PHOTO ROMA - BRUNO BALLESI AND FERRUCCIO MARTINA

If there is one business that stands out as being remembered by the many Italians in the area, it is Photo Roma.  Photo Roma were so influential for photographing many Italian celebrations and ceremonies.  Italian migrant workers were often snap shot.  Photo Roma with their association to the local Catholic associations and other Italian businesses, who hired Photo Roma to captured them in images, were embraced by the community and honoured for the many memories that were created.  With both founding members no longer with us I was fortunate to speak with Liliane (Bruno`s wife) and son Mark Ballesi and Cesira (Ferruccio`s wife) and son Robert Martina.

Bruno Ballesi was 25 years old and working as photographer in Rome, Italy.  He had been working for 10 years, after finishing school and doing his photography training.

His best friend Ferruccio Martina was living in Australia and had left Italy three years before, arriving in Australia on March 31st, 1952, aboard the Hellenic Prince.  Ferruccio was living at the Unanderra Hostel and was working at the Port Kembla Steel Works.

Ferruccio and Bruno kept in touch regularly and Ferruccio convinced Bruno to come to Australia.  He arrived on November 10, 1955 aboard the ship Surriento.  Bruno was able to get a job at the Port Kembla Steel Works and was living at Cringlia.

Bruno would often come around to the hostel to visit Ferruccio and he knew some of the men who stayed there.  One of them was Luciano Palmini.   The three of them became friends.

In 1957, Bruno and Ferruccio changed addresses and boarded in a half house apartment in Crown Street, Wollongong, where they set up a dark room in the garage.  The three friends commenced a small business doing photography.  After a short while Luciano left and it was just Bruno and Ferruccio running the business.  Both of them were still working day jobs whilst doing the photography on the side.  In the same year Bruno was invited to a picnic at Seven Mile Beach, where  he met Liliane.  Two years later they were married.  They then relocated to a bigger place in Cliff Road, and Ferruccio came with them.  They set up a dark room in the house, actually it was in Ferruccio`s bedroom.  They ran the photography business from the house as well.  By this stage they had commenced doing Italian weddings on the weekends.  Bruno and Ferruccio quit their day jobs to do photography full time.

In 1960 they rented their first studio.  It was an Art Deco apartment above a shop at 135 Crown Street, Wollongong.   The entrance was via a stairwell off Pig Alley.  The space had a dark room, office and photo studio.  Their work expanded and they also did passport photos and portraits.  The main studio area, where the portraits and other formal photos were taken, faced Crown Street.  The prints were washed in the bathtub which had a marvellous ceramic lion’s head for the water spout.  All their work was done in black and white.  Colour was not yet available.

It was now 1961 and Ferruccio had married.  Together with his wife Cesira along with Bruno and Liliane they purchased a home at 87 Mt Keira Road.  Even though they were working now in their own studio they would often help out in the community, at picnic days and family festivals.

They were becoming increasingly busy, so in 1966, they opened a second studio at Warrawong, above the Lake Market Chambers, facing King Street.  Bruno was now running Warrawong and Ferruccio was running the Wollongong studio. They also expanded their business and were doing videos using super 8 camera.   Mostly you would find them together at the weddings with Ferruccio shooting the video and Bruno taking the photos.  Though there were times when each of them would be doing a separate wedding each, because of the demand, they had to hire other staff.

In relation to the Italian weddings, Photo Roma were often helping out the bride and groom in the way of invitations ect, so they introduced this also into his business.  Ordering the printing of wedding invitations ect, was done by a printer called Mr Parkes. They were also doing industrial photography for Ept and Transfield, two Italian construction companies, school photos and photo restoration. When Bruno was working in Italy he learnt how to restore photos and introduced this into his business and both he and Ferruccio would restore the photos.

By the late sixties colour photos had become available.  This changed the operation of the photo studio itself.  For wedding or large gathering photos such as christenings and confirmations ect, the addition of colour photos took away the processing from the dark room.   Although, they still used the dark room for copying and restoring old photos as well as making new prints from old negatives in the archive, if customers lost or damaged photos that Photo Roma had taken in the past.  Passport photos were still being printed in black and white also, even when colour was introduced. As a result the dark room was still in use up until the time they retired.

Because of Photo Roma’s association with the local Catholic organisations, you would often find Ferruccio singing with the Sacred Heart Church choir, in Wollongong.  The Italian Centre, that was run by the Scalabrini Brothers, ran a dance on a Sunday night where Ferruccio would often sing as well.  Ferruccio had a lovely voice and his brother Gino was a singer back in Italy, often singing for the local radio station.  Ferruccio also sang with the bands from Gavino`s and Don Camillo`s restaurants.

As I spoke with Robert Martina, he told me how he would sometimes help his father with his equipment when Ferruccio was doing a wedding on his own.  The wedding reception venue always offered the camera man and/or photographer a meal.  Often people would request for Ferruccio to sing at the end of the night, so Robert would often cover the plate of Ferruccio`s dinner, otherwise the wait staff would take the plate away.  Ferruccio had many a cold dinner, but always enjoyed singing for the crowd.  Robert said that as a child he would often hear his father singing along with the record player at home and never realised until later just how good of a singer he was.  Robert also mentioned that if Ferruccio was doing a wedding on his own, he would often hire a local photographer named Ken to help taking the photos whilst Ferruccio would take the video footage.  Robert took photography as an elective in High School and it became his hobby.  He still dabbles in it sometimes.  Robert also explained how his mother Cesira would do a lot of the administration work at home, once Ferruccio was running the Wollongong studio.

Speaking with Mark Ballesi he explained about the process of ordering wedding photos.  In the early years, once a wedding was photographed, Photo Roma made small images/negatives on a paper/story board.   Each image would be individually numbered.  People would order photos from the proofs and usually within a week the photos would be ready.  He also spoke about how his mother was a huge help in the business too.  Many times she would help with the processing of the photos at home.  Later she would work along side Bruno in the studio.  

In 1977, with both of the studios doing well, the Ballesi family purchased a chicken shop at Warilla Grove, which was about 15 minutes drive from the Warrawong photo studio.  The shop was started from scratch as a joint business venture between the Pallone and Ballesi families.  The families became well acquainted with each other as they both had businesses in the Warrawong shopping centre.  Eddie Pallone had a Barbershop in the centre for many years and the two families became quite close.  Liliane Ballesi and Linda Pallone ran the chicken shop with Liliane`s daughter Christine with son Mark working Thursday, Saturday and Monday’s.  There were 7 staff in total.

After almost 2 years they sold the chicken shop.  They were out celebrating the sale of the shop at a staff dinner at Don Camillo`s restaurant, when Bruno had received a call that Ferruccio had passed away.  It was such a shock.   Bruno had lost his best friend who was like a brother and it affected everybody.  On 27th October, 1979, Ferruccio Martina passed away.  He was only 54 years old.

With now only Bruno at the helm, and with the Warrawong studio getting busier, Bruno along with son Mark, floated between the two studios for work.  Within 12 months Bruno closed the Wollongong studio and just focused on Warrawong.

There were a lot of migrants in Warrawong and not only was he busy with Italian weddings, he was doing a lot of Spanish and Portuguese weddings as well.  

In 1985, the shopping complex at Warrawong had been taken over and Photo Roma made the decision to leave and moved upstairs at 256 Cowper Street, that was basically across the road.  The Cowper Street studio was a bigger space than King Street.  

As the years moved on, a lot of changes were taking place in the industry, due to technology.  After woking for approximately 15 years without Ferruccio, around the mid 1990`s, Bruno made the decision to retire from the photography business.  He tried to sell his business, but couldn’t find anyone keen.  He managed to sell some of his equipment locally.

All through his photography years, Bruno was doing community work, for Italian organisations and clubs, ect.  He participated in many events and was very well known in the Italian community.  One only had to think of the many Italian weddings in the Wollongong area and Photo Roma was a part of them.  I remember so many weddings, especially at Bruno`s Reception Centre, at Tarrawanna, and Photo Roma was always there.  

I don’t think one can put a price on all the incredible photography that Photo Roma did over time, in the Wollongong/Illawarra area for the Italian community.  Mark Ballesi told me that Bruno had kept every single negative from the very first one, beginning from the late 1950`s until retirement.  This is unheard of, when the law required that negatives only be kept for five years.  It would come to be of great value as people who wanted old photos, repeat customers or people wanting photos from a past gathering, were able to access them through Bruno`s archive of negatives.

Bruno did a lot of community work free of charge after he retired.  He was a founding committee member of the Marco Polo Nursing Home. On August 17th, 2018, Bruno Ballesi passed away.  He was 87 years old and remembered as the man behind Photo Roma Studio.  Most Italians in Wollongong remember who he was and the invaluable contribution that Photo Roma made to the community.

 

 Ferruccio sent this photo to Bruno with a note on the back, telling him that they will see him at the port with Luciano and to show him the car so he could recognise them.

Classic photo of them both ready to work.  Ferruccio on the left and Bruno on the right with the camera.

All above images from the collection belonging to Mark Ballesi

 

 

Ferruccio ready for work.

 

 

 

 

Ferruccio loved singing.  He had a great voice.

 

 

 Al above images from the collection belonging to Robert Martina

CAMILLO SACCO - DON CAMILLO`S RESTAURANT

Camillo Sacco was born in Cassino, Italy, in 1924, July 22nd.  He decided to emigrate to Australia just after WW2 due to his home town being totally destroyed in the battle for Monte Cassino.  Camillo arrived in Australia on the 19th of August, 1952, aboard the ship Surriento.

Camillo went to Griffith and learned to become a brick layer and stayed for a few years building many homes and the Griffith olympic pool.  In 1955 he called for his fiance` Leonilde Bartolini to join him.  Leonilde was from Selvapiana, Emilia Romagna.  Leonilde arrived on the 22 August 1955, also on the ship Surriento, and was married in Sydney the next day to Camillo in a small ceremony by father Sylvio.  They immediately went to Griffith and Leonilde soon began working as a cleaner, at The Griffith Hospital.

A few months later Camillo and Leonilde moved to Wollongong.  Camillo  went to work at BHP Steelworks, as there were better opportunities for him.  He worked at BHP from 1955 to 1957 and was living in Cringila.  Son Joseph was born in Jan 1957 followed by brother Denis who was born in 1961.  Camillo also built many homes in the Wollongong region from 1957 to 1962.

In 1963, Camillo purchased an existing mixed business that sold fruits, vegetables and grocery items, in Lake Avenue, Cringila, next to the post office. The family lived at the back of the shop, and it was quite small.  In 1970, after approximately seven years, Camillo sold the business and purchased another existing business in Addison Avenue, Warilla.  It was also a mixed business similar to the type of business he had in Cringila. The family were now living in Warrawong.  Camillo ran the business in Warilla for approximately two years and then sold it.

Camillo went back to doing some bricklaying whilst deciding what he wanted to do next. He was asked to build a garage for Gavino Arru, to house a trattoria style eatery in the back of a boarding house in Auburn Street, Wollongong.

Some time later Gavino had moved on from the little garage trattoria that he was running, and had opened a fully licensed restaurant in Kenny Street, that was a double property, one with a residence and the other the restaurant with car parking at the back. Gavino put the business up for sale in 1974 and he asked Camillo if he was interested in buying the business and the property.  Camillo took the plunge and was now a restauranteur.  He changed the name to Don Camillo`s and worked with Gavino’s existing chef Benito Fazio, to create a new menu.  The new menu featured traditional Italian dishes including more pasta, steaks ,scallopine, local seafood dishes plus a variety of Italian desserts. They were open seven days per week, lunch and dinner.

They were busy from the outset and held small functions as well as the restaurant sittings. On Friday and Saturday nights they held dinner dances with a Latin band. Don Camillo`s restaurant was becoming a very popular venue.  The location of the restaurant made it an ideal location for business lunches and the Wollongong business community frequented the restaurant on the daily.  Close enough to the city to make it back to work on time, but just down the street enough to make lunch time special.

 

Camillo, Leonilde, Joe and Denis (who also was studying at University) were running the restaurant along with other staff.  Camillo was front of house, Leonilde was working in the kitchen with head chef Benito, who was in charge. There were many favourite dishes including home made lasagne, cannelloni, spaghetti and zuppa marinara, veal saltimbocca, steak dianne, fillet mignon and lobster mornay.  Cotoletta Don Camillo was a favourite dish that was named after Don Camillo himself.  It was veal layered with ham, cheese and mushroom.

The initial restaurant could hold between 50 - 60 people and they also had small wedding receptions. After a few years, Camillo was getting a lot of requests for larger weddings from the Italian community and so he put plans into council. The plans would be for an extension of the main dining area with living quarters on top as a second story. The house where the family were living was actually sold and the land used for an extended car park.

With the bigger restaurant Camillo was now able to have larger weddings that catered for 220 people. The functions were never ending with engagements, birthdays, christenings and confirmations. The end of year functions and Christmas gatherings were always booked out, year after year.  Don Camillo`s had a real party atmosphere.  Typically, weddings were held on a Saturday night and they were getting bookings, even up to two years in advance. A standard wedding menu usually consisted of antipasto, soup, pasta, main, dessert and coffee.  Depending on the individual, wedding menu`s were tailored and altered if needed.  Many Italians, other Europeans and Australian`s had their wedding receptions at Don Camillo`s Restaurant.  When they ran their wedding or large functions, Don Camillo`s had up to 15 staff working all together, under pressure to give a memorable evening, and they always did.

The restaurant offered a classic, old world charm that always provided great service. They used quality pasta for their meals and used local, freshly made, Italian style bread from Falcone`s bakery.  Camillo was insistent on sourcing the best and freshest ingredients and every morning he would go to the local fruit markets, fish mongers and other providores to gather supplies for the daily restaurant patrons.

In 1989, after working tirelessly for 15 years, Camillo Sacco sold his restaurant and property.  The Sacco family had given Wollongong memories that would live on for years.  Diners who visited Don Camillo`s felt at home and were treated well.  It was an era that is not seen anymore and Camillo Sacco made sure that all his customers felt happy from the moment they entered till the time they left.  Camillo finished with one last dinner.  It was for his clientele who regularly frequented the restaurant.  It was in appreciation and honour and as a thank you to them.

Camillo and Leonilde, both retired and were living in Unanderra.  They spent their time at their family home, plus a return trip to Italy for a vacation.  Camillo was another one of those immigrants who came to Australia with a pocket full of nothing but a willingness to work hard.  He was a great bricklayer, shop keeper and restauranteur.  He was always working and he certainly left a legacy.  In 2004 Camillo Sacco passed away on Jan 30.  He was 79 years old.  Leonilde now resides in Queensland with her son Joe.

Work in progress, as the new restaurant takes shape

    

Camillo working on renovations for the restaurant



All images from the collection belonging to Joe Sacco

THE TAILORS OF WOLLONGONG - PART THREE

When I was researching for this story, one particular name kept coming up.  As I was looking for tailors, particularly Italian tailors, the name GRANATO kept appearing.  I searched everything and was at a loss to find a connection for this name.  GRANATO.L, who was this person?  I had no idea.

I reached out to several people with the same last name and to my surprise Granato. L. was Lucia Granato.  I was curious to see a women in the directory with the tailors.  I was then extremely fortunate to track down her daughters.

LUCIA (LISETTA) GRANATO

Lisetta, as she was known to everyone, arrived in Australia in 1954, June 4th.  Traveling on the ship Toscana along with her husband Cosimo and their eight year old daughter Ombretta.  Lisetta was also pregnant with her second child, Liana.

The Granato family went to Unanderra and lived at the migrant hostel.  Cosimo was working as a boiler maker at EPT, and soon Lisetta got a job working for Paolo Scottelaro, in Crown Street, Wollongong.  Paolo Scotellaro also lived at the Unanderra hostel and chances are that is where she met him.  Lisetta was a tailoress.  She did her studies in Italy and by the time she was 14, Lucia had made a man’s suit.  Lisetta was an excellent and meticulous sewer.

The Granato`s stayed in Wollongong for a short time before moving to the Princes Highway, Corrimal, in 1955.  They also had boarders at their house, up to four at any given time.  Lisetta had finished working for Paolo Scotellaro by this stage and was doing some dressmaking and alterations from home.  She also was in charge of the boarders, tending to their meals and the housekeeping duties, and even tailoring if they requested it.

The family stayed in Corrimal until 1959.  They then went to live in Berkeley.  Lisetta was still doing everything from tailoring to alterations.  Her last two children, Rob and Kety were born and now they were a family of six.  

In 1962, Lisetta began working for Alga Alfred Corso, at Corso`s Alterations.  Alfred Corso had a tailor/alterations shop at 433 Crown Street, Wollongong and had been there since 1951.  He was also a tailor, but by the time Lisetta began working for him, he barely did any more tailoring, and moved into the alteration side of things.  Lisetta did a trial for Alfred and he noticed straight away how she held her needle and placed the garment on her knees.  For him it was a sign of her knowledge of tailoring, and of her capability.

Corso`s alteration shop was situated across the road from Wollongong Hospital, but further up Crown Street, and many of their clients were hospital staff.  Doctors and nurses would frequent the shop for their alterations and got to know Lisetta and the work she did.  There was no need to go anywhere else, Lisetta could do anything, and she did.  There was also another lady who worked along side Lisetta and Alfred called Nora Rollinson.

In 1967, Alfred Corso passed away and he was only 58 years old.  Alfred’s wife was running the business for a short while and soon Lisetta and Nora went into partnership and purchased the business.  Lisetta`s daughter Ombretta, also worked with them doing alterations and the shop was going well.  They had up to four staff members and they were a also an agent for Ryan`s Dry Cleaning.

In 1980, daughter Liana began working with her mother and her sister in the shop, on a full time basis and now the shop belonged solely to Lisetta.  The shop was open five and a half days per week, Monday to Friday 9 - 5 and half a day Saturday.  As I spoke with Liana she told me how as a young girl, from age 12, she would come into the shop on a Saturday morning and her mother began to teach her sewing techniques and soon she would be doing small jobs such as hems, zippers, buttons and even cutting patterns.

For the next twenty five years the shop was going strong with no shortage of customers.  The building that they were leasing was sold and they had to find a new location, which they did, on the same side of the street, in fact closer to the hospital.  Lisetta took this moment to retire from the business completely and now Liana and Ombretta were running the shop.  Lisetta had been working at 433 Crown Street for almost 35 years.  It was now 1996 and the shop was located at 407 Crown Street, Wollongong.

The shop had two industrial singer sewing machines and two overlockers.  When it came to teaching her daughters how to sew, Lisetta was methodical.  She also used old style techniques that were tried and true, and for Lisetta these methods were the best.  

Liana commented on the iron that her mother used in the shop.  It was made from cast iron and Liana stated how she needed two hands to pick it up, where as Lucia just used one hand and began ironing.  It was a large iron with a timber handle.  The iron sat on a metal plate that was electrically heated.  The metal under-plate heated the iron and when it reach temperature it was ready to use.  It was used to flatten seams, hems and pleats.   What Lisetta would do was heat the iron, then iron, flattening out the seam or pleat.  Once the seam was ironed, Lisetta immediately placed a small block of timber over the seam to keep it flat, and as soon the steam totally evaporated, she would release the timber and the seam pressing was complete.  Another technique that Lisetta used was when putting buttons on jackets. The cotton that was used came from Germany, it was a much stronger grade than standard cotton.  Then with that cotton, it was run through a block of honey wax, that coated the cotton making it even stronger and waterproof before it was used to sew the button on the jacket.  This method of thread waxing was only used for jacket and coat buttons.  

After a few years, the daughters left the Crown Street shop and purchased another established business in Wollongong called, Suiting You Men’s Formal Hire, that was situated in Market Street.  They also took all their alteration work with them, with most of their customers following.  At Suiting You, they were now hiring out and altering mens wedding and formal attire, adding to their ongoing alteration service as well.

Daughter Kety was now working with her sisters, Liana and Ombretta at Suiting You.  The three Granato daughters were continuing from their mother Lisetta`s work.  Kety was handling most of the customer service and when they had weddings or formal events to prepare for, it was all hands on deck.  It could get hectic at times, especially with having the alteration service as well.

Liana explained how alterations for men`s suits were different than standard alterations for everyday clothing.  The methods used were not the same, as the formal wear alterations only had to be temporary.  Liana also told me how she received an interesting request from a Scottish customer.  He wanted a kilt for his wedding and couldn’t find one anywhere.  Liana had some plaid material and made him a kilt and he was delighted.  Word got out and soon they had more requests for kilts, and they were the only ones in Wollongong to have them available.  Ombretta found a local artisan who made them and Suiting You sub-hired them out, for the shop. Suiting You would then make and alter matching jackets and attire for the kilts.  With the yearly Scottish celebration of Brigadoon, Suiting You became inundated, with requests for kilts for specific family clans.  The only other place one could hire them was from Sydney.  Year after year, their kilts would be hired out, and with the matching accessories, they had many a happy customer.

In the year 2000, Suiting You moved to Crown Street,  Wollongong, upstairs in the IMB Arcade.  Sister Ombretta had now left and Liana and Kety were running the business.  They stayed at the IMB Arcade store for two years.  After the two years Kety left and Liana moved the business to 108 Corrimal Street, Wollongong, opposite the golf course.

The business was called Illawarra Bridal Centre and had dramatically changed.  Liana was still doing alterations and suit/formal hire for men, but now she sold wedding dresses, bridesmaids, mother of the bride and ladies formal gowns too.  With the formal gowns, Liana often designed some to have them made.  There really was nothing Liana couldn’t make.   

Liana had a large floor space area and used it to her advantage.  She hired it out and incorporated other `Wedding Services` that complemented.  There were bridal accessories, a hair dresser and even a jewellery maker.  It became a one stop shop for wedding attire.  Liana even made Hijabs, catering to the Arabic community for weddings.  There was a fancy dress stall in the space, in which Liana also made costumes for.  The business was very successful. Liana`s business won an award for the Best Bridal Shop, South Coast.

After successfully operating for 11 years at 108 Corrimal Street, Liana made the decision to close the doors, officially retiring from the sewing/alterations business.  Liana had been working in the business since a young girl from the age of 12.  Under her mother’s tutelage, Liana excelled at her craft, as did her mother Lisetta.  

After a much needed break, Liana commenced working in retail and found that many of her past customers were wanting her to continue doing their alterations.  Liana began doing some alteration work from home and via word of mouth, more and more customers contacted her.  Liana now works in sales for ladies fashion and does alteration work for the stores as well, a service that very few offer today.  Also, I must mention that Liana still does alterations for a lady who was originally one of her mother Lisetta`s customers.

Lisetta Granato was 91 when she passed away on the 21st December, 2017 and her husband Cosimo passed away prior to her in 2002, at the age of 78.  Lisetta began working in Wollongong since 1954 and while she did a lot of alteration work, she truly was a tailor.  Incredibly skilled, having been trained in Italy, where she took incredible pride in her work and respect for her art.  Over 40 years of service to the community.  Daughter Liana is still sewing and she her self has been part of Lisetta`s service to the community, fifty years and still going!  What a privilege that Lisetta was part of the tailors of Wollongong, with her work continuing on through her wonderfully skilled daughter Liana. 

                               Tools of the trade:  Shoulder pad cushion for working on shoulder pads

 and the timber block used for seam pressing.

 

 

 

 

Ombretta with the heavy wooden handled cast iron.

All images from the collection belonging to Liana Granato
 

VITTORIO GUIDA

The last tailor we feature is Vittorio Guida.  Vittorio came to Australia and settled in Perth, after arriving in Freemantle and worked as a seamen for a few years.  In the early 1970`s he came to Wollongong, NSW

He was working as a sand blaster, but was really wanting to open his own store, and at the time was unable to qualify for a loan.  A friend came to his rescue and became guarantor and soon VG MODA was open.  It was situated in the lower end of Crown Street, Wollongong, opening around 1974.  VG MODA had an extensive range of menswear in the store.  Vittorio also measuring for tailor made suits and would become well known for them in the area.  He also made trousers, jackets and blazers for both men and women.

In the early 1980`s he moved further up Crown Street, near Globe Lane.  The shop really stood out at this address and had a lot of foot traffic.  He had also opened a second shop in Burelli Street, that sold ladies fashion while the Crown Street shop focused on the men’s wear and tailoring.  Later on he sold some women’s wear at the back of the Crown Street store.

With soaring interest rates, things were not going well for the two shops and subsequently they soon closed down with Vittorio filing for bankruptcy.  Vittorio left the area and was running a mens wear store that was situated in the Royale Arcade Sydney, that was on the lower level of the Hilton Hotel, at the Pitt Street entrance.  He did this for a few years, but the daily drive to Sydney became too much, so Vittorio came back to Wollongong and worked for a while at Michael`s Menswear.

Sometime around the early 90`s, Vittorio moved into the IMB Arcade in Crown Street, Wollongong.  Here he focused on his tailor made suits and he also sold shirts and accessories.  He dressed many of Wollongong’s lawyers, solicitors, doctors and business men.

Around the early 2000`s Vittorio moved his business to the street level of the Novotel, North Wollongong, The Novotel being Wollongong’s premier hotel,  is situated on Cliff Rd, following the beach front.  He stayed at The Novotel for approximately five years before retiring in 2006.  Vittorio was the last Italian tailor in Wollongong.  The tailor is rarely seen anymore, and I don’t know of any in the area.  All these tailors that have been mentioned from the 1950`s, all did their training in Italy.  They were master craftsmen and women who created bespoke hand crafted clothing that one wore with tremendous pride.  Truly, the end of an era!

All images from the collection belonging to Skye Guida

THE TAILORS OF WOLLONGONG - PART TWO

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.

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.

Pasquale and Maria Pavia on their wedding day. Pasquale made his wedding suit.

Image from the collection belonging to Maria Pavia

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