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that "the children were very happy there". Nevertheless, they received a letter from the Education Department informing them that they would have to transfer their children to Kingston Primary School. While attending Kingston Primary the Koolstra children were unhappy bacuse of the reportedly discriminatory treatment Dutch children received from the headmaster. Thus, when the Blackman's Bay Primary School was opened a few years later the Koolstra's immediately transferred their children so that they could complete their primary education in a more

congenial environment.6

Apart from Kingston Primary and Taroona High Schools which had a disproportionate Dutch population, the number of Dutch children attending any single government school was very small. Thus, in relation to the Dutch, there was no visible 'migrant problem' at these schools. Nevertheless, this lack of visibility does not preclude its existence. Interviews with Dutch migrants who attended these schools demonstrate that the transition from the Dutch educational system to an Australian school in the 1950s was a relatively difficult process.

Dutch migrants whose primary schooling was interrupted through migration vividly recall the distress they experienced upon entering an Australian school. Recollections of these school daysinclude memories of the lack of facilities aimed at assisting migrant children. For example, they received no special instruction in the English language but were expected to 'fit into' the class as well as they could. This sometimes led to the development of social and academic problems which affected later career opportunities.

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6.

The problems experienced by Dutch children attending Kingston Primary School were

discussed in the previous chapter. It is important to recognise that the situation at this

particular school was unique in that its student population included a significant

proportion of Dutch children. This situation was a direct consequence of the residential

concentration of Reformed Dutch migrants in the Kingston-Blackman's Bay area at this

time. The severity of the problems reported by these children, apparently due to overt

dis�ri�ination prac�ices, were not therefore representative of the experiences of the

maJOnty of Dutch children attending government schools in the 1950s.

The interviews conducted in this study indicate that Dutch migrants entering the Australian school system during the 1950s encountered adjustment problems. These problems were, in large part, due to discontinuities brought about by the migration experience. For example, schooling was often missed because of the length of time

required to travel by ship from Europe to Australia? The transition from one school system to another was itself a highly disruptive experience for Dutch students, exacerbated by a lack of knowledge of the English language and a high rate of geographical mobility during the early stages of settlement. Another problem-creating factor was the migrants' perceptions of a lack of competence among teachers and the school system in general in their ad hoc attempts to respond to the needs of

migrant students.S

National studies (Cox,1975; Australian Department of Education, 1975; Martin,1978) on the education of migrant children have noted that the limited and largely ineffective responses made by Australian educational institutions in the 1950s was particularly apparent in the area of language learning. Although English language classes were established for adult migrants in the post-war years:

"teaching English to immigrant children was completely ignored until the mid-1960s. Presumably, it was

commonly believed that migrant children quickly fitted

into society without special assistance .... " (Cox,1975:14).9 Furthermore, the view has been expressed that although economic

7. Sea travel was the dominant mode of transportation at that time and the only mode available to those migrating under the Assisted Passage Scheme.

8. More recent reports on the education of migrant children (Martin,1978; Cox,1975; Australian Department of Education,1975) lend support to the views expressed by Dutch migrants that adjusting to Australian schools in the 1950s was a relatively difficult process. These studies have suggested that many of the difficulties could have been overcome if educational institutions had attempted to respond in an organized manner to the pr;sence of migrant.students. H.owever, this would have required a prior recognition of their problems as uruque and migrant-related, an approach which did not emerge in Australia until the 1960s (cf.Martin, 1978).

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pressures do adversely affect the educational opportunities of a substantial proportion of some migrant categories:

"there can be also be little doubt that non-English speaking arrivals of all ages are severely disadvantaged in learning English unless positive discrimination is exercised at least in the area of language training". (Cox,1975:15).

In the absence of any positive discrimination in the area of English language learning, Martin (1978:90) has shown that non-English speaking migrant children tended to be labelled 'slow learners'. As such they were often 'left to their own devices' in large classes, a situation which led to "the danger of children developing 'bad work habits' and settling into patterns of idleness" (Martin, 1978:92). Alternatively, they were placed in a grade level well below their age level or possibly segregated for their schooling (either for all classes or for English lessons only) until they had achieved a standard of competence in English which would enable them to cope with normal classes (Martin,1978:91). The potential for a self-fulfilling prophecy is obvious under conditions where teachers, who typically had no special training for this kind of work, adapted to the problem by lowering their expectations of those children (Australian Department of Education,1975:11).

In short, during the 1950s neither Australian educational institutions nor educationalists were competent to deal with the specific difficulties, both academic and social, encountered by non-English

speaking migrant children.10

9. The inaccuracy of this belief is supported by more recent research (Cox,l975) which emphasizes the disadvantages of an initial (and often continuing) language disability, particularly in relation to educational opportunities which may limit occupational mobility regardless of the migrant's socio-economic status.

10. Martin (1978) has demonstrated that knowledge of and competence in this field of education did increase by the late 1960s as people became aware of the uniqueness of the migrant situation but only in schools of high migrant density.

Given the relatively low migrant population in Tasmania during the 1950s (Farmer,1980:211) and the lack of training and experience on the part of teachers in dealing with the problems of non-English­ speaking children (Martin,1978) it can be safely concluded that the response from Tasmanian educational institutions was negligible when compared with that (however meagre) of mainland schools. The academic and social problems reported by those interviewed in this study can thus be viewed as typical of those experienced by non-English­ speaking children in the Tasmanian state school system. The fact that the great majority of these schools were characterized by extremely low migrant densities is therefore particularly significant for understanding processes of adaptation.

Low migrant densities meant a lack of trained assistance from teachers and a lack of support from other migrants experiencing similar difficulties. While this situation created feelings of frustration and anxiety among non-English speaking children and their parents the strategies employed to deal with these problems are particularly significant. The majority of the Dutch children quickly established close friendships with Australian-born schoolmates. Thus while initial language difficulties may have caused individual trauma, and possibly academic problems, this did not necessarily have a negative effect on the social integration of Dutch children into the school community.

In addition, schools provide a context for social interaction among parents. Many Dutch migrants, particularly women, recall that their first friendships in Australia were established with other parents once their children had begun school. These friendships with native-born Australians were maintained and strengthened through regular interaction during their children's school life. In many cases, such friendships were extended beyond the school context when, for example, mothers were invited to join tennis and card groups.

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Dutch Catholics had a choice of educational organizations in the receiving society: they could either send their children to the local state school or to a private Catholic school. Those interviewed in this study reported a preference for a Catholic education although financial constraints pressed many to send their children to the local state school. This was particularly true for those repaying ICMLF loans for passage to Australia and those without relatives or friends in Tasmania from whom they could seek assistance and support. Given the norm of individual (or nuclear family) migration among Dutch Catholics this was a common predicament. As a result, the settlement experiences of these migrants and their children were not significantly different from those of non-Catholic Dutch migrants.

Nevertheless, a preference for the Catholic education system is evident among Dutch Catholics. Many began by sending their children to the local state school for their primary education, later transferring them to a Catholic secondary school as the family's financial status improved. Others were able to send their eldest child to a Catholic school for both primary and secondary education while younger children attended the local state school. Mr. and Mrs.Van Smaalen, for example, explained that although their eldest son attended St.Virgil's College, the other five children had attended state schools "because we couldn't afford to send

them all to Catholic schools". However, in 1983 when five of the

children had completed their education, they were able to send their

youngest daughter to Dominic College for the final year of her education.

Cases such as these suggest that financial constraints aside, the preference among Dutch Catholics was for their children to receive a Catholic education. This would be expected since this type of education was consistent with parent's own socialization experiences. Access to Catholic educational organizations was widespread in the Netherlands due to the provision of numerous parochial schools throughout the country. This situation resulted from and further reinforced the

'pillarised' institutional structure of Dutch society. Until the 1960s it was typical for a member of the Catholic 'bloc' to meet his children's educational needs within the Catholic system. Upon his arrival in Australia this norm was strongly supported and reinforced by both the Catholic hierarchy and the laity.

The problems experienced by Dutch children attending Catholic schools were similar to those attending state schools. Consistent with the attitudes towards migrants of the Australian Catholic hierarchy, no parochial schools were established for migrants in Australia, so that Catholic children were equally exposed to the assimilationist-oriented educational institutions of the host society. As with the state education system, those involved in the Catholic education system were inexperienced in dealing with the situation of a steadily increasing migrant population. This was especially true in Tasmania during the 1950s when the post-war Catholic migrant population was small and Protestant immigration from northern Europe and the United Kingdom was predominant.

In the early 1950s there were a number of Catholic schools in the Hobart area, the majority providing a primary education only. A Catholic secondary education was provided by two boys' schools, St.Virgil's and Savio./' and three girls' schools, St.Mary's, Sacred Heart

and Mt.Cannel. All five schools were located on the western shore of the

Derwent River between Sandy Bay and Glenorchy (see Appendix C: Map

4.1). The children of Dutch Catholics were not concentrated at any one of these schools and therefore had the opportunity to interact with Australian-born children of their own ages. The majority of Dutch Catholics interviewed in this study stated that almost all of their children's school friends were Australian-born; this was true regardless of whether their children had attended state or Catholic schools.

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adjusting to the host society's educational system (whether state or Catholic) were typically justified by parents in terms of their own assimilationist orientation. Parents strongly believed that an Australian education was essential for their children in that it provided them with a context in which they could learn the nuances of the Australian way of life. Thus, despite the trauma associated with the transition from one educational system to another, parents felt reassured by the fact that their children were acquiring skills which were essential for future success in

Australia.

For Dutch Catholics, however, two important factors helped to alleviate the severity of these inevitable adjustment problems. One factor was the parents' familiarity with the Catholic education system. Dutch Catholics were not sending their children to a totally alien educational system. Thus, although Catholic schools were also assimilationist in orientation, parents generally felt confident in the knowledge that their children were learning to adjust successfully to the Australian way of life within a familiar social and moral context.

A more important factor influencing the way in which problems of adjustment were handled by Dutch Catholics relates to the fact that schools also provide a context for social interaction among parents. The ethnic concentration at particular schools thus has a potential influence on the nature of parents' social networks. During the 1950s each of the Catholic schools

in

students. This resulted from the fact that there were fewer Catholic than state schools in Hobart and there was a preference among Dutch Catholics for their children to receive a Catholic education. In addition, these schools were small and family-oriented. They expected a high level of parental involvement in extra-curricular activities ranging from 'working bees' to maintain the school facilities through to coaching sports teams and manning the tuck shops. This situation gave rise to a relatively high frequency of interaction among parents.

Dutch migrants whose children attended Catholic schools were thus much more likely to interact with other Dutch migrants than those whose children attended state schools. Although the children at Catholic schools tended to have Australian-born friends, their parents often established friendships with other Dutch migrants. The Catholic schools thus provided a context in which an ethnic support structure could be established.

If interaction between Dutch parents was confined to the school context, the social ties between them did not tend to be intimate, nor were they long-term. Importantly, however, if ethnic relationships within the school context were reinforced through interaction in other social contexts they increased in intensity and durability. For example, close friendships were often established among Dutch migrants whose

children atten_ded the same Catholic school if they lived in the same

residential area and thus attended the same local parish. Thus,� small

networks of Dutch friends existed among Dutch Catholics in Hobart

during the 1950s. Recreation

The variation in background among Dutch migrants in Hobart,

together with their residential, occupational, religious and educational dispersion in the host society, was not conducive to the development of

an extensive network of ethnic interpersonal relationships. In most

social contexts these migrants interacted with members of the host community. Access to other Dutch migrants was limited and, as result of their differences, did not necessarily lead to the development of friendships. Interpersonal networks were thus predominantly Australian in nature although the size of these networks was problematic.

Due to the social differentiation which characterized this category of Dutch migrants there existed no readily identifiable clientele for the