Category: 2026

Recently while staying in the Veneto region, I met Maria Luisa and Patrizio Carraro. I learned about the history of their family whose members have lived between Riese Pio X in the province of Treviso and Adelaide since 1949.

The photo above features the Carraro family, Venice airport, July 1981.
(Maria Luisa and Antonio were farewelling their parents
and brothers who were departing for Adelaide)
Back: Umberto, Elsa. Front: Antonio, Patrizio,  Michele, Maria Luisa.

The migration experience of the Carraro family

Every family who migrates to a new country has a unique story. The Carraro family story gives a perspective of the complex experience of migration, the challenges of settling in a new country and movements between Italy and Australia. Their story is an insight into what researchers of migration history call a “transnational family.” The Carraros are more than a migrant family; in Australia they became a transnational family because as the years passed, some members lived in Riese Pio X and some were in Adelaide. In a transnational family the members are separated geographically but they maintain constant contact with each other and there is a strong sense of belonging and a shared meaning of family.

This blog outlines the stages in the Carraro family migration story and the process of becoming a transnational family over the years. Umberto (Luigi) Carraro and Elsa Giovanna Alberton were market gardeners in Adelaide during the 1950s and early 1960s and they worked hard and made sacrifices for their children, Maria Luisa, Antonio, Michele and Patrizio.

Umberto (Luigi) Carraro 1914 – 1998

Umberto was born in Riese Pio X on 9 May 1914 to parents who were contadini or small farmers. Although the family owned their home, they leased about two and half hectares and grew crops mainly to feed animals – chickens, rabbits, pigs and the family had a donkey. They also cultivated vines to make wine.

The daughters left home to find work as housemaids for wealthy families so that they could contribute to the costs of the Carraro family household.

The hardship of the war years in Italy

Life in Italy between the wars was difficult especially for large families who relied on the land to survive. When Umberto was in his early 20s, Patrizio said that his father wanted “to improve his economic situation … and he had heard that in Australia, wages were higher.”

Other young men from Riese Pio X, like the Berno brothers and two Zampin brothers, had migrated to Adelaide before World War II and had communicated that there were opportunities to make a living from working market gardens during the mid 1930s. Patrizio stated that another factor that motivated his father to consider migrating in the late 1930s was the rise of fascism in Italy which brought fear and insecurity to people who opposed the political party.

In 1938 Albino Berno, a relative (and brother of Alberto and Pietro who were market gardeners in the Lockleys area) and a friend, Enrico Giacomelli, left Riese Pio X for Adelaide. Umberto had wanted to go with them but unfortunately did not have the money to pay for the trip. He went to work for a period on a farm in Breslau which was a German town at the time.

Migration to Australia

After the war he made the voyage to Australia and arrived on 13 March 1949. He was sponsored by Alberto and Pietro Berno who had been in Adelaide since the late 1920s and worked market gardens in the Lockleys and Flinders Park areas.

Umberto worked for the Berno brothers for a year and later at Michell’s hide factory at Hindmarsh before he formed a partnership with another Veneto man, Gino Silvestri, and they grew tomatoes in 14 glasshouses on land leased from the Kellett family in Torrens Avenue, Lockleys. This was in a market garden area on the southern side of the River Torrens.

 

In March 1955 Umberto decided to visit his family in Riese Pio X, and he also wanted to find a young woman who might be interested to marry him and migrate to Australia. While he was staying with his family, he met Elsa Giovanna Alberton at a fiera or fair in nearby Asolo, and they married on 23 October 1955.

 

 

Elsa Giovanna Alberton, 1929 – 2021

 

Elsa was born on 29^th August, 1929 at Crespignana di Maser, a small village about 10 kilometres northeast of Riese Pio X. Elsa had a twin sister, three other sisters and a brother. Elsa’s father was a carpenter and at one stage worked in Africa to improve the family’s financial position. Her grandmother was a very experienced knitter and contributed to the family economy knitting garments for people and she also worked in the family house. Although Elsa’s mother worked as a knitter (like her grandmother), the Alberton family experienced economic difficulties during the war.

Leaving home for employment

Daughters in the Alberton family worked away from home as housemaids like those in the Carraro family. Often the work as housemaids was organised through a network. In the case of Elsa, a priest in Conegliano (57 kilometres northeast of Crespignana), assisted young women to obtain employment as housemaids. The family does not know how the arrangements were made with the priest, but Elsa gained a job as a housemaid in England when she was 19 years old. She stayed for two years and became fluent in English.

 

Elsa’s  next position was in Milano where she joined her sisters, Luciana and Olga, who were also working as housemaids. Another sister became a nun and the other followed her mother’s work as a knitter while her brother was a carpenter like his father.

 

 

Married life and work in Adelaide

When they arrived in Australia in March 1956, Umberto and Elsa began working together on the market garden at Lockleys and they saw that Adelaide would be a good place to raise a family. He was 41 years and she was 26 years old. At Lockleys, they worked hard in the 14 glasshouses cultivating tomatoes to sell at market.

In 1957, their first child, Maria Luisa was born, and two years later, Antonio was born.

 

 

 

In 1960 Umberto and Elsa and the two children moved to Kesters Road, Parafield (later Para Hills) because the land at Lockleys was sold for housing development.

They bought 2 hectares and worked hard to establish their market garden; rebuilt the 14 glasshouses, dug a bore, erected a large water tank and built a house. They grew mainly tomatoes and some ‘outside’ vegetables like cucumbers and celery. They had a family vegetable garden and raised chickens, rabbits and pigeons for eating.

 

 

 

 

Umberto and Elsa worked the market garden at Parafield/Para Hills for 4 years and sold their produce through an agent, Mr Bishop, who took it to the East End market to sell.

Return to Italy, 1964

Patrizio explained why the family returned to live in Italy:

“In 1964 my parents and Luisa and Antonio moved back to Italy [because] my father had heart problems and could not work hard anymore, and profits in market gardening were in decline. I believe they were happy to return after many years of hard work, sacrifices and [they] were looking forward to returning to Italy.”

In Riese Pio X, Umberto and Elsa bought land and built a house with the goal of starting again. They cultivated corn and wheat crops and had a small contract to raise calves, and they also grew vines for making wine.

The family expanded in Riese – in 1967, Michele was born, followed by Patrizio in 1971.

Luisa finished high school in Castelfranco Veneto and became a fashion pattern maker and worked for fashion companies.  Antonio also completed high school and completed his apprenticeship as a welder and fitter and turner. He was creative and enjoyed blacksmithing in his spare time.

A transnational family – 1981

In 1981, when Umberto was 67 years old, he and Elsa made a big decision to return to Adelaide with Michele and Patrizio. Maria Luisa remembered that her parents “decided to show Australia to their two children born in Italy and have them learn the English language for a while.” At this time, Maria Luisa and Antonio remained in the family home at Riese Pio X as they both had permanent jobs. Umberto and Elsa settled in Seaton and Michele and Patrizio completed their schooling. The family had a vegetable garden and Patrizio remembered that his parents mixed with other Veneti in Adelaide.

Changes in family circumstances

In 1983 at the age of 24 years Antonio became very unwell and Elsa went back to Riese Pio X with Patrizio for some months. Elsa and Umberto decided that it would be best if Antonio returned to Adelaide for medical treatment. Although Maria Luisa remained in Riese Pio because of her employment, she spent some time in Adelaide when Antonio was ill. The family was devastated when Antonio died in 1984, and they received support and care from their Veneto friends and friends from other regions of Italy in Adelaide.

Both Michele and Patrizio completed Year 12 in Adelaide and studied at university – Michele became an Engineer and Patrizio studied Agriculture Science and Economics.

Another change in the family circumstances in Adelaide occurred when Umberto died in 1998. The following year, Elsa returned to live in Riese Pio X with Patrizio. Michele remained in Adelaide because he had a good job.

 

Elsa continued to live in Riese Pio X and enjoyed spending time with her family, relatives and friends. She died in 2021 aged 91 years.

 

 

Belonging

Today, Maria Luisa and Patrizio live close to each other – in Castelfranco Veneto and Riese Pio X – and meet up very often while Michele lives in Adelaide. As a transnational family, they continue to maintain contact with each other and communicate regularly via WhatsApp. In 2025, Michele visited his sister and brother. Maria Luisa has returned to Adelaide 8 times and sees herself as half Australian half Italian.  Patrizio is very informed about the news in Australia and sometimes people think he is more Australian than Italian because he spent his formative years in Adelaide.

Maria Luisa, Patrizio and Michele are fortunate that their mother kept a detailed record of family experiences through photographs. The Carraro family has a very large collection of photos that document the history of the family beginning with the two sets of grandparents in the Veneto region and the movement of family members between Riese Pio X, Adelaide and Riese Pio X over more than 70 years.

The legacy of Umberto and Elsa

Patrizio said that his parents taught their children “old values like honesty and [the importance of] helping other people who are struggling. [We learned] to be polite especially to old people, and to respect every person.” Umberto and Elsa believed in being good citizens in both Riese Pio X and in Adelaide – they supported their children and passed on a strong sense of the meaning of family.

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Madeleine Regan with assistance from Luisa, Michele and Patrizio Carraro
9 August 2026

All family photos provided by the Carraro family – other images, as stated in captions.

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References

• Budginaitė-Mačkinė, I., Albert, I., Schrooten, M., Stanojević, D., & Wojtyńska, A. (2026). “Defining transnational families across countries and time: an analysis of academic discourse on the phenomenon between 2003 and 2023,” Journal of Family Studies, 32(1), 9–28.
• National Archives of Australia, NAA SA1954/4081, Declaration of Intention (to apply for Naturalization)
• Notes provided by Patrizio and Maria Luisa Carraro and discussion with  Maria Luisa, Michele and Patrizio.

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 14^th 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 25^th 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 26^th 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.

 

 

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).

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Amanda (Mandy) Rossetto
All photos supplied by Milva and her family, unless otherwise indicated.

12 July 2026

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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:

Piovesan family

 

Madeleine Regan

Staying in the Veneto region over an extended period provided lots of opportunities to meet with relatives connected to the Veneto market gardeners’ oral history project. We also made connections with other people born in Australia and who now live in the province of Treviso.

The image above is of the statue of Giorgioni, born in Castelfranco Veneto (1478 – 1510) a painter of the Venetian school. The statue is a landmark in front of the walls of the historic centre of Castelfranco Veneto.

100 years of connections

Connections between the Veneto market gardeners and Adelaide began 100 years ago when Francesco and Margherita Marchioro arrived in February 1926 with their baby, Mary. By January 1928 15 other men from the Veneto region including a second Marchioro brother, Vittorio had arrived in Adelaide. After the first difficult years of finding work, the men established themselves as market gardeners in the western suburbs of Adelaide in the 1930s.

The Marchioro link is maintained today by descendants of Francesco and Vittorio Marchioro in the Veneto region and Adelaide.

Monica Urbani is a cousin to the Marchioro families in Adelaide, and in early June, we visited her and her husband Joe Chiumento, in Monte di Malo in the province of Vicenza. Monica’s second cousin, Johnny Marchioro, had helped me to start the Veneto market gardeners’ oral history project when he began introducing his friends and relatives in Adelaide in 2007.

The following year, Johnny was the first person I interviewed and I learned that he had maintained close contact with his relatives in Malo and Monte di Malo where Johnny  parents had been born. [See Marchioro families on the website

In 2018 when I was in the Veneto region researching for my PhD Monica had organised a meeting with the archivist in the Malo comune (or council) and we found documents about the Marchioro family in the archives. I also recorded an interview with Joe Chiumento who had been born in Wollongong. You can access his interview here through the State Library of South Australia: https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/8210

Connections with people born in Australia

In 2018, I was fortunate to meet several people who had been born in Australia and who were now living in the Veneto region close to Castelfranco Veneto. They were interested in telling their stories and their strong connections to their country of birth.

One woman, Ermenegilda Simeoni had arrived in Australia to marry and lived close to some of the market gardener families between 1951 and 1967 when Ermenegilda, her husband and children returned to Italy.

The Aussie girls’ group – Castelfranco Veneto

Three of the women I interviewed were members of a network called ‘the Aussie Girls Group’ that was created in 1991 by Madeleine Mocenigo who was born in Melbourne in 1951 and Rosanna Bin who was born in Mareeba, Far North Queensland in 1963.  They had both married men from the Veneto region and were living near Castelfranco Veneto when they discovered that there were other young women born in Australia and who had met their husbands in the Castelfranco Veneto area.

Nevea Antonello had been born in Adelaide in 1955 and went to live in Italy in 1971 with her parents and two younger sisters. She joined the Aussie Girls Group after hearing about it from a neighbour in about 1993.  Nevea made her first trip back to Adelaide in early 2018 with her daughter, Silvia, and felt as though she was “coming back home.”

The women were interested to meet up and talk English and share their stories. The group grew to about 40 (almost all women) who are part of the network and  meet regularly to share meals and visits to different places like Venice or Padua – and the focus is always speaking English!

In 2018 I interviewed three members of the Aussie Girls’ Group, Nevea Antonello, Rosanna Bin and Madeleine Mocenigo. This time, we met a couple of times to talk about their interviews and transcripts.

Rosanna Bin reflected on the beginning of the group in her interview:

Wow, this five of us Aussie girls together… So, we had our first official dinner and there was five of us. And from there, it just took off… I met other Australian girls who knew other Australian girls. And the group got quite large, over a period of five years. I would say that the group got quite large and then one dinner, I think there was about 40 of us… Even now, there’s probably 20 of us girls that get together [for] our official dinners.  Rosanna Bin, OH/50 7 October 2018 pp 29-30.

In her interview Madeleine Mocenigo spoke about the changes over the 35 years that the group has been going – the ease of communicating with members in the group through WhatsApp: With WhatsApp, it’s come easier. We write, ‘Remember, girls, there’s this. Who wants to come? Let so and so know.’ Before, we had to ring… Or sometimes they write, ‘Is there anything going on for the first Saturday of the month?’… So, with WhatsApp it has become easier. Madeleine Mocenigo OH 872/51 7 October 1918, p 59.

Nevea Antonello explained in her interview the kinds of activities that the Aussie Girls Group shares: Well, it’s nice just chatting, and exchanging recipes, or just talking… keeping up with all the news, also from Australia, who listens to the Australian radio channels — and it’s like getting together. Instead of talking in Italian, we’re talking in English. It’s Aussies! … We think it’s always to keep up … part of our background… in the end we are Aussies. [laughs]
Nevea Antonello OH 872/49, 28 September 2018, p 21, 23.

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You can access the recordings of the interviews through the Digital Collections section of the State Library of South Australia:

https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/

Once you open the web page, you can use the Search function on the left-hand side of the page and enter the surname of the person.

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The connection of language

We were invited to participate in an English conversation class for adults through Associazione Pensionati Giorgione, an organisation in Castelfranco Veneto like the University of the Third Age  The connection developed in this way – we had met Luisa and Patrizio Carraro whose family had lived between Riese Pio X and Adelaide over several years.

Luisa is a member of the Associazione Pensionati Giorgione and she thought we could be guest ‘teachers.’ She contacted the organisers, Stefania Campagnaro and Ennio Favero whom we met and agreed on a date for our  class.

In the lesson, Alex and I spoke about our respective backgrounds and explained the context of Adelaide and South Australia. When we asked the ‘students’ why they were interested in learning English, several said they were curious and wanted to develop their skills in retirement. One woman had lived in England when she was young and wanted to improve her fluency. Another woman had a daughter who lived in England with her husband and small daughter and she wanted to be able to speak English when she visited the family. It was an enjoyable experience to spend time with people who wanted to extend their English conversation.

Other Australian connections

Other people I interviewed in 2017 – 2018 included three women and one man who were all born in Adelaide and went to live in the Veneto region when their parents returned to live in Italy:

• Gabriella Antonini – now lives near Valdobbiadene
• Elisabetta Pastro – now lives in Riese Pio X
• Irene Zampin – now lives in Caselle di Altivole
• Remo Berno  – now lives in Riese Pio X.

Natalina Bello was another interviewee. She was born in Adelaide and went to stay with relatives in Bigolino when she was 25 years old. Natalina and her husband and family  live in Valdobbiadene. I also interviewed Vivian Miotto who was born in Adelaide and  lives in San Pietro di Feletto near Conegliano.

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You can access the recordings of the interviews through the Digital Collections section of the State Library of South Australia:

https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/

Once you open the web page, you can use the Search function on the left-hand side of the page and enter the surname of the person.

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An Australian connection to a pasticceria 

I had heard that there was a pasticceria (pastry shop) close to the centre of Castelfranco Veneto that was established in 1957. I learned that one of the owners had connections to Australia and one day when I visited the shop, I met Mirella Novello who had been born in Newcastle.

She and her parents and her brother moved to Castelfranco Veneto in 1970 when she was nearly 13 years old. She began working with the Zorzi family in 1979 and married son, Valter in 1980. Today, the family work together – Mirella and Valter and their two sons, Simone and Fabio. The almond tarts were delicious!

Connections to plants

I was surprised to discover two examples of Australian flora in and near Castelfranco Veneto. In Citadella, (13 kms from Castelfranco Veneto) I saw  a window box with Kangaroo Paws.

 

 

 

 

Beneath the old city walls in Castelfranco Veneto, I was taken aback when I spied a Callistemon or bottle brush with its brilliant red flowers

Further snapshots

Today it is possible to walk along part of the walls that date back to the late 15^th century and surround the historic centre of Castelfranco Veneto. It is a wonderful vantage point – 17 metres above ground and when we climbed up to the walls, it was near the end of the market and  below we could see the canopies of the stall holders’ vans.

 

 

 

 

 

How could I complete a blog about Castelfranco Veneto without referring to food? The abundance of fresh food sold at the market on Tuesdays and Fridays is wonderful! Inside the city walls the bars, cafes and restaurants are always well patronised. And the gelati shops were in business and offered a great variety of flavours that reflected the season of ripening fruits.

 

 

The Fighera family in Adelaide is connected to the Fighera orchard in Valla’, near Castelfranco Veneto.

 

The significance of land

 

 

 

When we first arrived in Castelfranco Veneto, farmers were preparing the soil for growing corn, and some people had started their vegetable gardens. In the time that we stayed there we saw the crops grow and the summer vegetables thrive. The importance of food production is evident in the area around Castelfranco Veneto.

 

The large scale plantings of vegetables and corn crops reminded me of the Veneto families in the Kidman Park and Flinders Park suburbs of Adelaide. I think of their  initiative, resourcefulness and vision to establish market gardens in the 1930s – and their legacy of forging strong family connections between Adelaide and the Veneto region that began a century ago.

Acknowledgment of Armida Mattiazzo

Armida Mattiazzo died on 30 May 2026. She was born in Ponzano Veneto in 1928 and arrived in Australia in 1952 and spent time with her husband a few weeks after their marriage on a mica mine in the remote Harts Range in Northern Territory. In Adelaide, she grew tomatoes in glasshouses in the Lockleys area for several years. Armida was interviewed twice for the Veneto market gardeners’ oral history project. You can listen to her interviews in Italian using this link:

https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/8253

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Madeleine Regan
15 June 2026