Annamaria Suttorini-Ladd

Story

I grew up in post war Italy in a beautiful city called Gorizia located on the border of Austria and the former Yugoslavia.

I have to say that my life in italy was a happy one until one day in April, 1955 when my father died and the world around me collapsed-peace and happiness were gone.

I was 20 at the time and I was further saddened to learn that my two brothers had decided to leave Italy for a Country called Australia. Very little was known about this vast land. At school we were told that Australia was full of sheep and kangaroos.

My father used to say that it was an advantage to be able to speak English as it was an international language so he was keen for his children to learn it. I must admit that I loved the language and because I was linguistically skilled I quickly learned how to speak it. In those days many Europeans regarded Australia as the promised land – a place where people could make their fortunes overnight. We all believed it and so my brothers with their families left Italy in 1955 to fulfill their dreams. My sister followed in 1957 and I subsequently left Italy to join them in June, 1959.

The journey on the ship – Flotta Lauro – was very long and tedious – it took at least 36 days because, at the time, ships were not allowed to pass through Port Aden. In some ways the trip was an adventure for me. I stopped at exotic places such as Cairo and Bombay where some of the locals got so angry if you refused to buy their wares that they chased you with knives. Ther were also some very sad experiences, including seeing disabled people locked in cages begging for money. I got lost at one point and if it wasn’t for the kindness of a young student who drove me to the port in his taxi, without charging me a fee – I would have missed the boat.

Once I arrived in Sydney, I must say I was surprised to hear Australians speak to me for the first time and ask me” how are you” – but they never waited for or even expected an answer from me.

I lived with my oldest brother for five years and became an Astralian citizen after three years. Because I had received a good education in Italy I found a secretarial position with a major Australian/Italian cnstruction company in Sydney. In this role I was privileged to meet many national and international business people.

In 1960 I married an English engineer and settled in Darwin NT where I lived for 35 years. During this time I worked for 17 years for the Ministry of Health as a ministerial liaison officer. I would never imagined that, one evening, when baby-sitting the daughter of the Chief Minister of NT I would find myself speaking directly with Prime Minister John Howard.

During my time in Darwin I also lived through Cyclone Tracey in 1974 – an experience which haunts me to this day.

Both my children, Fabiana and Marco were born in Darwin and today I am the proud grandmother of two gorgeous grand-daughters.

I have lived in this beautiful Country for 46 years and feel very proud to call this land my home. So I was overjoyed when my daugher and son-in-law surprised me with a Christmas gift which gave me the chance to have my name and story written on the Immigration Bridge in Canberra. It was one of the best gifts I have ever received.

I am 72 years of age and one of the things which I look forward to the most is for my two grand-daughters Aariel and Ossian to see my name on the bridge and say” there is our nonna”.

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