Ollie said the whole country was in shock following news of the plane being shot down as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing 298 people including 28 Australian citizens and nine others living permanently in the country.

Ollie said that shock was particularly real for her and Marianne because “we often fly out of Amsterdam Airport and just at the end of last year we brought three family members to our Australian wedding on Malaysian airlines”.

That connection “makes it all very real and close”, with that closeness enhanced by the number of people contacting the couple within hours of the disaster.

“A few hours after the crash we had very concerned Australian friends contacting us to please tell them that we were not on that plane,” Ollie said. 

“That brought the connection between our two countries being affected even closer.

“We didn't know  any one directly on the plane, but close friends of us lost colleagues and friends. 

“Many people here have been touched,” Ollie said.

“The Netherlands are in shock with 24/7 media reporting. 

“Someone described it felt like a 9/11 attack on the Netherlands. - we were both shocked and saddened by the downing of the plane. 

“It seems so pointless. Why? What does it achieve? What will change because of it ? 

“Many innocent lives have been taken and families torn apart - children, going on holidays with their families, Australians coming home. 

“It does our head in,” Ollie said.

She said she and Marianne had struggled to deal with the shock and sorrow caused by the loss, and felt it turn to anger when there were no signs of remorse from those responsible.

“It seems that politics are more important than grieving over lost lives and showing respect to the ones that have lost their loved ones,” she said.

“It almost seems like we have lost another bit of humanity with this attack.”