Andrea and Francesca Cardenti
| Town/City | Palmwoods, Qld |
|---|---|
| First name | Andrea and Francesca |
| Last name | Cardenti |
| Country of Origin | Elba, Italy |
| Date of Birth | 18/01/1903, 02/04/1907 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1925 |
| Submitted by | Paul Cardenti |
Story
Adrea cardenti was born on 18th January, 1903 at Capoliveri, Island of Elba, Italy. He was one of two hildren born to Michele and Monachina Cardenti. Francesca Ilde Messina was born on 2nd April 1907 in the same town. She was one of five children born to Americo and Candelia Messina.
Andrew grew up in the beach town of Inarmorata, on lba. He was known as “Il Pretore”, a nickname he was given by the men who worked in an iron ore mine near his family home. As a young boy, Andrea would visit the office of the mine each day, and so became known as “Il Pretore”, which in English means ” the Boss”. This nickname stayed with Andrea for many years.
On 6th August 1925 he married Francesca llde Messina and migrated to Australia late that year. They settled in Innisfail, Queensland, where a number of family friends lived. They included the Signorini, Matorella, Massa and Puccini families. On arriving in Innisfail, they lived in a cane barracks for the first year while Andrea cut sugarcane and Francesca cooked for the cane cutters.
They were naturalised on 18th May, 1932. By this time, Andrea and Francesca owned heir own cane farm, up until 1935. After selling the farm Andrea bought a truck and set up his own business as a carrier.
During the war years, in April 1942, Andrea was interned at Cowra, NSW, together with other Italians from Innisfail. From his diary I learned of his day-to-day life at the internment camp. The Italians were not prisoners, some of them worked on nearby farms. In April 1943 he was transferred to Loveday in South Australia.
During Andrea’s internment, Francesca gave birth to a son, whom Andrea did not see until his release in December 1943. His son Paul was then 18 months old. It was a very difficult time for Francesca, who spoke little English and did not understand why her husband had been taken away, and had to cope with a new baby on her own. During her husband’s internment, Francesca lived with her Aunt on their sugar cane farm and helped with the cane cutting, as most of the cane cutters were interned.
When Andrea was released, he returned to Innisafil, and continued his trucking business until he moved his family to Brisbane in the early 1950s. They purchased a house in New Farm and Andrea obtained work as a boiler attendant and handyman at a laundry in her Valley.
Adrea and Francesca remained in New Farm during Andrea’s short retirement. He was 61 when he died on 25th May 1964, he day before his only son Paul’s 22nd birthday. Francesca continued to live in Brisbane for another 12 years before passing away on the 5th September 1976. Andrea and Francesca are buried at Bulimba Cemetary in Brisbane.