On Saturday 5th January 2019 a group of 60 relatives and friends of the Veneto market gardeners gathered at Mater Christi church hall, Seaton to hear Madeleine Regan present information about her research in Italy. Madeleine spent three months in the Veneto region (September to November 2018) researching the 11 pioneer families in parish and comune archives in villages where they emigrated in the 1920s. She worked in the archives at Malo, Castelcucco, Caselle di Altivole, Riese Pio X, Valla’ and Bigolino. She received assistance from the Piovesan family in Adelaide with research materials.
Madeleine was awarded a scholarship by the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies and also received a donation from the Veneto Club Inc. Adelaide for her research trip.
While she was in the Veneto region Madeleine also interviewed 12 people, mainly second generation Italian Australians. The interviews will be uploaded on the website.
At the family and friends gathering, Madeleine distributed copies of documents she had photographed in the parish and comune archives. These inlcuded records of the pioneer generation, their births and baptisms, marriages and deaths and burials.
The photos taken at the afternoon by Alex Bennett are a record of the people who attended the event.
