Members of the city's Dutch community carefully gathered on the weekend to celebrate Wouter Murwood's 90th birthday.
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The informal group used to have monthly outings until March and Saturday was the first time they had caught up together in months.
Mr Murwood has lived in Yenda for the 19 years, and actually celebrated his 90th birthday in April, but welcomed the chance for another celebration.
At the time, he and his family shared some cupcakes with neighbours at the Yenda Retirement Village before seeing friends and family through Skype.
When asked if he was worried about the delay to birthday celebrations because of COVID019, Mr Murwood said "every day is a new day".
Mr Murwood first arrived in Australia in 1961, only to be told that he "shouldn't have come".
He brought his wife Witske and sons Dolf and Robert to Australia before arriving at the Bonegilla migration camp near Wodonga.
"I stayed for a week, made my wife and children comfortable and then went to Melbourne," he said.
He was dropped at the Commonwealth Bank by a taxi driver who knew there was person who spoke Dutch at the branch as Mr Murwood couldn't speak English.
"The man asked what I was doing here and said I should have written and they would have said not to come," he said.
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In 1961, a credit squeeze meant the economy was in the doldrums but in Amsterdam, Mr Murwood was working as a tram ticket inspector and wanted to provide a better life for his family.
On that same day, he made his way to the suburb of Croydon to meet a friend who lived in Australia, but finding directions to the right address was difficult.
"I asked two girls standing at a crosswalk and one of them asked if I was Dutch," Mr Murwood said.
"They were waiting for their uncle, and he took me to my friends. The following day I started work on a pick and shovel."
Mr Murwood said the man was from New Zealand and helped them overcome some of the challenges of adapting to Australian life.
"I have never looked back," he said.