SALVATORE OGGERO - PIZZAIOLO

Arriving by plane when he was just 16 years old, Salvatore Oggero arrived in Australia April 10,1965. He came to Warrawong where he boarded for 3 months before living with his brother Vito, who arrived in Australia August 1st, 1960 travelling on the ship Sydney.  

Salvatore lived with his brother Vito for approximately 1 year before moving to Tarrawanna where he resided at the Luccarda boarding house.  At that time there were approximately 10 -15 boarders and Salvatore kept friendship with some of the boarders, even after he left.  He remembers the good food.

He worked as a concrete labourer for approximately 12 months before commencing another labouring job at BHP (Port Kembla Steel Works). After about six months at the Steel Works he was promoted to Shunter.  He had passed the test having applied for the role and his English was quite good. This was an apprenticeship.  

Around that time the Steel Works employed over 20,000 people and with so many on the job site, accidents happened.  During his time as a Shunter, Salvatore nearly lost his leg. But it was when he lost two work mates within two weeks of each other it made him re-evaluate the situation and he left.  Salvatore was a shunter for two years.

His next job was at Metal Manufacturers (M & M) for another two years before going back to the Steel Works working as a rigger.

Around 1978, having already been married, Salvatore decided to change course and purchase an existing Pizzeria situated in George Street, Warilla.  It was called Pizza Roma and was first opened by Primo Gaggero who was the original owner of Pizza Roma in Wollongong and opened several others in the area.  Salvatore worked with Primo for a short while to see how it operated and became familiar with the running of the pizzeria before taking it over.   

When Salvatore left Italy as a young man he was already doing his apprenticeship as a pastry chef.  So he had experience in the kitchen and with restaurants.  After about 12 months, with renovations finished, Salvatore changed the name of the Pizzeria to Sam’s Pizza. Sam’s Pizza was opened six days per week and operated from 5.30pm - 2.00am.  Monday was his day off.  Not only did he do pizza`s but other trattoria style meals such as Chicken Schnitzel, Pasta and he became famous for his Garlic Bread.  

In a good week he could sell up to 300 pizza`s per day and in a slow week  around 50 pizza`s per day.  He was very busy at Warilla.  There wasn’t anyone else around and not only the locals but many came from out of town because he was open late at night.

In 1983 he sold Sam’s Pizza and went back to his old job Rigging and did this for about 2 years.  In 1985 he opened another eatery at Unanderra. This time he opened it from scratch and it was a Pizza Restaurant.  The Unanderra Pizza Restaurant was more of a family eat in restaurant that also did takeaway.  With seating available for up to thirty people he operated the restaurant six days per week, the same hours as Sam’s Pizza in Warilla, only operating at night.  

The Unanderra Pizza Restaurant was a lot different to Sam’s Pizza. It was quieter and also had a different clientele. Salvatore`s brother in-law was a musician and after short while Salvatore employed his bother in-law and his band members to play music at the restaurant on a Saturdary night. The customers really enjoyed it. The Unanderra Pizza Restaurant was sold in 1992.

Salvatore had a break and in 1993 he began again. This time he went to Cowper Street, Warrawong and opened Romeo’s. It was a new family restaurant and it was bigger than Unanderra.  He also did pizza`s and his kitchen menu offered a wider range of dishes. Salvatore had other Chefs working for him.  There were times when he had to fill in if the chef wasn’t available. Romeo’s restaurant provided music one or two nights per week. After about 36 months he sold Romeo’s.

He went back to rigging for a while contemplating what he was going to do next.  In North Wollongong on Flinders Street, there was a small shopping complex called the Cragmar Shopping Centre. It was very convenient. Having several shops, a small supermarket, chemist, butcher and a real estate upstairs, just to name some of them. Salvatore opened a small Pizzeria. This was an small existing pizzeria shop that faced Flinders Street and it was tiny.   He called it Mystic Pizza.  He did mainly takeaways as well as deliveries.  It was across the road from the North Wollongong Hotel.  The work took its toll and after two years Salvatore closed the shop.  His health wasn’t the best at the time.

After having a break he did some more rigging work before retiring completely in 2010. Salvatore gave us four pizza eateries in the area, cooking great meals for years and years. Here he was another Italian who provided a great service to the community over the course of nearly three decades.  

Salvatore loves playing cards and chess. You can often find him down at Santo`s Deli in Warrawong having a coffee and playing cards with his friends. Once a week he also plays chess in Wollongong.  He learnt to play chess with some of his work colleagues and kept playing for over twenty years.  He plays chess on a Tuesday night socially at the Collegians club. Salvatore is also Nonno to his five grand children. He keeps himself busy!

Salvatore with his young son behind the counter at his Unanderra Pizza Restaurant

All images from the collection belonging to Salvatore Oggero

ST. ANDREA- IRPINIA ASSOCIATION

As a young girl growing up in Wollongong I remembered some of the Italian Associations/Organisations that were formed by those in our local community.  The one event that stands out to me the most was the Saint Giovanni Battista festival.  I think the reason that I remember it the most was that on a number of occasions, we as a family went along to celebrate their  annual festival at the then Wollongong Show Ground. There would be entertainment, activities for children and of course, food.

Most associations held events yearly. Occasionally some groups would have picnics, sometimes twice or more in a year.  Over time other groups formed that represented different regions and traditions as well. There were religious celebrations, military corps and choirs groups, all from our beloved Italy. However, as the population aged these groups inevitably got smaller and smaller. Some groups finished all together, others amalgamated and some new ones formed as more of a social get together.  

Most associations were formed as a way of staying connected to each other and celebrating their ethnicity and culture. One such group was the St. Andrea - Irpinia Association. St Andrea di Conza is a small town that is part of the greater region of Irpinia.  It is situated in the province of Avelino in Campania, Italy.

I first became aware of them when I interviewed Vince Cappetta about his family who were the last owners of Bruno`s Reception Centre in Tarrawanna.  Vince began to tell me the story of the St. Andrea - Irpinia Association and I was impressed to say the least.  An organisation that is still going after 40 years!

The Association was formed in 1982 and it became official in 1983. Vince and his wife Maria were an integral part of the Association and they held the first Association Dinner at Bruno`s in Tarrawanna, when the Cappetta family were running it. It just so happened that the Mayor of the town back in Italy was in Australia visiting family.  He also attended the inaugural Association dinner, making it all the more special. The following year they were able to purchase their very own club house: as I said, I was impressed. The group donated money towards their goal and soon they found a perfect place at 180 - 182  Wentworth Street, Port Kembla. The purchase price was $80,000.

It used to be a YMCA in it’s day. It had internal toilets, a large hall and parking. It was perfect. The group, with many members and volunteers worked together and raised the funds to renovate their club house. Internal fixtures were attended to and a kitchen was built once they acquired council permission.  They also in time built an movable wall so they could close off the space if need be, but had the option to open it up for bigger functions.

When they first began the Association, they had picnics and gatherings and many people bought food.  They worked constantly to get to their goal of purchasing their own building and they built up their membership.

St. Andrea - Irpinia Association represents the region and it is well known for their pasta dishes: Cappalletti and Cavatelli. Each year they would celebrate with dinners at their club house and the wonderful women would recreate these beautiful pasta shapes all done by hand.  They would raise money for the club and had the most remarkable dinner at their Wentworth Street, address with up to 120 people attending.  Catered by the group, served by the group and totally enjoyed by all. Everyone helped out and often grandchildren would assist with serving the food and other duties.

Typically they ran two large events per year. The first one was in August were  it coincided with the three day festival of the region in Italy.  They usually cooked Cavatelli. The next event was held in November in honour of  (The Saint) Sant`Andrea, in Italy and at this event they cooked Cappelletti. They were also bottling their own pasta sauce. With Vince Cappetta, there was never any shortage of hospitality experience as well.  With the running of the reception centre at Tarrawanna, he was just as passionate with his involvement with the Association. Saturday nights were reserved for Briscola and Tombola with raffles and prizes given such as pasta, olive oil, passata, wine, beer & chocolates.

When Covid hit, things changed dramatically and when people had to stay home and shelter in place, not much was happening at their club house and they had to find a way to pay the utilities.  Part of the club was divided into office space and leased.  This gave them an income that was used towards land rates, water and electricity.  

Slowly, with time, they went back to operating and running their Saturday night social gathering. Men often play Briscola and the ladies Tombola  with the addition of a pool table and table top soccer for all to enjoy. They are also licensed to sell beer and wine along with light snacks and it is still frequented by the members.  

On the 25th of February 2023 the association celebrated their 40th year anniversary, but without a full sized venue to run their annual dinner, they decided to celebrate their anniversary at the Fraternity Bowling Club, in Fairy Meadow.

Weeks prior to the event the ladies of the Association began preparations for the dinner.  I went along to the club house to see the ladies in action and to speak with them about the work involved.  Let me tell you that the youngest woman in the kitchen was over 50 with others being seventy and eighty  years plus.! It truly was a sight to behold watching them all roll out the Cavatelli . The kilos of flour and the kilos of Cavatelli was just amazing.

I first spoke with Gerardina Scioscia who was overseeing the kitchen.  Gerardina told me that the ratio for each serving was 120 - 125 grams per serve.  It would take 1 x kilo of flour to serve eight people and each kilo of flour needed one egg. The ladies used approximately 55 kilos of flour to make the Cavatelli.  Gerardina was a wiz in the kitchen.  She has been cooking all her life.  As a young 7 year old girl in Italy, twice a week she was making pasta.     

Next I went into the hall where I met Vito Esposito.  Vito was placing all the ready made Cavatelli on the tables to dry out.  There were trays and trays of them.  Once they were ready, into the large freezers they would go.  They had several freezers to fill and the plan was to take the Cavatelli to the Fraternity Club kitchen the day before the dinner. It still was unknown how many people would be attending the dinner at the Fraternity Club. They would end up being surprised at the tickets sales. A total of 320 people attended.  The community were ready to go out and celebrate!

I attended the dinner at the Fraternity Club and it was a great night.  People had so much fun catching up with old friends. The dinner was wonderful with the delicious Cavatelli  There were lucky door prizes, raffles to be won and folks danced the night away,  It truly was wonderful to see such a gathering of the Italian community.  The St. Andrea - Irpinia Association are returning to the Fraternity Club for their annual dinner on Saturday February 24, 2024 with a four course meal.  

With a once membership of almost 240 and the reliance of donations, over the years many foundation members have passed away. The once strong group of 21 women in the kitchen are sadly now just 10 yet they still remain optimistic about the future. The Association is hoping to start doing smaller function/dinners at the their club house. You can often see them raising money at Bunnings with their sausage sizzles on
a Saturday morning.

St. Andrea - Irpinia club house at 180-182 Wentworth Street, Port Kembla 

All images from the collection belonging to the St. Andrea - Irpinia Association.