MICHAEL MOLINO, SERGIO COMPAGNON, GIUSEPPE CIOCCI & PASQUALE PAVIA
Moving forward from part one of this story, where I discovered Filippe D`auria by chance and then finding out about the others, I realised that this story was going to be different. One part was not going to be enough. It had to be a least two, possibly three. We commence part two with Michael Molino who was mentioned in part one, as the only other tailor that I had heard of.
MICHAEL MOLINO
Around 1985 I met Michael Molino, who was situated in Pig Alley, Crown Street, Wollongong. The reason that I was there was to enquire about some men`s trousers. Mr Molino`s room was upstairs in the building on the eastern side of Pig Alley. The building was really old. There were only a couple of people who hired space in that big, old building.
My recollection of him was vivid. I remember walking into his room. It was small with a front counter and the cutting and sewing sections all occupying the same space. Old patterns hung from the ceiling in yellowing paper along with fabric swatches of beautiful textures in a variety of colours. What really stood out to me was how elegant Mr Molino was. He was not very tall, and he wore a tie, long sleeve shirt and a hand knitted vest. The sleeves of his shirt cuffed up his arms, ready for work and his trousers were well cut and tailored, of course. I remember asking him if either of his parents were tailors and he said no, that his Aunty was. His hands were also very delicate, hands that would create beautiful garments.
Michael Molino passed away May 26, 2016, at 93 years of age. He was born in 1923 and arrived in Australia in 1955. Michael Molino began his business in 1966 and finished in 1991, at the same address, 133 Crown Street. Over 25 years of service as a tailor in Wollongong. He was a true artisan.
SERGIO COMPAGNON
Sergio Compagnon arrived in Australia on the 5th of February, 1929, aboard the ship, Ontranto. An early arrival compared to the other Italian tailors, embarking from Naples, Italy and arriving in Sydney, NSW. In the beginning he stayed with his brother Guglielimo, who arrived five years earlier, in 1924.
Sergio was listed as a tailor for two years, in 1966 and again in 1967. He occupied the space at 157 Crown Street, Wollongong, in Central Chambers. Ironically, this was the same address that another tailor, Paolo Scotellaro, previously operated from.
Not a lot is known about him, but according to family, he continued working in the industry and was doing a lot of alteration work for a popular Wollongong menswear store as well. Sergio was working well passed his 80`s, and passed away May 7th, 1998.
GIUSEPPE CIOCCI
Giuseppe Ciocci arrived in Australia on the 6th of April, 1962, aboard the ship Aurelia and he headed straight to Port Kembla, NSW. Giuseppe was from Abruzzo.
Giuseppe Ciocci was trained in Italy and began working quite soon upon arriving in Australia. He worked for himself in Wentworth Street, at three different locations. The first one was at number 132, the second one was at 122 and the third one was 100, all in Wentworth Street. He was always based in Port Kembla.
Everybody knew him as Peppe. He made quality suits and trousers as well as doing alterations. He never sold other fashion items, as some of the other tailors did, he just focused on suits and alterations. Starting in 1967 and finishing in 1997, he operated from Wentworth Street, for nearly 30 years. Of all the tailors in this group, he was the longest serving in Port Kembla.
Giuseppe never drove a car, and was a local through and through, and well liked in the community. He became ill in his 60`s, which forced him to close his shop around 1997. Giuseppe Ciocci passed away on the 12th, September, 2007. He was 72 years old.
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Giuseppe Ciocci in one of his hand made suits at his friend`s wedding. Image from the collection belonging to Luciano Ganassin |
PASQUALE PAVIA
Pasquale Pavia arrived in Australia on the 14th of April, 1957, aboard the ship, Australia. He headed to Kiama upon arriving. He began working for Tom Black, who was a tailor in Wollongong. Pasquale would travel daily to Wollongong by train. He worked for Tom for approximately two years before he commenced working for Paolo Scotellaro in Wentworth Street, Port Kembla. After 12 months working for Paolo, Pasquale then opened his own shop across the street at 138 Wentworth Street. Paolo Scotellaro stayed in Wentworth Street until 1967 before closing his store and eventually leaving the area.
Pasquale began operating and did things a little differently. His wife Maria was also helping Pasquale in his shop and in fact she was quite instrumental in the running of the day to day business. Maria Pavia was an expert dress maker, cutting and making patterns from scratch, in various styles, on any fabric. Maria had already begun making wedding dresses, bridesmaid and evening dresses from home, and then changed to making them in the shop.
Pasquale was making quality suits and trousers for men, also selling other menswear such as shirts and accessories. Both Pasquale and Maria did alterations from their shop for local customers and well known clothing stores such as Fletcher Jones, David Jones and Pippins ladies wear. They were both incredibly skilled at their craft having received excellent tuition back in Italy, when they were learning to sew. Pasquale did his apprenticeship with his Uncle (who was also called Pasquale) and Maria did her studies as well, often with teachers coming from Rome, during her course of learning.
They were both well sort out, with Maria, at times turning customers away for the demand of her work. She had a lot on her plate, with Pasquale`s shop, making dresses and her family of three children. Pasquale operated at 138 Wentworth Street until 1967, when unfortunately his shop burnt down. The shop next door had set alight and it carried through to Pasquale`s shop, and he lost almost everything.
The following year he moved to a smaller premises at 100 Wentworth Street. He still ran the business in the same way, but he no longer carried menswear. He stayed at 100 Wentworth Street for the next ten years and Maria was still making dresses at the shop. Maria said that it could take her up to one month to finish a wedding dress, as much of the beading and intricate detailing was very time consuming.
Things were changing in Port Kembla, with Warrawong shopping precinct growing and expanding and with the many fashion stores opening up, people were moving in different directions. Pasquale and Maria made the decision to move to Wollongong where they operated their business for two years, before Pasquale retired from sewing all together.
Pasquale had a career change and began working at the Port Kembla Steel Works. He was still doing some sewing on the side, as many loyal customers only wanted to wear his suits. Soon, he would stop sewing all together. Maria was still making some dresses. Maria eventually retried from making dresses around the same time that Pasquale retired from work, they were both in their 60`s.
I spoke with Katie, who is Pasquale and Maria`s daughter. She has fond memories of travelling to Sydney, as a young girl with her father, to purchase fabrics for his suits. He only bought quality, Italian fabrics at the wholesalers. High quality brands that included names such as Marzotto and Zegna. Katie also said her father constantly spoke about the correct methods of sewing and lining of each suit, and the importance of doing quality work. Pasquale also had a knack of knowing what brands and what fabric that a suit was made from, just by looking at it.
Pasquale was incredibly proud of the clothing that he made. Elegant suits that one could wear year after year. He operated out of Wentworth Street for 15 years with another two years in Wollongong. Taking into consideration the first three years of employment, then with his own shops, Pasquale worked for over 20 years as a tailor, serving the community in the Wollongong area. Pasquale Pavia passed away December 2nd, 2018. He was 86 years old. Maria still lives in Wollongong and is surrounded by wonderful friends and family.
Other tailors to mention were Antonio Di Tomo and Giustino Gambacorta. Antonio Di Tomo operated a tailor/alterations shop in Cowper Street, Warrawong, in the Lake Market Chambers shopping centre. He was there for approximately two years that we know of, operating in 1966 & 1967. Gustino Gambacorta operated from 288 Crown Street, Wollongong for nine years from 1966 - 1975.
Some interesting facts to note. From the early 50`s to the late 1990`s there were at least 12 Italian tailors in the area, and those are the only ones that we know of. Those were the tailors who had businesses in the Wollongong/Port Kembla region. There were other tailors who worked from home as well, but we have no idea just how many.
In the year 1969 there were four Italian tailors in Crown Street, Wollongong and two in Wentworth Street, Port Kembla. Of the Crown Street tailors, two were close to each other with the third tailor being downtown and the fourth being uptown. The two in Wentworth Street were also close to each other. Also, in Wentworth street, there were four individual tailors from this group who ran their businesses there at different times, with two of them occupying the same address years apart. In 1971 there were five Italian tailors in Wollongong, all in Crown Street. Also, of the tailors that were situated in Crown Street, Wollongong, over time, two of them occupied spaces where a previous tailor had been, which just happened to be both the spaces occupied by Paolo Scotellaro at 50 Crown Street, and 157 Crown Street, Wollongong.
Even though there is little information about some of these tailors, here in part two, they all deserve a mention. Wollongong had quite a few tailors in comparison to the population that was there at the time. Working as a tailor was not very lucrative, but rewarding. Men were well dressed and their clothing attended to. These artisans worked quietly and diligently in the back ground serving the community for many years. Proud of their profession, they created, cut and made beautiful menswear.
Source: Wollongong Library Collection, Trade and Business/Street Directory 1966 & 1967
