S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA FESTIVAL - PART ONE

I have fond memories of the San Giovanni Battista Festival in Wollongong when it was held in the early 80`s. With hundreds of people in attendance every year. With entertainment, fun activities for children and a food extravaganza, the festival was a well received annual event. It was as if all the Italian community of Wollongong was there.

If we go back to it’s origins, then we must begin in 1965. Gennaro Renda and Gennaro Sacco along with some other friends formed a social group. They wanted to create something that could be a celebration and a coming together of the community. They were all from Gizzeria, home to the Church of Saint John the Baptist, recognised as the protector of the town.

The group invited others to join. They thought of running a festival in Wollongong. Every year, in the town of Gizzeria, a festival was held and in Brookvale, Sydney, they also ran a festival each year. It was time for Wollongong to have one too!

The group spoke with the local priest and began planning. On the 27th of July, 1965, under the direction of Fr Joseph Molon, The St John the Baptist Committee was officially verified. They were to organise a festival on behalf of the Saint and to raise money amongst the Italian community for the purchase of a statue. The committee members were Gennaro Renda, (president), P. Spinelli (vice president), Giuseppe Perusco (secretary), Tullio Chiodo (secretary of correspondence) and M Stanizzo (treasurer). 17 others made up the group of the S. Giovanni Battista Festival committee.

They began by door knocking. Gennaro Sacco did a lot of the ground work here and he also did a lot of walking! He walked everywhere from suburb to suburb to talk about the festival and raise money. Others in the committee, as well as friends, walked and drove around the area asking for donations and the money started to come in. It was slow at first but with dedication they were able to raise the funds to purchase their statue.

The statute was modelled off a photo of the Saint that sits in the local church in Gizzeria.  Using this photo, it was sent to Italy to the sculptor and the work began. A letter dated December 14,1965 was sent to Father Molon informing him that the sculpture was finished and on its way. Travelling by sea on the  ship `Galileo`.

Weighing 128 kilograms the statue arrived in Sydney and was released by customs on December 30. Gennaro Renda along with Gennaro Sacco and another committee member bought the sculpture home. It was transported back to Wollongong by truck.

In 1966 the festival began. Typically, every year the festival was held in December, but in 1966, there were actually two festivals. The first one was held on the 27th of March at the Wollongong Show Ground. It was not just about having the festival, it was also to commemorate the statue itself. The `Triduum`, which was the three days of prayer prior to the celebration, commenced on Wednesday March 23 finishing on Friday March 25th. Confession was held on Saturday and on Sunday March 27 the celebratory mass was held which also included the blessing of the statue.

The mass was (always) held at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Wollongong. After the Sunday mass the statue was carried out of the church and a procession led through the streets along with the A.I.S. band. The statue was then transported to the Unanderra Catholic Church where it stayed until the next festival.

The festival had local and state artists. Food was available, rides for the children and the festival finished with a fireworks display. December 4, 1966 the S. Giovanni Battista (2nd festival) was held at Wollongong Show Ground.

In 1967 the Sacred Heart Chapel, Stewart Street, Wollongong was completed. The program for the procession began at the Wollongong Cathedral to the Sacred Heart Chapel. The statue would remain in the Sacred Heart Chapel for the year. The next year, on the day before the festival mass, it was brought back to the Cathedral where it would be taken out again for the procession. This was repeated every year of the festival.

For the next three years the annual festival took place in Wollongong. The festival was well attended and appreciated by the Italian community. They were also able to raise revenue with advertisements in the programs. This helped raise more money, although raising the funds was not easy. Whilst the committee was happy to door knock and ask for donations to run the festival, the money that was leftover at the end of the year, one would think, would be used towards the festival for the following year. But this was the not case. Any surplus/profits from a previous festival ended up being given back to the church, as a donation and not everyone agreed with it. It became impossible then to sustain the festival by door knocking each year to raise the funds again from scratch. The last festival was held in 1969. The then president Michele Calci made the hard decision to end the festival and disband the organisation. He felt quite hurt about the whole experience.

The statue sat in the Sacred Heart Chapel, Wollongong. After some time it seemed to have just disappeared! Around 1974 Padre Don Alessandro Audino, who was a priest from Gizzeria, was visiting and came to Wollongong to see some family and friends. He mentioned that he wanted to see the statue. The question was asked around at the major catholic churches including the Wollongong Cathedral and the Sacred Heart Chapel. The answer was `we don’t know where it is`. No one in the diocese knew where the statue was and it seemed that no one was even interested. It was quite disappointing considering that so many donated their money to getting the statue built and brought to Wollongong.

Fast forward to 1980 and Gennaro Sacco (who was the President of the Committee in 1968) had a conversation with Luigi Villella. Luigi had helped out with the festival in the last two years that it ran. Gennaro was keen to start up the festival again. Luigi was keen too, but did not want to model the  new festival like the previous one. They needed to raise funds and to keep the funds in the hands of the committee. To be able to plan and make better decisions with full control. There would be no door knocking this time.

However, before they agreed to anything they wanted to investigate the whereabouts of the statue one more time, because without the statue they would not have a festival. The priest assigned to the Sacred Heart Chapel was Father Lauro Ruffo. Luigi, Gennaro and Mario Mastroianni asked Father Lauro if he knew anything about it or what happened to it?  To their surprise Father Lauro knew where it was. It was underneath the stairs at the Italian Centre. They went to see it straight away. It was in need of repair and certainly unloved. The statue was full of dust and it had some mold. The paint had started to craze and crack and one of the arms had broken pieces.

Glad to retrieve the statue, they took it to Gino Sanguineti for a full restoration. Gino was well known in the Wollongong area for his spectacular sculptures and artworks. The statue was taken to Gino`s workshop under his house and he worked on it for several weeks. The cost was over $1000.

 

                                  The original print that was used to model the design of the statue.

Inside and outside the church. Preparing for the procession.

The beginning of the procession.

 

 The very first program for the very first festival. 

Sunday March 27, 1966. 

 

All above images from the collection belonging to John Renda 

courtesy of Bruno Ballesi

 

 

 

PETER MANFREDOTTI - FRUIT SHOPS AND FOOTBALL

Peter Manfredotti was born in Camperdown, Sydney on June 3rd, 1945. Both his parents were very young children when they came to Australia. Peter`s father Carlo Manfredotti, arrived in Australia in 1922 and he was only three years old. Carlo travelled with his father Giuseppe and mother Lucrezia. Peter`s mother Pierina (Rina) Pelleri, who was two at the time, arrived in 1924 with her mother Maria, April 1st, on the ship Ormonde. Maria`s husband Carlo was already in Australia arriving in 1921, August 25th, aboard the ship Orsova.

Both the Manfredotti and Pelleri families headed straight to Queensland. There they worked at the sugar cane fields in Ingham. Both families were from the town of Rovato, Brescia, Italy.

In the early 1940`s Peter`s father Carlo came to NSW looking for work along with wife Rina and daughter Diana, who was born in 1941. He took a wood turning course at TAFE and was able to get a job at a factory that made wood products such as lamp posts and even gun butts. The years rolled by and the war broke out. Because of his work he was deemed an essential worker and therefore did not have to serve in the army.

Around the late 1940`s Carlo Manfredotti purchased a fruit shop business in Newton. After sending for his family, who were still in Ingham,  they came down and lived in the back of the fruit shop. 13 family members in total occupied the space. 8 adults who all worked in the shop and 5 children. Peter was about four years old.

The shop did well and was very busy. After a few years they began doing home deliveries once a week around the Fairfield area. The fruit shop also supplied corner stores and even a boarding house, with fruits and vegetables

Carlo was very organised with the fruit shop. As it had no cool room, he purchased fresh produce on the daily at the vegetable market at Haymarket in the City. Living close to the market he would arrive there by 2am and park his truck. He would then sleep till 6am when the markets opened. He would do all the buying for the shop then would be back at Newtown by 8am. His daily method worked brilliantly for the shop.  In 1956 a second son Michael was born.

In the early 60`s Carlo renovated the fruit shop. He purchased more modern display tables, built a wrapping station with newspapers and scales and the shop now sold soft drinks. By the late 60`s only Carlo, wife Rina, sons Peter and Michael, were living at the back of the fruit shop. It was 1969 and Peter`s sister Diana had already married and was living in Earlwood. Carlo had purchased a block of land in Karella to build a new house for the family. Carlo had put the fruit shop on the market to sell and commenced building his home. He soon sold the shop and with wife Rina, sons Peter and Michael moved in with Diana and her husband whilst the new house was being constructed. Carlo devoted all his time to finishing his new home.

Peter was 24 years old. Across the road from his parents fruit shop was Gartrell White’s bakery where Peter got a job as a delivery driver. He worked for the bakery for approximately 3 years. Peter`s next job was at the Holden factory in Pagewood/ Maroubra. He worked on the line assembling car doors and boots, working at the Holden factory for approximately 18 months.

Peter then got a job at Formica`s Supermarket in Sutherland. His father Carlo was working there at the time. Carlo was the buyer of fresh produce for the supermarket, purchasing from Flemington Markets. The owners of Formica`s  knew Carlo from when he had his fruit shop at Newtown. They remember him from the market and eventually hired him to work for them. Peter began working in fruit and vegetables and then other aspects of the supermarket. He had plenty of experience in food retail and fit in very well. His father Carlo worked for 5 years and Peter stayed for 15. Peter left Formica`s in 1985.  He had now decided to retire from work.

Peter purchased a house in Towradgi and soon made Wollongong his home. He was enjoying his retirement in leisure and living near the beach. Peter soon met Dorothy and he remarried in 1997. He then went back to work securing a job at Flemington Markets. Peter was in charge of the delivery section and processed orders of fruit and vegetables for supermarkets. He worked at the market for approximately 3 years.

His next job was at Cronulla fruit and veg market for 9 years.  He would set set up the shop and did much of the sorting and cutting. The market was close to the beach. They started making fresh fruit salads some time later and if was a real money spinner. People came off the beach for fruit salads on the daily.

Peter then got a job closer to home, which he welcomed, as he had been travelling to Sydney to work since 1997.  He worked at Woonona Fruit Basket and stayed there for approximately four years before officially retiring around 2014. Peter had been working with fresh produce and retail for most of his adult life and always found work in this area. In fact, he was sort after for his good work.

Peter and his wife Dorothy began to travel. They developed such a love for it and travelled to so many places around the world. They did this for many years. Paris and Canada, just to name a few, plus all around Australia.  It really was a joy for them both.  Sadly, Dorothy passed away October 13, 2022.  She was 77.

FOOTBALL

When Peter was 15 years old he was attending St Joseph`s High School Newtown, when he was asked to be part of a team that the school wanted to put together. Football (rugby league) was a game that he loved and on sports day at school he would regularly play along with his classmates and friends. The school team did exceptionally well and made the grand final against Lewisham (High School) who won. Peter played second row.

In 1961 he finished High School and went to play football with Marrickville under the CYO (Catholic Youth Organisation). He played in the Under 16`s D grade division. The following year, 1962, he joined a C grade team with Newton PCYC and they won the grand final. In 1963, with the same team they were undefeated premiers.

Peter continued playing for the Newton PCYC in 1964 and 1965, though the team didn’t make it through/not enough players. In 1966 Peter moved teams and played for St Peters B grade who made it all the way to the final. In 1967 he played for Camperdown Dragons, B grade division. They were under 21`s, winning the premiership undefeated.

In 1969 he trialled for Newton third grade. Peter never got picked and saw this has his moment to retire from playing football. He still went to watch games and kept up his friendships with many of the players. By this stage he was working a lot and focused on his job.

In 1974 Peter came down to Ziems Park, Corrimal, to watch the Corrimal Cougars play a trial game against Newtown.  He asked the Corrimal coach if he could get a run. The coach said yes and the next thing he knew he was asked to play with the Corrimal team. In 1974 the Corrimal Cougars would win the premiership first and third grades. Peter played front row in third grade division.

At the end of the 1975 season the club organised a trip away to New Zealand.  A group of 30 people went, that included club officials, players and fans. The team played one game at Carlaw Park. It was the home ground of the New Zealand team at the time. They played Mount Wellington in a friendly match. The trip was organised by Oscar Danielson. Oscar was a New Zealand International player who played for Newton first grade from 1970 -1972. He then came to Corrimal as a player/coach for the Cougars. Peter Manfredotti played for the Corrimal Cougars from 1974 - 1977. He finally retired from football at age of 31.

Peter was an avid Illawarra Steelers and Cougars fan. He kept in touch with friends from football. They would often go on outings and they still have get togethers once a week or once a fortnight. He followed Newton, up until the club was finished.

Peter has done volunteer work at Towradgi Surf Club with the nippers and assisted Corrimal Cougars football club with their BBQ`s for many years. He often goes for a walk down to the beach alone or sometimes with friends.  Peter spends time relaxing and he is ready to take up travelling again.

 

 

 The Manfredotti Fruit Shop at Newtown. 

 

 

 

All images from the collections belonging to

 Peter and Diana Manfredotti

LUIGI VILLELLA

Luigi Villella arrived in Australia August 26, 1963 aboard the ship Sydney.  He went to live with his brother Giovanbattista who arived in Australia years before. Giovanbattista was living in O’Donnell Street, Port Kembla with their cousin Gennaro Curcio, who arrived in Australia in 1955.

Luigi began working at the Port Kembla Steel Works and after one month he moved to Merrylands Sydney, to live with his sister Paolina who had been living in Australia since 1959. Luigi moved to Sydney in the hope of finding a better paying job.

He worked for 2 years as a labourer with the Water Board then worked for Thomas and Coffey on the Sydney Airport Tunnel which was completed in 1967. It was the first aircraft bridge outside Europe and North America.

Luigi met Saveria Mastrionanni, who was from Wollongong. Saveria had been working since she was a teenager and in 1966 she began working for Midford clothing company. Saveria was well noted for her work and by the age of 22 she was made supervisor.

In 1968 Luigi began working with Illawarra Paving and in April of the same year Luigi and Saveria were married. The wedding reception took place at Luccarda`s in Tarrawanna. As a young newly wed couple they lived with Saveria`s parents in Figtree as they saved their money for a home. In 1970 Luigi and Saveria purchased a block of land situated across the road from Saveria`s parents` house. This made it extremely convenient for Luigi who eventually worked on building his home whilst he was working full time.  

Luigi worked with Illawarra Paving for 3 years and in that time he and Saveria had their first two children. Saveria had much help from her parents as she also worked in between. After finishing with Illawarra Paving in 1973, Luigi formed his own concrete company called Amato Concreting.

Now he was ready to begin laying the foundations for his home. Luigi did all the concrete work on the house. The land that he purchased was a downward sloping block, so the house was designed as a split multi level home. Luigi did all the work on the basic structure. It was a huge undertaking but bit by bit it progressed.

At Amato Concreting it was only Luigi and his partner who were working. It was just the two of them for approximately five years before his partner left then Luigi worked on his own. It was now 1978 and the house was liveable. Luigi and Saveria moved in with their two sons and soon a third would be born. Amato Concreting was also growing with Luigi using sub contractors to help with his work load. Amato were doing domestic homes, footpaths, driveways and slabs.

One of the biggest jobs Amato did was the building of the abattoirs at Yallah for the Illawarra Meat Company. The project took 18 months to complete.  He then moved onto doing formwork as well. Amato were also doing contract work for Marksman and Radnor homes.

In 1981 Luigi became president of the new San Giovanni Battista committee while working around his concrete business.  He was incredibly dedicated to his role as president and it seemed to pay off because the first festival since he became president was very successful. He had worked on the previous San Giovanni Battista festival committee in the last two years that they operated in 1968 & 1969 with the first festival running in 1965.  Whilst the original festival was well received it was not self sustaining and many donations came from door knocking.

With this new committee and a new attitude the San Giovanni Battista festival took on a whole new direction. In Brookvale, North Sydney, they had been running a large festival every year since 1955 and with each year they got bigger.  When the first Wollongong festival finished many locals travelled from Wollongong to attend the festival at Brookvale.

The new Wollongong group got a lot of ideas from the Brookvale festival and began running their festival at the Wollongong Showground. Their first festival was a big hit with the Italians in the area. The event was filled with local and national entertainers, food stalls, Italian sweet treats, rides for the children and a fireworks display.

The festival had garnered a lot of interest in the Italian community and through sponsorship, donations, fundraising events, dinner dances, bus trips and an enormous amount of volunteer help the festival became self sufficient and generated enough money to continue year after year. Luigi held the position of president from 1981 to April 2006. The festival was held in December of each year.

Over the years Luigi was approached by friends and acquaintances in the Italian community seeking his help and involvement with their groups. He was a committee member for the Italian Social Welfare, Region of Italy and CCC. He was part of the very first committee for Marco Polo and was a board member of the Fraternity Club from 1987 - 2005.

His Amato concreting business took him to Sydney, Goulburn and Nowra. He was working a lot and involved himself with the local Italian community to help as much as he could and Luigi was well liked. Saveria was fully supportive of all that he was involved in and often did a lot of work with him.

In 1996 Luigi had a heart attack. He had to slow down for a while, but eventually went back to work for another company as a supervisor. Even though he stopped working for Amato his business was still registered and licensed.  In 2002 he hurt his elbow and was assigned to light duties working for another company called Obnova Concrete Constructions Pty Ltd.  In 2006 Luigi retired after injuring his back.

In 2007 he was presented with a Knighthood, an award from the Italian Government for his services to the local Italian Community. He was nominated by Efrem and Giulia Bonacina who ran It-So-Well (Italian Social Welfare). The award was presented to Luigi during Italian Week at the mall, by the Wollongong Lord Mayor Alex Darling and the Italian Consulate representative, with Efram and Giulia attending.

Luigi loves spending time with his family and his 7 grand children. He also loves his garden. Luigi and Saveria enjoy socialising with their friends and you will often see them at the club. They still live in their home that they built in the late seventies.  With spectacular views from their large balcony it is a beautiful part of the Illawarra. Luigi still works on his house, he says it’s not finished yet!

In 2007 Luigi was awarded a Knighthood from the Italian Government

 for his services to the community.

The above video shows both the 

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at Unanderra

as well as Luccarda`s at Tarrawanna.  

Both were of significant importance for the Italian Community

in the Wollongong area.

All above images from the collection belonging to Luigi Villella

GENNARO SACCO

Gennaro Sacco arrived in Australia June 5th, 1952, travelling on the ship Sydney.  He was born in 1924 in the town of Gizzeria, province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region. Gennaro`s wife Teresina and their young son Domenico were still in Italy. Unbeknown to Gennaro, Teresina was pregnant with their second child.

Gennaro first went to Warragamba Dam looking for work, but was advised that the only work available was for a short period of time. Whilst at Warragamba he was told there was work at the Port Kembla Steel Works.  He soon left Warragamba and began working at the Steel Works. Whist living in a garage at Port Kembla he was soon able to raise the funds to pay a deposit on a house at Towradgi, not far from the beach. This would be his first family home.

In 1954 Teresina, along with the two children Domenico and Bruno, joined Gennaro at Towradgi arriving April 18, aboard the ship Oceania. Gennaro also had some boarders staying at his house.

Young Bruno had contracted Polio shortly after his birth and at the time there was no help or assistance either in Italy or Australia. Teresina had some help from the boarders as well as Gennaro in caring for Bruno who was totally incapacitated. Bruno spent most of his life in a wheelchair. Teresina had another three children after Bruno, those being Pasquale, Concetta and Caterina. Each time after the birth of those children, Bruno was placed in a care facility so that Teresina could have some temporary relief while she took care of her babies. In 1970  another daughter, Rosarba, was born. This time Bruno was in care but only for a short time whilst Teresina was in hospital with her newborn. Teresina`s sisters and sister in-law who arrived later in Australia, would often help out when they came to visit her and around this time Bruno was a young teenager. Also, the help given by the care facility had now stopped. Older brother Domenico and Gennaro also did a lot to help with the care of Bruno. Sadly, Bruno Sacco passed away March 22nd, 1971, five months prior to his 19th birthday. It was an extremely sad time and difficult for the family, especially Teresina.

Their first house in Towradgi had a very large front yard so Gennaro turned it into a vegetable garden. Gennaro never drove and he never owned a family car. The family’s mode of transport was always public or sometimes family friends would drive them if they were visiting relatives.

Daughter Concetta (who everyone knows as Connie) remembers the many stories that her father told her. She remembers when he told her how he met another Italian man called Domenico who lived around the corner and they became friends. Domenico and Gennaro were basically the first Italians in the Towradgi area. Gennaro was explaining to Domenico that he was concerned about making his loan repayments and Domenico told him not to worry. He didn’t want Gennaro and his family to move away. He assured him that if he were ever to get into any trouble he would help him out. He was happy to have Gennaro, a fellow Italian in the neighbourhood and didn’t want him to leave. Genaro’s concerns were short lived as he was able to pay his mortgage. Not only that, he moved homes a few years later (only up the street) keeping his first house and renting it out.

Gennaro`s son Pasquale recalls how his father bought a black and white TV when they first lived in Towradgi. He remembers how friends and neighbours would often come over to watch TV as not many people had a TV set in those days. It was quite a treat for them.

All of Genaro’s family lived overseas except his sister Concetta. She came  to Australia around 1972 to visit him and ending up getting married and lived in Brookvale, Sydney. Gennaro was happy to have his sister Concetta living here as she was the only family relative in Australia. Family was very important to both him and Teresina. Many years later Concetta returned to Canada to be reunited with the family.

When the children were younger much time was spent with Teresina`s side of the family who lived in the local area. They would have many family get togethers at Christmas time and on specific holidays. As the family got older it had all stopped. 

Connie also said that the family never really went on holidays, but would often go to Brookvale to visit family and friends. When Gennaro had retired he took his first overseas trip since arriving in Australia. He went to Montreal to see his mother, brother and sister who were living here. His brother who lived in Brazil, also joined them in Montreal. The only one to miss out on the family reunion was his sister who was living in Argentina. She was unable to go.

Connie also remembers her father going to so many funerals.  Having hardly missed any.  She recalls how he would buy the newspaper daily and get her to read any funeral notices. He didn’t want to miss paying respects to anyone that he knew.

In the early sixties Gennaro along with some other Italian friends got together and formed a social group. They wanted to hold a yearly festival celebrating Saint Giovanni Battista (St John the Baptist). Back home in Gizzeria he was celebrated every year in the local town as he was the patron saint of Gizzeria.  At Brookvale in Sydney they held a festival annually and after seeing that, Gennaro was keen to hold a festival in the Wollongong area. With a lot of hard work the festival came to life and ran from 1966 - 1969.

Gennaro was a hard working man and some may say a workaholic. He did countless double shifts and wanted to provide everything his family needed. He promised Teresina that she would never need to work. Christmas Day was the only day he wouldn’t work and he would sit in the lounge room and sing Italian songs. 

He also spent a lot of time in his garden and it was a large garden that required maintaining. There was much harvesting to be done and it was constant, especially having Olive trees as well. His garden was split between both houses. Gennaro and Teresina lived a lot of their lives as they did back home in Gizzeria. Salami and tomato sauce making were annual jobs that involved the whole family.

Gennaro involved himself with the Italian community and had many friends. He helped to organise a new crypt at Kembla Grange Cemetery, as Wollongong Cemetery was quite full and Kanahooka was a longer drive further south. The petition for Kembla Grange was successful. It was closer for the Italian community to bury their loved ones.

Teresina passed away on September 30, 1996. She was 68. Three weeks later Gennaro had a stroke. As the years went by he found it increasingly harder to move around. Gennaro passed away Feb 6, 2016. He was 91. Teresina and Gennaro are survived by their 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

Connie expressed how in her eyes both of her parents sacrificed so much to come to Australia. They knew no one, they couldn’t speak the language and with no support for Bruno it was extremely hard. Connie said she was surprised that they didn’t pack their bags and go back home with all the struggles and heart aches in the beginning. But they came to Australia for a better life for their family and without mum`s support dad couldn’t have done anything!

Gennaro Sacco`s last photo.

 

All images from the collection belonging to the Sacco family.
 

THE MIGRATION PROJECT - CCC`S SCULPTURE IDEA

In the previous story when I interviewed the CCC committee I was taken aback by the story they told me about their dream for a sculpture that represented the migration to Australia. I found it fascinating and I was quite frankly amazed as I never knew anything about it. Upon looking at the sculpture I was in awe of it. It really is spectacular!

It was a team effort, and a huge team at that, to finally have the sculpture built and put into place. It’s situated at George Dodd Reserve, North Wollongong overlooking the ocean. CCC worked tirelessly for almost 10 years to have their dream finalised with many challenges along the way. Their perseverance and dedication to not giving up, always having had the bigger picture in mind. There were some key players in making it all come to fruition.

John Monteleone. 

John Monteleone was the Director at the Wollongong Art Gallery and a friend of the CCC group. Some of the committee members initially approached John with their idea of a sculpture. They thought about a location and a suggestion was made about the Wollongong Botanical Gardens. They then approached the Botanical Gardens` group but it wasn’t a good fit. Disappointed, they left it for a while. CCC some time later approached local fabrication and engineering companies but none seemed interested or keen.

Approximately two years later they spoke with John again and he suggested that they speak with Sue Besell. Sue Bessell was the Public Art Officer with the Wollongong City Council. Sue then went and spoke to Council and they were in favour of the idea.

John then organised a meeting between Sue and members of the CCC.  The project would come under the Public Arts Program. The Public Arts Program had money allocated by council for such projects. This way they could get the ball rolling with some initial funds, while they then continued to fund raise for the sculpture.

The Council were happy to support the project as it was a representation of the community and the contributions made by the many migrants who called Wollongong their home.

Sue Bessell was responsible for the handling of the process involved. She was also able to link people together to get the project through the Council.  All the requirements of O.H&S, the engineering, logistics and the many details involved in commissioning such a project.  These were all challenges that were met along the way that had to be dealt with in a particular manner and a certain protocol.

The committee was now formed and met once a month. John was also part of the committee. A brief was written up and expressions of interest went out to potential artists for design ideas. Three artists were short listed. The design and artist accepted was Nerine Martini.

Nerine Martini. 

Nerine Martini, originally from Perth was an artist based in Sydney. She created diverse works such as drawings, public art and sculptures that ranged from the small to meters tall. Nerine had two masters degrees from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales. 

Nerine`s work often centred around refugees and immigrants. She was particularly drawn to displaced people and had a sensitivity and compassion towards them. She was commissioned in 2014 to create the public art work in Wollongong that represented the migrants and their contributions.

Nerine was very hands on with the project and would often be present at WGE whilst the sculpture was being built. This sculpture presented a completely different set of challenges for Nerine as she had never done anything as big before. Much of the logistics and the after requirements to complete the structure, move it, put it on site were not to her understanding and she credits Tom Gallo for his guidance and help.

Sadly, Nerine Martini passed away 25th April, 2019. She was only 51 years old. Though Nerine`s Art still lives on and with many of her pieces exhibited in art spaces throughout the country. There are also over 30 public art pieces in NSW alone. Nerine`s work can be seen at https://nerinemartini.com/. website   She truly left an amazing legacy.

The following is the press release from the Illawarra Mercury January 23, 2015. 

Migration Project 2015
Commissioned by Wollongong City Council, with contributions from many local businesses, the series of sculptural artworks celebrate and honour the contribution that migrants have made to the social, cultural and economic fabric of the City of Wollongong. 

The Migration Project comprises two separate artworks located in George Dodd Reserve in North Wollongong. 

The Boat is a contemporary landmark sculpture. The symbol of the boat is a compelling reminder of the journey that migrants have made in search of a better life. Constructed mainly from steel, the artworks reference the industry and businesses that many of the migrants helped to establish in the Wollongong area. The 4 metre long stainless steel skeletal boat form is elevated on rusted steel I-beams which evolve into ladders more than 5 meters in the air. The base of the sculpture is made from granite stone tiles etched with evocative stories and images adding a further layer of meaning to the artwork. 

The three posts are collectively entitled Dwellings, they reference the accommodation for migrants when they first arrived in Wollongong; sheds, caravans and the Nissen huts. The beautiful timber posts are recycled ironbark, which originally came from a bridge in Northern NSW. This artwork reflects the story of humble beginnings, hard work and contribution to family and community life. 

Thanks to the generous in-kind support from the many business who contributed to the fabrication and installation of the artworks. The Migration Project was launched in January 2015.

 Video unveiling of The Boat Sculpture.

Illawarra Mercury
 Illawarra Mercury article, January 23, 2015.


Migration Project press release.

 

Tom Gallo 

Tom is the head of WGE, a construction company that he built from the ground up. Domenic Chieffe, from CCC approached Tom early on about the sculpture as he was trying to get funding for the project. Tom was keen to help but told Domenic to come back when he had something concrete. That way he knew exactly what he would be dealing with.

Domenic came back to see Tom some time later with the plan, the artist impression and design, that was made of steel and facing towards the sea. Once Tom saw the design and plan he knew he didn’t need anyone else. He knew exactly what to do as this was his area of expertise. He told Domenic that he would not give any financial contribution, but he would help out and help out he did!

Tom made a plan and took care of the management of the project and coordinated the team he needed. He sourced all of the building materials locally and much of it for free. They used stainless steel as well as Wr40, which is a treated steel that looks rustic, but it doesn’t rust, enabling the effect to weather harsh conditions. There were other local organisations who provided their time and materials for the project too. Gerry Fischl from AllFab Constructions Pty Ltd provided a sizeable cash donation. This helped immensely to kick off the project.

Tom used his workers to build the sculpture in his factory and for them it was heartfelt as so many of them were either migrants or children of migrants themselves, as too were some of those other contributors. There was no better way to honour such a structure than using migrants to build it.

Tom had a meeting with the Wollongong City Council who suggested to him about using people of migrant backgrounds in his team to build the sculpture, but Tom was already one step ahead of them.

Nerine Maritini presented Tom with a small model of the sculpture itself. When I spoke with Tom he said that he estimated that the labour and time for the work that WGE put in was $70 thousand dollars, but he never saw it as costly. He had such a feeling of pride to be part of this project that would be seen by multitudes of people. It was also a way to honour his parents too, and their migration. The sculpture will live on for years.

Domenic Chieffe, Domenica Risorto, Mary Zanotto - CCC 

As representatives of the CCC group they remembered only too well the frustrations that happened along the way in seeing the sculpture come to life. With the Public Arts Program the council funding helped to start the process but the funds were only small in comparison to the rest of what was needed to see the project through.

Once they had the approval of Council CCC went back to the organisations that they initially approached for help with the project funding. But even with approval it didn’t change their mind.  

So here they were with approval for the sculpture but no way of paying for it. With time and with help from WGE`s Tom Gallo and many other organisations the sculpture would come to life.

The next concern was where were they going to put it? The first place that Wollongong Council offered them was near the Lagoon, over by the reeds.  That was just not acceptable for them. It was not a prominent location. The access was not easy and CCC were concerned about possible vandalism. The CCC group suggested a sight on Flagstaff Hill, where the old light keepers house once stood. That was rejected by council as it was a sacred Aboriginal site. The next location that CCC thought would be good was behind the WIN Stadium near the bus interchange redevelopment, but that too was Aboriginal sacred land. They even asked about the possibility of somewhere in the CBD of Wollongong, but the public liability risk was too great.

They were becoming disillusioned but at the same time more determined to find the right place.  On driving around the Wollongong area they noticed the George Dodd reserve on the corner of George`s place and Cliff Road, facing the ocean. They liked this site a lot as it had great significance overlooking the sea as most migrants came to Australia by ship. They spoke with Sue Bessell and she did some investigating. To their delight the site was approved and now the sculpture would have a home.

With the sculpture now being built at WGE and with the input of other organisations, the months of work finally paid off. The area was fenced off whilst they worked on putting the sculpture into place. Members of the CCC group would often drive past and peer through the fencing at the progress in anticipation of the final reveal.

On Friday January 23, 2015, The Migration Project Sculpture was finally revealed. A massive structure reaching for the sky overlooking the ocean and Belmore basin. Tall and mighty it stands as a reminder of how and who helped to build this wonderful city of Wollongong.

The Migration Project: List of Contributors.

All above video images from the

Wollongong City Council

Migration Project brochure.

Launch of The Migration Project of Wollongong 2015

 

Launch of The Migration Project of Wollongong 2015

The above two videos from the collection belonging to Vittorio Giudice

Youtube channel: Youtube channel

CALABRIA CENTRO CULTURALE (CCC)

CCC (Calabria Centro Culturale) are a social group that commenced on September 25th, 2001. Around June of that year two friends from the group, Turo Chiodo and Luigi Villella, had a conversation about finding a way to promote the Calabrian Culture. They wanted to form a group that represented the Calabrian Region of Italy. At that particular time there were other groups that were established and many of them for years, though  they were mostly religious. The idea of a cultural group to promote a region, traditions and culture was different.

They reached out to other Italian groups to see if anyone was interested in joining them whilst still staying with their own respective groups and they had a reasonable response. Their understanding helped a lot with the constitutional rules and regulations ect and their experience helped immensely with the running of events. They had ideas of sharing cultural activities such as dinner dances, plays, traditional food picnic days and the like. Many gave input and the committee was formed. They elected a president, vice president and other members to take on certain roles. More than half the members were from other groups along with new people and fresh ideas.

Through brainstorming they came up with their first project, the holding of an expo. A project that took six months to coordinate. The expo was held in 2002 over a weekend at The Fraternity Club in Fairy Meadow, in conjunction with Italian week. At the expo they showcased traditional clothing, photos, artefacts, homewares and the many items that migrants brought with them to Australia such as bedspreads, linen and of course the `BAULE`. The baule was the trunk that held everything they had along with their precious memories. Foods were also prepared such as salami, hard bread, olives, crostoli and other fried goods such as Zeppoli, grispelli and vrascioli (a type of fried meatball).

They displayed embroidery items that were synonymous with the traditions and skills that many women were taught in Calabrian villages all over. Delicate works of doilies and even bed dolls. The exhibition was held in the Monte Carlo room at the club and they had a great turnout. There was a lot of positive feedback and many people marvelled at the wonderful old items that so many still used and that were in great condition. A few people spoke at the expo of their experience/journey coming to Australia.  One of those speakers was Domenica Risorto, whose family story was featured previously.

The inaugural president was Tullio Chiodo in 2001. The following presidents are so dated: Pina McPherson 2002, Nina Russo 2003 - 2004, Domenico Chieffe 2005 - 2007, Domenico Raschilla 2008 - 2011, Mary Zanotto 2012 -2015 and Rosa Cardamone Villella 2016 - current. 

With the success of the exposition it gave the group greater motivation and they began to plan their next event and in 2003 the CCC, decided to hold a dinner dance. They came up with the idea of a `scialata` a dialect term for great fun.  The motto of the scialata was “Nu tempu bellu non is scorda mai, mangiamu e bevimu alla salute de tutti quanti”, written in dialect it translates to” A beautiful time is never forgotten, let's eat and drink to everyone's health”.

At the first dinner dance the entertainment was a play demonstrating the Italian card game Briscola and young men who would sing, serenading a beautiful girl from the village. Each year they would focus on a different theme and the people loved it. They found it so relatable as it reminded them of their life and traditions. Many of those who performed in the scialata were also children and grandchildren of the local Italian community.

The response was overwhelming. Over the years attendance grew and between 400 - 500 people would attend yearly.  It was a wonderful time for getting together with friends, making new acquaintances and enjoying and embracing all things Calabrese. They had a DJ at the dance playing both Italian and English music. The menu for the dinner dance was strictly Calabrian of course provided by the chefs at The Fraternity Club.  The dinner dance would eventually become an annual event and they welcomed one and all, people of different nationalities, to share in their joy with the big emphasis of getting the younger ones involved.  

Throughout the year they arranged bus trips to various places such as wineries and restaurants.  They organised weekends away down the South Coast of NSW and further afar to Griffith, where the Salami Festival was held. One of the restaurants they visited, and on more than one occasion, was La Vigna, at Camden. La Vigna had placed an advertisement in the Italian newspaper La Fiamma, stating that they were having a tomato sauce making day. It was open for people to come along and watch the process and then one could purchase some sauce as well. Afterwards they dined in their restaurant. They also arranged a bus trip to nearby Leppington Valley Farm. The farm sold prickly pears, (also known as Indian figs) as well as fresh tree figs and other culinary delights. Customers could buy the freshly picked fruits.

The group would try an organise something every 3 - 4 months. Along with other Italian groups they also held a picnic day annually at Towradgi beach, attracting up to 150 people.  When Italian week was held in Wollongong you would find the committee at their popular food stall selling delicious cannoli and home made crostoli. There were two and three generations involved with CCC connecting young and old.

As a group they also raised money and donated to local hospitals, sports men and women, the cancer council and the heart foundation. The CCC at their core were all about the community and helping them out.

In 2006, on a bus trip to a Griffith for a winery/good food weekend the group came up with their most ambitious project/idea yet. They thought of creating something as a permanent structure/symbol that represented the migrant community. The migrants who left their homeland for a better life with almost nothing but a suitcase. The migrant family who toiled and worked hard to create a new beginning and chapter of their life in this new country. The group’s first idea was a park bench with an inscription on it about migrants, but after much thought they conceded it wasn’t good enough. They wanted to do something better.

With the idea of the bench not being worthy they thought about a sculpture representing the contributions made by the migrants of the Illawarra. The committee became incredibly excited and enthusiastic about the possibility. Upon returning to Wollongong from their Griffith trip, the committee brainstormed their idea. With their idea now agreed upon they approached major companies like Blue Scope, BHP and other Italian engineering groups for support and even other Italian associations, but no one was interested. Their response was: these are tough times!  

Feeling quite dismayed they then approached the Wollongong City Council and they were faced with many challenges. The council’s first concern was funding for the project. Representatives from the Wollongong Council and four people from CCC group, whom they nominated to represent them, held a meeting with Alex Darling who was the Lord Mayor. They expressed their desires and put forward their ideas about a sculpture that represented the migrants of the Illawarra.  

They had their hearts set on something typical that depicted the Italian immigrant with perhaps a suitcase tied with a rope around, perhaps wife and children.  The council didn’t seem to think this was a good idea as it could  possibly have spurred on other ethnic groups to want their own sculpture and insisted it should be a sculpture to represent all migrants. This would be more favourable. A sculpture that represented all groups. The council also insisted that a representative from other ethnic groups be involved in the process and attend all future meetings.

When it came to the decision about the sculpture it had to be put out for tender. Various people who represented a cross section of the migrant community in the region were asked to join in the meetings to discuss and plan the proposed piece of art.

The tender went out to several artists in the state. Approximately five proposals with designs and costings came back. Through much deliberation a sculpture design was agreed upon. It was a steel structure that was shaped like a boat. The cost was $60,000.00. The project artist was Nerine Martini.

How were they going to raise the funds? That was the big question. Now that they had the backing of the Wollongong City Council, a design and a plan, they approached the same companies as they did initially.  Hoping that with all the groundwork laid and with Council support now at the ready it may convince them to reconsider and to have their names associated with a sculpture depicting the history of the immigrants to the area. It could also give them community recognition. Yet, the answer remained the same and that was no.

CCC thought of other ways to try and raise the funds but with such a large amount of money it would take a long time, perhaps years. The process itself had already been years in the making and to extend it further didn’t sit well with them. Vice president of the group Domenico Chieffe made a call to his friend Tom Gallo about the project. Tom is head of the WGE Group. WGE are a local specialist construction company who have been in operation since 1976. Tom was only too happy to help and along with other groups and organisations the sculpture came to life.

As I spoke with Tom he said it was a collaboration between several companies that donated time, money, expertise and product. He also said that whilst WGE dealt with metal construction, this was the first time that they had done anything artistic. Nevertheless, they were confident in doing the project and they liaised with the design team on many occasions  The sculpture was constructed at the WGE site taking a total of six months to complete. 

From the time the tender was put out till the time the sculpture was finished it took 18 months. You will find the sculpture situated at George Dodd Reserve on the corner of Cliff Road and Georges Place Wollongong along the waterfront, overlooking the sea.

The location of the sculpture was significant as many migrants traveled to Australia by ship which was a journey of approximately 30 days. The sculpture is a frame of a ship made of steel and the majority of migrants` first  jobs in the Illawarra was in the steel industry at Port Kembla. It was a bittersweet moment for the group after almost ten years! Quite the project indeed! The sculpture was unveiled on Friday January 23, 2015 with the Lord Mayor of Wollongong Rev Gordon Bradbury, politicians, representatives from the local migrant groups and members of the public were all in attendance.

CCC held the scialata for thirteen years which brought together family generations from the Italian and other European communities. Aunties, Uncles, Grandparents through to Grandchildren were all there. Some of the themes for the scialata were the making of the pasta sauce, salami making day, music and traveling to Australia from Italy, where the translator on the ship informed the traveling migrants that if you see signs in the shop windows that say SALE, it doesn’t mean salt, it means that you can buy goods cheaper.

Though, as time went on the number of people attending the scialata declined and the young ones who were involved with the scialata were getting older and their lives and circumstances had changed. Some of the older generation were not as enthusiastic, some due to health or other reasons.  The last scialata was in 2016 and it was held at the The Italian Centre, Wollongong. Over 100 people attended.

After the last scialata many people had lost interest in the group.  CCC were still holding their picnic day and running their bus trips, but by 2018 it was very slow. Covid hit and everything came to a halt! The core group stayed in touch by spending time together. In 2023 CCC held a 20 year reunion of all committee members both past and present. Forty people in total attended a luncheon at The Fraternity Club. CCC are hoping to start again slowly with a bus trip to see the response and maybe, just maybe, we may see them running some great events again!

The current CCC committee are as follows:

Rosa Cardamone Villella                        - President
Domenica Risorto                                   - Vice President
Domenico Chieffe                                   - Vice President
Sara Risorto                                            - Secretary
Mary Zanotto                                          - Treasurer
Pasquale Sacco                                       - Committee
Tullio Chiodo                                         - Committee        

The current CCC committee. 

From left to right: Domenico Chieffe, Rosa Cardamone - Villella, 

Pasquale Sacco, Domenica Risorto, Mary Zanotto & Tullio Chiodo.

 Above image from the collection belonging to CCC group.

Collage of the main sculpture including the three poles.

 

 The Migration Project and it`s contributors.

 

The current sculpture.

All images in above video from the collection belonging to CCC group.

 

All the following videos are from the youtube channel belonging to Vittorio Giudice

Click on the link to view his youtube channel: youtube channel

2016

2015

 2014

 2012

2011

 2008.

 

You will find a variety of other videos of performances and photos. 

Search `scialata` on the video channel.

 https://www.youtube.com/@mycd1/featured