Stephanie: My name is Stephanie Brantz. I’m a second generation Australian of Dutch parents and I work in the media as a freelance presenter across the ABC, Fox Sports and ESPN. I’m the youngest of three children. I have an older brother and an older sister, but we were your nuclear family because when Mum and Dad moved over here they moved over by themselves, so it was just the 5 of us for many years and various pet dogs.



Hans: Why we went to Australia was that we wanted to leave Holland because it was a lovely country, but it was too small for us.



Philippina: When we had decided on Australia we applied for assistance with our fares because that would help us financially.



Hans: We chose to stay, settle in Brisbane simply because of the climate.



Stephanie: I grew up in what was quintessentially a really Australian environment. I think maybe Mum and Dad were so intent on making sure they assimilated that we did all the normal things. We lived in a Queenslander house on stilts, we played a lot of sport, and I think what I was most aware of about Mum and Dad were that they had accents and they sounded different to my friends’ parents. So, I think that’s what made me perhaps the most aware that they weren’t from Australia. My sister spoke only Dutch before she went to kindergarten and I didn’t realise that of course because I was the third child, so my parents spoke very good English by the time I was born and my experience of that was a little different. The food we ate was slightly different. We would take white bread with something called hagelslag which I think translates into chocolate hail, and we would take that on our sandwiches to school which invariably made you very popular.



Hans: Brisbane was actually a very, very good choice for us in the end, we didn’t think so in the beginning because we were crying and all that but seeing the opportunities, seeing the weather was fantastic. And with the children it was just wonderful. We were a happy family, we did things together. We were discovering the country as well as the children and it was a great time.



We became Australian citizens at the first opportunity in 1973.



Philippina: To become an Australian citizen, was for us, a normal progression of living here. We knew we’d stay here, our children were born here, and we liked the country.



Stephanie: They wanted me to get a university education and so they were insistent that that was important to have those backup qualifications and so I went to university. Originally I did business, I then deferred that and I moved to Sydney to take up a modelling career and on the back of the modelling career I went into natural medicine. So, I was a naturopath for 10 years until my next-door neighbour knocked on the door and asked if I’d like to audition for SBS. He’d seen me playing football with my kids in the back garden, said 'We’re after a female sports presenter.' The rest is history.  

In 2016 I got a message out of the blue saying that the Dutch Royal Family were paying a visit to Canberra and 'Would I like to come along and meet them?'.



Hans: The Dutch Royal visit was really fantastic to us because we hadn’t expected it and all of a sudden Stephanie said, 'Can you come and be my guest at the Dutch Royal visit?', ah wonderful!



Stephanie: The King and Queen turned out to be just a delightful couple, they were so friendly.  They must have shaken so many hands and had to smile at so many people, but they were friendly and enthusiastic, and they wanted to hear everyone’s story. One of the most fascinating things about the visit to Canberra was the Archives gave us all a copy of the paperwork that Mum and Dad had needed during their migration and I realised I knew nothing about the process by which they came to be in Australia and it was really fascinating to see that they were interviewed and described as 'Quite a pleasant couple.'



Hans: While we were waiting to be called in Stephanie actually came to us and said, 'You know that you’re a very pleasant couple?' I said 'Really?' 'Yeah I read it in your papers.' I said, 'What papers?'  So, we actually went in and saw our papers for the very first time.



Philippina: It was a bit confronting to see some of it but we’re very happy that we have the copies and we can show it to our children.



Stephanie: It was fascinating the detail they went into. They spoke about their photographs and commented on the fact that my father is of Indonesian heritage. So, they even made comment that they thought he looked European enough, he’d be okay, and I thought that was interesting that that was something they took into account. I’ve had such a fantastic life in Australia so I can’t be anything but really happy that Mum and Dad chose to move here and have their children here. Part of me loves Europe and I’m really glad we’ve got that connection and we continue some Dutch cultural traditions.



Philippina: Now looking back I’m very pleased we did it and we’re very proud Australians. We wouldn’t want it any other way.