If "Talc Alf" is still alive, he'd be 99 years old (or 80 ?)
And how did "Talc Alf" finsih up at Lyndhurst? Fast-forward to 7:25.
The farther north you go, and the farther out west you go, the more incredible characters you meet. Here is the incredible story of a man who has chosen to live in the middle of the Australian outback. Another Tom Neale, but his "island" is surrounded by sand instead of water.
What piqued my interest was this comment on Robert Cullen's facebook page: "He is [at] currently at Thursday Island visiting family and celebrating his 80th birthday." Who are his relatives on Thursday Island?
(It just clicked when I read Jenny Schram's post on the facebook page: he was a friend of Helmut Schramm who died in 2025 - click here - and Alf's daughter Diat, who grew up at Lyndhurst, now lives on Thursday Island - click here and here and here.)
That would've been in 2006 when he celebrated his 80th birthday on 12 February, according to this airport arrival card I found on naa.gov.au.
Earlier arrival cards show that "Talc Alf" arrived in Australia in 1957 as a migrant from the Netherlands, and had headed straight for Cooma, presumably to work on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme which was built between 1949 and 1974.
And back in the 1970s he lived with his wife Hermine - who was also Dutch - at 7 Legge Street in Downer in the A.C.T. I must've driven past his place several times on my way to the Old Canberra Inn. The world is such a small place, even in as big a place as this incredible country.
As we approach another heatwave with temperatures in the mid-40s, let's remember Alf's advice; "When it's hot sit in the shade and put your feet in a bucket of water." Thank you, Alf! I might do that right now!
P.S. There are more articles on "Talc Alf" here and here, but here's the catch: both articles mention that he was born in 1945 whereas my airport arrival cards say "1926". Have I picked the wrong Cornelius Alferink? How many Cornelius Alferinks are there in Australia?
The above Record Search on the National Archives website raises more questions than it provides answers: the first entry shows a "Cornelis A born 22 November 1954" who arrived with his parents; the second entry shows a "Cornelis Johan born 29 May 1945" (which confirms the year given in the articles) who arrived with his parents and three sisters and a brother, aboard the "Johan van Oldenbarnevelt" in 1953; and the third entry shows a "Cornelis Adrianus" who arrived alone on 15 August 1951.
