Henry (1939) and Kids

Henry Anthony Aalders born 28 Dec 1939 in Hilversum .Son of Gerard Adriaan Johan Aalders and Johanna Parijs . Opa Hendrik Aalders decided that  this then only grandchild be baptised as Hendrik .His mother preferred her name and that of her mother, Johanna.   He just had to be a “Hans” . So it was to be . To his aquaintances and clients he was Henk (Hendrik) at his parents home ,he  was Hans .                         Aged 13 , he thought that he wanted to be a priest , So his parents sent him to seminary at St Boniface Mission house in Hoorn to study at a Mill Hill fathers establishment . Fortunately his parents  had the foresight to let him sit the entry exam to the Roman Catholic Grammar school in Hilversum.                       Henry passed it with the highest marks for his school .                                                                                   St Bonifatius  was a spectacular failure  .Henry was an epileptic and he had regular seizures.                  Mill Hill trained missionary priests and had no use for other than normal healthy young people.

There were no qualified teachers at St Boniface .In a full year only Latin was taught and that by a young priest who trained to go to the mission fields and who resented teaching . At the end of the first year, Mill Hill sent him back to his parents.                                                                                                               

Thereafter Henry did not cope at grammar school . Being a year behind in being taught  Latin ,Greek, English, French  ,German , Algebra and Trigonometry ,none of which ,other than Latin ,was taught at St Boniface .  His parents having decided to migrate to New Zealand saw no future in sending him back to school where he never did catch up. Henry’s secondary school life was over at age 14  .                      Instead he delivered groceries on a trike and learned to maintain gardens.                                                   On boxing day In 1956 the family arrived in New Zealand. Henry went to milk cows .

Realising that likely he may never be granted a drivers licence ,Henry bought  a push bike and decided  that epilepsy or not , he would see New Zealand . He cycled from Cape Reinga at the top of NZ  to Bluff the farthest southern point of that country  following the West coasts of both islands and returning via the East Coasts . 

Henry was the first person to have ever done this on a push bike . He spent 64 days travelling 6400 km circling N Z . .He received newspaper  publicity and was interviewed on Radio 1ZB . A NZ knight of the realm ,Sir James Fletcher ,heard the interview, interviewed and employed him and encouraged him to go to Auckland  University part time .   Henry graduated Bachelor of  Commerce in 1968 majoring  in Accounting.  He also received a post grad Diploma in Taxation and Company Law  from University  of Southern  Queensland in 2003, having spent just one year at a secondary school . 

He practised as a Chartered Accountant in Kumeu N Z and upon retirement established himself in Hervey Bay Queensland  He was a Rotarian for 17 years and organised solo a student educational programme for accounting graduates from te University of Irkutsk.Siberia to learn how their profession works in a fully developed economy , such as those of Australia and New Zealand .

 He also was active in promoting Rotary in former Communist satellite states of the Soviet Union notably Latvia . His club recognised Henry and made him its first Paul Harris Fellow for having brought great credit to NZ and Kumeu Rotary .Henry was for 12 years a protea and leucadendron nursery man . He bred parrots as his hobby and founded the Nor- West AFC football (soccer)  club  operating from Kumeu .      Henry is a keen genealogist.

He married Nancy Alys  Bisset , born 26 Aug 1940 in Lawrence Central Otago NZ .a gifted pianist  in 1962 The couple divorced in 1983 . In 1987 he remarried a Filipino widow with 2 small boys . They now have their own families in Queensland . Henry is the author of this website ,  

Henry and Nancy had six childern

Adrian Emile Francois Aalders  was born in  Auckland New Zealand on 26 Aug 1963 

Natalie Gwendolyn Aalders  was born in Auckland New Zealand on 18 December 1964 

Paul Anthony Aalders was born in  Auckland New Zealand on 25 Dec 1965  

Melanie Ruth Aalders, ( adoption by ) Henry Anthony Aalders and Nancy Bisset was born in  Auckland New Zealand on 24 May  1967 

Momique Simone Aalders  was born in  Auckland New Zealand on 8 Dec 1969

Anton Henry Gerard Aalders was born in  Auckland New Zealand on 30 July 1973.  

Nicolas Lodge born in Helensville NZ He is the son of Melani Aalders

To See The Filipino Aalders in Australia Click Here