Dutch couple’s loving connection to New Zealand

Miep and Cor Bierenbroodspot married in Pahiatua in 1958.

When Cor and Miep Bierenbroodspot first came to New Zealand, they couldn’t live together as a couple.

It was 1958 and they’d just arrived in the country after a six-week boat trip from the Netherlands.

But while they’d known each other since they were aged 14 and 15, they weren’t married yet.

Their son Michael, who wrote his parents’ story for the Bush Telegraph, says his parents met in the early 1950s.

While the Second World War had been over for some years, the country was still recovering from the devastating impact of that war.

At ages 18 and 19 respectively, the couple decided to get married, but there was nowhere for them to live.

Then they learned it was possible to emigrate and it seemed like the perfect option.

“A new country, new possibilities, and a new life,” Michael says.

Their first choice was Canada, but while taking lessons in English, they were convinced by another emigrating family, known only as the Gerritsens, to go with them to New Zealand.

On the journey, the couple quickly made friends with others who would become their new family in New Zealand.

The couple arrived in Wellington and from there came by train to Pahiatua.

“The first months in New Zealand were tough,” Michael says.

Due to the rules of the time, the couple had to live apart until they could get married.

So it was on a spring day, November 1, 1958, the couple married at a small wooden church in the centre of town.

“On this day they gave each other the vow to stay together for the rest of their lives.”

Miep found work in a nylon stocking factory and Cor worked for a Scottish immigrant who made concrete water barrels for farmers.

After six months, they moved to Wellington, where they lived for another four years.

In 1962, they decided to visit family in the Netherlands, which once again meant a six-week journey by ship.

They decided to stay in the Netherlands, but the memories of New Zealand remain deep in their hearts, Michael says.

“Since 1977 they have returned to New Zealand many, many times. The warmth of the people, the beauty of this country has enriched their life story.”

Cor and Miep will be celebrating their blue sapphire wedding anniversary - 65 years - on November 1 this year and Michael is enlisting the help of people in Pahiatua to send his parents special messages.

“It will be a real surprise when they receive cards from New Zealand as they don’t know anything about this,” Michael says.

The address to send them to is: Cor & Miep Bierenbroodspot, Plutostraat 118, 1829 DH Oudorp, Alkmaar, The Netherlands