Pasquale Gagliardi
| First name | Pasquale |
|---|---|
| Last name | Gagliardi |
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Date of Birth | 5/9/1948 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1961 |
| Submitted by | Pasquale Gagliardi |
Story
My name is Pasquale Gagliardi better known as Pat. I was born on 9 May 1948 in Italy in a beautiful village called Ciano in Calabria.
In 1956 my older brother immigrated to Australia in search of a better future and then my father in 1960. My mother together with six children, including me, remained at home. In 1961 my father wrote to my mother saying that he had been absent from the family for seven years during World War 2 and he missed the family. It was then decided we would come to Australia to be united together as a family in the hope of a better future as Australia was known to be the land of opportunities.
On 1 September 1961 we left Italy and arrived in Sydney on 29 September 1961. As we disembarked we found my father and brother waiting on the dock amongst hundreds of people. It was a very emotional reunion. We then commenced our journey to our new home in Queanbeyan from Central Railway station late that evening arriving early the next morning.
During the voyage to Australia, I lost all my school books, certificates and awards received over the six years of schooling in Italy and was devastated. I was 13 years old when we arrived, didn\’t speak a word of English and because of it when I started going to school, I was put back 3 years. I was a teenager among 10-11 year olds. It was very difficult to make friends due to discrimination and the language barrier. If my parents had been able to support me I would have returned to Italy to fulfil my schooling as prior to coming to Australia I was an A student and enjoyed it. Despite all the heartache I was not able to talk to my parents or anyone else about how I felt or what I was going through. I knew I had to make a go of things so that the family stayed together, as my parents left their homeland, relatives and friends to immigrate to a foreign country in the hope of a better life especially for us children. The next 2 years were the worst years of my life. At the age of 16 I commenced looking for work as a mechanical engineer but because of the lack of English schooling I was rejected as an apprentice. I finally landed a position with a painting firm and after a lot of negotiation the apprenticeship board granted me an opportunity to undertake an apprenticeship in painting and decorating. During my apprenticeship, to enable me to improve my English I attended College once a week, read the daily newspapers and conversed with my colleagues asking questions and listening intently to their conversations. Going to College was a great opportunity to make friends and have a feeling of belonging to this great land and I became settled in my life as I was becoming independent. Although painting was not my chosen career as time went on I enjoyed my work and did well. During the apprenticeship I received Trade awards and in 1968 I was awarded the outstanding apprentice of the year for the Painting and Decorating Trade.
In June 1969 I met my wife Daphne (nee Bond) and we were married in May 1971 and lived in Canberra and now in Queanbeyan. We have two children, Anthony and Rosanna.
I worked in the building industry until 1974 when I joined the maintenance staff at old Parliament House with Joint House Department as a painter and eventually to painting foreman. In 1988 I moved to the new Parliament House as a maintenance officer and held various other positions. During my time at Parliament House, I met many politicians including Prime Ministers and had morning tea with one of them. However, after 28 years of service it was time to move on and am presently working part time back on the tools and enjoying it. I am looking forward to retirement.
My wife and I have travelled through most of Australia and overseas including my place of birth which brought back many of my childhood memories, meeting relatives and old school friends and after so many years been able to see and visit the old house we lived in and have a cup of coffee with the new owners was unreal . My wife was happy to meet everyone and see the place I was born. I still love my native country and some day would love to return for another holiday to visit it more extensively. Although we enjoy our holidays, there is no place like home, Australia.
Those early teenage years of sufferings, sometimes are still vivid in my mind, but today I am very proud to be an Australian and call Australia home as it is the best country in the world.
Pasquale Gagliardi
19 August 2007