Giuseppe Raiti

Story

I was born and raised in a small village below the base of Mt Etna in Sicily, Italy.

I had 2 brothers and 1 sister and we were raised by very loving & hardworking parents. My mother passed away when I was a young boy at 17. I reached a higher level of education than most, however this was only to Grade 6. My parents owned sheep and most of my years growing up were spent travelling by foot from village to village herding sheep. This often resulted in being away from home for many days at a time.

I was married in the year 1948 to a local girl. The prospects for work were very limited in Italy. A friend of mine at the time told me about Australia and the opportunities that existed here, and the hope of a better quality of life.

I came to Australia in 1952 by ship. It took 33 days to arrive in Fremantle then another 12 days of travel to Brisbane. I didn’t speak any English at the time and only had an English book that my uncle from America sent me and the local papers to learn from. Mostly however I learned by listening and practicising the language on a daily basis.

It was a very daunting experience, I didn’t know anyone and the issues with the language made it a little difficult at first. I had also left my wife and young 1 year old son back in Italy – they were to travel to Australia one year later, so it was a little lonely at first.

My first job in Australia was working in the Sugar Canes in North Queensland. We wore wool shirts and they were too hot! A lot of the time we wore pants or jeans, which were a bit cooler. One day I went to hang my trousers out because they were full of molasses. When I went to pick them up they fell to bits. They were full of sugar – I thought of them as being like a biscuit!!

I then travelled to Brisbane where I lived in a Boarding house in Spring Hill. I eventually earned enough money to buy a house there. There weren’t many houses available to buy in the area and they were mostly run down. I spent a lot of time fixing it and making it liveable. I found a job working at a cement factory in Brisbane. After a number of years I suffered pain in my hands and had to give up my job. I was fortunate enough to find another job working for the State Government in the Stamp Duties office and after 16 years retired from this role at age 65.

I eventually moved to New Farm where I still live today. We had 3 more children, another son and two daughters. They were all raised in New Farm. I also helped house my relatives when they travelled to Australia and had nowhere else to live.

Whilst in New Farm I started a committee for after-school care and also initiated an Italian Association at the school. We ran local dance nights every month and raised money for the school. I was also appointed Treasurer of the Italian Association and we ran a yearly festival in New Farm Park for over fifteen years for the local community. The proceeds went towards builiding a club house in New Farm, named Casa Italia, that this day still welcomes people from all cultures for a meal or social interaction.

I was awarded a Cerfiticate of Merit from the Italian Consultate for a long commitment & generosity to the Italian and Australian people in 1986, as well as a Certificate of Merit for 25 years service as a Justice of the Peace in 2006.

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