I left Italy in April 1963, with my Dad, Mum, and 2 young brothers. All the other 5 brothers were already living in Melbourne. We arrived at Victoria dock early in the morning on the 13-5-1963. My first impression of Melbourne was not the best, as it was a very grey morning. When I looked from the deck of the `Galileo` and tried to find my brothers in the crowd. I saw a lot people with the same looks: all the men were wearing these grey gabardine coats, including my brother Dante.
For me, at just about 20 years old, the fashion looked funny. But when I arrived at their house, at 72 The Grove East Coburg, I had a big surprise. It was a beautiful solid home with a big entry and a pink bathroom. At the back my brothers had built a sleep-out, because we were too many in the house. Whelan the Wreckers’ the `Demolition King,` lived next door. The day we arrived Mrs Whelan baked a fruit cake in the shape of Australia all nicely decorated with `welcome` written on top.
Across the road from us at no. 69 lived a nice lady, she was a `spinster` who was very helpful to me and my young brothers too. Two houses further down lived an old lady who always walked past my house with her little dog. She liked to stop and talk, but I was embarrassed and trying to avoid her because I didn’t understand a word of English. One day I was walking with my future husband we met her and she invited us for a cup tea at her place. The house was an old timber one. Inside there were many beautiful paintings, same of flowers and others of the area around The Grove, showing how it looked before all the houses were built. It was a good street to live in with many good people around.
I was working at `Delawere` in Lygon street Brunswick sewing children’s clothes, I was happy because I was earning a lot of money doing piece-work. So life was good apart from a few hic- cups, like the horrible tram conductor who one day accused me of not buying the right fare. But he did not see me when I got on at Albion street, I couldn’t explain myself properly because my poor English. I went home and cried.
Now `Delawere`, like many other factories does not exist anymore. Apartment conversions have replaced them, and Lygon street East Brunswick as change face. It’s no longer an industrial street, but has changed into a trendy Cosmopolitan street with a lots of shops including nice cafes. After we got married in 1965 we moved to Kingsbury in The Fairway, raised three kids and we are still there. Kingsbury has changed a lot. Years ago, there were not many houses, no natural gas and no sewerage. We had a `thunder box` in the backyard and once a week the night-man emptied it.
ANNA ROCCHICCIOLI July, 2009
