Her Excellency, Marion Derckx
Ambassador of The Kingdom of the Netherlands
Patron from 2019

We are delighted that in one of her earliest duties in Australia, the new Dutch Ambassador, Her Excellency, Marion Derckx, accepted an invitation to become a patron of the Uiver Memorial Community Trust.

Her Excellency, Ms Derckx said “This is the story of citizens who found themselves in a position to prevent a disaster and turned themselves, probably to their own surprise, into heroes. Definitely an example for every human being, a story that deserves to be told over and over again. I am grateful to the UMCT for keeping the memory of the Uiver story alive through the restoration of the DC-2 and I am proud to become their co-patron.”

The Dutch Embassy has an active social media presence, including their Facebook page.

Richard de Crespigny, AM
QANTAS captain, former RAAF pilot
Patron from 2014—Present

Aviation insiders know Richard as the captain of flight QF32 which suffered catastrophic engine and systems failures but managed to land safely. His website has a wealth of information about the Uiver and MacRobertson Air Race.

Erica Schouten
Patron from 2017–2019

Erica toured our restoration hangar and met the volunteers on 6 March 2018 as part of a visit to Albury as the Dutch Ambassador to surprise Noel Jackling with a Dutch royal honour (Knight of the Orange-Nassau).

We are grateful for the support shown by Her Excellency, Erica Schouten in her time as Ambassador.

Annemieke Ruigrok
Patron from 2014–2017

Ambassadors have limited term posts in Australia. We are grateful for the support shown by Her Excellency, Annemieke Ruigrok while she was based here.

Annemieke became a focal point in the Uiver 80th Anniversary celebration weekend in 2014.