Wilham (William) Hadad

Story

Wilham (William) Hadad

Born Lebanon

Year of Migration: c1920s

Accodring to his family Wilham Hadad migrated to Broken Hill because he had friends already settled in the city. He enjoyed himself from the minute he reached Broken Hill. He had lived in a little village just out of Lebanon; life wasn\’t easy there. So, he just accepted Broken Hill and I never complained about anything.

Wilham opened a fruit shop when he first came to Broken Hill. It was difficult to get good quality fruit in Broken Hill, so after a few years he decided to sell his business and buy a truck to cart the fruit from Mildura to Broken Hill. It was a hard job because the roads weren\’t sealed in those days. It took him a full day to get to Mildura, Merbein and Coomealla where he loaded the fruit and then drove straight back to Broken Hill.

He sold the truck in the fifties and bought a delicatessen. In those days men didn\’t do anything in the house. He had never washed a dish in his life because he was always on the road. But, when he went into the shop he cooked and cleaned. He cooked pig\’s trotters and he made potted meat.

Wilham\’s daughters all worked with him in his shop. They worked from nine till eleven at night and sometimes didn\’t have time for lunch. Once all the daughters married he decided to sell the shop and retire.

Wilham loved playing tolle which is like backgammon. They played it in Lebanon. He had a lot of friends visit at different times and they played tolle, drank coffee and ate Lebanese food and just talked about different things. He felt like a king because he was comfortable. He had his family and he had his friends.

He was a very conservative person; shy and honest. He was always a very healthy man. He died in 1980 when he was eighty- three years old.

Wilham left his family the principles of honesty and reliability. He worked hard to make sure they had enough. He taught them integrity; all principles that his children live by.

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