The sky was so big. This big open sky and fresh air. Not that we didn't have fresh air in Holland but it's just in Holland you have these low hanging clouds which you don't have here. It's just beautiful. And I remember riding my bike up the hills and seeing all the wildflowers cause when I arrived here it was September. It was beautiful - delicate blue flowers and the kangaroo paws, just beautiful. And one night I saw this big glow over the hills and I said "Oh there's a bushfire I've always wanted to see a bushfire", so I got on my bike and I rode towards the hills and the next thing it was the moon coming up. Which was just so amazing to see this enormous big moon, which I didn't see in Holland because it came in up in Germany!

 

I took a bus to Perth. It was so hot – in the old scale it was 38 degrees and I asked everybody where was the swimming pool and no one seemed to know so I asked this cop. I said "Oh", he said  "You want the baths". I said "No, I had one this morning". (laughs) He said "Jump on the back" – of his bike. So I jumped on the back of his bike. I had no fear - nowadays you couldn't do that sort of thing. Anyway, he took me to Crawley Baths, and I've never looked back since. 

 

He dropped me off and saw me in, came down the steps and saw this enormous guy called Duncan Christie and I burst into tears. I was so hot and I said "Oh could you please give me a job" and he did, he gave me a job and I lived in as well. Cause he asked me where I lived and I said "Well nowhere at the moment" so he gave me – I lived in there in a little room at the back where the water rats used to run free. (laughs) And I loved the place, it was just beautiful. See the sunrise in the morning and all the boys come down and women came down to swim amongst the jellyfish, huge man-o-war jellyfish. And, being a gymnast, I thought I should learn to dive off the tower. And I met – you know the, the society of Perth used to come to Crawley Baths.

 

You couldn't swim in the river cause there's sharks. There's more sharks there than at Cottesloe. Yeah, and I remember coming out in my bikini. That was actually at Scarborough Beach and I was banned from Scarborough Beach for wearing a bikini (laughs). So when I joined the City of Perth Swimming Club. They used to have their training session on Sunday mornings. They had those bathers, blue ones with big skirts in front of it, so I had to wear those. And soon joined the swimming club and – the Bennett girls, one of the girls was the captain of the club. And they were most welcoming, they were the most wonderful people to me, you know the Australians, I loved them.

 

The boardwalk was full of splinters (laughs). Splinters and jellyfish and lovely people. The water, you know, with an easterly the water was fine, it was clear. But in late afternoon the sea breeze came in and I don't know where the jellyfish came from but somewhere over there they got through the lattice work. And I remember also letting some little boys though the lattice work to let them in so they didn't have to pay, the entry fee. I used to take the money and sell lollies. Duncan and Rita Christie, they were then the managers of the baths and their young son Brian, who was then about four years old, and he used to talk to me in in English and I used to talk back in my own sort of Dutch, half English way. And children are fantastic, they just pick up a language so easily.

 

It was tiered seating. The water polo was held every Wednesday evening and on Sunday morning was the City of Perth club - - - I think the water polo players were called The Dolphins. I'm not sure. But also the, the Surf Life Saving boys used to come there and have their training sessions and it was busy every night of the week. You know come summertime, with October starting. So early morning, all the business people used to come and swim where now they go to North Cottesloe. They used to come with their little bags.

 

Oh it was the hub of society. You know the Bunnings used to come and swim there. The writer with the West Australian, Doug Burton. The head photographer of the West Australian newspapers, John McKenzie. So, you know the little Dutch girl was left, right and centre to have photographs taken!

 

Lots of money used to drop into the water. I think that what the boys did actually, was they dived for the money that fell out of people's pockets, you know, the pennies. They come up with pennies. And occasionally used to come and yell out to me "Dutch girl, little Dutch girl come around here" and I used to walk up and they said  "Oh can you just pull this little bit of wood away so we can get in for nothing" and so I did!

 

Nellech Jacoby interviewed by John Bannister in 2008 

OH200811 | City of Perth Cultural Collections