Guiseppina (Josie) Pasut

Story

I, Guiseppina (Josie) Esperino, was born in 1938 in San Vito il Tagliamento, a town pf 15000 inhabitants in Northern Italy in the province of Pordenome some 100 kilometres from Venice, the fourth of five children born to my mother and father Giovannei and Maria Esperino.

The surrounding countryside was similar to that around Mildura, warm flat and dry. Horticulature was the main industry, with the wine industry the major employer producing well known brands. The landowners were mainly the wealthy, employing managers to run the properties who in turn employed the local population. The only other industry was a silkworm factory which employed some 500 women for six months of the year, the rest of the year would be spent working in the fields or doing housework duties for the wealthy.

My father was employed as an agricultural worker, including some time in France. For a time he became a carabineri until forced to resign with ill health from ulcers, after which he became a mobile fruit and vegetable vendor. The country was suffering deeply from the effects of the war and its aftermath. Unemployment was rife. People grew their own food and bartering was common.

However, despite the deprivation we suffered. it was not all gloom. Sundays were often Feast days. We would gather at different places for dancing, singing and music.

I did not go to school until I was eight years old. I spent five years at school, then had further classes with the Nuns on Sundays, doing needle work and craft work. I was uanble to go on to higher education, my parents could not afford it. Later on prior to leaving for Australia I did a three months Home Economics course at night. I also took some English lessons prior to leaving for Australia.

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