RACHELE BARBARO

On the 28th of April, 1964 Rachele`s husband Francesco Barbaro arrived in Australia on board the ship Roma. Four days later he arrived in Melbourne where he went to stay with his wife’s parents who lived in Ascot Vale. Francesco soon made his way to NSW where he got a job at the Port Kembla Steel Works.

Francesco quickly settled in and purchased a home in East Corrimal.  The house sat on a large block with a granny flat and a garage at the back.  With forward thinking, Francesco divided the house in two and rented both sections out along with the granny flat. He decided to live in the garage whilst he was on his own. He did this so he could afford the house and all the rental went towards the mortgage payment. Francesco was doing everything he could to provide security for the arrival of his wife and their three daughters.

December 17, 1965 Francesco’s wife Rachele and their three daughters, 11 year old Sara, 6 year old Domenica and 4 year old Maria, arrived in Australia aboard the ship Sydney.  When the family arrived he reconfigured the house and they all moved in. Francesco and his family were having their first Christmas in their own home.

Francesco was working hard and had established a garden with Rachele helping out. By this time Sara was in high school and Domenica and Maria were both in primary school. They had family in Sydney and would go to visit when they could. On one such trip Francesco and his family travelled to Sydney to visit them. Whilst they were there, Francesco along with his brother and brother in law went to see his brother`s new farm leaving Rachele and the girls with the relatives. They were all waiting for Francesco to arrive back, but he never did. On the way back the car that he was traveling in was hit by another oncoming. Francesco was in the back seat and was flown from the vehicle and sustained major head injuries. He survived for only 24 hours. On the 30th of January 1968 Francesco Barbaro passed away at only 37 years of age. The family were reeling and in a state of shock.

Once Rachele adjusted to the situation she had to make a decision for her family. She spoke almost no English and had a house that wasn’t paid off. Rachele had two options. She could go back to Italy or move to Victoria where all her family was.  She made the decision to move to Victoria and the children were all excited too, because they would get to stay with their cousins and be surrounded by family. The papers were ready and so were the buyers for the family home. At the last minute Rachele changed her mind. Everything that Francesco had worked for and sacrificed to get their house meant too much to her so she decided to stay and work out a way to keep the house and pay it off. Rachele was on her own with three young children.

The first thing that she did was reconfigure the house back to how Francesco had it when he rented it out. In one half of the house lived Rachele and the girls, with the other half of the house rented out to tenants along with the granny flat. It was a one bedroom half house that Rachele and the girls lived in with everyone sleeping in the same bedroom. Rachele plus one child in a bed, another child in a single bed and another in a fold out bed. It was very cramped at night, but it didn’t matter. They were all together and they were safe.

Rachele got to work and tended to the garden. Using her knowledge from her upbringing she was no stranger to hard work and living off the land.  Although Francesco was from Oppido Mamertina, Rachele and Francesco lived in Piminoro, which was situated high in the mountains of Calabria, a predominately agricultural region. It was those skills and understanding of rural life that Rachele tapped into. She knew exactly what she had to do.

Rachele grew all the vegetables that went into the family meals.  The family raised chickens in the backyard and Rachele sold the eggs as well. She would make her own soap, preserved as much as she could from the garden and cooked everything from scratch including pasta. Her resourcefulness kicked in and the family became self sufficient in so many ways.

It took a lot of courage to do what Rachele did, but she was certainly capable and kept moving forward steering her family. For a short while her parents and her younger brother came to stay, helping in what ever way they could. Rachele couldn’t read or write but that was no hindrance whatsoever. Her tenacity and patience were all that she needed to succeed, and succeed she did.

It was also hard on Rachele’s children too! Sara wore black for one year at school with Domenica and Maria wearing black and white. They were often teased because of it. Rachele wore black for ten years, before finally removing it in 1976.

The family went without many things like toys or new items, but not the necessities. With the rental income and a small Widows Pension, Rachele was able to make the house repayments. She often gave away vegetables to her neighbours as apposed to selling them. She believed in the importance of being kind and helping out. Though, through it all, the family were able to make yearly trips to Melbourne to see their relatives as they travelled by train.  

I spoke at length to Domenica about her life. She recalls one time as a young girl once when the tenants had left the house and they were paying $8 per week rent.  She re-advertised the house for $10 per week. Worried that no-one would show up, new tenants arrived to her relief. The family lived in the half house for approximately 4 years before paying it off and no longer requiring the tenants.

By the mid 80`s all her daughters were married and Rachele decided to sell her home in East Corrimal, moving to Tarrawanna to be closer to friends and family.  She moved in with her daughter Sara while her new house was being built. Once it was built she established her garden and was back to her life of living in self sufficiency. She was so happy at her Tarrawanna home and filled it with love and laughter, family and friends, good food and so many good memories. There were many family outings too and Rachele was living her life contented.  

Once a week her daughters with their husbands along with her grandchildren and eventual great grandchildren, would all get together for a wonderful family dinner. Not only family, but friends of theirs as well! As far as she was concerned the more the better. The family gatherings were her joy and the family were united and placed importance of the weekly event. Often the grandchildren would invite a friend or two with them and Rachele just loved the sharing. All the produced from her garden, the preserves and her wonderful cooking created so many wonderful memories for everyone. Those family gatherings went for years and years. Rachele was still doing a lot of her gardening up until her 80`s.

Domenica spoke about the passing of her mother. Rachele had just made her a coffee and she called out to Domenica to help her to the lounge.  Domenica noticed that Rachele was acting a bit strange and within minutes she wasn`t able to communicate with her. She made it to the hospital but passed away soon after. It was hard on the family because up until that moment, Rachele was of sound mind, even though she had a stroke two years prior. Rachele passed away May 18, 2023, she was 92. She is survived by her three daughters, seven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.

Domenica said that there were so many people at her mother`s funeral and so many of them were young. All friends of the grandchildren who would often be welcomed at their family gatherings. To her family, Rachele was not just their Nonna, she was everyone’s Nonna!                         

 

  The Barbaro Family.  This is the only family photo of everyone together.

The kitchen was the heart of the home for Rachele.  

She created wonderful meals for her family and friends.

All images from the collection belonging to the Barbaro family.