This blog outlines the story of Milva Joan Rebuli nee Zampin, the eldest child of Silvano and Amelia Zampin nee Shaw. Silvano was one of the first-generation Veneto market gardeners. Milva was born on 14th May 1932 in Adelaide and has recently turned 94 years of age.
In the image above, Milva is shown working on one of her knitting projects. Photo by Madeleine Regan, June 2026.
Family background
Milva’s father, Silvano Primo Zampin was born in Riese, Treviso, Veneto on 6th February 1910. His family were ‘contadini’ who worked the land. When he was 18 years old, he made the brave decision to migrate to Australia. Times were tough after World War 1; there was little work around and the presence of Mussolini’s ‘Blackshirts’ was increasing. Silvano’s brother Pietro had migrated to Australia in 1925. Silvano (known as Gerry) arrived on16th January 1928 per ‘Citta di Genova’ and joined his brother.
For the first few years he laboured in the shipyards at Whyalla and Port Pirie. He returned to Adelaide when Pietro was tragically killed in a car accident and lived in the West End of Adelaide. He worked for a Chinese market gardener in Richmond about 4.5 kms from the city.
Milva’s mother, Amelia Katherine Shaw (known as Millie), was born in Kerang, Victoria on 25th December 1912. Millie’s father (Arthur Henry Shaw) was a camel train driver who transported goods from trains to outback stations before World War I. During the war he was badly injured and discharged in 1917 at the age of 30. Millie’s mother (Alice Violet Brady), a shearer’s cook, eventually settled in Adelaide.
Strangely, Gerry and Millie met at the West Terrace Cemetery when they were separately visiting the graves of relatives to place flowers on them. Somehow, they got talking and things went from there… an unusual story.
Millie was a doctor’s receptionist when she met Gerry. When they married in 1931, it was highly unusual for an Australian to marry an Italian and Millie was disowned by most of her family. It was a long time before Millie’s mother occasionally visited her and the children.
Gerry, Millie and the growing Zampin family continued life as market gardeners, first at Richmond, then at Lockleys where they leased land from a Veneto man, Giacomelli. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that Milva’s parents bought their own house and land in Angley Avenue Findon, finally achieving their dream.
Young Milva
Milva was born on 14th May 1932. She is the eldest of nine siblings; 8 sisters (Milva 94, Bruna 92, Roma dec., Angela dec., Christina 84, Virginia 82, Sandra dec., Cynthia 76) and the youngest, was Peter. He was tragically killed in a motor bike accident in 1971 at 18 years of age.
Milva’s father wanted to name her after an old girlfriend in Italy. Her mother didn’t know this until they went to Italy years later and her father introduced Millie to the woman Milva was named after!
When she was born, Milva’s parents were living in Waymouth Street in the West End of the City where other Veneti lived (the Pasins, Urbanis, Rossettos and others). Gerry cycled to work in Richmond. They lived in two houses before they moved to Frogmore Road in the Lockleys area.
Early memories
One of Milva’s earliest memories is of her mum Millie putting her and her younger sister Bruna in the pram and walking from the West End to the Chinese market gardener’s land where Millie helped Gerry sort tomatoes for market a few days a week. At the end of the day, Gerry put little Milva on the handlebars of his bike and donkeyed Millie who was pulling Bruna in the pusher behind! Milva also remembered sitting on her maternal grandfather’s knee during a visit when she was about 2 or 3 years old.
Milva remembered her parents didn’t have much money and the only toy she had as a small child was a stuffed sock belonging to her father with a face sewn on it and some buttons.
When she was about 12 years old, her grandmother (Alice) bought her a bike which she shared with her sisters. Milva recalled, “Bruna, Roma and I used to take turns riding it in stages to church on Sunday. I’d ride for a while, then get off and Bruna would swap and so on. Along the way we used to eat some of our breakfast and hide the rest in the hedge, which we’d eat on the way home! You see, you weren’t meant to eat before Communion so after we’d had some, we’d hide it for later.”
Milva went to Lockleys Primary school for a year, then moved after the parish priest urged her parents to send their children to Queen of Angels Catholic school in Thebarton. The church paid for their tram fares and school fees. Milva loved school and wanted to be a schoolteacher.
At a young age, she started working in the glasshouses before and after school. It was hard work. She had a lot of responsibility from a young age. Milva recalled, “Dad used to treat us older girls like we were boys and expected us to do whatever he asked. All the kids were expected to help at home and in the glasshouses. I used to boss them around – they all used to call me ‘The Duchess’!”
At the end of Grade 7, Milva had to leave school and work with her father full-time in the glasshouses. She wasn’t very happy about that, “but you just did what you were told”. She worked with Gerry digging glasshouses, growing tomatoes and vegetables for a few years.
At 17, she began working at the Brazzale mica factory in the West End of the City, a 7 km bike ride from Lockleys. Milva continued to work in the glasshouses before and after work.
At Brazzales, she processed mica for irons, toasters and other electrical items. About 40 women, almost all of them Veneti, worked there. She was good at what she did and became a supervisor quite quickly. She worked there until just after she married.
Socialising and friendships
Milva was especially close to her sister Roma. When she was younger, their friends were from other Veneto families – Ballestrins, Santins and Tonellatos. “We would sometimes go to parties at their houses or for special occasions. Other than that, we didn’t do much. We might go out as a family to visit someone or go down to the beach on a Sunday, or for a picnic.”
As a young woman working at Brazzale, Milva joined other young people at the beach on Sundays. She was friends with Maria Rosa Tormena who organised women from Brazzale’s to play netball at St Patrick’s Church, Grote Street. They went to the Saturday night dances at St Patrick’s.
Milva said, “My sister Bruna and I would go and had to be home by 11.00pm. We would hang around in a group, and the local boys would look after us. I liked dancing. My friends were there too – Mary Pasin, Ada Russo, Lea Griguol and Maria Rosa.”
Meeting and marrying Elvio Rebuli
Elvio Rebuli was the second son of Brunone and Giovanna Rebuli. The Rebulis were another founding Veneto market gardener family. Elvio delivered milk from the family cow to some of the Veneti near Frogmore Road. Milva recalled that she first met Elvio (she calls him Reb) one day when she was about 3 years old and he accidentally let her out of the gate as he dropped off the milk. He was about 10 years old at the time and Milva’s mother got very cross with him and pulled his ear!
Later Reb was just one of the young people from the market garden families who socialised together at parties and the beach on Sundays, and dances on a Saturday night. Milva said that Reb chased after her a bit and sometimes used to take her and Bruna home if they’d missed the last tram. One night Reb asked Milva to go to the annual Holden’s dance with him, which she did. They went out for a few months before he asked Milva to marry him. She said, “He was cheeky, funny, a good dancer and kind… and he was domineering!”
They were married on 26th April 1952 at Christ the King (St Francis) Church on Henley Beach Road. Milva was 19 and Reb was 25.
Once married they moved into the house in Frogmore Road, the same house that Milva lived in as a small child. It was one of two maisonettes belonging to Reb’s mother Giovanna ‘Nana’ Rebuli.
L-R: Elvio & Milva Rebuli, Silvano (Gerry) & Millie Zampin, Albert & Mary Tonellato.
They didn’t have much money and Milva was busy looking after the children, but she and Reb enjoyed family picnics and weddings family, and most Sunday nights they went to the Zampin family home for dinner and to play cards.
Milva and Reb had 8 children: Bruna, Linda, Andrea, Steph, Bruno, David, Jenny and Tanya. Milva also sadly lost two babies between David and Jenny.
Milva reflected that it was hard having all those kids close together but commented, “…we just did it. We had a system going where all the kids had their roles as they grew up. The hardest time was when I lost the two babies, but Reb and I supported each other through that. I think it made us stronger.” Her eldest child Bruna sadly passed away in 2022.
Milva’s ‘paid’ working life
Milva took a few jobs after her youngest children were old enough to be looked after. She helped her father in the glasshouses a few afternoons a week. She also worked for 5 or 6 years for a wedding catering business on weekends and remembered the long hours which were from 2:00 pm to midnight or 1:00 am. Milva described that job as ‘her release’! “They were a great group of mostly Aussie ladies and we became good friends. We’d go out for lunch, always had a Christmas party and celebrated Guy Fawkes nights, and the kids would come too.”
Milva then worked at the Adelaide airport. “I was at the airport for more than 30 years and for the last 10 or so I was Site Supervisor for the airport cleaning operations (international and domestic). It was a good job. I didn’t retire until Reb got sick.”
Reb’s work and the Veneto Club
As a young man Reb worked in his father’s market garden with his older brother Albino (Vito/Vic). When Vic built a mixed business shop on Grange Road, Reb worked in several jobs – Holden’s, Pope’s white goods manufacturers, a roofing company, and also at San Remo. He then worked with his younger brother, Guido, in the family wine shops on Grange Road and Anzac Highway in the 1970s.
Reb was a founding member of the Veneto Club. He helped build it and was a committee member for years. Milva recalled they went to the Club every Sunday with the kids, and she and Reb danced. “We loved dancing.”
“The Club was very important to our whole family, Rebulis and Zampins. It’s where we would go to have fun, eat and drink, dance, have family celebrations and go on club trips. We even went to New Zealand as a group. Some of Milva’s children worked at the Club.
Reb died in 1997 after a lengthy illness. “He loved his family, his kids, he liked getting dressed up, going dancing, and going out and seeing his mates.” Milva reflected, “We had a good marriage, yes there were ups and downs, but family was always important.”
Trips overseas
In 1985 Milva, Reb and their youngest daughter Tanya went to Italy. They only went the once and stayed for a few months with relatives, Lino and Marisa Rebuli, who had an osteria near Bigolino. Milva enjoyed being with them. They visited Rome, Venice and Florence and in the Veneto region.
They visited the Zampin relatives too and Milva enjoyed being with her Zio Nico (Gerry’s younger brother) and Zia Delia who had returned to the Veneto region after living in Adelaide. However, because other family members didn’t really know them and she couldn’t speak good Italian, Milva said she felt a bit out of place in Italy.
“Johnny Rebuli took us out as a family to the mountains and up to the war memorial at Monte Grappa. We also visited the Rossetto family home in Bigolino and Johnny’s mum Amabile (Mabel) and Doro Rebuli.”
Importance of family and culture
Milva’s father, Gerry Zampin died on 28th August 1982, and her mother Millie, died on 26th August 1999 at the age of 89. Milva reflected on what she had learned from her parents, “I learned about hard work, loyalty and the importance of family. My family means everything to me.”
Milva and Reb kept some Veneti traditions, which included Sunday lunches with the Zampin families. The men played cards, the women talked and the kids played outside. Easter and Christmas were an Italian lunch at home and then they visited Millie and Gerry for tea. A family picnic at Victor Harbor was a New Years Day tradition for years.
“I feel Italian mostly”, she said. “I grew up Italian and always felt accepted by the Veneti. My cooking is most influenced. I have always cooked Italian.”
Life now
Milva has a full social life – “I’m busy! I play cards on Mondays with a group of women. On Tuesdays I have Healthy Lifestyle club, Wednesdays once a month I go on a bus trip with West Torrens pensioners… we’re called the ‘Run Amoks’, Thursdays I go shopping. On Fridays, my son Bruno comes over for a visit and on the weekends the kids usually come around to visit.”
She enjoys catching up with her family, children, grandchildren. Milva is very proud of her 19 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren and has lovely photos of them all. Sometimes, she goes out for lunch with friends, and she sees her sisters occasionally.
“I like knitting – I have my projects, like making scarves, beanies, and blankets for the homeless. I read a lot, mainly detective/mystery stories and do crosswords and word games, and I watch my TV shows. I love animals. I used to have a beautiful dog ‘Jag’ – I still miss him.”
It has been a privilege to learn more about the life of a significant elder in the Veneto community. Milva’s story is rich, full of love, hard work, resilience, pride and the joy of famiglia (family).
Amanda (Mandy) Rossetto
All photos supplied by Milva and her family, unless otherwise indicated.
12 July 2026
Acknowledgement of Dino Piovesan
Dino was born on 14 September 1936 in Adelaide and died on 27 June 2026. His parents belonged to the Veneto market gardeners community in the area they called Lockleys. They had their first market garden on Frogmore Road from the mid 1930s. Dino was interviewed for the Veneto market gardeners’ oral history project in 2011 and provided very detailed information about growing up and his role in the market garden after his father died unexpectedly. Dino and his two brothers, Nillo and Bruno, then worked the market gardens with their zio Attilio for some years.
You can listen to Dino’s interview on this website and read the transcript by clicking on ‘Piovesan family’ in the link below and clicking on the interview and transcript buttons on the family webpage:
Madeleine Regan
