Emanuel Pedergnana
| Town/City | Broken Hill |
|---|---|
| First name | Emanuel |
| Last name | Pedergnana |
| Country of Origin | St Bernardo Rabbi, Tyrol, Italy |
| Date of Birth | 1883 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1901 |
| Submitted by | Christine Adams |
Story
Emanuel was eighteen years old when he emigrated. He arrived in Melbourne in 1901 with just five pounds in his pocket. He came out to better himself and get away from the turmoil that was in Europe before the beginning the First World War..
He first worked in Lilydale, Victoria on a vineyard and orchard named St. Herberts. It was owned by a Scotsman named Mitchell, the father of the famous singer, Dame Nellie Melba. A lot of Italians and Frenchmen were employed there; part of their wages was a bottle of wine per day. One time the bottle of wine was withdrawn from their wages and even though he had limited English, he led a strike, for the wine to be returned. The words were ‘No wine, no work\’. The bottle of wine was returned and they continued on.
He arrived in Broken Hill in 1904 where he worked on the silver-lead and zinc mines. During the 1909 miners\’ strike in Broken Hill Emanuel rode a pushbike from Broken Hill to White Cliffs, to dig for opal. He was frightened of snakes, because he\’d just come out of the mountains of Italy and there he was in outback Australia; alone and on a push bike. He overcame his fear of snakes and ended up eating one on that trip because he had no food.
Emanuel returned to work in the Broken Hill mines and married Effie Esther Degemouis in 1911. In 1916 he opened a grocery shop in Piper Street, South Broken Hill. During the Great Depression he gave credit to the people because they had no money to buy anything. Then, he had to go to South Australia digging potatoes himself to survive, because all the money was let out on credit. In 1934 he bought a wine shop opposite the All Nations Hotel in Eyre Street, South Broken Hill. He operated the wine shop and his son Emanuel operated the grocery shop in Piper Street.
Emanuel became a naturalized Australian citizen 1923. During the Second World War the local sergeant of police came around to Emanuel\’s home to confiscate all firearms, because Italy was at war with the British Empire. Emanuel said, ‘I have a son, now serving in the Australian Army and you\’re going to take my firearms off me?\’ So the policeman let him keep the firearm in his home.
Emanuel retired from business in 1947 and died in 1961. His descendants are now scattered throughout Australia, including Broken Hill.