{"id":26489,"date":"2013-03-14T22:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-03-14T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=26489"},"modified":"2020-12-21T13:25:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T03:25:30","slug":"a-look-through-rems-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/03\/14\/a-look-through-rems-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Look Through Rem’s Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lisa Vandenberg with her mother, author Dawn, and father Remmert\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dawn Vandenberg autographs a copy of her book for Marie Shaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 14, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we see old blokes around town, do we know their background? Do we know their stories? Do we realise they weren’t always old?<\/p>\n

Wondai author Dawn Vandenberg posed these questions when she launched her second book, “A Look Through My Eyes”,\u00a0this morning at Kingaroy Library.<\/p>\n

The book is a true tale of a special “old bloke” in Dawn’s life, her husband Rem.<\/p>\n

Rem was born in 1937 in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

His early life was a struggle to exist under the Nazis. He also struggled against the doctrines of the Catholic Church and family discipline.<\/p>\n

He eventually found his way to Australia.<\/p>\n

Dawn read a section from the book which described Rem’s arrival at Albany in Western Australia at the age of 16 and his yearning “to disembark and become one with this land”.<\/p>\n

Rem also spoke at the book launch, saying he didn’t understand what the Promised Land was until he saw Australia.<\/p>\n

“It touched me, it grabbed me. I have never thought any different than I do now. I live in a country that cannot be equalled anywhere in the world.”<\/p>\n

Rem said he was awestruck when he met his first Aborigine … a man with dark skin and blond hair whom he came up against in a boxing tent in Western Australia.<\/p>\n

In this boxing ring, Rem also earned the first “quid” he made in Australia.<\/p>\n

“I know people who say ‘I have lived my life but I don’t know why’,” Rem said.<\/p>\n

“To me, life is what you experience and what you see. So grab a piece of paper and write down what you think are the highlights of your life. This is why you lived …”<\/p>\n

Dawn, who formerly taught at Kumbia and Murgon State schools, published her first book “Tales From Manger Inn” in 2011.<\/p>\n