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 29th 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.
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.
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.
I loved reading the Carraro’s blog since I know the family very well. I used to call them “santoli” since my father was Patrick’s godfather. Their story is most interesting and yet so sad.
Emigration those years was very tough but the emigrants never forget the place from where they come.