Gianni De Bortoli
| First name | Gianni |
|---|---|
| Last name | De Bortoli |
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Date of Birth | 25/08/37 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1959 |
| Submitted by | Yvi Henderson |
Story
Gianni De Bortoli was born in Motta di Livenzo a town in the province of Treviso, Veneto in Italy on 25th August 1937. When Gianni was 20 years old he finished an apprenticeship as a model maker and gained skills in joinery and carpentry. Times in Italy were very unstable with political disturbance and strikes. To avoid having to join the army his boss told him about work opportunities in Australia and helped him to fill in the immigration papers. Within three weeks everything was organised and soon he boarded ‘Orealia’ at Trieste to leave for his big adventure. Gianni\’s Family wasn\’t happy that he wanted to leave- but it would only be for 2-3 years!!
The journey took 36 days and as soon as Gianni arrived in Australia he was turned back to Italy because of some missing papers. But determined as he was he went straight back onto a ship and finally arrived in 1959 in Melbourne. Gianni didn\’t know any English and he had no friends or relatives in Australia. After arriving he was sent to ‘Bonegilla’ an Immigration camp in Victoria where he worked on minimal wages, initially picking tobacco. One day he heard of Cooma, a town in the mountains where he might find some work. He undertook the 200km journey by train.
From then until 1995 he worked for the Snowy Mountain Electricity scheme as a model maker and helped in the construction of the dams.
The first few years in Australia weren\’t always easy. Having left his whole family in Italy, Gianni decided to go back to his home country after he has spent 6 years in Australia. It was then when he met his girlfriend Rosetta Irene from Milano. They got married in 1966 and reluctantly, Rosetta agreed to go back with him to Australia. They spent their honeymoon on the ship to Australia. First, they rented a place in Cooma and then moved to Berridale where they bought their own place. In 1969 their first son Tullio was born and within six years they had four children; Vera (1971), Amanda (1973) and Daniel (1975). Today one of their daughters is married in Italy and Gianni and Rosetta try to visit them at least once a year to see her and her family.
Gianni and Rosetta always kept their Italian culture and traditions, which they passed on proudly to their children. But they also regard Australia as the land of opportunities and knew if they wanted to achieve something they had to manage, despite the hardship. They\’ve been always grateful that they were able to come to Australia and are proud of their roots but are as proud of being Australian.
During the time Gianni worked at the Snowy Mountain Hydro Electricity Scheme 121 Italians and many more of different nationalities have lost their lives. Gianni felt morally obliged to honour the memory of his compatriots and to acknowledge the hard work of immigrants. It was then when Gianni had the idea of erecting a large-scale monument to immigrants and to all that immigrants have contributed to Australia\’s history and culture: In March 2001 the idea of the Australian Immigration Bridge was born and today become true!