Jonas Kreveld

A Life of Contribution and Achievement

Jonas (also called Jon) Kreveld was a remarkable human being who overcame what can best be described as a chaotic period of childhood, teen years and early adulthood and achieved business success in Australia and made a major contribution to the well being of the Dutch community in Victoria.

Jonas Kreveld was born in Amsterdam on 23rd January 1906 in a well to do family, his father being a diamond cutter by trade. This trade however went through very low levels of activity which in the early twenties resulted in Jonas having to cut short a planned university course in economics in order to support his family. His first job was with the Amsterdamse Bank and in June 1929 he became a stockbroker with Louis Korijn & Co., one of the largest bankers in Amsterdam. He married Netty Cardozo in 1932. In 1937 they had a son Flip. The outlook for Jews continued to deteriorate and Jonas raised the possibility of emigrating to Uruguay. His father in law convinced him to stay and offered him a directorship in his firm, the Imperial Import Company, an importer and distributor of office machines. In July 1940, Jonas and his family escaped from Nazi occupied Holland with Uruguayan diplomatic passports and fled to the then Dutch East Indies. He became a prisoner of war, having served in the infantry of the Royal Netherlands (East) Indies Army (the KNIL) and met Max Levee whilst working on the infamous Burma Railroad. After the war they both went back to Holland and then decided to emigrate to Australia, Jonas arriving in 1950 and settling in Melbourne.

After a brief stint as a representative for a company importing appliances, Jonas started his own company Kreveld's Trading Company. Occasional success included the importation of cement from Calcutta. A leap forward was made when Jonas and Max Levee started the firm of Plastalon as a partnership in 1951 with Jonas using his good financial expertise and Max his manufacturing experience. Initially their product, plastic raincoats, proved hard to sell, but their fortune changed when Harold Holt was photographed wearing one at the Caulfield races. From small beginnings in a Hawthorn shed they quickly expanded to a new factory in Highett. The company was floated in 1957. At that time they employed some 150 people manufacturing a lot of custom lines, as well as agricultural application products such as dam linings and silage covers. As well, there were the well known plastic raincoats, plastic swimming and wading pools and other consumer products. Plastalon was a very profitable company which was the reason why Slater Walker, a U.K. company with Australian offices and one of the early "conglomerators", took an interest in the company. Plastalon was sold to Slater Walker in 1968 and Jonas continued on as Chairman of the Slater Walker Plastic Group, also including Bramac.

After retiring from the Chairman position in 1970 and the death of his wife Netty in 1971, Jonas dedicated his life to activities benefiting the community. He became a much valued mentor to many up and coming entrepreneurs who benefited greatly from his business experience and wisdom. He became a member of SCORE, the Service Core of Retired Executives and then joined the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC). Jonas was also one of the driving forces behind the formation of the Australian Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (ANCOC), the forerunner of the NCCA and became its first President. He is remembered as a very active and positive force in the life of The Chamber. Many of the earlier Dutch migrants will remember Jonas as a Director and strong supporter of a number of Building Societies, established with the specific purpose of making low interest housing loans available to Dutch migrants. Jonas was the founder of the Erasmus Foundation, established with the purpose of promoting cultural interchange between Australia and The Netherlands. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Willem van Otterloo Foundation which provides funding for young Australian musicians to study overseas. He continued as President of the Erasmus Foundation until 1990.

Jonas Kreveld's achievements were recognised with distinctions from both the French and Dutch Governments. In 1951 he received the Croix d'Honneur from the French Republic and the Ridderorde van Oranje Nassau in 1985.

Jonas Kreveld remained active and involved until his death on 18th March 1995 in Daylesford near Melbourne where he was spending a happy family weekend. He left one son and three grand sons. Above all, he left a wonderful legacy of achievement and contribution to the community. A very large gathering of mourners celebrated his life at the funeral in Melbourne.