This story was written by Rosario La Rocca.

I was born 30.03.1948 in Vizzinni Sicily..memories I have ..I can recall the house I lived in.. 2 level brick with external brick steps leading to the top level I remember them well because I fell down them when I was 3 years old… my aunty Peppina was at the bottom doing embroidery and she comforted me..my parents weren’t there they left for Australia with my older siblings Rosa and Guiseppe because they couldn’t afford my fare.. I was left with my grandparents on my mums side “ Morellos “ ( being a parent now  I don’t believe I could do that with my child.. leaving me for about 2 years.. I suppose tough times called for tough decisions I don’t harbour any ill will towards them just a bit befuddled ) I still recall my Nonno Rosario putting me in the basket that was strapped either side of the mule he owned and going to Campania to pick fiche di india… I have some recollection of boarding the ship Napoli with my aunty Peppina at Messina especially the injection I was given ( small pox probably )… I have vague memories of the voyage the main one being.. me sitting on the edge of the ship and looking down at the water.. for the life of me I cant remember eating anything on the ship but I must have cos it took about a month.. we arrived on the 18th March 1952… we were picked up at Port Melbourne I don’t recall by who .. we went to a terrace house on Princess street off Peel street near the Vic markets the house was owned by my Aunty Annie’s father who we called Mr. Morabitto.. I recall being introduced to lots of people .. I remember someone introducing my brother Joe to me and me slapping his face cos I didn’t like him.. as a matter of fact I didn’t like anyone there at that time.. I was clingy to my aunty and didn’t want to know my parents at all.. they were strangers to me.

We spent some time at a house on Queensberry St. I recall a lot of people living there uncles and cousins.. my aunty Peppina worked at a biscuit factory close to this house and fond memories of getting choc coated teddy bears off her. My older brother Joe building billy carts from old fruit boxes he got from the markets and having lots of fun going up and down the hills.. amazing we never got any broken bones..

We moved from there to a terrace house on Chapman St. North Melbourne..in this house I would hide from my mum and caused her to cry cos I wouldn’t answer her..i would see an aeroplane flying past and would talk to it asking it to take me away from this place and back to sicily..this would also trigger tears from my mum.. it was located across the road from a state school.. but we weren’t allowed to go there.. instead we had to walk a few kilometres to St. Marys a catholic school on Victoria Street near the markets. Every Friday lunch time we would march from St. Marys to the city baths.. rarely would Joe and I make it to the baths we would break rank so to speak and dart into the Vic markets on the way to the baths where our uncle Vito had a stall..

I remember at school holidays going into that state school with Italian friends their surname was Todaro and playing hide and seek in the classrooms..somehow we got inside.. I recall a nasty incident.. one hot summers evening we were gathered outside this house with my parents and uncles who lived next door on the corner of Murphy street.. when a drunk man coming around the corner and pushing an aunty over and swearing and calling us dagoes and being very aggressive.. well the uncles didn’t like that so they gave him a few slaps and told him to go home.. a little while later this man came back and had what we thought was a broom and we were thinking what is he doing.. but he then aimed this broom at us and started shooting ..it was a shotgun.. we all scampered inside and I can recall hiding under the bed with Joe very frightened..he wounded 2 people who were walking out of the school across the road from us.. eventually police arrived and there is a photo of me looking up at a detective on the front page of the October 6th 1954 The Sun newspaper.. Not long after this incident we moved to South Oakleigh..