid 1954 from the Groote Beer as well…..http://thecid.com/ufo/chrono/ce2/1954.htm
Gerrit
My father Leendert Van Vliet was crew and carpenter on the Groote Beer. He took many Dutch migrtants from Holland to the US, Canada and Australia – before he migrated himself to Australia in the mid 50s
My Late father Gerrit Koolstra returned on the Groote Beer from Indonesia in 1949 where he was for 4.5 years, he then Immigrated to Melbourne with my mother Greta van Kooten in October 1950 on the Vollendam.