I have just finished reading Mezza Italiana and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading it. My Italian grandfather arrived in Australia before yours did and unfortunately the ties to Italy were not maintained as strongly as yours were. On my first trip to Italy I experienced strong cultural ties, as you did, and found an answer for some of my feelings of “being different and not fitting in”. My grandfather died when I was young but I still remember him starting to teach me Italian and our times in the backyard eating fresh picked beans before dinner! You are very lucky that a family house was kept in Italy and that you had the chance to learn from your Nonno and “Nonna”. I have since returned to Italy three times!
Thanks Liane, lovely to hear from you. It’s amazing when you go to Italy and feel that recognition of your heritage, isn’t it? I realise now just how fortunate I was to be able to stay in the family house and wish I had realised it sooner (the house remains damaged and uninhabitable nearly 4 years after the earthquake, along with most of the village). I love that image of you eating freshly picked beans in the backyard with your grandfather – it often seems to be the quiet, simple ‘everyday’ happenings with a loved one that we hold close. I am all for holding onto these memories, they are so precious. Thank you for sharing your similar background with me. Zoe x
Hi Zoe!
I was in Fossa for the first time in March and loved it! My father was born there. Frank Lazzaro is a great friend of our family and his sister Alberta’s last name is Boccabella! Is she related to you? I met her at her market on my visit! I look forward to spending a lot more time there in the future! I’m trying to find somewhere to buy your book on line or somewhere in the US. Please let me know if you know where I can get it! Thanks!
Riann
Hi Riann, that’s wonderful that your father was born in Fossa – I’m glad you enjoyed your time there, it is such a special place. I’m not sure I know Alberta though it’s possible we’re distantly related given Fossa is a small town. And I also know many of the Lazzaro family, including those here in Australia who are lovely people.
Mezza Italiana has been released in paperback form in Australia and NZ however you may find a copy online by clicking this link… stockists. It is also available as an ebook and audiobook and I’m aware the ebook version may be purchased from Amazon in the US. Hope this helps! Zoe
Zoe I really enjoyed your book.I have had the privilege of having visited folks in Fossa pre- 2009 and it does sadden me to think of the damage and legacy of the quake.My husband is of Fossa heritage and am pleased that 2 of my 3 youngsters had a chance to visit pre- 2009 also.It saddens me also that my father – law ( a migrant from Fossa in 1934) passed away recently so the family now no longer has this direct connection. Keep writing and embracing your heritage.
Thank you, Wendy! That’s lovely that you were able to visit the village before the earthquake occurred. Sadly, many residents continue to live in the temporary housing, almost five years on now. I understand what you mean about losing that direct connection, having experienced the same myself. And yes, I continue to embrace my heritage and am currently writing the next book. Zoe xx
My husband and I have just spent a month in Southern Italy based in Apulgia and from there we explored this region plus a road trip from Maratea across the mountains to Matera, just stunning. We were lucky enough to stay with an Australian friend who has a house there so a rather unique experience for us. My friend gave me your book to read on the flight home and it was the perfect end to our holiday. I enjoyed the book so much especially as we had all those experiences fresh in our minds. I really related to your descriptions of being a passenger in a car and actually spent some of the time traveling in the back seat sitting behind my husband. I know food is so important in your life and I was wondering if you had a traditional recipe for baked ricotta? I often buy it from a deli and they say it’s their secret recipe. Thank you so much for a wonderful read.
Thank you! Your trip sounds wonderful. Matera is such an incredible destination and driving there from Maratea you would have come within about an hour of one of the places I mentioned staying – Castrovillari (am picturing driving through that landscape in the south and wishing I was there now!) I’m looking forward to going back and exploring it further, including the ‘route of the seven stones’ in Basilicata. With regards to baked ricotta, when I was growing up my family would purchase it from a local Italian lady who had a tiny shopfront at her house and that recipe has remained a secret also! I’m currently putting together recipes to hopefully include in the next book – an interesting process as most of the recipes my Italian grandmother taught me were spoken recipes without exact measurements. In the meantime, if I discover the secrets of a good baked ricotta I’ll be in touch. Zoe xx
I have just finished reading your book and thoroughly enjoyed and have been telling my friends and family about it. They want to read it too!
I can certainly relate to a lot of things mentioned in your book. I am also from Abruzzo (Tocco Casuaria – Provincia Pescara) and I migrated here with my mother in 1954 when I was five. My father was already here (the men usually came out before) but I hardly knew him when I arrived as I was only 2 and a half when he left for Australia.
It was certainly a hard time for migrants then and it is not as bad now, but I still find discrimination exists, even though I have lived here for 60 years.
There are instances when I wish that I had never left my native land. I returned to Italy for the first time in 2004 and when I was shown where my grandmother’s house was, I instantly remembered sitting on the steps in front of the house. It’s unbelievable what lies in our memory!
I really identify with you that when I am in Australia I feel more Italian and when I am in Italy I feel more Australian. I know exactly what you mean.
I would read a little of your book every night before going to sleep and I felt that I was there with you and Roger in Italy!
Thankyou so much for some of the historical facts you mentioned in your book. I really appreciated these and also learnt something new, such as
that the five confetti used in the bomboniere had a meaning (something I did not know). I remember that when I was getting married, I said to my mum
we could add extra confetti because we had so many, and she replied that no, the number must be five. Now I know why.
Also, the fact that the person who made the Centerba was from Sulmona. I was always led to believe that he came from my town, Tocco.
Can you shed any light on this?
Last year I went back to Italy on an organised trip with some friends and we toured from the north (Bellaggio) right through to the south (Sicily).
I loved every minute of it. I really feel at home there and absolutely love their lifestyle.
I would like, as you and Roger did, to live there for some time (maybe about 3 months) and really take in the culture and lifestyle. This will be my next dream.
Thankyou for the recipes as well!
Regards,
Elsa
Lovely to receive your message, Elsa. It means a lot to me that you enjoyed reading Mezza, particularly being from the Abruzzo yourself. And I appreciate your sharing with me your experience in coming to Australia. Sadly a lot of migrant families lived through periods of separation when the men often came out to the new destination first and the rest of the family could only follow on later as the situation became possible. This is something my own family also faced, and which I am writing about in the next book. It is also lovely to read of your experience in returning to Italy and instantly remembering sitting on the steps of your grandmother’s house as a child – wonderful!
And yes, The Casauria Distillery that makes ‘Centerba Toro’ is right near Tocco da Casauria. You may visit their website via this link: http://www.centerbatoro.it/homepage.htm The bottle of centerba I wrote about was in fact a different brand, ‘Centerba d’Abruzzo’, with Ovid, who was born in Sulmona, on the label. It was the only brand Roger could purchase in the particular bar in L’Aquila at the time. However I couldn’t mention centerba without of course mentioning Beniamino Toro too. (Incidentally, the centerba I mention in the next paragraph when I write how Roger and I first tasted the liqueur at my parent’s house was in fact the ‘Centerba Toro’ brand distilled near Tocco da Casauria!)
I hope the opportunity arises in the future for you to fulfil your dream and live in Italy for a time. I really look back on the time we stayed in the village of Fossa as precious, particularly as we have not been able to stay in the house since. (It remains damaged and uninhabitable as it was the day of the earthquake.) In the meantime, I have been continuing the journey of my Italian family after they came to Australia and how their lives evolved – including some more recipes which I hope to be able to include too. Thank you again for being in touch, Elsa. Auguri, Zoe xx
Hello Zoe,
I first heard about “Mezza Italiana” yesterday from a Facebook friend from Australia. I immediately tried to purchase it online. I finally succeeded on Amazon, but they had only 1 book available, which I purchased. ( they had lots of audios, though) ….. But, I prefer the whole “book” experience.
My parents were both born in Fossa…Emidio Lazzaro (1902) and Giacinta “Elena” Padovani (1913). My dad came to the US in 1919 and my mom in 1926.
I finally had the opportunity to travel to Fossa in 2011. Unfortunately, it was after the earthquake ! But I was able to visit with my cousin Erminio Gentile and his family and my cousin Ada and her family.(Ada’s family owns the cheese factory in Fossa). I was fortunate enough to walk up to the village and to the monastery. I had heard so many stories from my parents about these places. My life would not have been complete without this pilgrimage. My bothers, Roland Lazzaro and Anthony Lazzaro and several of my nieces and nephews had been to Fossa before the earthquake and were able to stay in the village.
There are/were some Boccabellas who were friends of my parents..they lived in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania. My family is also from western Pennsylvania.
Also, I have family in Melbourne, AU. One is my first cousin, Lidia Lazzaro Giampetrone.
I cant wait to get my book and read it !!!!! I am so excited !!!
Just wondering if it is possible to purchase Juan Alfedo Parisse’s lovely prints of Fossa?
So glad I heard about you and your books.
Cindy (Lazzaro) Queen
Washington, Pa
Hello Cindy,
Thank you, it is lovely to receive your message. I’m very familiar with the surname Lazzaro as my grandparents were close friends with the Lazzaros who came from Fossa to Queensland in Australia. And I was fortunate to be invited to a wonderful lunch with some of the Lazzaro family in Fossa back in the mid 1990s. We also purchased some cheese – pecorino I think it was – most likely from your cousin Ada perhaps! And yes, I’m aware there were Boccabellas from Fossa in Pennsylvania too, one of whom contacted me. It’s lovely how there seem to be ‘pockets’ of those who migrated from Fossa in various places around the world – mostly in the U.S.A., South America and Australia.
I do understand your life feeling more complete after making the journey to Fossa – I felt the same way. Even though I was born in Australia, returning to Fossa where my family came from felt like ‘coming home’. I was fortunate to stay there before the earthquake, and also went back just after the earthquake occurred, which was quite overwhelming – all of which you will discover when you read Mezza. (And I’ve just finished writing the next book in which Fossa does feature again!)
Regarding Juan Alfredo Parisse’s beautiful paintings, you may try finding out through his website http://www.juanalfredoparisse.it or his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JuanAlfredoParisseWatercolorArt – he is a lovely person who lives near L’Aquila. One of his paintings of Fossa (part of which appears above here on my website) I was very fortunate to receive from my husband back when I turned 40 and I treasure it!
Thank you again for being in touch, Cindy. I hope you enjoy Mezza Italiana.
Best wishes,
Zoe x
Zoe, Hello. I have a painting of a potted lemon tree. The pot is blue and white and the border of the painting is yellow gingham like checker squares. It is signed by Zoe. My sister-in-law lives in Santa Barbara, California and had it in her house. Is it by chance yours? Do you paint?
-Kathy J
I loved Mezza Italiana. I am from Brisbane, but spend half the year in Italy in Bagni did Lucca. My son was born in Italy the same year that you were born. I look forward to following your blog and reading your other books.
Hi Debra,
Thank you! Lovely to hear from you. That sounds wonderful to divide your time between Italy and Australia, and especially the beautiful town of Bagni di Lucca in Toscana. I would love to visit the town and the nearby thermal springs one day.
Auguri,
Zoe
PS Your son was born in a great year! – smiling.
I didn’t realise until I bought your book (yesterday for Mum’s birthday) …and when we opened the front jacket she spotted Dad’s photo amongst all the others: We were so impressed!!!
Apparently my father, Joe Solano, was your grandmother Francesca’s 1st cousin.
Mum’s spend the day uncovering lots of other old pics of Dad’s time in Qld with your family… and she can’t put your book down! :)))
Great to hear from you! I’m assuming the photograph with your Dad in it is the one of the apple harvest? I realise now he must have been the cousin who came up from Sydney up on a working holiday that year. Wow – how wonderful to realise that connection between our families now, more than 60 years later! And it’s really lovely to hear that your Mum is enjoying the book – is that Mary? Please say hello to her for me.
Hi Zoe, just wanted to say it was lovely to meet you last night. I so enjoyed Mezza Italiana and am looking forward to Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I hope you enjoy my book Roman Daze – La dolce vita for all seasons… I loved the way you wrote about Rome in Mezza Italiana ‘Rome feels to me like a person who has seen too much, exhausted by time and demands, and almost loved to death, and yet it is so wonderful, the pure history of it’. I completely agree! Congratulations again and kind regards, Bronte
Hi Bronte, thanks for coming along to the evening at Malt Café hosted by Beaumaris Books. It was lovely (and overwhelming!) to see so many with Italian and Australian connections to Italy come along. Great to have you there – and thanks for the copy of your book! Warm wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe, I heard you interviewed on ABC radio and just had to get your book. You see, in 1967 I was a young teacher at Goondiwindi high school, as was one Remo Boccabella whose parents owned a fruit shop and milk bar and who had grown up living in New Farm (Where my grandparents lived and my mother also grew up in New Farm). I was delighted to discover that you are the daughter of the RB who was my colleague. He would have known me as Miss Ruth McIntyre. I married a local grazier and my life was never the same again after Goondiwindi! I have not finished your memoir yet so am still curious as to what there awaits about your Dad.
I am revelling in the stories of the cane cutting. My uncle had a cane farm outside Gordonvale where I spent a lot of time as a child growing up in Cairns in the fifties. I can almost smell the farm beside the Mulgrave river as I turn the pages you have written. Not only was there anti Italian sentiment but also anti Catholic prejudice. My grandmother warned us girls never to marry a Catholic. But she might as well have saved her breath to cool her porridge as my older sister left Australia to travel the world in 1964, eventually finding work in Rome as a private live in nurse for a Contessa. While in Rome she met and married the handsome Francesco di Jorio, so I have a gorgeous nephew who, like yourself is half Italian.
Do give my kind regards to your father if he is still with us (sorry but at my age one cannot take continuity for granted).
Kind regards,
Dr Ruth Armstrong
Hi Ruth,
Lovely to hear from you! My Dad has very fond memories of his time in Goondiwindi and he’s spoken about it often over the years. He is well and currently does much travelling os. I will definitely tell him about your making contact with me. I’m sure he’ll be delighted.
I hope you are continuing to enjoy reading the book! – smiling. Really lovely to hear your feedback and to also hear of all your other links with different aspects – New Farm, cane farms, and of course a nephew who is ‘mezzo italiano’!
Thank you for including your email address, I will contact you again shortly.
Again, it was really lovely to hear from you.
Warm wishes,
Zoe
Dear Zoe
I’m in the middle of reading your book Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar (which I’m loving), and got to the chapter on Palmi and discovered we have the same the family name. My grandmother was Rizzitano and my father Misale. Would love to hear from you.
Hello Enza. Yes, with both those surnames in common from Palmi I would say we are definitely related in some way. Thanks for providing your email address, I will be in touch. Hope you continue to enjoy the book! Zoe x
Hi Zoe, I have just finished reading both books…😍😍😍 wow…I can relate to all of the experiences… My Nonno immigrated to Aust. In 1924 and his brother arr.in 1928 ….. My father arrived here in 1949 with my mum and Nonna… There has been no evidence of where my Nonno and his brother were between1924-1948…. I was so curious when I read about your Nonno in an Internment Camp… I now believe that perhaps they were interned as well…..but I can’t find any list of names or documentation on any Camps….no nno’s brother bought an orchard in the Stanthorpe area.. Nonno worked around the Yelarbon area on tobacco farms….. It’s so funny as my Nonno and Nonna also moved to Brisbane in later years…New Farm… James St.
I hope you may give me hints on how I could find lists of internees….😊😊
My Nonno was Guiseppe Francesco Mondolo( buried in Nugee Cemetery)
His brother was Sante Luigi Mondolo ( buried in Stanthorpe)
His nephew Deri Carlotto and his family worked on the orchard as well he was married to a Francesca … All moved to Brisbane
The boys Mario and Carlo Carlotto had a fruit shop supermarket in NEW farm..
I am obsessed with our Family history and need to find answers …. I return to Italy every two years… Fruili…very special…
There was a time in my life….late Primary School- High School years where I didn’t want anyone to know I was Italian as I was bullied as they say today…..!!!!! It was difficult to deal with at times.. Thank God we were strong….good Italian blood…
I now have my Italian passport and am very proud….😍😍
Thank you again for your books…I am sharing with friends…. !!!!!!A must read….!!!!!
Hi Linet, lovely to hear from you! Thank you for reading both books – I’m thrilled! I can imagine your surprise when you were reading and coming across so many familiar names and places – quite incredible how many similarities there are it seems with your family story. In some ways, while I have written my own family’s story, in many respects it is the migrant story that belongs to so many of us.
In answer to your question, you might be able to find out more about what happened to your Nonno and his brother between 1924 and 1948 by conducting searches of their names through the National Archives and Qld State Archives. You can begin by entering their names in an online database for free and if you find files that are not ‘open’ you can request copies for a small fee. That said, as you will know from reading Joe’s especially, sometimes these searches may be successful and sometimes not. All the best with it!
How lovely that you return to Italy every two years. Very lucky! And thank you for sharing my books with your friends. I appreciate that very much!
Again, really great to hear from you and hope you have some success in further research through the archives.
Best wishes and tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Dear Zoe,
Thank you so much for having written such an important and heartfelt story – your story, our story, the story that showed the creation of a new culture: the Italo-Australian culture.
I had no idea that racism was so rampant during those years! My Dad and his father – hardworking Italian immigrants, were also incarcerated during WW2. In fact, Dad (Alfio Russo) was about 1 year older than your Nonno, and worked on the family sugar cane farm in Euramo/Tully. Who knows if their paths ever crossed??
These mighty people, were hard-working, strong and vulnerable at the same time, courageous – and so much more; they created a new culture.
Thank you again Zoe from my heart.
~Carmen Russo xx
Dear Carmen,
It is wonderful to receive your message – thank you! You have received the story in the exact spirit that I had hoped and intended for. Yes, it is my family’s story but it is also the story of so many of us whose families did indeed create a new culture – that of being ‘half and half’ in our Italian-Australian culture.
It would be very interesting to know if our relatives’ paths ever crossed on Queensland’s cane fields. There is a possibility since both my grandfathers, great grandfathers and a great uncle all cut cane at numerous different locations. I am sorry to hear that you father and grandfather were also interned during WW2.
It was my intention to honour the Italian men, women and children who made such sacrifices and worked so hard during the early years when they migrated to Australia. And I am very touched that you felt inclined to write to me after reading the book, Carmen, and that you also recognise their vulnerability as well as their strengths. Thank you!
Warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
Someone put me onto your website and I had to laugh as you described what was not acceptable in Australia “bottle tomatoes, have plastic on the hallway carpet or a glory box of Italian linens” – yes, that’s the way it was then – we were the immigrants . I am 62 and my father came out from Pescara at 19yrs – he was a very traditional italian and you know how that goes. However we were surrounded by all italian famlies where we lived so we still carried on with the italian ways and get togethers. As you can see we were from the Abruzzo region, actually not far from you – about 95klms. Dad also worked in the cane fileds of Tully/Ayr Queensland as a lot of italians did. I have been back to Italy and just feel so much at home and comfortable there – after a while of being there the long laid silent italian speech gradually comes back with practice – albeit mighty rusty! I will be ordering your books as they will bring back many happy memories I’m sure.
Dear Lynette,
Lovely to hear from you. Yes, I am definitely familiar with Pescara. I actually have a couple who are from Pescara living nearby who possibly came out to Australia around a similar time to your father. From what you have told me I think there will perhaps be many things you will relate to in both my books, maybe even more so since you are a first generation Italian-Australian and I am a ‘second’. And you will possibly have a chuckle when you read about me trying to use my Italian in Italy, not just rusty but more like ‘frozen’! Thank you for your interest in my books. I really hope you enjoy reading them!
Tante belle cose,
Zoe
Dear Zoe,
I forgot to tell you – I tried le uova in purgatorio – DELICIOUS!! It seems that quite a few of us children of Italian immigrants grew up around the Tully/FNQ region. Would there be a chance of having some sort of get together? I am living in Italy right now (believe me we are different from modern day Italians – quite a different culture all together), but will be back in Australia from late November on. I’d love to help organise if people would be interested.
Best wishes to you and all on this wall.
Un abbraccio forte!
~Carmen xx
PS as an aside, I remember hearing that some Aboriginal men worked on my Dad’s sugar cane farm – and learned to speak some Sicilian dialect!!
Hello Carmen,
That’s great to hear you enjoyed eating the ‘eggs in purgatory’! And I do know what you mean about the difference between migrants and those Italians who stayed in Italy (which I touched on in Mezza Italiana and discovered when I was staying at my family’s house in Italy). It is interesting how we are all very much shaped by the places and people around where we live at a point in time.
Un grande abbraccio a te!
Zoe xx
Dear Zoe
I have just finished your “Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar” book and reserved straight away your other “Mezza italiana” book. As a recent Italian migrant (I arrived just 11 years ago) I found extremely interesting and fascinating reading all that my compatriots went through when they arrived in Australia a century ago… it’s a completely new scenario which I did not even imagine. I do believe that if Australia today is a welcoming country that values and celebrates peoples from various different backgrounds (Italians included!) is because of the hard work, resilience, good values and great examples of our predecessors. Thanks for sharing this beautiful story and for your hard research work made accessible to the big public via your beautiful book. Anna
Dear Anna,
Thank you for getting in touch with me – it is really interesting to learn your perspective in reading this story. Particularly, in discovering what Italian migrants experienced in Australia last century. I completely agree with you that many migrants from various different backgrounds, in persevering through challenge and keeping their spirits and values, have helped smooth the way for many others who continue to migrate to this country. Although, there are always some areas that need more compassion and understanding, it is wonderful that the majority of Australians believe in giving others a ‘fair go’ whatever their cultural background, and it’s great to hear you have experienced such a welcome. I think I heard recently that Australia is now the most multicultural country in the world – quite amazing! Scusate il mio italiano ma posso chiederle dove in Italia tu sei nata? (Per favore, non è necessario rispondere a questa se si preferisce non farlo, naturalmente!) Thank you again for your message and I hope you enjoy reading Mezza Italiana too!
Tante belle cose,
Zoe x
Hello Zoe,
I saw the write-up about your book in the Sunday Mail a couple of months ago and recognized the name Boccabella ie your Dad, Remo, who was on the staff at Goondiwindi High when I taught there. I was in Home Ec. I have a staff photo, 1968, I think. Alf Garoni (Italian) was the Headmaster who loved to hop on the Fiat tractor after school and plough up the school field. So I was very keen to read your story.
Congratulations on the wonderful work you have done in writing your family’s story. I am Australian with no Italian connection and I had no idea of the difficulties migrants faced when they came to Australia. Thank you for sharing and giving me an understanding of just what life was like back then. As an Australian I feel ashamed of the way the Italians were treated during the war.
You have woven your family’s rich heritage together in a very readable and interesting way and you are rich indeed to have such wonderful family. I am pleased to know all their difficulties and hard work paid off. I’m sure you are very proud of them all.
I would be pleased if you would pass on my greetings to your Dad, Remo.
Lorraine
PS I am looking forward to reading Mezza Italiana
Hello Lorraine,
It is lovely to receive your message, thank you for getting in touch. I am so pleased you enjoyed reading, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, and it’s great to also hear of your connection through teaching at the same time as my Dad, Remo at Goondiwindi High. (I love the image of the Italian Headmaster ploughing the school field on a Fiat tractor by the way!) Very happy to pass on your greetings to my Dad. He has always spoken very fondly of his time in Goondiwindi.
Thank you for your observations about the book, they really do mean a lot to me as I wanted to write this story for a long time and to do my best to do it it justice so this little bit of history isn’t lost. I hope you enjoy reading Mezza Italiana too!
Warm wishes,
Zoe x
Ciao Zoe,
So many things I want to say to you but the most important one is how currently I look forward to going to bed and entering “nonno Anni’s ” world. I am restricting myself to two or three chapters a night so I don’t finish the book too quickly!!!! (By the way I have read Mezza Italiana 3 times now – so I learnt to slow down with Joe’s Fruit shop and bar!) My father was born in Calabria – by coincidence in Palmi in 1930 – so I am sure my father’s family may know your great grandmother’s family! But I digress, your writings have taught me so much more than I thought I already knew about the hardships the early migrants encountered. However your book(s) also validate the strength, motivation and loyalty that I dare say all migrants have that come to Australia for a “better life”. How lucky are we to have such ancestors to not only make us proud of what they did and are/were, but that have given us unconditional love, happiness and a real sense of purpose. I “love” your nonno Anni, he reminds me so much of my dear late father, that I miss so much, reading his story (nonno Anni) is helping me to keep my father “alive”. I sincerely thank you for that. By the way I too have a husband with no Italian background what so ever but who thinks he is a fully blown Italiano!!!! Keep writing about anything Italian please – we cannot let the generations to come not know the wonderful influences/contributions Italians have made to shaping Australia. Mille grazie, Diane
Ciao Diane,
It is wonderful to receive your message! As a fellow bedtime reader, I love your analogy of going to bed and entering “Nonno Anni’s world” as I also love how it is possible to step into other worlds by opening the pages of a book at night. I am thrilled that you look forward to stepping into Anni’s world and I also feel honoured (and a little emotional) that he reminds you of your father. There is something so special about that generation and what they went through, isn’t there? It made them a certain type of person and I must admit I found that very comforting and steady to be around. It really touched me when you said reading Nonno Anni’s story was helping to keep your father alive in a way too. I must confess I cried when I finished writing the book as I felt like those dear to me had come alive again too during the writing and then I had to say goodbye to them once again. How incredible that your father was born in Palmi in Calabria too! And I was absolutely thrilled that you have read Mezza Italiana three times now – thank you!! I have a certain few books that I reread for special reasons so it really does resonate what this means and I am humbled that Mezza means this for you. Of course to also have a husband with no Italian background who considers himself Italiano puts us in a similar situation! I do understand what you say about the strength and motivation of migrants and I continue to be inspired by the way migrants of all different cultures face challenge and adversity and no doubt this will continue to influence what I write as I work on the next book now. Thank you again for your beautiful message, Diane. And I hope you enjoy the rest of Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar! Tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Ciao di nuovo Zoe!
I have sadly now finished “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. I say “sadly” because I am already missing Nonno Anni – what a warm, intelligent, genuine and wise man he was.
Congratulazioni – you successfully made me laugh, cry and love just as I did with Mezza Italiana!
What a brilliant piece of “Australian-Italian history” you have written. The Boccabella and Solano family lines have been so respectfully, lovingly and beautifully brought to life on every page – I wish I had your story telling talent so I too could immortalise my family in such a way.
Please humour me with a little of your time as I feel the need to share a few thoughts and facts with you that came as I read…..I was not aware that many migrants simplified their surnames and I smiled when I read how you wanted to shorten your name to Bell at one stage (to fit in). My family surname “Belle” obviously pronounced Bell in the Anglo community, I feel definitely reduced (or eliminated) any prejudice that I may have received, helped also by the fact my mother had green eyes and red hair! However I always liked that my surname was a little different with the ‘”e” at the end. I have given both my daughters “Belle” as their middle name and I did not take my husbands name – all in tribute to my ancestry.
I am so glad that Nonno Anni explained to you the importance of your surname. Which you wisely took on board – brava!
A little funny on having Belle as a surname in Italy – my father told me when he was at school his nickname was Bruto!
My father was Giuseppe (Joe) Belle and he also had a fruit shop and milk bar in the 1960s that he and mum ran for just over 10 years in the Sydney suburb of Granville. I remember “milk shake and chocolate bar ” stories from my parents just as you have written about flavours and the regulars who purchased them. At the time a very young Paul Hogan (when he still worked on the Harbour Bridge) lived around the corner and frequented the milk bar for one of mum’s milkshakes! (dad focused on the fruit and vegies apparently)
The reason my father came to Australia (on his own) in 1948 aged 18 was twofold – firstly, for an adventure before he settled into family life back in Calabria after a few years away. However, more relevant to Nonno Anni, was the fact his mother broke his banjo as punishment for missing Mass most Sundays (because he would go off fishing with his father). He also had hinted regularly he was not going to become a Priest as she had wished for her eldest son. Often commenting to her that the church only looks out for themselves and he is not that selfish! (can you imagine how angry that would have made a strong willed Calabrese woman???)
In the 1930’s Mass was said on my father’s family veranda, there was no village church and his mother apparently “over played” the importance of their priest. On the Sunday my father returned from fishing to find his broken banjo he promised himself he would run away to the furthest part of the world to avoid the Church unjustly taking from him!
My father didn’t even know how your Zia’s house and your inheritance was “unjustly taken” by the church but I know he would be VERY happy that Nonno Anni did not shake Don Angelo’s hand on return to Fossa!
How strange is it though that without that “unjust side” of the church impacting on your grandfather or my father – you and I may very well not be Mezza Italiana!!!!
Zoe, thank you again for sharing your family through your books. Your family story has become “our” family story, complete with smiles, tears and PRIDE.
Keep writing please….. a few suggestions I would love to see from you…. Nonna’s cookbook, quirky Italian habits and sayings, Remo’s Journey…..
Un abbraccio forte for everything you have given me through your books,
Diane
Ciao di nuovo Diane,
Thank you for your lovely words once again! When I was writing these books, at different times I did laugh and cry too so it’s wonderful to feel a connection in that when reading the words, those feelings translated through to you too.
Yes, I can imagine your having a smile at my once wanting to shorten my surname to Bell when Belle is your surname. And it is great to hear how you also gave your daughters this name and kept it yourself as a tribute to your ancestry. (In fact, interestingly, as recently as last century it was common for most women to retain their birth surnames in Italy.) And yes, I am familiar with that Italian humour of changing a name like ‘Belle’ to ‘Brutto’ as a nickname, which your father experienced! In researching the origin of Italian surnames I discovered that often people were bestowed with a name opposite to how they looked – not sure what that means for us with surnames that mean ‘beautiful’ and ‘beautiful mouth’!!
Thank you for sharing with me some of your family stories – really lovely to read! I think you convey them very well and should definitely start writing them all down (though I should warn it can become quite a labour intensive process but rewarding at the same time!) It is interesting how many similarities our family stories share so I can understand why the books resonated with you. I do feel quite honoured that you feel these books become ‘our story’ as I had hoped that while sharing my family story, knowing how much it had it common with many migrant stories, I was preserving this little piece of history for many of us.
And yes, Diane, I will definitely keep writing and I thank you for your suggestions (some of which actually may already be in line for future works!) And while not every book I write may be of Italian stories, I can promise that I am not finished with writing more Italian books in the future even if the one I am currently writing may be a little different.
Un grande abbraccio indietro and thank you again for your lovely messages.
Warm wishes to you and your family!
Zoe xx
Dear Zoe, I have just finished listening to the audio book: Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, which was made available to me from my local library. It was one of the best true stories I have ever read, and I really enjoyed it so much. I hope you will soon also write a cook book as I’d love to try to make some of the delicious sounding recipes passed down to you by your Nonna. I’m not Italian, but I do remember the resentment some Australians had for the hard working immigrants. I really admire that your family started with nothing and built up their lives through sheer hard work. In comparison, the average Aussie is and was, pretty lazy. It was so inspiring to read how your Nono (not sure of spelling) Anni helped so many people. You are a gifted writer and I loved every word of your story.
Thank you for sharing with me how much you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. That is really lovely to hear! (Daniela did such a beautiful job lending her voice to the audio version of the book.) A few people have now said they would like to see a cookbook from me one day. I must confess I am very much a ‘home cook’ and love cooking handed-down recipes and adapting or creating some others too so you never know. In the meantime, I do have a couple of recipes on this site and also there are recipes in my previous book, Mezza Italiana if you are interested. (And I haven’t ruled out including some more recipes in a future book but will have to see!) Zoe x
Zoe, I have just finished reading ‘Mezza Italiana’ and had to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I had already read ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ and loved it too. I am of Scottish decent migrating to Australia when I was 17 yrs old, but like your Roger feel a greater affinity to Italy, one of my Italian language teachers said I must have been an Italian in a previous life. I have travelled extensively in Italy and spent time in Abruzzo though have not been in Fossa but if money and health allow (I am now in my 83rd year) will return there next year. This time to visit Fossa I want to see it for myself after reading about it. Best of luck to you and many thanks for giving us such enjoyable books.
Hello Josephine, thank you very much for your message. I’m really pleased to hear that you enjoyed reading both Mezza and Joe’s. I can imagine that your having previously visited Abruzzo and knowing some of the area must have added an extra element to reading about it too. Roger continues to have a great affinity to Italy, which you of course will understand – smiling. Sometimes I think he would live there permanently if he could! It is wonderful to hear that you also have this affinity with Italy too. If you are planning to visit Fossa I need to forewarn you that it presently remains a ghost town, although you are able to walk through the village and see many of the things I wrote about. And of course, the area remains beautiful, almost untouched, and worth a visit. I would recommend accommodation at the nearby convent (just up the road from Fossa) Santo Spirito which escaped any damage from the earthquake and has spectacular views over the entire valley. Thank you again for your warm wishes – much appreciated. And I would love to hear if you do end up travelling to Fossa! Kind regards, Zoe x
Hi Zoe
I read Joe’s milk bar when it first came out and just loved it – I have no Italian in my background, but certainly appreciate family history, and enjoyed reading all that you must have researched. I also grew up in Brisbane, and enjoyed finding out more about another family’s historical experience of Brisbane. On the strength of your memoir of Joe, I have now commenced reading Mezza Italiana, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it just as much. Could I just make one small suggeston? In both books I went looking for a map, and was so disappointed not to find a map in either book. If either book is ever revamped, or further similar writing is published, I hope appropriate maps will be included. Thanks again for providing great reading for us. Carina
Hi Carina,
Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed, Joe’s, really lovely to hear. Yes, there was a lot of research involved and it was interesting for me to delve into more of Brisbane’s history and how it unfolded alongside family history. Hopefully you will enjoy reading Mezza too. In many ways, it is quite a different book to Joe’s. And thank you for the feedback regarding maps, this is certainly something that has received some consideration. Again, thank you for your lovely comments about the books. I am currently continuing to delve even further back into Brisbane’s history, and that of SE Qld, for part of the next book, so it seems the area is not quite done with me yet – smiling.
Zoe x
Back again, Zoe, having now finished reading Mezza Italiana. Yes, it’s a different book from Joe’s, but I enjoyed reading it just as much! It made me want to visit the Abruzzo, when it’s ready after the earthquake, though it seems that will be a long time yet. I’m glad you were able to see it ‘unspoiled’.
Like you, I’m 2nd generation Australian, but my ancestors are from the north of England. I had a similar experience to yours when you first arrived in the Abruzzo, when I first visited England – I embarked on my first trip with no great expectation – after growing up in Brisbane, I don’t enjoy visiting Sydney, and imagined arriving in London would feel the same. To my surprise, I wasn’t even out of the terminal at Heathrow and I suddenly felt at home! For the next month travelling around England I felt so much at home that I couldn’t imagine leaving. Grandma had passed away many years earlier, after leaving England over 70 years earlier than that, and having no opportunity to return. But I credited her with passing on a great deal to me of what life in her home country was really like, enabling me to feel so much at home when I made my visit.
Another suggestion for we who know nothing of the Italian language: I would have found it very useful to have a glossary. I didn’t even know what ‘Mezza Italiana’ meant, until I got to page 50 or so when it was explained, but it sounded good and I was willing to take a chance!
I’m going to try Nanna Francesca’s angry lamb dish – thanks for including the recipes throughout.
Thanks again for your writing, and I’ll be looking forward to your next issue.
Carina
Hi Carina,
Really lovely to hear you enjoyed reading Mezza Italiana too! If you are interested in going to the Abruzzo one day, please don’t be put off by the earthquake. There are many areas of the region that were unaffected. And even those that were have much to offer visitors. While I was fortunate to have stayed there at times before the 2009 earthquake, it is a region that has experienced earthquakes at different times over the centuries but continues to retain its overall magic.
It is also wonderful to learn that you shared that experience of recognition and feeling at home when you visited your ancestral England for the first time. There must be special happenings at play within us that continue to bind us to both people and places no matter how far we may grow up from them. And that relationship with a grandparent is so special, it’s lovely that your Grandmother handed on that love of England to you.
Most of the recipes Nanna Francesca gave me were word of mouth so it was an interesting process for me to put ingredients and amounts into writing when I’m used to “a handful of this” or “a quick pour of that”. I do continue to love cooking her dishes though.
Best wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
A delightful book, enjoyed every minute of it. Brought back some memories of my father who owned a watchmaking business in Westgarth, near Northcote in Melbourne. The area became very popular with the “New Australians” as he called them, with tomato plants in the front yard and lots of elderly Italian women dressed in sombre black visiting his shop. The fruiterer next door was Italian, with a toothpick as a constant appendage from his mouth. Who can forget the fruiterers putting your fruit in a paper bag then swinging it around to tighten the knot at the tops! We enjoyed the Italian community, a bit sad to see their small cottages being bought out/ demolished etc. Anyway, that’s progress I guess, but thank you for expanding my knowledge of the hardships these ‘New Australians’ had to endure in a country so far away from their homes.
Bill Walker
Hello Bill,
Thank you, I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar and that it brought back some lovely memories too. I could immediately imagine the area and happenings you described around your father’s business and had to smile at the tomato plants in the front yard – yes! – thank you for sharing these memories with me, brought back some more of my own. Progress or not, I can’t help feeling sadness at the end of such an era in some respects. I love that your father had a watchmaking business. It reminds me of the sign I saw for a shop in Castlemaine – ‘Spectacle Maker’. Yes, progress marches on but there is something lost in not seeing some of these traditional businesses around as much anymore. Again, thank you for getting in touch. Very much appreciated! Zoe
This is the second time I have read your wonderful book Mezza Italiana.
My family tree goes back six generations in the not so far away New Zealand And before then England. Even so I can relate to your story in my own way. I am pulled between two places either side of the Tasman. Wishing I could live in my homeland but dwelling in Australia as an economic refugee of sorts.
You write so eloquently. Well done.
Hi Kelly, it is such a thrill for me to learn that you have read Mezza a second time – thank you for sharing this with me! I do understand how that pull between cultures must resonate with you. It is significant regardless of how much distance there may be between cultures or geographically. Thank you again for your lovely words, great to hear from you. Zoe x
Hi Zoe
Look forward to your book. I am mezzo abruzzese, my nonni both from Tocco da Casauria. Nonna “Stromei” somehow related to the poet domenico stromei.
There are a lot of unfinished family tales that end in Australia and I have tracked a few. i want to read your book and then correspond
greg critser
pasadena ca usa
Hi Greg,
Thank you for your message. Based on your own connections there will perhaps be much you may relate to in both Mezza Italiana and Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar with regards to Abruzzo, Australia and being ‘mezzo e mezzo’ – smiling. I do hope you enjoy reading them!
Warm wishes, Zoe
Dear Zoe,
Thank you so much for Joe’s beautiful book. It is so well crafted, makes the reader part of Joe’s world, is so interesting and is a special book to me.
I was born in Brisbane in 1936 and your book brought back so very many memories. I remember Joe’s shop but living at Camp Hill we mainly frequented the Queen Street milk bars. As an amateur historian I’ve written about Italian immigrants, one who came to Australia at 17 after World War 2 with two bob in his pocket and no English and now is the largest macadamia grower in the world. I’ve written of Italian internees who worked on farms in the Gympie district and have recently photographed what people would call a rough chook shed but where two internees lived for two years. Most Italians had a great work ethic, a strong sense of family and have become great Aussies.
I’m now looking for Mezza Italiana and will follow your literary career.
Dear Ian,
Thank you for your message. I was very touched to discover what Joe’s means to you. It is a book I have wanted to write for most of my life so it is truly a pleasure to hear from someone like yourself who experienced this era and who has also written about Italian migrants. (It is interesting to learn that an Italian migrant is now the largest grower of the Australian macadamia nut – my favourite by the way!)
There are so many migrants who faced great challenge in establishing their ‘new lives’ and I am very conscious Joe’s is but one story among so very many of whom displayed much forbearance and goodwill. Such migrant stories continue to inspire me.
Thank you for seeking out Mezza (quite a different book to Joe’s – I hope you enjoy it too!) I am currently well into writing the next book and am aiming to have it completed next year.
Again, many thanks for you message.
Warm wishes and tante belle cose!
Zoe
Zoe – I had the pleasure of a quick meeting at our dressmaker’s house recently. Since learning of your writing at this time, I read Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar which I absolutely loved. Couldn’t wait then to read Mezza Italiana. Thoroughly enjoyed both books. Wow – Zoe – you have a very special gift to be able to tell a story the way you do. So much detail – I can’t wait to visit Fossa one day – you have opened my eyes to the plight of early migrants and their struggles – things that I had never ever contemplated before your story. I was born in 1952 and I related to so much to details in Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar – my mother spent a lot of time on a farm in Stanthorpe when my Father was in the Army (WW2) and I remember my mother telling me stories of the wonderful Italian family she knew there. – so much of your story resonated with me. Just can’t wait to read your next book – I hope it is close to being finished. You are just so talented and God has certainly blessed you with a wonderful talent. Many thanks and keep writing!!! PS Roger sounds like a wonderful man. You must be a formidable couple.
Hi Jill, it is really lovely to hear that you have enjoyed reading both Mezza and Joe’s! I appreciate your getting in touch to let me know. Thank you for seeking out the books and for your kind words (about Roger too!) It is especially wonderful to hear how much the stories resonated with you, particularly with your mother’s link to Stanthorpe too. I am currently continuing writing the next book and it is coming along. I don’t like to put definite timeframes on writing but I do hope to have it completed within the year. When I can reveal more about it I will be sure to put something here on the website and also on my Facebook page. I am putting in many hours working on it at present and can say I have travelled to three Australian states as well as Germany to research this one! Again, thank you for your lovely message. It really means a lot to learn how you enjoyed the books. Warm wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
I have LOVED reading Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar and sad that I have finished it as I didn’t want it to end. I think it will linger long in my mind. Your grandparents were wonderful people and were perfect examples of ‘New Australians’ working hard and being successful. Congratulations for writing so beautifully about them. It is a book which speaks ‘volumes’ to me as I was born in Brisbane in the mid 50s. Thank you for bringing back to life the various places and names so evocatively e.g. I often drank Tristrams lemonade with the wax paper straws! I can remember squashing them and tasting the wax!!
Brisbane had many milk bars and corner stores in the suburbs in the 60s, often run by Italian or Greek families. Thank you for bringing back the memories. In the 60s I remember going to an orchard near Stanthorpe that was owned by Italians, as my father was an accountant and had audited their books. Again, you describe the area so accurately – congratulations.
I also read with great interest about the Intern Camps. It is so important to record this history especially from your family’s perspective.
Once again, congratulations on such a heart felt, heart warming book. I will certainly recommend it.
Thank you for your lovely message about Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. It is really wonderful to hear how the book resonated with you and that it brought back so many memories from Brisbane of the 1950s and 60s. (Although born slightly after this time, I too remember the wax paper straws and sometimes ‘sucking them shut’ as a kid, and for me it was the Tristram’s truck delivering crates of soft drinks to houses around the suburbs.)
It is especially such a thrill to learn that for you the book captured both the places and times of Brisbane then (and Stanthorpe too) as I was really concerned with doing both the stories and the era justice out of respect for all those who lived through this time and experienced its joys as well as its challenges.
Thanks again for letting me know how you felt about the book and for your lovely wishes including to recommend it. I really appreciate it!
Kindest wishes,
Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
I am not aware if my great grandmother was related to your Dad. My great-grandmothers maiden name was ‘Boccabella’,she was born in a village called Petogna,which is a frazione of Barisciano. The area is called ‘Picenze’ made up of San Martino,Villa di Mezzo and Petogna.
My great -grandmother was called Santa Boccabella. She married a Giuseppe Garzone. Her daughter,my grandmother,married Paoloantonio Speranza and lived in San Martino,now referred as ‘Picenze’l
All the family have migrated to different countries. My family is in Melbourne. We have relatives in NSW and Brisbane.
Hi Anna Maria,
I cannot say for sure regarding the connection however there is a definite possibility considering the relative close proximity of Petogna to Poggio Picenze and Fossa where my family comes from. (I do recall driving through Petogna the last time I was there.) Unfortunately, I cannot confirm the connection at this stage but it is certainly possible.
Best wishes, Zoe x
Thank you for answering my message.
You be interested to know that work has been started on my earthquake damaged house in Picenze. I believe work has also started in Fossa.
I had less points being a non permanent resident.I was 32 in line,so actual construction starts in September this year. Houses already done are very well reconstructed. Hopefully your house will be done soon.
Hello Anna Maria, yes, it is heartening to know work is underway on repairing houses in many of the earthquake damaged villages of Abruzzo. There is no word of my family’s house in Fossa being repaired at this stage as it is situated right in the red zone. However it is really wonderful to hear of those villagers who have been waiting patiently for so long that work is commencing on some of their homes. Best wishes for the reconstruction on your place. Kind regards, Zoe
Just finished reading Joes fruit shop and milk bar, thank you for sharing the history of your family.
I became so immersed in reading that I just missed my bus.
a long while since I have read a book with such warmth . Thanks again
Doug beal
Hello Doug, thank you, that is so lovely to hear. I do feel sorry that you missed a bus but I have to say I am chuffed that it was because you were so immersed in reading Joe’s. I hope another bus came along soon after! – smiling. Zoe x
Hi Jill, thank you!! The next book is well progressed but I cannot give a timeframe just yet. I will definitely put something here on my website or on my facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/Zoe.Boccabella.Author/ – once I can say more. Zoe x
Ciao Zoe, Recently my daughters travelled to Italy with school on an Italian language tour. Part of their preparation for the upcoiming immersion of all things Italian was to listen to current songs charting on the Italian top 100. From this I was exposed to an artist, Francesco Gabanni who currently has two successful songs “Amen” that won him a division in the 2016 San Remo festival – great song – not religious at all given it’s title and another song titles Eternamente Ora. That song, with it’s corresponding video has prompted me to write to you. I immediately thought of Nonno Anni and his beautiful wife Francesca. If you get a chance google the official Vevo video clip of it….I hope the song and the video touch you as it did me. warm regards, Diane Belle
Ciao Diane, that sounds really wonderful that your daughters got to travel to Italy recently. (Such a difference to when I was at school and there was never any prospect of overseas travel!) I’m sure it must have had such a beneficial impact for them.
One of the things I love about travelling is discovering different artists in that country including in music. I had a look at the clip you suggested for Eternamente Ora. It is very kind of you to share with me that you were moved to think of Nonno Anni and Francesca when you saw it. And it is also touching to know that, further on from your previous lovely messages about Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, the story and the people have stayed with you. Thank you. Warm wishes, Zoe xx
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for getting in touch. It’s really great to hear you enjoyed Mezza and I hope you enjoy reading the rest of Joe’s.
Yes, unfortunately the secret camp at Western Creek stuns many but I felt it was important to include it as while a small part of history, it is still a part (and significant for all those involved). I took a look at the link you included and did some more searching of that camp and I don’t believe it is the same one that I have written about. It seems the one you found pictures of is actually further north to the location of the internment camp and was most likely used by forestry workers. It is lovely that you felt compelled to go searching though – thank you!
Again, hope you enjoy the rest of Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I am getting very close to finishing the next book and hopefully, being from the Brisbane area too, it might interest you as well! Thanks again! Best wishes, Zoe x
Cara Zoe
I have been learning Italian for 3 years at our local U3A. Initially this was to assist us during our 3 month stay in Italy in 2013. We were based in Monte San Biagio, a small hill-top village between Roma and Napoli. But, I fell in love with the language (as i did the country) so have kept it up. Our Italian teacher one day showed us “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”, so I borrowed it form the library. I became totally absorbed in it so I then had to read “Mezza Italiana”. Again I became enthralled and found myself aligning the culture of Fossa with Monte San Biagio. Sigh! We want to go back!! Amazing how Italy and its culture gets under the skin. What is it, compared to other European countries?
I very much look forward to your next book … and maybe others after that!
Auguri,
Susan
Hello Susan,
Thank you for getting in touch with me. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed reading both Joe’s and Mezza – thank you! Yes, there’s definitely something about small Italian towns that gets under your skin. I imagine you must have had a fantastic three months in Monte San Biagio. And how wonderful that you have fallen in love with the language! I do hope you have the opportunity to have another extended stay in Italy to converse with the locals. Yes, I am currently working on the next book and it is coming along – with hopefully more to follow! I will definitely post something here and on my FB page once I know when the next book is coming out. Again, thank you for your kind words.
Tante belle cose, Zoe x
Zoe, I had contacted you some time ago after having read “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. Well last week I was in Florence and went into one of the bookshops – and guess what I saw – your wonderful book!! Thought this news would please you.
Hi Carmen, thank you for letting me know. It’s such a thrill my books are starting to appear in bookshops in Italy. Just recently another lovely person told me they’d found Mezza in Milan and now you’ve spotted Joe’s in Florence! Have to pinch myself really. I appreciate your sharing this with me – grazie mille!
Warm wishes,
Zoe
I have been meaning to write to you ever since I read and thoroughly enjoyed your book Mezza Italiana, earlier this year.
I am a member of a book club and this was the chosen book for that particular month. What I particularly liked was the ‘love of life’ which Italians seem to have….they really live life. Your grandparents were very strong people and I think your growing realization of their wonderful attributes and what they could teach you was something with which I can confer. I came to appreciate my grandparents and all that they had done for our family as I matured and grew into adulthood.
I think it is rather wonderful too that your husband Roger has come to love the Italian way of life so very much.
I loved reading about your journeys back to the area of Italy from where your grandparents came and how you came to know and love the people and the way of life there.
On Page 217 of this book you mentioned having visited La Spezia. That village is very memorable for me. In January 1974 I was on a school tour with the Shore School from Sydney and on the 5th of January we travelled from Nice to Lirici, which as my diary says ‘ is a small port just near La Spezia’. My diary goes on to say that Lirici ‘has a pretty beach front and is surrounded by mountains. When we arrived some of the group went for a swim ( not having seen the sea for some time) and created such a stir by swimming in the middle of winter that we even had two policemen watching on and
quite a crowd of local people’!!
Why I am writing to you now, however is that as soon as I heard about the devastating earthquake in central Italy and the name of L’Aquila, I immediately thought of you and your family. No doubt you are trying to find out about the fate of relations and friends living in this area. The images on television are frightening. I can just say that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. My thoughts are also with the tireless rescue workers and maybe there will still be a few miracles, with the discovery of more survivors.
Lovely to receive your message – thank you. It’s great to hear that you enjoyed Mezza Italiana. Yes, there is something wonderful about how many Italians embrace life and are very strong and stoic about hardship, particularly those generations that lived through such a challenging era, including war. And it is also wonderful to hear how you felt a similar way about your own grandparents. I’m not sure if you are aware but I ended up also writing a follow up called, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, and I must admit as I delved further into the lives of my grandparents and great grandparents both in Italy and more so in Australia, I came to have an even greater appreciation of that ability to ‘get on with it’ and maintain that love of life in the face of challenge. I am currently writing and researching a story based on German ancestors on my mother’s side who came to Australia in the 19th century and this unveils another whole set of challenges that people overcame! I confess I am very much inspired by those who, when faced with challenge overcome it with such calm forbearance.
I had a smile at your experience at Lerici. It sounds just like Italy of that era based on stories my parents told me of their travels in the late 60s and early 70s. Also, I think the picturesque village you visited was perhaps a little different to where I stayed near the very busy port of La Spezia! – smiling. What a wonderful experience for you to have in travelling to Italy at school age!
Regarding the most recent earthquake in central Italy, as you mentioned – the area where it occurred is about 50km north of my family’s village so they definitely felt it and were frightened but are thankfully safe. I think the similarity of the 2009 earthquake occurring at 3.32am and the 2016 happening at 3.36am have traumatised people again at their most vulnerable in sleep. Having seen the devastation and the effect on people in Abruzzo weeks after the 2009 earthquake, my heart goes to those currently facing it and the long road ahead that they will endure in recovery. The images are as frightening as you mention and I found the reality so sobering and overwhelming when I saw it firsthand. My family’s village of Fossa remains a ghost town seven years on with the villagers still in temporary housing, including my relatives. The rebuilding is an extremely complex and wrought issue. My family’s house in Fossa that I wrote about remains damaged and uninhabitable as it was the day of the earthquake. It has been emotional to learn of this most recent earthquake in the area. Again, thank you for your kind thoughts.
Warm wishes, Zoe x
Dear Zoe,
I was about three quarters way through reading Mezza Italiana when the devastating news came through about the earthquake.Such horrible images of small villages being extinguished by the power of nature. I do hope your relatives are safe and you were not visiting the area.
Take care
Barbara Krefel
Dear Barbara,
Thank you very much for your message. My family’s village is about 50km south of the most recent earthquake in central Italy so it was definitely felt there. I wasn’t in the area at the time however I admit it has brought back memories of visiting the Abruzzo just weeks after the 2009 earthquake. Having seen how that traumatised people, I keep thinking of and feel concern for those currently going through this tragedy. Without giving too much away, by the end of reading Mezza you will know more of my visit to Abruzzo after the last earthquake. Sadly, the villagers including my relatives are still in temporary housing seven years on and the village is all but a ghost town. A long road ahead for the most recent survivors.
Again, many thanks for your thoughts, they are much appreciated. Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
of course when I finished reading your memoir I realized that Fossa was badly affected by the 2009 earthquake. What a shame that the village has not been re built. My heart goes out to all the survivors.
I also want to say how much I enjoyed “Mezza Italiana” and could identify and laugh about the Italian traditions bought by migrants to Australia.My husband was eight years old when he migrated from the Tyrol with his parents after the war and made their own wine in the suburbs of Sydney. When we got married Peter decided to carry on the tradition and we stored the bottles underneath the house at Cammeray. The neighborhood was often awakened by the blast of an exploding bottle and Peter would put on his racing helmet to cautiously retrieve a bottle for dinner.
I could also identify with Roger embracing all things Italian even though I am 4th generation Australian but unlike him I loved a strong espresso and a good red wine from the start.
Warm wishes
Barbara Krefel x
Hi Barbara,
It is lovely to hear how much you enjoyed reading Mezza Italiana and could identify with various aspects in it. Thank you! I had to laugh at your husband Peter’s experiences with the exploding bottles, this can certainly be the case with both wine and passata alike! I think my Mum may have been more like you in that she embraced many of the Italian traditions and foods from the start. Roger has certainly come a long way from that first trip to Italy twenty years ago. Just recently he’s been trimming the grapevines in the backyard in preparation for the growing season for next season’s wine grapes!
I do hope the village of Fossa is rebuilt one day especially for the residents who have remained in the area since the earthquake and hope to return to their beloved Fossa in the future. It seems once these stories disappear from the news headlines, it is assumed people may have returned to their towns while they in essence remain displaced.
Thank you again for sharing with me how you identified with Mezza Italiana. Much appreciated!
Best wishes, Zoe x
I thoroughly enjoyed your both of your books. It is so nice to read about your interest in the history of your family. My husband is Dutch, but I am from the United States and my 4 grandparents were born in Italy. They came to America in the early 20th century. One set came from Priverno and the other set lived in Sicily. We visited both towns and found the “castle” my grandmother lived in till she left for America at 14 years old. She thought the castle was hers because they lived there, but she didn’t realize that her family were the contadini! It is Palma di Montechiaro and was in the Giusseppi di Lampedusa family. Now, we spend a lot of time in the Abruzzo as well. We live in Barrea and Florida and visited L’Aquila after the earthquake. What a sight…
I so enjoy your description of life and people in Abruzzo…So true!! May you continue writing and have much success.Your books bring smiles to many faces, especially if their roots are from Italy…….
Hello Vicki,
Wonderful to receive your message! I also have relatives in the Boccabella family who migrated to America. I’m thrilled that you have enjoyed both of my books – thank you very much for letting me know! I love the story of your grandmother living in a castle in Italy and thinking it was hers. (My family were contadini too as you will know from the books!) How incredible that it was the castle of the Lampedusa family. Il Gattopardo, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s book, I very much enjoyed reading and have also seen the 1963 film, The Leopard and the BBC program Carluccio and the Leopard.
Barrea is in a truly beautiful position on the lake. It must be fantastic to spend part of your time living there. L’Aquila after the earthquake was certainly a very distressing sight. These days the city’s horizon seems to be filled with cranes, a promising sight… Sadly, my own family’s village of Fossa currently remains much a ghost town since the earthquake in 2009 with most villagers still in the temporary housing. The repercussions of terremoto certainly lasts many years…
Again, thank you for your lovely message. I am currently working on the third book and hope to write many more, some with Italian stories and also others. I will put something about the next book here on my website and also on facebook @zoeboccabella.author once it gets closer to being completed.
Tante belle cose, Zoe x
Hello Zoe Picked up “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar” from my local library not really knowing what to expect from your book. I must say it was a beautiful surprise to read, so informative in so many ways and so wonderful to read about your family. I felt so emotional reading this book, as though I had been part of the stories told. I cannot wait to read other books by you.
Hi Yvonne, thank you very much for letting me know how much you enjoyed reading “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. It’s so lovely to hear how the book connected with you. I’m at my desk about half way through editing book three and to receive your message certainly gives me a boost to keep going! Again, thank you, I really appreciate your message. Warm wishes, Zoe x
Dear Zoe I am a 79 yo Aussie, and have just read your beutifully descriptive book – Joes’s friut shop and milk bar. Your book really brings alive the times, scents, and memories of growing up during the war years and afterwards when so many “new australians” of many different nationalities came to our country. Growing up in the town of Kingston SE, Sth Aust. we initially had a number of Polish and German families come to the area working on the railways, really hard working , good living family men who eventually had their own businesses and were well respected people in the community. I remember they were really good gardeners, and it was often my job to go and buy some fresh vegies from the as did so many other families. In the 1960″s when I was a pay clerk for the E & W S who were constructing major drainage works throughout the South East of our state, there were many different nationalities who were required to work for a certain time on govt. projects when first arriving in Australia. They were a varied lot with some real characters, and I can still hear one young Italian lad who would have been no more than 17/18 and whose English was very limited singing away at the top of his voice on his way home from work – in Italian of course, but happy to be here in this land. For many of these the story was likewise in that they were hard working family men determined to make the most of their opportunities, and the same again, many of them started their own businesses, and became valued citizens in their communities. I often used to think that if we Aussies had had to do the same in reverse and end up in places in Europe, foreign in so many ways and in a language that we didn’t understand, we would not have coped nearly as well
Once again thank you so much for the way you write, and I am looking forward. to getting ‘Mezza Italiana’ from our library shortly.
Yours sincerly with a love of your writing. Ross Threadgold
Dear Ross,
I was thrilled to receive your message and to learn how much you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar – thank you! It was a great pleasure for me to write about the era that you mentioned. I was very conscious of wanting to do it justice for those who lived through it so to find out that the book captured it for you is especially lovely to hear.
It is interesting what you wrote about South Australia (it is a place I plan to visit and do more research in future) and in particular, the German and Polish migrant families that you spoke of since my next book, which I am almost finished, has involved much research about a German migrant family coming to Australia.
Also, I loved the image you described of the young Italian fellow singing on his way home from work. I appreciate your sincere compassion and understanding that yes it was indeed challenging for many such migrants of various cultures to start anew in a different country and that they did so with hard work and open hearts.
I do hope you enjoy Mezza Italiana as well and once I have some news about the next book I will put something here on my website too. Thank you again for your lovely message, it was such a pleasure to receive it!
Kindest wishes,
Zoe xx
Hi Zoe,i recently read your book Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar and loved it so much my wife bought me Mezza Italiana which i am now reading.I went to a Catholic boarding school in Charters Towers from 1955 to 1961 and there were lots of Italian students attending and most of their families were in the sugar cane industry and we all got along just fine and i was shocked and saddened to learn of some of the abuse some people had to put up with.I worked in Brisbane with a chap i became very good friends with and he related some of the things his uncles were subjected to while working in the canefields and it made me very sad.I worked as a sales rep and one of my customers were the Borgo family who ran a small goods business and were always willing to help by purchasing something which i suspected they might not really need.In return i always got my Christmas ham from them.I am retired now and have moved so i am not sure if they are still running their business but my memories of Italians were good ones.You are a brilliant writer and i loved reading your books.Best wishes
Terry Smith
Hi Terry, thank you very much for your message. It is wonderful to hear that you have enjoyed the books – much appreciated. I can tell you that the Borgo family are still running their salumi business and are into the third generation as far as I am aware (I’m guessing it must be the same family that you knew). While the era mentioned provided challenges especially to many migrants it was also a time it seems when there was much generosity in supporting each other also and it is great to learn how you experienced that in reciprocation with the Borgo family and those you went to school with who were from Italian cane families. For me, writing Joe’s in particular, and putting down many of those stories to paper, both the tough ones to write and the inspiring ones, felt like an honour in a way. Knowing that similar stories were experienced by many I hoped to convey them with much respect for what so many went through during that time. I did love writing about that era I have to say and no doubt will write more of this time. In the meantime, I continue to work on book three. Again, thanks for being in touch, it really is lovely to know that you enjoy the books. Warmest wishes, Zoe xx
Thank you very much for your story right from your heart.
You have certainly pulled a few of my heart strings.
This is my story and I will tell it as simply as possible before I hit you with some of my questions.
Born in Stanthorpe August 1943, father Allen Russell, mother Dulcie Pierpoint, I was brought up by my Grandmother as my mother had TB and due to ill health was not able to have much contact with me. My mother passed away when I was very young and for the life of me I can not remember her.
In my early years I stayed with my Grandmother in Warwick, she with the help of some of my Aunties ran Russells Café in Warwick which was in King Street across the road from Kings Picture.
For some reason the Café was seconded by the Americans during the war and my Grand mother used to let out their kitchen in her house in Wantly St to another couple to make ends meet. She did all her domestic cooking in the Café.
I started school at Warwick Central had two stints there, between stints at Thulimbah School.
Our northern neighbours were Mr and Mrs Sam Laspina, and our southern neighbour was Don Watson.
I used to walk to school about three miles with Connie, Santa(deceased), Bruno(deceased) and Connie was the boss she would have been 12 or thirteen at the time.
Bill Savage was one of our permanent workmen and he married Elma Chapmen and they ran the Thulimbah Post Office, she was very familiar with a lot of the Italians in the district.
My Uncle Don McNevin worked at the Pachendale Forrestry, he served in Cypres,NewGunea, and Milmn Bay. I never realised at the time but he could speak fluent Italian. He worked in the following Forrestries, Leyburn, Pachendale, and lastly Jimna. As a child I would have spent small periods of time at each place.
My dad was one of the founding members of the Summit bowels club, and I can remember a lot of the farmers had a hand in laying the first bowling greens, all voluntary, with the aid of Massey Ferguson tractors.
Every one got the cane at school if you got a spelling mistake you got the cane, we just thought that was normal. One funny thing happened one day one of the horses got the cane, we would have had about 10 or so kids that used to ride to school. This particular horse had a habit of pinching school lunches but got stuck under the veranda, so was caught in the act.
One of the main reasons that I am writing is that I have always had a query about a camp that my dad and I found in the late forties, we had followed our cow into a thick patch of scrub, and came across an a banned camp, surrounded by a lot of set rabbit traps. The bike which was there belonged to one of the neibours , there were sheets of iron, and a lot of empty jam jars, all jam then was home made. The jam would have been taken taken from Reg Simmons house he owned the orchid before Dad.
We were always told that Italians were in a camp at Wallangarra, with you research some one might have told you about that story.
I can relate to how your parents felt in the seventy four flood, we were in Booval Ipswitch at the time, watching TV at seven by 10 pm our house was under. My wife went to go to the loo on our last trip and toilet was under water.
When we came back to clean up one never forgets the smell.
Once again thanks for your book, it brought a few tears but most of the memories were good.
Regards Alwyn Russell
Thank you very much for sharing your story with me. I’m thrilled to learn how Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar has resonated with you. Yes, you are right, I did write it from the heart having heard many of these stories over a number of decades and for a long time I hoped to put them altogether.
I’m sorry to hear that you lost your Mum at such a young age. I noticed her surname was Pierpoint and I’m guessing she was perhaps related to the Pierpoints who owned the shop and blacksmiths that my grandmother’s family often visited in Stanthorpe. From the memories you have shared it seems you had much interaction with different Italians in the area (and I love the story about the horse stealing the school lunches by the way!)
You mentioned a camp that you and your father came across in the late 1940s. Do you recall roughly where that was or which town in particular it was near? Of course it is possible there are other ‘unofficial’ WW2 internment camps in the area as well as the one I wrote about that was near Millmerran since the other officially listed camps were full. If only there were records kept of these.
That must have been quite a shock to have your house go under in the 1974 flood. And yes, one never forgets the smell – I do know exactly what you mean! The next book I’ve been working on is partly set in Ipswich and includes the time of the 1893 floods in Brisbane and Ipswich that were even bigger. These weather events are certainly very much a part of the history of this area.
Again, thank you very much for contacting me. It is a privilege for me to share such stories that evoke memories from over a lifetime. I wish you the very best.
Cara Zoe,
Io sono Mezza Italiana. Recently , I celebrated my 75th birthday and received your book entitled Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar which I really enjoyed. In the meantime
II Ordered Mezza Italiana. You have a lovely way of telling a story, a true boccabella.
I was born in Canada. My father was born in Fiumme Veneto, Province of Pordenone and my grandparents on my mothers side were from Mondolfo Marotta on the Adriatic. Both families spoke to us in Italian and we answered in English.
My Nonna on my dad’s side was Redanta Bonnazza her name dates back to the 16th century her ancestors had a Sculpting School for over one hundred years in Padova.Giovanni and his sons adorned the churches and villas in the Veneto.
I have found 2 beautiful books on their work and life
You tell a story so well that I thought that you might like
to do their name justice by telling their story. They lived at the time of the great artist Tiepelo.
I have many more stories to tell of my life if you are interested. I would love to hear from you.
Best regards
Teresa Goegan
Grazie mille, Teresa. Buon compleanno e congralutazioni – 75 anni!! It is wonderful to hear how you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. (And I see you realise the meaning of Boccabella! – smiling.) It always amazes me how so many of us of migrant background have grown up with those conversations in a mix of two languages, and no matter where that might be in the world.
I do understand your interest and pride in tracing back your family history and it must be a thrill to have discovered two books written already on the work and life of your ancestors. I’m currently working on completing book three and do already have commitments to books beyond that at this stage but you are most welcome to share some of your stories with me. Being a mezza italiana also, perhaps you’ll discover some aspects of that book that resonate with you. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you again for your lovely message.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
Read your books. “MEZZA ITALIANA ” and ” Joe’s milk-bar and fruit shop”, how much I enjoyed it. Amazing.
As a matter of fact, read the latter twice,I did not want to miss a thing.
The whole concept takes me back in my care-free childhood days roaming the streets of Fossa.
ONLY a fossolano born in Fossa (1938) can comprehend the true meaning of the story well laid out.
Meraviglioso, excellent, keep up the good works. Un bacio e un abbraccio. Grazie.
Really wonderful to receive your message – thank you! So pleased that you enjoyed the books, especially being a fossolano yourself! I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that they brought you back to your time in Fossa, that’s lovely to know, grazie mille.
I admit I spent much time roaming those streets of Fossa myself to really get a feel for the village before I wrote about it and I believe you were very fortunate to be born in such a beautiful place (despite the turmoil and hardship of the era, a hard time for many Italians who then had to migrate).
I’m continuing to work on more books and while they may not all focus on the area around Fossa I do hope to write about it again in future. Grazie again for your message. Baci e tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Hi Angela, I wish I could say yes but it is available only in English at present. I will definitely let you know if there is an Italian version at some stage but for now I’m not aware of the publisher’s plans for a translation. Best wishes, Zoe xx
Many thanks for your wonderful books. I read “Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar” several years ago when it came out, and found a copy at a bookshop in Perth which I gave to my daughter, Now I’ve just discovered “Mezza Italiana” after having it on my reading list for a while. Wow!, congratulations, a book from the heart, I haven’t any Italian heritage (Scottish, English, German) but Italy really resonates with me. We greatly enjoyed 2 weeks in a large farm house in Umbria several years ago with our 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren.
It’s so sad that Fossa and the area is still in ruins …
Thank you very much for letting me know. I’m thrilled to learn that you enjoyed the books. Much appreciated!
And that would have been a truly wonderful experience you had to stay in the Italian farm house with three generations of your family there. And Umbria being such a beautiful region to get that true sense of life in Italy too.
Yes, it is a shame regarding Fossa. I still have hope for the future of the town as many remain quite attached to it but the recovery is certainly a test of endurance.
Regarding your own heritage, I actually have very similar heritage on my mother’s side and in recent years have travelled to Germany to do research for the third book. (In south-west Germany near the Black Forest area.)
Again, thank you for your message, really lovely to hear from you!
Best wishes,
Zoe xx
My sister gave my best wife a copy of ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ for Xmas. Dorothy had read the book and it reminded her of Linda’s Mum and Dad, Giuseppina and Mario Cambruzzi, both post-war Italian immigrants who achieved so much from so little.
I picked it up yesterday and devoured it. What a magnificent yarn. And loaded with love. I felt seriously guilty reading it in less than a day after the mountains of work over so many years to build your masterpiece.
I wrote and delivered the eulogy for Linda’s dad (‘Victor’ as he was known) earlier this year (happy to share if you’re interested). It was an intensely moving experience, as I’d imagine your writing was. Your book had the feelings for Victor welling in me throughout. He too had an incredible story. It has helped me better understand what I saw from ‘the other side of the fence’ growing up in a small bush community south of Mackay that included many immigrants, mostly Maltese and Italian, who my parents greatly respected. When older, I worked for 20 years in a community of immigrants up-river from Ayr, mostly Italian, and they became my second family. I never did understand dagophobia. I am from a fantastic Strine family and lucky enough to marry into a family such as your own.
I read ‘Joe’s’ on a very hot and very dry day south of Charters Towers, going a bit troppo waiting for the break in the season, which BoM always says is coming but never materialises as they suggest. The cattle have just come in for one of several visits to the trough today, bustling in and out quickly so they can retreat to shadier parts of their paddock. And I could be, and should be, writing. It’s just a pity most of us are insufficiently motivated and equipped to write the stories of our forebears. I am very pleased to tell you that ‘Joe’s’ is a great surrogate if I never get it done. I have this plan when l retire……. Till then, family life (our sons have 28 uncles and aunts) and cattle are an unrelenting but very satisfying drain on my time.
My sincere thanks your sharing your family’s story,
Thank you very much for your message (it’s a thrill to hear that you read the book in less than a day) and for appreciating, yes, how many years it was in the making. It is wonderful to learn that it was received so by you – many thanks!
I feel honoured that the stories resonate with those that are personal to you. When I was writing Joe’s, throughout I felt that these were not only my family stories but the shared experiences of so many. It did give me a sense that I wanted to do justice to them and had a responsibility to preserve this part of the lives of ‘everyday’ working people that is our history too. (And yes, it was emotional at times!) I do hope you do manage to write those stories of your own family, and I’m touched should Joe’s be that surrogate. Having an Australian mother and an Italian father it’s been interesting to see both sides ‘of the fence’ so to speak with one having very Australian customs and the other very Italian so I do know what you mean!
I loved that you shared where you read the book and the weather (hope that change comes soon for you if not there already) and you are the first person to contact me to tell me of the cattle coming in nearby. Lovely to be able to picture this. I am always amazed to discover the stories that for me began at my grandparents’ kitchen table and my very modest desk end up reaching such different places. As I sit here today at the very beginning of research for what will hopefully be book four, messages such as yours give me that added impetus to keep going. Thank you very much!
Warm wishes,
Zoë
PS You are most welcome to share Victor’s eulogy with me (I won’t publish it publicly without your permission).
I was recently given a copy of you book “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. I found it most enjoyable and more importantly I could relate to so many things mentioned throughout the book.
It would appear that my father was on exactly the same ship ”Toscana “ that your bisnonna Maddalena boarded in October 1948 and arrived in Sydney in December. Purely by coincidence my mother, younger brother and myself were on the same ship in June 1949. I was able to relate fully your description of the “third class” accomodation. We happened to have had allocated two bottom bunks between the three of us! Even to this day whenever I smell hemp rope or creaking noises it brings back memories of that trip- which to me seemed a big adventure particularly when arriving at strange ports like Port Said, Aden and Colombo.
My teenage years were spent on tobacco farms (near Texas) and boarding schools! My family knew many Italian families in the
Stanthorpe area and it was yearly excursion to one of the farms to collect a “drum” of wine of doubtful quality and the occasional bottle of grappa. However I do not recall any of your ancestors names.
I was particularly interested in your story about Jim Anthony with whom we graduated together and remained professional colleagues prior to retirement.
Finally I believe my wife (an Aussie) studied briefly with your brother Lorenzo at the IML at Qld Uni.
Once again many thanks for your most entertaining book.
Lovely to receive your message and to hear that you enjoyed reading, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar and could relate to many instances in the book – thank you! What a coincidence that your family also travelled out on the ship, Toscana. It is particularly wonderful to learn that you could relate so to the description of being on board the ship. When I was writing about such instances in the book I found myself doing a lot of research to accompany the stories told to me, sometimes of happenings many decades before. I was determined to make sure to get them as accurate as possible knowing these were not only my family stories but stories that belonged just as much to others too, so it is especially great to know you related so.
It certainly seems you also have many other connections with aspects of the book… from Stanthorpe, to Jim Antony and my uncle, Lorenzo. I had to smile at your recollection of the “drum” of wine of interesting quality back in those days. I do hope in future to write more of that era in Stanthorpe as there are many more interesting stories to be told.
Again, thank you for getting in touch. It is really lovely to learn of your connections with book.
I heard made mention on the ABC of your work on the Astoria story. I enjoyed the story very much. I too come from a long line of pioneers who have traded in Central and Western Queensland for over 100 years.
Hello Victor, lovely to hear from you, thank you. Yes, in my research for the book I definitely came across the Cominos name in relation to cafés. How wonderful to have this history in your heritage. Whenever I visit Australian towns I always look for the tell-tale signs of the shopfront that must have once been the iconic Greek café. If only there were more still around! I would definitely go to them. Zoe xx
Hi Zoe. My name is Andrew Cantarella and I was born while my parents Andrea and Lucia where living at 62 Heal Street New Farm. I thoroughly enjoyed your book and while reading about your loving and generous grandparents I realised I had met your grandfather during his time with ANFE. My cousin Tina Russo was crowned Miss ANFE in the mid seventies. Your book was so interesting for me as my father left Sicily in 1949 as a 19 year old and heading straight from Sydney to Stanthorpe to work staying with his sponsor Mr Privitera in the town centre. He then left to cut cane up North Queensland, married the farmers daugther, and headed to a farm in Ballandean, just south of Stanthorpe for their honeymoon. I built a house in Stanthorpe in 1985 and lived there until I was diagnosed and treated for cancer in 2000. Having spent a great deal of time in Stanthorpe while growing up and loving it so much I am able to shed light on the fruit shop owner Mr Alfio Patti whose name appeared on the scales at the Stanthorpe museum Page 143 of you book.
Mr Alf Patti was a Sicilian farmer with a stone fruit and table grape orchard on the highway approx. 8 Km south of Stanthorpe at Glen Aplin. Being on the highway he and his wife supplemented their income selling fruit from a small stall at the front of their property. If you require more detail concerning Alfie Patti please do not hesitate to return email.
In conclusion I will mention my favourite story of my late fathers during the German occupation of his tiny town of Milo at the foot of Mt. Etna. My father was 14 when the Germans came to my grandparents house and demanded they hand over the best mule the family had ever purchased. My father gripped the reins and refused to let the mule go to the soldiers. The Germans pointed their rifles at my fathers head and made it understood to my grandfather his son would be shot if he did not let go of the mule. My grandfather then wrestled the reins from my father and the Germans paid a fair price for the mule and leaf it away. As you can tell Zoe I am very passionate in knowing my ancestors and the way the lived. I wish you all the best in the future and would like you to know your book has been an absolute joy to read.
Yours thankfully
Andrew Cantarella.
Hi Andrew, lovely to hear you enjoyed reading the book, thank you. I appreciate you sharing some of your own family story with me. When I was writing the books, in a way it was as much to honour others who had migrated too in sharing the stories of my own family since in numerous ways many of the experiences are quite similar. I very much admire how people who migrated in that era got through many challenges with such forbearance and little if any complaint it seems.
I do remember the Miss ANFE balls though I was a little young to enter at the time! That’s wonderful that your cousin won!
And I can understand you must have loved living at Stanthorpe, I have been there many times and it is a great place. I sometimes imagine how incredible it would be to one day perhaps purchase the Applethorpe farm my great-grandfather bought back in the 1930s.
Thank you for telling me a little more about Mr Patti, that was great to know thank you. I do hope to write again about Stanthorpe in the future if possible.
I appreciate your interest in knowing about your ancestors and the way they lived. I hope you are able to find out more and to pass on their stories to the next generation.
It really is wonderful to know how the book resonated so much with you. Again, thanks for sharing your experiences with me too.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
I have just this minute finished reading your wonderful book : Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar. I could not put this book down and hated reaching the last page!
Your exposition of the history of your family, the migration experience, the pre-WW2 and WW2 years, and after was heartwarming.
Thirty years ago I was “absorbed” into a Sicilian family through my relationship with their only son, and as an Anglo the social and cultural differences (along with family life) were very diverse from what I was used to, having been brought up in an Anglo family. I resolved, however, to learn and understand all that I could about Sicilian/Italian family life and was rewarded through these efforts with exceptional insights into a history that, shared with many Italian immigrants as you described in your book, was often from the harshest of circumstances in Italy/Sicily to the major difficulties that had to be confronted in adapting to a new language and new way of life in Australia. Part of my personal journey was to learn Italian so that I could effectively communicate with my partner’s parents. While his mother spoke that unique mixture of dialect, Italian and English so often seen in older Italian immigrants, his father’s english language was very poor, and I only ever recall communicating with him in Italian (and Sicilian dialect, that he delighted in teaching me).
I believe because of my personal experience as an Anglo whole-heartedly and unreservedly absorbed by this family, this precipitated the intense emotional connection I felt with all that you wrote.
On a “six-degrees-of -separation” feature, I read with great interest the period of time when Annibale and Francesca were married and ultimately spending time in Brisbane during WW2 in 1943. My father, an American, who was in Australia as a member of the US Military, met my mother (an Australian girl) in Melbourne, and they married in September 1942, and subsequently made their way to Brisbane pending travel (by ship) back to USA in 1943. While they were in Brisbane my mother worked for the American army and was situated one floor below General Douglas MacArthur in the AMP building. My parents sailed to USA during 1943, though I cannot be sure exactly when that was. Though both my parents are now dead, mum used to talk of that time and referred to both the Shingle Inn and the Astoria that they regularly frequented. How strange that alongside the lives that they were leading around that time, Annibale’s story was unfurling at the same time. Who knows, they could well have been at the Astoria when Annibale and Francesca were working there! After the war ended they returned to set up life in Australia in a small country town in the New England region of NSW. As I child I did experience some of the negativism and even aggression focussed on Americans (my father was the only American in the town) that was not uncommon we’ll after the war years (I was born in 1951). Although not nearly as nasty as the negativism and vulgar disdain expressed against Italians during the pre-war and war years, it did sensitise me to overt and covert racism, and this too touched me deeply as it was detailed within the pages of your book.
I have already ordered your book Mezza Italiana and Dymocks inform me that it has arrived…I can hardly wait to read further of your personal voyage through the “half and half” world where cultures collide and merge!.
Thank you so much for what has been an incredibly uplifting and edifying reading experience.
Thank you for your lovely words about Joe’s. Really great to hear. I had a smile at your perception of being ‘absorbed’ into your partner’s Sicilian family – in every positive sense of the word! I think when you next read Mezza Italiana you will understand more what I mean as that also occurred with my partner into my family. It’s wonderful that you did so with an open heart and to learn all you could, including the language – and yes, I do completely understand about the mix of dialect, Italian and English, including some actual words being a mixture of Italian and English in one! – smiling.
What a coincidence that your parents happened to be in Brisbane at the very time my grandparents were working at the Astoria! I’d say it would be very likely that your parents frequented the Astoria when my grandparents were there and perhaps even spoke to each other.
It is interesting that your father, as an American, also experienced some negativity and even aggression when he came to live in Australia after the war. Of course, not all feel so but it is such a curious circumstance that make some feel threatened by any type of difference that they need to show disdain and even aggression as such to newcomers. Particularly as most people on the receiving end are usually decent people simply trying to go about their lives and adapt in a different place.
Dwight, thank you again for getting in touch. It really is so lovely to know that reading Joe’s resonated with you in such a way. I hope you enjoy Mezza too. Tante belle cose!
August the 23rd 2017. It has been 16 months since I first introduced myself to your “Message Column “ by the name of
‘Augusto from Fossa’ the birth place of nonno Anni and the Boccabella’s. You gave life to 2 beautiful and very interesting
books about your family heritage, followed it through from Fossa to Q.L.D, where the family choose to live and settle afterwards.
I said then that I read the books with interest twice “I did not want to miss a thing”.
Yes Zoe, I was wrong , I did miss a very important part of the story. I’am truly sorry for that, I should’ve been more careful.
The books couldn’t been written better any other way, not a thing was added to it, and not a thing was omitted from it, it came
straight from your heart.
You always been a nice and understanding person, and a good friend to converse with.
** Another little story emerged couple days ago, I like to share it with you. I met up with a friend of the ‘ old school ‘, we always
bring up old stories from Fossa as kids. His mum and her ‘comara’ went to L’Aquila one day to purchase a wooden wine barrel
to take home to Fossa. For transport they used the same method as that of the “conca” caper, lift it on top of your head and
carry it home about 12-13 KM away. (must been a small barrel) The load was shared between the two ‘comares’ doing the
change-over along the way. A passing paesano going the same way with a donkey-and-cart stopped and gave them a lift
all the way home.**
SO THE DAY WAS SAVED.
Enjoy the story.
Tanti cari Saluti a te e Roger e tutti in famiglia.
Augusto.
Ciao Zoe,
I haven’t read any of your books however intend to given what I’ve heard about them.
I am from Fossa where I think you also have heritage and I’m at the stage in life where I’m trying to work out if I’m more Italian than I am Australian- especillay now that my mum has passed away.
I’m travelling to Fossa in September and hope that I will find solace in visiting our ancestors village and remembering all the stories mum would tell me about. I’d be interested to know if you have been able to source old photos from Fossa in the hope that I might see my family amongst the groups of people.
Would love to chat to you if it’s possible.
Apresto
Anna De Amicis ( figlia di Ginevra e Giovanni De Amicis)
Ciao Anna,
Lovely to hear from you. Of course, it is completely up to you if you decide to read my books but I can tell you there are many similarities in them to what you have shared with me of your own story. I also have centuries of Fossa heritage and have researched and written a lot about the village. If you are interested I suggest starting with Mezza Italiana because being ‘half-Australian/mezza Italiana’ I too have grappled with what you have mentioned, trying to work out that feeling of being ‘half-and-half’ between Italy and Australia and I write about going to Fossa for the first time (incidentally, it was in September, just as when you are going).
I too have lost my mother and also my grandparents and did find some solace in returning to Fossa and remembering the family stories I was told. You will find some old photos on my website and my facebook page and also in the second book, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, though I mainly have family photos rather than groups of people from the village yet you may come across a couple like that. (By the way, I do recognise your surname as a ‘Fossa’ one!) 🙂
Warmest wishes and I hope you enjoy the books if you do decide to read them.
Tante belle cose,
Zoe xx
I have just finished reading your wonderful memoir/family history. It obviously has been a wonderful journey for you – poignant, sad, happy, loving and all the other emotions. Whilst you’ve put a lot of hard work in compiling the info for the book, I’ve no doubt the task was undertaken with much love.
Thank you for letting me into your family life so vividly. I was very moved and very grateful for the opportunity.
Thank you for your message, it’s lovely to hear how my family story resonated with you. Yes, it was with much love that I embarked upon writing this book (and also much trepidation in hoping to do all the stories justice!)
I didn’t quite expect some of the things that I uncovered in the research that went alongside piecing together many of the histories but as you rightly perceived, it was a wonderful journey to undertake and made me appreciate more the life I’m fortunate to have as a result of past family sacrifice. I appreciate your letting me know how you felt about the book.
Hello Zoe,
We enjoyed your book about Joe’s fruit shop and the Millmerran internment camp. You certainly did a lot of research to establish the fact that internment camp existed and the exact location. We are taking a group of caravaners out to Millmerran next weekend and I will be telling them about your book and the camp. We had a drive around there a week or so ago and tried to locate the site of the camp. I understand that we should go toward Goondiwindi to where the road forks. Is that where Turallin road joins the highway? If so, where do we go from there and how far? We would appreciate your help. Bob
That’s great to hear you enjoyed the book, thank you, and it means a lot to me that you’re keen to go and take a look at the spot. I posted a similar reply to your query on my Facebook page but you may not have seen it yet. It’s not easy to try to locate the site of the camp as there is very little to go by these days (and I should warn you there is not much to see but you will get a feel for the place).
From Saleyards Rd in Millmerran we turned left and drove along the Gore Hwy, turned right into Turallin Rd, went to its end then turned left into Western Creek Rd. This is where it gets tricky. We drove along Western Creek Rd including over a cattle grid to a stage where on the odometer we were about 20kms from Millmerran.
I’m trying to find the spot on Google Maps for you but am a bit disoriented as it seems some forest has been cleared since I was last there a few years back. I can tell you the spot I found was on the left before a road fork and it was the only section that appeared to have been cleared in the past, though of course many trees had grown back. You couldn’t see the creek from the road but once you got out and walked across this clearing away from the road you could see the creek.
I’m sorry but it’s difficult to be more specific. I’ve just followed the road on Google satellite for ages and am still having trouble getting a definitive spot that looks accurate. I hope what I’ve outlined might help and I’m sorry if it’s still not quite there. I recall it was quite a search for us on the day. I should warn you too that the roads were dirt and extremely dusty. If I can pinpoint the spot a little better with more searching, I’ll let you know. Very much appreciate your interest in this little-known bit of our history.
Thanks for your help. I think that I have found the spot on Google Earth. It is about 21 km from Millmerran at the end of Western Creek Road, where the road branches. One branch heads in the direction of Tara and the other in the direction of Goondiwindi. It looks like the roads may have been re-aligned slightly with the junction about 100 metres or so further from the creek crossing than it was. They have also been sealed. I think that the locals should have a board erected identifying the spot as a tourist attraction and an acknowledgement of what went on.
I intend to drive out for a preliminary look this afternoon.
Here’s the Google Map coordinates as close as I can get it… 27°49’58.5″S 151°05’48.7″E
If you copy and paste that into the search on Google Maps the spot should come up. Its about 20 kms from Millmerran and I’m only familiar with the previous dirt roads so not sure if they changed slightly when being sealed. The camp that was in State Forest shared a boundary with Western Creek Station if that helps. I spoke to a fellow in his 90s at the time who had worked there and recalled seeing the internees.
As I said, there’s not too much to see at this spot to show what occurred as at the time of the camp they lived in tents with sapling poles and everything is gone now. But you can walk around and imagine what it may have been like for the internees to be suddenly dropped in, what was for them, the middle of the bush and also see the creek where they got water and bathed.
It is a very kind and thoughtful idea to have a board erected identifying the spot, both for acknowledgment and tourism, although it’s likely to be a difficult task. While I’ve had many positive responses to my writing about the Millmerran internment camp there are those who dispute that it occurred or the location. And with camp records either not kept or destroyed it makes it harder. Still, I did gather anecdotal evidence and photographs from internees, Millmerran and Western Creek Station residents who definitely knew of the camp.
I checked out the spot yesterday, and 16 of us are headed out this morning. It is quite a large clearing. The creek is dry at the this stage. That is not surprising with the drought we are in at present.
I don’t think that there is any doubt that the camp existed. It seems to be general knowledge around town. It is the exact location that no one seems to be sure of. When you came out, did the Western Creek Road branch off from the straight ahead section a km or so before the site? Are you able to say what year you came out? Can I send you some photos?
I hope it went well. Yes, it’s very difficult to pinpoint with complete accuracy the exact location, particularly more than 70 years later. I think it has been at least five years since I was last there so likely it’s even changed more since then especially if the roads have now been sealed.
You are most welcome to contact me via private message on my facebook page. It would be interesting to see your photos.
Hi Zoe – I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book. My parents migrated here in 1954 (on the Toscana) and I was 2 years old. They spent some time in Bonnegilla before coming to Brisbane. They seemed to have had similar experiences as your grandparents ie lived in Spring Hill boarding house and New Farm before buying a house in Red Hill. Dad worked cutting cane and tobacco and Mum did the Golden Circle cannery like most Italian families at the time. Like you I rebelled about my heritage and wanted to be more Australian and regret that I never really cared about speaking Italian nor any of the culture. I did go to Trieste (my parents and my home town) and visited some relatives and did get a feeling of fitting in. My parents have both died. They sponsored 2 of my aunts to migrate here and I miss the parties that we shared as kids growing up. Never knew any of my Dad’s relatives as he was very “secretive” about his past. My Mum had 4 sisters (2 of them migrated to Australia) and a brother who have all died now.
We have 2 little Italian ladies that go walking around The Gap where I live and I enjoy following them and listening to them talking. I smiled whenever you included a bit of Italian in your book and found it very emotional in parts.
I have not tried to do any ancestry lookups but am pleased that they gave me and my 2 brothers an opportunity that they did not have in their lives. Unfortunately my father was not as industrious as your Nonno and he struggled in this new land due to his lack of skills and language.
I am now going to read your other book and just wanted to thank you for sharing your family’s story.
Lovely to hear that you enjoyed reading, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar – thank you. What a coincidence that you travelled on the Toscana, the same ship my Granny Maddalena and her son, Elia came to Australia on. And that your family also has ties with Spring Hill, New Farm and Red Hill. When I was writing this book I was conscious that in a way it wasn’t just my family’s story but such a similar story for so many of us.
While my Nonno Anni fared well in his work, helped along by his ambition as well as luck along the way, I do know that both my Bisnonni found it much harder, like your father, in adapting to a new country and didn’t always have much luck. I feel for them very much. It is hard to imagine now suddenly going to the other side of the world to a strange place, expecting never to be able to return or see most relatives again, mostly only able to communicate in letters, if that, and having to start all over again in a way. It must have been so very challenging. And yes, the sacrifices they made back then went on to shape our future lives so we were very fortunate.
That’s lovely to think of you overhearing the two women speaking Italian as they walk. I feel emotional when I see older Italians in Australia now. In my own family hearing that older Italian voice has died out and those of us left all speak with Australian accents now. Like you, I regret not having been interested in learning more Italian when I was young. And yet, I did have that feeling of homecoming curiously when I went to Italy for the first time (which you will find out more when you read Mezza Italiana!) 😊
Thank you again for your interest in my books. It’s really lovely to hear how the stories have resonated with you.
Hi Zoe
I so enjoyed “Joe’s Fruit Shop and MIlk Bar” and thank you for sharing your family’s story. I borrowed the book based on the title alone. Then, when I saw your name, thought “how many Zoe Boccabellas could there be in Australia?” During 1972 and 1973 at Everton Park High School, my teacher for German was Mr Boccabella. During one of those years, he told the class of the birth of his daughter “Zoe”. It wasn’t far into the book when I released the author was indeed, the Zoe, news of whose birth Mr Boccabella had told us during one of our lessons. I had conflicting feelings during the course of the book. On one hand I felt I had invaded your father’s privacy by hearing about his childhood and intimate family details. On the other, I enjoyed learning so many other dimensions for the person of whom I’d only previously had a one-dimensional view.
I also experienced such warm feelings of nostalgia when you related your family’s time at Teneriffe and Brunswick Street. My father worked at the wool stores and I visited them with him many times as a child in the 1960s. From 1976, I lived for a number of years in New Farm and smile to think that so often during those years you were probably only a couple of streets away, visiting your Nonno Anni and Nanna Francesca. How I wish I’d had the privilege of meeting them.
Again, many thanks for sharing your family’s rich, warm and interesting history.
Kindest regards
Christine
Hi Christine,
Thank you for your message. Great to hear from you. It’s lovely to hear that you recalled my Dad telling his class about the birth of his daughter. I never knew he may have done that. I can understand it must have seemed amazing and a little strange to then find yourself reading my book all those years later! Funny how things turn out like that. It’s lovely to hear you enjoyed reading it, even if it may have felt a little curious a times considering your past connection.
Haven’t both New Farm and the Teneriffe/ wool stores area changed so much since those times?! It was definitely more of a working class area back then in many respects with a lot of characters around the place. I miss how it used to be in many ways, I must admit. And I do remember after the wool stores closed, how for a while they were empty and it was like a ghost town through there, especially at night. It used to scare me a bit. And to think now the buildings are full of expensive apartments and the area has been gentrified. How times change! I do miss elements of the old days though. And yes, incredible to think you would have been living close by when I would have been at my grandparents’ place (and I was over there a lot!)
I will let my Dad know about your letter. I think he’ll be chuffed that you remembered him and his telling the class that news. He ended up teaching there for almost 40 years and has since retired and enjoys travelling and volunteer work (including some teaching still!)
Thank you for getting in touch and so lovely to hear of your interest in the family story. Much appreciated.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe x
Hi Zoe
I will have a look for your book too..congrats! Just a note that I also remember your dad teaching me at EPHS for many years (76-80) and he used to drive a cute mini ! He taught German to me and often showed many slides of his travels. Since then I have been to Germany many times..and also I was a university Professor for over 10 years (so he was a good teacher!). Re the wool stores, in one of my jobs I was a valuer for the Qld government and had to value much of that area, including the overhanging balconies from the woolstores over the footpath. It has been a great area to watch develop over the past 30 years. Small world eh. Say hullo to your dad for me pls : Richard Reed
Hi Richard, yes, I remember that mini very well. As a child, I was also shown slide shows of my parents’ travels too, and I must say their trips throughout Europe, Asia and Russia, especially when some of the countries were still quite closed, did inspire me to travel later on too! My father is retired now but continues to teach as a volunteer and is going well (and still travelling extensively! Until the pandemic arrived anyway). The woolstore area has certainly changed over the years, hard to believe now but I remember when it was quite derelict and a bit of a scary place to drive through at night (while bumping over the old train/tram lines!) Will say hello to Dad for you. Kind wishes, Zoe x
I have just read your book Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar. This is the first piece of writing I have encountered about the Italian search for a better life in Australia. I was impressed by your lovely grandfather who showed determination, his huge propensity to work hard, his honesty, the love of his family, his tolerance, and finally his generosity toward the underdog. The Italian community in Australia should be rightly proud of their achievements in the face of adversity. Thank you for such an interesting and honest appraisal of your wonderful family.
Hello Morris, thank you for your lovely words about, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I appreciate them very much. It means a lot to me that you mentioned those qualities of my grandfather’s as I too felt the same way and hoped I could do him justice in conveying them. Though he has been gone some years now, I still strive to live my own life by his example – as much as possible anyway! In a lovely footnote, I have found out recently that there might be plans underfoot to acknowledge the ‘secret’ internment camp that I wrote about. It’s too late for those men interned there to know, but I’m grateful that in some way this small part of history won’t be lost. Thank you again for your lovely message and for getting in touch. Kind wishes, Zoe x
I admired your perseverance in searching for that internment camp and I’m glad something is being done to acknowledge it. I was also intrigued by the circumstances surrounding their wedding. The church refusing to conduct the wedding, then the trip to Brisbane and ‘joy’ the deed was done! What a great story! So glad you have shared their story! Kind regards Morris Cutforth
Cara Zoe,
I absolutely adored your books and laughed and cried through the stories. I live in Brisbane and it was so lovely to hear the stories of old Brisbane and Stanthorpe where we have many Italian friends including Maria Pia Girardi mentioned in your thank you messages. I went to Art College with her son Louis. What a small world. I wish I had met Nonno Ani and Nanna. My parents are both Italian, Mum Angela Corti is Roman and came here in 1964 at 19 to marry my Dad Nicola Dalu (Sardinian) who came over a few years earlier. I am so glad they missed the terrible war years of internments but there was still a lot of antagonism toward Italians especially in the 60’s and 70’s. I grew up with Dads family. Two sisters & their families, Maria Potessu and Pasqualina Piras and his parents, Nonna Maria Rosa Allegria (Rosa Dalu) and Nonno Melchiorre Dalu. Both Sardinian. Reading your memories was a joy, we share so many lovely memories of food and laughter and big family gatherings. We worked on tobacco farms in Tamworth and then my grandparents bought 200 acres in Georgica Northern NSW so I grew up helping farm bananas (which they took to New Farm Brisbane to sell) and small crops including pomodori and we made the passata with our own tomatoes and Dad made delicious prosciutto and we had the pasta draped everywhere. I’ve travelled to visit all the family in Rome and Sardinia and felt that same feeling you mention. I married an Aussie as well and now my daughters are ‘Mezza Italiana’ but sadly I didn’t teach them to speak Italian. Your style of writing is so beautiful, I was there at every event with my heart and soul. Well done!
I love it and look forward to reading your future works. x Margherita xx
Cara Margherita,
It is an absolute joy to receive your message, thank you so much for all of your kind words. I’m thrilled to hear the books resonated with you in such a way, and yes, it sounds like we share many similar experiences! Thank you for sharing with me about your own family. So many beautiful names! It is very special to have Sardinian heritage too, such a beautiful place, and to have that Sardinian longevity in your genes as well. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in northern NSW and it is a beautiful area, though of course, farming is very hard work. As we know, migrants work so hard to carve out a new life in a new country and I continue to be in awe of their achievements with much respect. And of course it wasn’t easy being Italian in Australia for many, many years after the war and what they had to endure as a result. Yet, they endured and succeeded and I have so much admiration for that. While I didn’t always think it growing up, I have come to realise I’m so fortunate to have Italian heritage and I can see you feel the same way. Thank you again for your lovely words and for sharing your own Italian family with me. I do appreciate it very much. I remain inspired by our Italian heritage and am continuing to write about it. Fingers crossed re the current climate and I am able to share them with you in the future.
Tante belle cose, Zoe xxx
Hello Zoe, I have just spent today finishing Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I loved it. I’m neither an Italian nor a migrant but it was such an evocative story I found myself close to tears several times. I’m giving it to the daughter of Italian migrants here in WA, I’m pretty sure she’ll relate to it. Thank you so much for filling in such an important part of Australian history. I taught that for many years and learned things I did not know from your book. Cheers
Ginny O’Keeffe
Hello Ginny, it is really lovely to receive your message, thank you! I’m so pleased to hear how you enjoyed reading Joe’s and appreciate your giving the book to someone else who may be interested in it too. (And I confess I also found myself close to tears several times when I was writing it!) I think it was one of those stories that I just knew I had to write to preserve this small part of history and I’m thrilled to hear how the book resonated with you. Thanks again for letting me know. Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Thanks Zoe, I’ve read your books and my sentiments are the same. Our father , Pasquale Faraone , owned a fruit shop in Springvale ,Melbourne and sadly passed away at 96 nearly three months ago. Our parents migrated here from Calabria as teens and married here in Melbourne. I relate well to your stories and have recommended them to many friends. I’ve just completed e -reading Sergio Scassaoli’s book titled Italians Down Under, a most interesting and informative read.
Will tune in to Nightlife tonight.
Rina.
Sent from my iPad
Hello Rina, I’m very sorry to hear about your father, Pasquale. He must have been born a similar time to Annibale (Joe) so I understand how you must have related to the stories I wrote about. I admit when I was writing them that, in many ways, these were all our stories really and it felt important to preserve this part of our history. In recent years, I’ve continued to learn more about Calabria with my Nonna and her family being from there and it has such an incredibly rich history. It must have felt like a long way to go when our relatives came to Australia (at such a young age too!) and I feel so blessed for the lives they created here, especially with their fruit shops!!
Warmest wishes, Zoe xx
Zoe,
I am researching my Father’s early history in Applethorpe. He lived on Blue Mountain Orchard in Blue Mountain Road, Applethorpe from 1930 to 1933, when they moved back to Stanthorpe. His name was Lex Ellwood and his parent’s names were Paul and Gurney Ellwood. They had five children, Margery, Paul, Dorothy, Cedric and Lex. I am having great difficulty finding anything about Blue Mountain Road or Blue Mountain. The Ellwoods had a number of orchards in the area and there is an Ellwood’s Road. The relatives who lived on these orchards have no recollection of where my family lived as they are a fair bit younger than my father. After reading so much of your interesting stories about your family history, I thought I would take a chance and reach out. Would you have any references to the Ellwoods or Blue Mountain in your early history (I know this is an extremely long shot!)? I would love to hear from you.
Kindest regards
Joanne Otto (nee Ellwood)
Hello Joanne,
I’ve been looking over the information I have and also spoke to my father and a friend who lives in Ellwood Road though I only have a little bit of information on the Ellwoods. Apparently, Ellwood Rd was named after an E. Ellwood who was an orchardist. And as you will know, in Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, I mentioned an Ellwood who sold tractors in the area through the the Allis-Chambers agency. I may have some more information coming to me and if I do, I will definitely let you know. In the meantime, I would suggest you go to Trove and do a search containing “Ellwood” and “Applethorpe” or “Stanthorpe” and you will find numerous newspaper articles that mention Ellwoods from the area. Really hope this helps! Let me know if you have some success.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe
Ciao Zoe! I am the editor of Sunflowerpublishing and have been asked to write some book reviews for an Abruzzo magazine. I came across your books, and wondered if I may have a copy of your book ‘Mezza Italiana’ for review. I am based in th UK but also have a property in Bisenti, Abruzzo. My website is http://www.sunflowerpublishing.com or @Italywriters on twitter. Grazie. Wendy
Hi Wendy, thank you for your interest in Mezza Italiana, very much appreciated. I don’t have review copies to send out as my publisher ABC Books/HarperCollins takes care of that. However, I will send you a private message to put you in touch with them. Best wishes, Zoe
Hi Zoe
Thank you so much for your reply. Could you send either a DM on my facebook account ( Wendy Ridolini) or email me at sunflowerpublishing23@gmail.com with a contact name at ABC Books/Harper Collins. Grazie!
Hi Wendy, I sent the contact details to your email a couple of days ago just after I replied here. Hopefully you have received them but of course let me know if you haven’t. Zoe x
Hello Zoe. I have been totally immersed in your book for the last few days. There were times of laughter as I recognised familiar traits amongst Italian family members and friends both here and in Italy and moments of sadness and loss, especially identifying with the passing of loved ones and the devastating destruction of Fossa, which brought me to tears. I am Anglo-Australian, with a smattering of German, but am married to a Capoliverese from Isola d Elba. We live in FNQ, where Peter’s family have strong ties to the history of cane cutting and the injustice of internment during the war. Peter however, spent much of his youth in Melbourne, where much of his extended family still reside. I want to thank you for this delightful and absorbing trip down memory lane, as I had forgotten, but recognised with fondness, similar experiences on our several trips home to Italy. I can identify with Roger, bella Italia certainly gets under your skin, in the nicest way. Thank you again for the memories and the recipes!
Hello Kathy, it is so lovely to hear how you’ve related to these stories, thank you. They are all of our stories really and it is the best part of having written these books to know that others like yourself have shared such similar experiences. (And I can tell you I also have a smattering of German from my Anglo-Australian Mum’s side and went back to Germany to see where those ancestors came from. I do hope I get the opportunity to write about that one day.) Yes, I still miss my older relatives very much too and it is also terribly sad about Fossa. If you happened to scroll down through my posts, you will find a link to some footage that shows how the village looks today. It is quite poignant to watch (link below). I do hope to be able to visit again one day but I’m not sure how possible it will be to stay there again, though I hold hope. In the meantime, I’m continuing to write and have more books that are being published once we get past the covid delays. Again it’s so great to hear how you enjoyed the lovely memories and could relate to Roger too. (He continues to love Italy, tend to his backyard grapevines and cook Italian food!) Thank you for your lovely message. Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
Reading your article about the Wyandra Street Gospel Hall brought back fond memories of the area from the 1950’s. I hope you do not mind my saying this but the Friday night Scout meetings weren’t actually the official Boys Scout Movement. I was a member at the time and it was called “The Bulimba Everyboys Rally Group”. Each member wore a black armband on which were sewn badges for different awards obtained. (There might even have been one for knot tying). After i read your story, i found my armband to reminisce and would be happy to photograph it and send to you if for some reason you would like to see it. I also found written references given to me by the Leader and Assistant Leader of the group when it was time for me to earn a living. As well, I found my Gospel Hall Sunday School book for when i attended . It contains numerous coloured images which also were awarded, event though it might have been just for attendance.
I think anyone who grew up in the area when it was just working class, would have a chuckle at how it has changed yet there are still plenty of reminders of the old days. Most of them are just bricks and mortar or timber but it is the associated stories which are being lost. Long may they stay.
Did you or your family happen to know the Cividen family in Helen Street ? They had a Terrazzo factory and Mr Cividen used to make his own wine. However his vines used to grow along the building next door and as a kid we used to climb on to the roof and feast on fresh grapes.
Thank you for your story.
Sid Toomey
Hello Sid,
Lovely to receive your message – many thanks! I don’t mind at all your clarifying about the Bulimba Everyboys Rally Group. Great to know the official name! And happy to take a look at the arm band if you’d still like to share it. If you happen to be on Facebook you could direct message me there (link on this site).
When I was writing about this area in the 1950s era for, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, apart from the usual research I found spoken histories and photographs particularly invaluable. My Dad in recalling an incidence as a child from around 70 years ago no doubt thought it must’ve been the Scouts not having been an official member so I’ll be able to pass on your memory to him, which I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear. I will also ask if he knew the Cividen family. That’s such a lovely memory about feasting on the grapes but I’ll bet Mr Cividen was cursing come time to make his wine! Haha…!
Yes, that area has changed so much in recent years and I do despair at all the high-rise apartments, many with views into other high-rise apartments there are so many. I can’t help but feel I prefer the old way the streets were with their timber workers’ cottages, back gardens, train tracks, brick buildings, trams, washing on the Hills Hoists and children playing in the streets compared to the so-called luxury residences that now cast so much shade. But that’s just me! I do wonder though if the children growing up in those apartments will have such stories like my dad’s or yours and if they get to experience that sweetness of feasting on stolen grapes! – smiling.
Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Dear Zoe,
I have just read Joes Fruit Shop and Milk bar for the 2nd time or I should say audio book. It is read so well I can see all your relations etc. I lived in Stanthorpe after migrating from England as a 15 year old in 1953.My father got a job as engineer in charge of Stanthorpe Power House and we lived next to Quart Pot Creek. I married a Stanthorpe boy who played soccer with lots of Italian
young men. We later moved to Brisbane where I first lived when arriving in Australia the places in your book bring back many memory’s of Brisbane and Stanthorpe. My husbands father has the park opposite the museum named after him Brock Park, he kept it neat and clean and he also helped in the museum.
I could not stop listening to your audiobook now I must purchase the book. Please keep writing you have a great gift.
Yours sincerely
Wendy Brock
Hello Wendy,
It is lovely to receive your message and to hear how, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar has resonated so with you – thank you! And yes, Daniela Farinacci did a wonderful job reading the audio book.
Your time in Stanthorpe would have overlapped with the time my family lived there and I imagine it must have been nice to live near Quart Pot Creek. I’ve been to the Stanthorpe Museum and loved looking at the exhibits. It was great to include it as part of my research when I was writing the books and I have so much respect for the people who maintain and run local museums, usually as volunteers. Such an important part of preserving local history.
I have to say, Wendy, that if this book brought back some Stanthorpe memories, the next one (The Proxy Bride) might too as, while it is a novel, it is also based on true happenings and is set almost entirely in Stanthorpe this time. Thank you again for your kind words and I will do my best to keep writing.
Warmest wishes, Zoe xx
Ciao Zoe
I have written, performed and recorded a song called “Hannibal” about Annibale Boccabella and my Dad in the WW2 internment camps in Queensland. Lorenzo Boccabella was a guest speaker at the album launch.
Check it out on my CD “The Giovanni Theories” on Spotify etc etc. Was Annibale related?
Saluti
Giovanni Porta
Ciao Giovanni,
I’m stunned to receive your message. Not only is Annibale my grandfather, I’ve written two books about him including about his time in the internment camps. I’m sorry I haven’t known sooner about your song or album that seems to have been out since 2019. We don’t hear from Lorenzo too often but I’m amazed he didn’t tell my father or myself about this sometime in the past three years.
I listened to the song immediately. How wonderful that you felt inspired to write this song about your Dad and Annibale. If only I’d known sooner and I would’ve shared it when it came out with my readers who are very familiar with the story and Annibale.
You many be interested to know that in my book, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, I’ve written quite a bit about life in the internment camp my grandfather was in, as well as about his life. (A lot of people couldn’t say Annibale so they called him, ‘Joe’, hence the book title.)
I’ve also done many posts both on here and on my Facebook page about the internment camp too and am pleased to say there is now a memorial marker at the internment camp site after my collaboration with the lovely people of Millmerran who wanted to honour this previously hidden history.
I’m pleased you decided to get in touch.
Tante belle cose, Zoe
Post: Secret Internment Camp
Hi Zoe,
My daughter brought me your latest book, The Proxy Bride. I thoroughly enjoyed it & look forward to reading some of your other books.
I was wondering how you are related to the Boccabellas from Tatura / Shepparton Victoria?
I was always fascinated with my parents in laws story, your story reminded me of times spent with them.
Kind Regards,
Shirley.
Hi Shirley,
That’s really great to hear you enjoyed, The Proxy Bride, thank you! (Thanks also for your interest in my other books, I should mention to you that both are non-fiction and some is about where the Boccabella family comes from in Abruzzo, Italy.)
Without having the extended family tree in front of me just now, I can say I’m fairly sure the Boccabellas there in Victoria are linked through my great-grandfather, Vitale. I think they are the descendants of one of his brothers but I’d need to check to be certain. Vitale actually initially came to Victoria when first in Australia and I’ve written about that too in the first books.
Lovely to receive your message, Shirley, again many thanks! Zoe xx
I have just spent the last couple of weeks listening to your wonderful life in ‘Mezza Italiana’ as I drove around some isolated parts of Queensland with my job. Your recount of your life and that of your wonderful extended family and friends writing took me back to both of my previous visits to my homeland in Sicily. I shed so many tears listening and thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to ‘Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’. Well done.
Kind Regards
Corrado (John) Coppola
Hi Corrado,
Thank you for your wonderful, kind words. It is truly touching to hear what ‘Mezza Italiana’ meant to you and I’m really happy that it took you back to your own visits to beautiful Sicily (just across from where my Nonna’s family come from in Calabria!) 😘 I love the thought of you listening to Mezza while travelling around some isolated pasts of Queensland. In some ways it must’ve felt like quite a contrast to Italy at the time. And yet, of course, the ‘new’ land is a part of us as is the ‘old’. I’m so pleased to hear you are going to delve into, ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ next – thank you. I put many, many years of gathering stories into it, pretty much from childhood really and when I’d listen to Nonno Anni at the kitchen table. Thanks again for your lovely, kind words. They made my day!
Warmest wishes,
Zoe x
Hello,
The audio book copy of The Proxy Bride said that copies of the recipies could be downloaded from your website but I can’t see them anywhere. How do I find them?
Hi Stewart,
The link is on The Proxy Bride page, on the left directly under the blurb. There’s a picture of the audiobook with the words – click to download. I’ll also add the link for you here, below. Hope this helps! Zoe x
Hello again Zoe, I made your “Angry spaghetti” for lunch today. I topped it with a good handful of pecorino and accompanied it with a glass of Sangiovese. Molto bello! 😋 Grazie mille! Stewart
Hi Stewart, that is so great to hear! It sounds like a wonderful combination (and I’m smiling because by chance the different elements of your pranzo also brought together the two areas of central and southern Italy where my grandparents are from). I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! Tante belle cose e auguri, Zoe x
Saluti Zoe,la ringrazio per vostro bellissimo libro, cioè Mezza Italiana.It resonated with me on many levels and evoked lots of memories, mostly good but the odd painful one too. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland in ’56. My parents were Ligurian from around Le cinque terre (sorry about La Spezia,it was never that pretty but it’s the nearest big town to our villages) and we spent every summer with my nonni there. They were millers and contadini going back generations. Among the things I have in common with your family apart from immigration in no particular order are my balilla dad and squadrista nonno-fans of Benito unfortunately, although like you I have only fond memories of both. Communist partigiani on my mum’s side. I spoke Italian before I spoke English, grazie di nuovo papà e’mamma and got the occasional racist abuse AND anti catholic remarks, Scotland being what it was back then. Strangely,about twenty years ago I was called a wog by a visiting Aussie in Ireland where I mostly now live. I could go on indefinitely; women carrying washing in baskets on their head to and from the river when the water supply to the house ran dry, my nonna smashing the shirt buttons in half on rocks as she beat them dry on rocks, spraying sulphur on my nonno’s tomatoes, cleaning out chicken coops and rabbit hutches. At school in Scotland we wanted to fit in and be Scottish,but we lived in a small Italian community unlike Oz. We WERE Italians and pretty much stuck to our own until my generation started marrying out as it were.Like your nonno Anni, my dad,uncle and my own nonno were interned. In Canada though,not Australia. I am going to make a point of visiting Abruzzo this year, having already visited a good part of the south (against my northern family’s advice although like you say some of them haven’t even been to Rome. Thanks for the recipes too. Buona fortuna con i libri è tutto quello che fai, Paolo Rossi, Irlanda e Spagna
Ciao Paolo, grazie per vostra gentile parole su Mezza Italiana. It’s wonderful to hear that the book resonated so with you and evoked many lovely memories. Thank you for sharing some of them with me. (I do especially love the one about the shirt buttons by the way!) Please don’t apologise about La Spezia, it is a hard working city and looking back I’m quite glad to have stayed there. It’s so important to see and experience all sides of Italy, north, south and everything in-between, not just the tourist areas. I agree, we’re so lucky to have this part of our heritage, and again – the good, the bad and the in-between. As Nonno Anni would say, ‘It’s how it is, it’s what happened, you can’t change it.’ I’m sorry to hear you Dad, Uncle and Nonno were interned in Canada. I hope they were given an apology. This hasn’t happened yet in Australia and is too late for most now, though I’m pleased to share that after I wrote about the internments in full in my book, ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’, there’s since been some acknowledgment in that a memorial stone has now been placed at the site of the camp and I travelled out there to see it. (You will find some photos on one of the posts on this website or on my Facebook page). It’s also really wonderful to hear that you are planning to visit Abruzzo this year. If you happen to go to the area I wrote about, you will discover that sadly Fossa, where my family are from in Abruzzo, remains a ghost town since the earthquake but the area is still very beautiful to visit with much history. Please feel free to share with me if you do make it there! Again, thank you for your kind words and memories. Very much appreciated. Tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Thanks Zoe. I am copying your recipes at the moment. Regarding wartime racism and internment, the fact is my grandfather WAS an enemy alien in Britain, an unreconstructed Fascista. My father and uncle less obviously, although they remained supporters of the Duce all their lives. I could go on, but mille grazie di nuovo. Paolo
Hope you enjoy the recipes, Paolo. And I appreciate what you’re saying. Of course, the flip side is that many Italians who’d migrated and were interned weren’t Fascists nor supported il Duce. Some had even left Italy to escape the politics. Difficult situation, different times and war always brings about the unexpected of course, right and wrong. Era quello che era. Zoe x
Recently I watched the STAN series called “10-Pound Poms” and found it totally unrealistic and over the top. (I came out as a 2 year old with my parents from the UK in 1949-50) So growing up in Sydney in the 50-60s, I have first time experience. So what has this got do with your book about your Grandparents Fruit shop…
I have just finished reading it and I think it would make a great mini series. Make sure that who ever does it keeps to the facts as you have portrayed them.
Hello Ray, thank you for your kind words about the book. I haven’t seen the series you mentioned. However, I have to say, I do understand your frustration when dramatisations of events don’t quite live up to reality.
It would certainly be wonderful if, ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ was made into a mini series! (Many people have said the same to me that they hope it might happen but there are no plans I know of just yet.) And yes, it would definitely mean a lot to me to keep the facts as portrayed in the book as I spent many years researching them and interviewing many different people to make sure these were spot on. To me, this is best way to respect those who lived through the era and to preserve their history and those times.
Thanks again for your kind words, warmest wishes, Zoe x
Hey Zoe,
I have to tell you how much I enjoyed @Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. my parents are from Delianuova, Calabria and their and their parents experiences are similar to what you describe in your book. It brought it all to life for me. Thank you. In the back of your book you talk about collecting spoken histories and the stories of migrants. I would very much like to do this with my aunties who have very interesting stories to tell from their youth in Italy. How do I go about recording their stories with audio that will last. can you give me some tips. Ive just ordered your book The Proxy Bride and cant wait for it to arrive.
Hi Mimma, my parents too are from Delianuova. My Zio Pasquo owned Bar Giordano on Via Umberto for many , many years until one of his sons took over for a while. Zoe’s narratives have been delightful to read because we can connect to the stories passed on to us by our families. Cheers Rina
Hi Domenica, thank you, it’s wonderful to hear how Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar resonated with you! Delianuova is only about 40 minutes south of Palmi in Calabria where my Nonna’s family are from so I can imagine your family’s experiences must be similar in many ways.
I’m so pleased to hear you’re collecting your aunties’ spoken histories. That’s fantastic and so important. I bet they’d have a lot of interesting stories! Regarding recording these stories… when I recorded interviews, it was some while back now so that I recorded them on audio tapes whilst taking notes at the same time. What I did then, was transcribe those audio tapes so that I have a written record of the interviews both printed out in hard copy form and in a digital format. I think the key is preserving them in a number of formats and in multiple copies to prevent them being lost.
Thank you for your interest in The Proxy Bride. I hope you enjoy it! You’ll find many more references to Calabria in there and I wrote from the experience of when I travelled there too (there’s a chapter in Mezza Italiana on it). Calabria is such a fascinating part of Italy that I’ll definitely revisit and write more about it in future. Zoe x
Hi Zoe, I found your book The Proxy Bride in my local Library and I enjoyed reading it. In the story… xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx … I liked the book because I could relate to a lot of it. My parents came to Australia from Sicily. My Dad and his brother both married by proxy and the family lived on a cane farm in Cairns. During the war the men were interned and sent to Loveday in South Australia and then to Tasmania. We had cousins who were on farms in Stanthorpe. I look forward to reading your other two books. Thank you for a good story. Angelina La Spina
Hello Angelina, it’s lovely to hear you enjoyed reading, The Proxy Bride, thank you! And so nice to hear that many parts of it resonated with your own family history. The idea for this book came from a true story I was told about a group of women on the farms banding together after their husbands were interned during WW2, as well as interviews with proxy brides, so much of it is based on fact that has been turned into a story. (The part of your message about what happened at the end of the book has been taken out so it doesn’t spoil that for others who might read this and haven’t read the book yet – but I think you do understand what might have happened in the end!) I hope you enjoy the other books too. Again, I’m sure you’ll find many similarities with your own and your family’s experiences in them. Many thanks, Zoe x
Cara Zoe,
Your book, Mezza Italiana has resonated and inspired me, no end. Your writing puts me right there with your experiences. Some of the Abruzzese traditions eg Ossi dei Morti biscuits my mother (both parents were from Corfinio, Abruzzo) never practiced or explained. I now make these biscuits for Souls Day. Being an artist, it’s not first time I have used my Italian heritage in my artwork. I retold your story of that tragic day, April 6th in Fossa. In, “Where The Wild Things Thrive” (group exhibition), I depicted the devastation of the aftermath of Mother Nature and how weeds, plants, vines reclaimed this abandoned town. I hope that one day the town thrives again with people, children, babies and other living creatures.
Gianna Fallavollita (Newcastle, NSW)
Cara Gianna,
It’s truly wonderful to hear how Mezza Italiana has resonated so with you, and especially that it has inspired you as well. I love that you now make the Ossi dei Morti on All Souls Day too. I wasn’t sure what some may have thought when I put those in the book – smiling.
I see your parents’ town of Corfinio is in the same L’Aquila province as my family’s towns and I can say that Corfinio was also on our way to Cocullo when we went to the snake festa that I wrote about. xx
I’m thrilled to learn of your art and straightaway I looked up and found your stunning artwork that is part of “Where the Wild Things Thrive”. (If you don’t mind, I will contact you via the email address you provided about this.) Yes, it is very poignant to wander through the ghost village that Fossa now is since the earthquake and one of the first things I noticed was Mother Nature reclaiming the town. It inspires me too. I have hope for its future but we’ll see.
Thank you very much for your kind words, Gianna. I’ll be in touch.
Auguri e tante belle cose, Zoe xx
I just finished Proxy Bride, I could not put it down, over Christmas the family were here and of course I soaked it up like the grandmother I am, but I kept your book in the corner of my heart. In the early hours of this morning I decided I had to know how Gia and Sofia were going and have just read till the end. A beautiful book capturing emotions and a time in history. A book I will share. Actually crying, so moved.
Hello Vicki, I’m very touched to hear how this story has resonated with you. Thank you, it means a lot to hear that, especially as I wrote it inspired by the true happenings surrounding several women and it is really lovely to know that their little-known stories are being embraced and remembered. I truly appreciate your kind words. (I can share with you too that someone else also told me they read the book into the early hours to the end and that was Jackie French who provided the cover quote.) – smiling. Again, thank you for your kindness. It’s a privilege for the story to have been a part of your special time over Christmas too. Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe
Absolutely loved your book.
I am going to Fossa next month to visit my families ancestral home.
My name is Antonucci and my great great grandmother was Carmella Boccabella
Born 1823 died 1880 Fossa!
Maybe we are related 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you for your loving memories
Hi Robyn,
Thank you, it’s so lovely to hear you enjoyed the book and wonderful too that you are heading to Fossa soon to the place of your (and our shared!) ancestors. 😊🌠
So far I’ve traced Boccabellas in Fossa back about six centuries and I believe it’s fair to say we are most likely related in some way! I do also recall Nonno Anni, when he’d go and stay in Fossa, that he’d catch up with a fellow with the surname Antonucci. 😊
Regarding your great-great grandmother, Carmella, I’m wondering if she might be a sibling or cousin of my great-great grandfather, Demetrio. You may have read of him in Mezza Italiana (the book I’m guessing you’re referring to in your message) or you might be, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, as in that book I wrote a lot more about Fossa including Demetrio. At any rate, we’d be related I’d say. Again, thanks for your kind words and lovely to hear the memories resonated with you. Buon viaggio a Fossa! Zoe xx
Zoë Boccabella 
I have just finished reading Mezza Italiana and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading it. My Italian grandfather arrived in Australia before yours did and unfortunately the ties to Italy were not maintained as strongly as yours were. On my first trip to Italy I experienced strong cultural ties, as you did, and found an answer for some of my feelings of “being different and not fitting in”. My grandfather died when I was young but I still remember him starting to teach me Italian and our times in the backyard eating fresh picked beans before dinner! You are very lucky that a family house was kept in Italy and that you had the chance to learn from your Nonno and “Nonna”. I have since returned to Italy three times!
Thanks Liane, lovely to hear from you. It’s amazing when you go to Italy and feel that recognition of your heritage, isn’t it? I realise now just how fortunate I was to be able to stay in the family house and wish I had realised it sooner (the house remains damaged and uninhabitable nearly 4 years after the earthquake, along with most of the village). I love that image of you eating freshly picked beans in the backyard with your grandfather – it often seems to be the quiet, simple ‘everyday’ happenings with a loved one that we hold close. I am all for holding onto these memories, they are so precious. Thank you for sharing your similar background with me. Zoe x
Hi Zoe!
I was in Fossa for the first time in March and loved it! My father was born there. Frank Lazzaro is a great friend of our family and his sister Alberta’s last name is Boccabella! Is she related to you? I met her at her market on my visit! I look forward to spending a lot more time there in the future! I’m trying to find somewhere to buy your book on line or somewhere in the US. Please let me know if you know where I can get it! Thanks!
Riann
Hi Riann, that’s wonderful that your father was born in Fossa – I’m glad you enjoyed your time there, it is such a special place. I’m not sure I know Alberta though it’s possible we’re distantly related given Fossa is a small town. And I also know many of the Lazzaro family, including those here in Australia who are lovely people.
Mezza Italiana has been released in paperback form in Australia and NZ however you may find a copy online by clicking this link… stockists. It is also available as an ebook and audiobook and I’m aware the ebook version may be purchased from Amazon in the US. Hope this helps! Zoe
Zoe I really enjoyed your book.I have had the privilege of having visited folks in Fossa pre- 2009 and it does sadden me to think of the damage and legacy of the quake.My husband is of Fossa heritage and am pleased that 2 of my 3 youngsters had a chance to visit pre- 2009 also.It saddens me also that my father – law ( a migrant from Fossa in 1934) passed away recently so the family now no longer has this direct connection. Keep writing and embracing your heritage.
Thank you, Wendy! That’s lovely that you were able to visit the village before the earthquake occurred. Sadly, many residents continue to live in the temporary housing, almost five years on now. I understand what you mean about losing that direct connection, having experienced the same myself. And yes, I continue to embrace my heritage and am currently writing the next book. Zoe xx
My husband and I have just spent a month in Southern Italy based in Apulgia and from there we explored this region plus a road trip from Maratea across the mountains to Matera, just stunning. We were lucky enough to stay with an Australian friend who has a house there so a rather unique experience for us. My friend gave me your book to read on the flight home and it was the perfect end to our holiday. I enjoyed the book so much especially as we had all those experiences fresh in our minds. I really related to your descriptions of being a passenger in a car and actually spent some of the time traveling in the back seat sitting behind my husband. I know food is so important in your life and I was wondering if you had a traditional recipe for baked ricotta? I often buy it from a deli and they say it’s their secret recipe. Thank you so much for a wonderful read.
Thank you! Your trip sounds wonderful. Matera is such an incredible destination and driving there from Maratea you would have come within about an hour of one of the places I mentioned staying – Castrovillari (am picturing driving through that landscape in the south and wishing I was there now!) I’m looking forward to going back and exploring it further, including the ‘route of the seven stones’ in Basilicata. With regards to baked ricotta, when I was growing up my family would purchase it from a local Italian lady who had a tiny shopfront at her house and that recipe has remained a secret also! I’m currently putting together recipes to hopefully include in the next book – an interesting process as most of the recipes my Italian grandmother taught me were spoken recipes without exact measurements. In the meantime, if I discover the secrets of a good baked ricotta I’ll be in touch. Zoe xx
Hi Zoe
I have just finished reading your book and thoroughly enjoyed and have been telling my friends and family about it. They want to read it too!
I can certainly relate to a lot of things mentioned in your book. I am also from Abruzzo (Tocco Casuaria – Provincia Pescara) and I migrated here with my mother in 1954 when I was five. My father was already here (the men usually came out before) but I hardly knew him when I arrived as I was only 2 and a half when he left for Australia.
It was certainly a hard time for migrants then and it is not as bad now, but I still find discrimination exists, even though I have lived here for 60 years.
There are instances when I wish that I had never left my native land. I returned to Italy for the first time in 2004 and when I was shown where my grandmother’s house was, I instantly remembered sitting on the steps in front of the house. It’s unbelievable what lies in our memory!
I really identify with you that when I am in Australia I feel more Italian and when I am in Italy I feel more Australian. I know exactly what you mean.
I would read a little of your book every night before going to sleep and I felt that I was there with you and Roger in Italy!
Thankyou so much for some of the historical facts you mentioned in your book. I really appreciated these and also learnt something new, such as
that the five confetti used in the bomboniere had a meaning (something I did not know). I remember that when I was getting married, I said to my mum
we could add extra confetti because we had so many, and she replied that no, the number must be five. Now I know why.
Also, the fact that the person who made the Centerba was from Sulmona. I was always led to believe that he came from my town, Tocco.
Can you shed any light on this?
Last year I went back to Italy on an organised trip with some friends and we toured from the north (Bellaggio) right through to the south (Sicily).
I loved every minute of it. I really feel at home there and absolutely love their lifestyle.
I would like, as you and Roger did, to live there for some time (maybe about 3 months) and really take in the culture and lifestyle. This will be my next dream.
Thankyou for the recipes as well!
Regards,
Elsa
Lovely to receive your message, Elsa. It means a lot to me that you enjoyed reading Mezza, particularly being from the Abruzzo yourself. And I appreciate your sharing with me your experience in coming to Australia. Sadly a lot of migrant families lived through periods of separation when the men often came out to the new destination first and the rest of the family could only follow on later as the situation became possible. This is something my own family also faced, and which I am writing about in the next book. It is also lovely to read of your experience in returning to Italy and instantly remembering sitting on the steps of your grandmother’s house as a child – wonderful!
And yes, The Casauria Distillery that makes ‘Centerba Toro’ is right near Tocco da Casauria. You may visit their website via this link: http://www.centerbatoro.it/homepage.htm The bottle of centerba I wrote about was in fact a different brand, ‘Centerba d’Abruzzo’, with Ovid, who was born in Sulmona, on the label. It was the only brand Roger could purchase in the particular bar in L’Aquila at the time. However I couldn’t mention centerba without of course mentioning Beniamino Toro too. (Incidentally, the centerba I mention in the next paragraph when I write how Roger and I first tasted the liqueur at my parent’s house was in fact the ‘Centerba Toro’ brand distilled near Tocco da Casauria!)
I hope the opportunity arises in the future for you to fulfil your dream and live in Italy for a time. I really look back on the time we stayed in the village of Fossa as precious, particularly as we have not been able to stay in the house since. (It remains damaged and uninhabitable as it was the day of the earthquake.) In the meantime, I have been continuing the journey of my Italian family after they came to Australia and how their lives evolved – including some more recipes which I hope to be able to include too. Thank you again for being in touch, Elsa. Auguri, Zoe xx
Thankyou Zoe for the information about the Centerba. I will be looking forward to your next book.
Tanti auguri a te la tua famiglia. xxx
Hello Zoe,
I first heard about “Mezza Italiana” yesterday from a Facebook friend from Australia. I immediately tried to purchase it online. I finally succeeded on Amazon, but they had only 1 book available, which I purchased. ( they had lots of audios, though) ….. But, I prefer the whole “book” experience.
My parents were both born in Fossa…Emidio Lazzaro (1902) and Giacinta “Elena” Padovani (1913). My dad came to the US in 1919 and my mom in 1926.
I finally had the opportunity to travel to Fossa in 2011. Unfortunately, it was after the earthquake ! But I was able to visit with my cousin Erminio Gentile and his family and my cousin Ada and her family.(Ada’s family owns the cheese factory in Fossa). I was fortunate enough to walk up to the village and to the monastery. I had heard so many stories from my parents about these places. My life would not have been complete without this pilgrimage. My bothers, Roland Lazzaro and Anthony Lazzaro and several of my nieces and nephews had been to Fossa before the earthquake and were able to stay in the village.
There are/were some Boccabellas who were friends of my parents..they lived in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania. My family is also from western Pennsylvania.
Also, I have family in Melbourne, AU. One is my first cousin, Lidia Lazzaro Giampetrone.
I cant wait to get my book and read it !!!!! I am so excited !!!
Just wondering if it is possible to purchase Juan Alfedo Parisse’s lovely prints of Fossa?
So glad I heard about you and your books.
Cindy (Lazzaro) Queen
Washington, Pa
Hello Cindy,
Thank you, it is lovely to receive your message. I’m very familiar with the surname Lazzaro as my grandparents were close friends with the Lazzaros who came from Fossa to Queensland in Australia. And I was fortunate to be invited to a wonderful lunch with some of the Lazzaro family in Fossa back in the mid 1990s. We also purchased some cheese – pecorino I think it was – most likely from your cousin Ada perhaps! And yes, I’m aware there were Boccabellas from Fossa in Pennsylvania too, one of whom contacted me. It’s lovely how there seem to be ‘pockets’ of those who migrated from Fossa in various places around the world – mostly in the U.S.A., South America and Australia.
I do understand your life feeling more complete after making the journey to Fossa – I felt the same way. Even though I was born in Australia, returning to Fossa where my family came from felt like ‘coming home’. I was fortunate to stay there before the earthquake, and also went back just after the earthquake occurred, which was quite overwhelming – all of which you will discover when you read Mezza. (And I’ve just finished writing the next book in which Fossa does feature again!)
Regarding Juan Alfredo Parisse’s beautiful paintings, you may try finding out through his website http://www.juanalfredoparisse.it or his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JuanAlfredoParisseWatercolorArt – he is a lovely person who lives near L’Aquila. One of his paintings of Fossa (part of which appears above here on my website) I was very fortunate to receive from my husband back when I turned 40 and I treasure it!
Thank you again for being in touch, Cindy. I hope you enjoy Mezza Italiana.
Best wishes,
Zoe x
Zoe, Hello. I have a painting of a potted lemon tree. The pot is blue and white and the border of the painting is yellow gingham like checker squares. It is signed by Zoe. My sister-in-law lives in Santa Barbara, California and had it in her house. Is it by chance yours? Do you paint?
-Kathy J
Hi Kathy, I do sometimes paint when I get the time but I cannot take the credit for the painting you mentioned. Best wishes, Zoe
I loved Mezza Italiana. I am from Brisbane, but spend half the year in Italy in Bagni did Lucca. My son was born in Italy the same year that you were born. I look forward to following your blog and reading your other books.
Hi Debra,
Thank you! Lovely to hear from you. That sounds wonderful to divide your time between Italy and Australia, and especially the beautiful town of Bagni di Lucca in Toscana. I would love to visit the town and the nearby thermal springs one day.
Auguri,
Zoe
PS Your son was born in a great year! – smiling.
Dear Zoe… WE’RE RELATED!!!
I didn’t realise until I bought your book (yesterday for Mum’s birthday) …and when we opened the front jacket she spotted Dad’s photo amongst all the others: We were so impressed!!!
Apparently my father, Joe Solano, was your grandmother Francesca’s 1st cousin.
Mum’s spend the day uncovering lots of other old pics of Dad’s time in Qld with your family… and she can’t put your book down! :)))
xxxx Joseph Solano jnr.
Hello Joseph,
Great to hear from you! I’m assuming the photograph with your Dad in it is the one of the apple harvest? I realise now he must have been the cousin who came up from Sydney up on a working holiday that year. Wow – how wonderful to realise that connection between our families now, more than 60 years later! And it’s really lovely to hear that your Mum is enjoying the book – is that Mary? Please say hello to her for me.
Auguri!
Zoe xx
Hi Zoe, just wanted to say it was lovely to meet you last night. I so enjoyed Mezza Italiana and am looking forward to Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I hope you enjoy my book Roman Daze – La dolce vita for all seasons… I loved the way you wrote about Rome in Mezza Italiana ‘Rome feels to me like a person who has seen too much, exhausted by time and demands, and almost loved to death, and yet it is so wonderful, the pure history of it’. I completely agree! Congratulations again and kind regards, Bronte
Hi Bronte, thanks for coming along to the evening at Malt Café hosted by Beaumaris Books. It was lovely (and overwhelming!) to see so many with Italian and Australian connections to Italy come along. Great to have you there – and thanks for the copy of your book! Warm wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe, I heard you interviewed on ABC radio and just had to get your book. You see, in 1967 I was a young teacher at Goondiwindi high school, as was one Remo Boccabella whose parents owned a fruit shop and milk bar and who had grown up living in New Farm (Where my grandparents lived and my mother also grew up in New Farm). I was delighted to discover that you are the daughter of the RB who was my colleague. He would have known me as Miss Ruth McIntyre. I married a local grazier and my life was never the same again after Goondiwindi! I have not finished your memoir yet so am still curious as to what there awaits about your Dad.
I am revelling in the stories of the cane cutting. My uncle had a cane farm outside Gordonvale where I spent a lot of time as a child growing up in Cairns in the fifties. I can almost smell the farm beside the Mulgrave river as I turn the pages you have written. Not only was there anti Italian sentiment but also anti Catholic prejudice. My grandmother warned us girls never to marry a Catholic. But she might as well have saved her breath to cool her porridge as my older sister left Australia to travel the world in 1964, eventually finding work in Rome as a private live in nurse for a Contessa. While in Rome she met and married the handsome Francesco di Jorio, so I have a gorgeous nephew who, like yourself is half Italian.
Do give my kind regards to your father if he is still with us (sorry but at my age one cannot take continuity for granted).
Kind regards,
Dr Ruth Armstrong
Hi Ruth,
Lovely to hear from you! My Dad has very fond memories of his time in Goondiwindi and he’s spoken about it often over the years. He is well and currently does much travelling os. I will definitely tell him about your making contact with me. I’m sure he’ll be delighted.
I hope you are continuing to enjoy reading the book! – smiling. Really lovely to hear your feedback and to also hear of all your other links with different aspects – New Farm, cane farms, and of course a nephew who is ‘mezzo italiano’!
Thank you for including your email address, I will contact you again shortly.
Again, it was really lovely to hear from you.
Warm wishes,
Zoe
Dear Zoe
I’m in the middle of reading your book Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar (which I’m loving), and got to the chapter on Palmi and discovered we have the same the family name. My grandmother was Rizzitano and my father Misale. Would love to hear from you.
Hello Enza. Yes, with both those surnames in common from Palmi I would say we are definitely related in some way. Thanks for providing your email address, I will be in touch. Hope you continue to enjoy the book! Zoe x
Hi Zoe, I have just finished reading both books…😍😍😍 wow…I can relate to all of the experiences… My Nonno immigrated to Aust. In 1924 and his brother arr.in 1928 ….. My father arrived here in 1949 with my mum and Nonna… There has been no evidence of where my Nonno and his brother were between1924-1948…. I was so curious when I read about your Nonno in an Internment Camp… I now believe that perhaps they were interned as well…..but I can’t find any list of names or documentation on any Camps….no nno’s brother bought an orchard in the Stanthorpe area.. Nonno worked around the Yelarbon area on tobacco farms….. It’s so funny as my Nonno and Nonna also moved to Brisbane in later years…New Farm… James St.
I hope you may give me hints on how I could find lists of internees….😊😊
My Nonno was Guiseppe Francesco Mondolo( buried in Nugee Cemetery)
His brother was Sante Luigi Mondolo ( buried in Stanthorpe)
His nephew Deri Carlotto and his family worked on the orchard as well he was married to a Francesca … All moved to Brisbane
The boys Mario and Carlo Carlotto had a fruit shop supermarket in NEW farm..
I am obsessed with our Family history and need to find answers …. I return to Italy every two years… Fruili…very special…
There was a time in my life….late Primary School- High School years where I didn’t want anyone to know I was Italian as I was bullied as they say today…..!!!!! It was difficult to deal with at times.. Thank God we were strong….good Italian blood…
I now have my Italian passport and am very proud….😍😍
Thank you again for your books…I am sharing with friends…. !!!!!!A must read….!!!!!
Hi Linet, lovely to hear from you! Thank you for reading both books – I’m thrilled! I can imagine your surprise when you were reading and coming across so many familiar names and places – quite incredible how many similarities there are it seems with your family story. In some ways, while I have written my own family’s story, in many respects it is the migrant story that belongs to so many of us.
In answer to your question, you might be able to find out more about what happened to your Nonno and his brother between 1924 and 1948 by conducting searches of their names through the National Archives and Qld State Archives. You can begin by entering their names in an online database for free and if you find files that are not ‘open’ you can request copies for a small fee. That said, as you will know from reading Joe’s especially, sometimes these searches may be successful and sometimes not. All the best with it!
How lovely that you return to Italy every two years. Very lucky! And thank you for sharing my books with your friends. I appreciate that very much!
Again, really great to hear from you and hope you have some success in further research through the archives.
Best wishes and tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Thank you Zoe….take care😍😍
Dear Zoe,
Thank you so much for having written such an important and heartfelt story – your story, our story, the story that showed the creation of a new culture: the Italo-Australian culture.
I had no idea that racism was so rampant during those years! My Dad and his father – hardworking Italian immigrants, were also incarcerated during WW2. In fact, Dad (Alfio Russo) was about 1 year older than your Nonno, and worked on the family sugar cane farm in Euramo/Tully. Who knows if their paths ever crossed??
These mighty people, were hard-working, strong and vulnerable at the same time, courageous – and so much more; they created a new culture.
Thank you again Zoe from my heart.
~Carmen Russo xx
Dear Carmen,
It is wonderful to receive your message – thank you! You have received the story in the exact spirit that I had hoped and intended for. Yes, it is my family’s story but it is also the story of so many of us whose families did indeed create a new culture – that of being ‘half and half’ in our Italian-Australian culture.
It would be very interesting to know if our relatives’ paths ever crossed on Queensland’s cane fields. There is a possibility since both my grandfathers, great grandfathers and a great uncle all cut cane at numerous different locations. I am sorry to hear that you father and grandfather were also interned during WW2.
It was my intention to honour the Italian men, women and children who made such sacrifices and worked so hard during the early years when they migrated to Australia. And I am very touched that you felt inclined to write to me after reading the book, Carmen, and that you also recognise their vulnerability as well as their strengths. Thank you!
Warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
Dear Zoe,
Someone put me onto your website and I had to laugh as you described what was not acceptable in Australia “bottle tomatoes, have plastic on the hallway carpet or a glory box of Italian linens” – yes, that’s the way it was then – we were the immigrants . I am 62 and my father came out from Pescara at 19yrs – he was a very traditional italian and you know how that goes. However we were surrounded by all italian famlies where we lived so we still carried on with the italian ways and get togethers. As you can see we were from the Abruzzo region, actually not far from you – about 95klms. Dad also worked in the cane fileds of Tully/Ayr Queensland as a lot of italians did. I have been back to Italy and just feel so much at home and comfortable there – after a while of being there the long laid silent italian speech gradually comes back with practice – albeit mighty rusty! I will be ordering your books as they will bring back many happy memories I’m sure.
Ciao
Lynette
Dear Lynette,
Lovely to hear from you. Yes, I am definitely familiar with Pescara. I actually have a couple who are from Pescara living nearby who possibly came out to Australia around a similar time to your father. From what you have told me I think there will perhaps be many things you will relate to in both my books, maybe even more so since you are a first generation Italian-Australian and I am a ‘second’. And you will possibly have a chuckle when you read about me trying to use my Italian in Italy, not just rusty but more like ‘frozen’! Thank you for your interest in my books. I really hope you enjoy reading them!
Tante belle cose,
Zoe
Dear Zoe,
I forgot to tell you – I tried le uova in purgatorio – DELICIOUS!! It seems that quite a few of us children of Italian immigrants grew up around the Tully/FNQ region. Would there be a chance of having some sort of get together? I am living in Italy right now (believe me we are different from modern day Italians – quite a different culture all together), but will be back in Australia from late November on. I’d love to help organise if people would be interested.
Best wishes to you and all on this wall.
Un abbraccio forte!
~Carmen xx
PS as an aside, I remember hearing that some Aboriginal men worked on my Dad’s sugar cane farm – and learned to speak some Sicilian dialect!!
Hello Carmen,
That’s great to hear you enjoyed eating the ‘eggs in purgatory’! And I do know what you mean about the difference between migrants and those Italians who stayed in Italy (which I touched on in Mezza Italiana and discovered when I was staying at my family’s house in Italy). It is interesting how we are all very much shaped by the places and people around where we live at a point in time.
Un grande abbraccio a te!
Zoe xx
Dear Zoe
I have just finished your “Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar” book and reserved straight away your other “Mezza italiana” book. As a recent Italian migrant (I arrived just 11 years ago) I found extremely interesting and fascinating reading all that my compatriots went through when they arrived in Australia a century ago… it’s a completely new scenario which I did not even imagine. I do believe that if Australia today is a welcoming country that values and celebrates peoples from various different backgrounds (Italians included!) is because of the hard work, resilience, good values and great examples of our predecessors. Thanks for sharing this beautiful story and for your hard research work made accessible to the big public via your beautiful book. Anna
Dear Anna,
Thank you for getting in touch with me – it is really interesting to learn your perspective in reading this story. Particularly, in discovering what Italian migrants experienced in Australia last century. I completely agree with you that many migrants from various different backgrounds, in persevering through challenge and keeping their spirits and values, have helped smooth the way for many others who continue to migrate to this country. Although, there are always some areas that need more compassion and understanding, it is wonderful that the majority of Australians believe in giving others a ‘fair go’ whatever their cultural background, and it’s great to hear you have experienced such a welcome. I think I heard recently that Australia is now the most multicultural country in the world – quite amazing! Scusate il mio italiano ma posso chiederle dove in Italia tu sei nata? (Per favore, non è necessario rispondere a questa se si preferisce non farlo, naturalmente!) Thank you again for your message and I hope you enjoy reading Mezza Italiana too!
Tante belle cose,
Zoe x
Hello Zoe,
I saw the write-up about your book in the Sunday Mail a couple of months ago and recognized the name Boccabella ie your Dad, Remo, who was on the staff at Goondiwindi High when I taught there. I was in Home Ec. I have a staff photo, 1968, I think. Alf Garoni (Italian) was the Headmaster who loved to hop on the Fiat tractor after school and plough up the school field. So I was very keen to read your story.
Congratulations on the wonderful work you have done in writing your family’s story. I am Australian with no Italian connection and I had no idea of the difficulties migrants faced when they came to Australia. Thank you for sharing and giving me an understanding of just what life was like back then. As an Australian I feel ashamed of the way the Italians were treated during the war.
You have woven your family’s rich heritage together in a very readable and interesting way and you are rich indeed to have such wonderful family. I am pleased to know all their difficulties and hard work paid off. I’m sure you are very proud of them all.
I would be pleased if you would pass on my greetings to your Dad, Remo.
Lorraine
PS I am looking forward to reading Mezza Italiana
Hello Lorraine,
It is lovely to receive your message, thank you for getting in touch. I am so pleased you enjoyed reading, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, and it’s great to also hear of your connection through teaching at the same time as my Dad, Remo at Goondiwindi High. (I love the image of the Italian Headmaster ploughing the school field on a Fiat tractor by the way!) Very happy to pass on your greetings to my Dad. He has always spoken very fondly of his time in Goondiwindi.
Thank you for your observations about the book, they really do mean a lot to me as I wanted to write this story for a long time and to do my best to do it it justice so this little bit of history isn’t lost. I hope you enjoy reading Mezza Italiana too!
Warm wishes,
Zoe x
Ciao Zoe,
So many things I want to say to you but the most important one is how currently I look forward to going to bed and entering “nonno Anni’s ” world. I am restricting myself to two or three chapters a night so I don’t finish the book too quickly!!!! (By the way I have read Mezza Italiana 3 times now – so I learnt to slow down with Joe’s Fruit shop and bar!) My father was born in Calabria – by coincidence in Palmi in 1930 – so I am sure my father’s family may know your great grandmother’s family! But I digress, your writings have taught me so much more than I thought I already knew about the hardships the early migrants encountered. However your book(s) also validate the strength, motivation and loyalty that I dare say all migrants have that come to Australia for a “better life”. How lucky are we to have such ancestors to not only make us proud of what they did and are/were, but that have given us unconditional love, happiness and a real sense of purpose. I “love” your nonno Anni, he reminds me so much of my dear late father, that I miss so much, reading his story (nonno Anni) is helping me to keep my father “alive”. I sincerely thank you for that. By the way I too have a husband with no Italian background what so ever but who thinks he is a fully blown Italiano!!!! Keep writing about anything Italian please – we cannot let the generations to come not know the wonderful influences/contributions Italians have made to shaping Australia. Mille grazie, Diane
Ciao Diane,
It is wonderful to receive your message! As a fellow bedtime reader, I love your analogy of going to bed and entering “Nonno Anni’s world” as I also love how it is possible to step into other worlds by opening the pages of a book at night. I am thrilled that you look forward to stepping into Anni’s world and I also feel honoured (and a little emotional) that he reminds you of your father. There is something so special about that generation and what they went through, isn’t there? It made them a certain type of person and I must admit I found that very comforting and steady to be around. It really touched me when you said reading Nonno Anni’s story was helping to keep your father alive in a way too. I must confess I cried when I finished writing the book as I felt like those dear to me had come alive again too during the writing and then I had to say goodbye to them once again. How incredible that your father was born in Palmi in Calabria too! And I was absolutely thrilled that you have read Mezza Italiana three times now – thank you!! I have a certain few books that I reread for special reasons so it really does resonate what this means and I am humbled that Mezza means this for you. Of course to also have a husband with no Italian background who considers himself Italiano puts us in a similar situation! I do understand what you say about the strength and motivation of migrants and I continue to be inspired by the way migrants of all different cultures face challenge and adversity and no doubt this will continue to influence what I write as I work on the next book now. Thank you again for your beautiful message, Diane. And I hope you enjoy the rest of Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar! Tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Ciao di nuovo Zoe!
I have sadly now finished “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. I say “sadly” because I am already missing Nonno Anni – what a warm, intelligent, genuine and wise man he was.
Congratulazioni – you successfully made me laugh, cry and love just as I did with Mezza Italiana!
What a brilliant piece of “Australian-Italian history” you have written. The Boccabella and Solano family lines have been so respectfully, lovingly and beautifully brought to life on every page – I wish I had your story telling talent so I too could immortalise my family in such a way.
Please humour me with a little of your time as I feel the need to share a few thoughts and facts with you that came as I read…..I was not aware that many migrants simplified their surnames and I smiled when I read how you wanted to shorten your name to Bell at one stage (to fit in). My family surname “Belle” obviously pronounced Bell in the Anglo community, I feel definitely reduced (or eliminated) any prejudice that I may have received, helped also by the fact my mother had green eyes and red hair! However I always liked that my surname was a little different with the ‘”e” at the end. I have given both my daughters “Belle” as their middle name and I did not take my husbands name – all in tribute to my ancestry.
I am so glad that Nonno Anni explained to you the importance of your surname. Which you wisely took on board – brava!
A little funny on having Belle as a surname in Italy – my father told me when he was at school his nickname was Bruto!
My father was Giuseppe (Joe) Belle and he also had a fruit shop and milk bar in the 1960s that he and mum ran for just over 10 years in the Sydney suburb of Granville. I remember “milk shake and chocolate bar ” stories from my parents just as you have written about flavours and the regulars who purchased them. At the time a very young Paul Hogan (when he still worked on the Harbour Bridge) lived around the corner and frequented the milk bar for one of mum’s milkshakes! (dad focused on the fruit and vegies apparently)
The reason my father came to Australia (on his own) in 1948 aged 18 was twofold – firstly, for an adventure before he settled into family life back in Calabria after a few years away. However, more relevant to Nonno Anni, was the fact his mother broke his banjo as punishment for missing Mass most Sundays (because he would go off fishing with his father). He also had hinted regularly he was not going to become a Priest as she had wished for her eldest son. Often commenting to her that the church only looks out for themselves and he is not that selfish! (can you imagine how angry that would have made a strong willed Calabrese woman???)
In the 1930’s Mass was said on my father’s family veranda, there was no village church and his mother apparently “over played” the importance of their priest. On the Sunday my father returned from fishing to find his broken banjo he promised himself he would run away to the furthest part of the world to avoid the Church unjustly taking from him!
My father didn’t even know how your Zia’s house and your inheritance was “unjustly taken” by the church but I know he would be VERY happy that Nonno Anni did not shake Don Angelo’s hand on return to Fossa!
How strange is it though that without that “unjust side” of the church impacting on your grandfather or my father – you and I may very well not be Mezza Italiana!!!!
Zoe, thank you again for sharing your family through your books. Your family story has become “our” family story, complete with smiles, tears and PRIDE.
Keep writing please….. a few suggestions I would love to see from you…. Nonna’s cookbook, quirky Italian habits and sayings, Remo’s Journey…..
Un abbraccio forte for everything you have given me through your books,
Diane
Ciao di nuovo Diane,
Thank you for your lovely words once again! When I was writing these books, at different times I did laugh and cry too so it’s wonderful to feel a connection in that when reading the words, those feelings translated through to you too.
Yes, I can imagine your having a smile at my once wanting to shorten my surname to Bell when Belle is your surname. And it is great to hear how you also gave your daughters this name and kept it yourself as a tribute to your ancestry. (In fact, interestingly, as recently as last century it was common for most women to retain their birth surnames in Italy.) And yes, I am familiar with that Italian humour of changing a name like ‘Belle’ to ‘Brutto’ as a nickname, which your father experienced! In researching the origin of Italian surnames I discovered that often people were bestowed with a name opposite to how they looked – not sure what that means for us with surnames that mean ‘beautiful’ and ‘beautiful mouth’!!
Thank you for sharing with me some of your family stories – really lovely to read! I think you convey them very well and should definitely start writing them all down (though I should warn it can become quite a labour intensive process but rewarding at the same time!) It is interesting how many similarities our family stories share so I can understand why the books resonated with you. I do feel quite honoured that you feel these books become ‘our story’ as I had hoped that while sharing my family story, knowing how much it had it common with many migrant stories, I was preserving this little piece of history for many of us.
And yes, Diane, I will definitely keep writing and I thank you for your suggestions (some of which actually may already be in line for future works!) And while not every book I write may be of Italian stories, I can promise that I am not finished with writing more Italian books in the future even if the one I am currently writing may be a little different.
Un grande abbraccio indietro and thank you again for your lovely messages.
Warm wishes to you and your family!
Zoe xx
Dear Zoe, I have just finished listening to the audio book: Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, which was made available to me from my local library. It was one of the best true stories I have ever read, and I really enjoyed it so much. I hope you will soon also write a cook book as I’d love to try to make some of the delicious sounding recipes passed down to you by your Nonna. I’m not Italian, but I do remember the resentment some Australians had for the hard working immigrants. I really admire that your family started with nothing and built up their lives through sheer hard work. In comparison, the average Aussie is and was, pretty lazy. It was so inspiring to read how your Nono (not sure of spelling) Anni helped so many people. You are a gifted writer and I loved every word of your story.
Thank you for sharing with me how much you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. That is really lovely to hear! (Daniela did such a beautiful job lending her voice to the audio version of the book.) A few people have now said they would like to see a cookbook from me one day. I must confess I am very much a ‘home cook’ and love cooking handed-down recipes and adapting or creating some others too so you never know. In the meantime, I do have a couple of recipes on this site and also there are recipes in my previous book, Mezza Italiana if you are interested. (And I haven’t ruled out including some more recipes in a future book but will have to see!) Zoe x
Zoe, I have just finished reading ‘Mezza Italiana’ and had to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I had already read ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ and loved it too. I am of Scottish decent migrating to Australia when I was 17 yrs old, but like your Roger feel a greater affinity to Italy, one of my Italian language teachers said I must have been an Italian in a previous life. I have travelled extensively in Italy and spent time in Abruzzo though have not been in Fossa but if money and health allow (I am now in my 83rd year) will return there next year. This time to visit Fossa I want to see it for myself after reading about it. Best of luck to you and many thanks for giving us such enjoyable books.
Hello Josephine, thank you very much for your message. I’m really pleased to hear that you enjoyed reading both Mezza and Joe’s. I can imagine that your having previously visited Abruzzo and knowing some of the area must have added an extra element to reading about it too. Roger continues to have a great affinity to Italy, which you of course will understand – smiling. Sometimes I think he would live there permanently if he could! It is wonderful to hear that you also have this affinity with Italy too. If you are planning to visit Fossa I need to forewarn you that it presently remains a ghost town, although you are able to walk through the village and see many of the things I wrote about. And of course, the area remains beautiful, almost untouched, and worth a visit. I would recommend accommodation at the nearby convent (just up the road from Fossa) Santo Spirito which escaped any damage from the earthquake and has spectacular views over the entire valley. Thank you again for your warm wishes – much appreciated. And I would love to hear if you do end up travelling to Fossa! Kind regards, Zoe x
Hi Zoe
I read Joe’s milk bar when it first came out and just loved it – I have no Italian in my background, but certainly appreciate family history, and enjoyed reading all that you must have researched. I also grew up in Brisbane, and enjoyed finding out more about another family’s historical experience of Brisbane. On the strength of your memoir of Joe, I have now commenced reading Mezza Italiana, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it just as much. Could I just make one small suggeston? In both books I went looking for a map, and was so disappointed not to find a map in either book. If either book is ever revamped, or further similar writing is published, I hope appropriate maps will be included. Thanks again for providing great reading for us. Carina
Hi Carina,
Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed, Joe’s, really lovely to hear. Yes, there was a lot of research involved and it was interesting for me to delve into more of Brisbane’s history and how it unfolded alongside family history. Hopefully you will enjoy reading Mezza too. In many ways, it is quite a different book to Joe’s. And thank you for the feedback regarding maps, this is certainly something that has received some consideration. Again, thank you for your lovely comments about the books. I am currently continuing to delve even further back into Brisbane’s history, and that of SE Qld, for part of the next book, so it seems the area is not quite done with me yet – smiling.
Zoe x
Back again, Zoe, having now finished reading Mezza Italiana. Yes, it’s a different book from Joe’s, but I enjoyed reading it just as much! It made me want to visit the Abruzzo, when it’s ready after the earthquake, though it seems that will be a long time yet. I’m glad you were able to see it ‘unspoiled’.
Like you, I’m 2nd generation Australian, but my ancestors are from the north of England. I had a similar experience to yours when you first arrived in the Abruzzo, when I first visited England – I embarked on my first trip with no great expectation – after growing up in Brisbane, I don’t enjoy visiting Sydney, and imagined arriving in London would feel the same. To my surprise, I wasn’t even out of the terminal at Heathrow and I suddenly felt at home! For the next month travelling around England I felt so much at home that I couldn’t imagine leaving. Grandma had passed away many years earlier, after leaving England over 70 years earlier than that, and having no opportunity to return. But I credited her with passing on a great deal to me of what life in her home country was really like, enabling me to feel so much at home when I made my visit.
Another suggestion for we who know nothing of the Italian language: I would have found it very useful to have a glossary. I didn’t even know what ‘Mezza Italiana’ meant, until I got to page 50 or so when it was explained, but it sounded good and I was willing to take a chance!
I’m going to try Nanna Francesca’s angry lamb dish – thanks for including the recipes throughout.
Thanks again for your writing, and I’ll be looking forward to your next issue.
Carina
Hi Carina,
Really lovely to hear you enjoyed reading Mezza Italiana too! If you are interested in going to the Abruzzo one day, please don’t be put off by the earthquake. There are many areas of the region that were unaffected. And even those that were have much to offer visitors. While I was fortunate to have stayed there at times before the 2009 earthquake, it is a region that has experienced earthquakes at different times over the centuries but continues to retain its overall magic.
It is also wonderful to learn that you shared that experience of recognition and feeling at home when you visited your ancestral England for the first time. There must be special happenings at play within us that continue to bind us to both people and places no matter how far we may grow up from them. And that relationship with a grandparent is so special, it’s lovely that your Grandmother handed on that love of England to you.
Most of the recipes Nanna Francesca gave me were word of mouth so it was an interesting process for me to put ingredients and amounts into writing when I’m used to “a handful of this” or “a quick pour of that”. I do continue to love cooking her dishes though.
Best wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
A delightful book, enjoyed every minute of it. Brought back some memories of my father who owned a watchmaking business in Westgarth, near Northcote in Melbourne. The area became very popular with the “New Australians” as he called them, with tomato plants in the front yard and lots of elderly Italian women dressed in sombre black visiting his shop. The fruiterer next door was Italian, with a toothpick as a constant appendage from his mouth. Who can forget the fruiterers putting your fruit in a paper bag then swinging it around to tighten the knot at the tops! We enjoyed the Italian community, a bit sad to see their small cottages being bought out/ demolished etc. Anyway, that’s progress I guess, but thank you for expanding my knowledge of the hardships these ‘New Australians’ had to endure in a country so far away from their homes.
Bill Walker
Hello Bill,
Thank you, I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar and that it brought back some lovely memories too. I could immediately imagine the area and happenings you described around your father’s business and had to smile at the tomato plants in the front yard – yes! – thank you for sharing these memories with me, brought back some more of my own. Progress or not, I can’t help feeling sadness at the end of such an era in some respects. I love that your father had a watchmaking business. It reminds me of the sign I saw for a shop in Castlemaine – ‘Spectacle Maker’. Yes, progress marches on but there is something lost in not seeing some of these traditional businesses around as much anymore. Again, thank you for getting in touch. Very much appreciated! Zoe
This is the second time I have read your wonderful book Mezza Italiana.
My family tree goes back six generations in the not so far away New Zealand And before then England. Even so I can relate to your story in my own way. I am pulled between two places either side of the Tasman. Wishing I could live in my homeland but dwelling in Australia as an economic refugee of sorts.
You write so eloquently. Well done.
Hi Kelly, it is such a thrill for me to learn that you have read Mezza a second time – thank you for sharing this with me! I do understand how that pull between cultures must resonate with you. It is significant regardless of how much distance there may be between cultures or geographically. Thank you again for your lovely words, great to hear from you. Zoe x
Hi Zoe
Look forward to your book. I am mezzo abruzzese, my nonni both from Tocco da Casauria. Nonna “Stromei” somehow related to the poet domenico stromei.
There are a lot of unfinished family tales that end in Australia and I have tracked a few. i want to read your book and then correspond
greg critser
pasadena ca usa
Hi Greg,
Thank you for your message. Based on your own connections there will perhaps be much you may relate to in both Mezza Italiana and Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar with regards to Abruzzo, Australia and being ‘mezzo e mezzo’ – smiling. I do hope you enjoy reading them!
Warm wishes, Zoe
Dear Zoe,
Thank you so much for Joe’s beautiful book. It is so well crafted, makes the reader part of Joe’s world, is so interesting and is a special book to me.
I was born in Brisbane in 1936 and your book brought back so very many memories. I remember Joe’s shop but living at Camp Hill we mainly frequented the Queen Street milk bars. As an amateur historian I’ve written about Italian immigrants, one who came to Australia at 17 after World War 2 with two bob in his pocket and no English and now is the largest macadamia grower in the world. I’ve written of Italian internees who worked on farms in the Gympie district and have recently photographed what people would call a rough chook shed but where two internees lived for two years. Most Italians had a great work ethic, a strong sense of family and have become great Aussies.
I’m now looking for Mezza Italiana and will follow your literary career.
Keep writing and thrive on life.
Ian McConachie
Dear Ian,
Thank you for your message. I was very touched to discover what Joe’s means to you. It is a book I have wanted to write for most of my life so it is truly a pleasure to hear from someone like yourself who experienced this era and who has also written about Italian migrants. (It is interesting to learn that an Italian migrant is now the largest grower of the Australian macadamia nut – my favourite by the way!)
There are so many migrants who faced great challenge in establishing their ‘new lives’ and I am very conscious Joe’s is but one story among so very many of whom displayed much forbearance and goodwill. Such migrant stories continue to inspire me.
Thank you for seeking out Mezza (quite a different book to Joe’s – I hope you enjoy it too!) I am currently well into writing the next book and am aiming to have it completed next year.
Again, many thanks for you message.
Warm wishes and tante belle cose!
Zoe
Zoe – I had the pleasure of a quick meeting at our dressmaker’s house recently. Since learning of your writing at this time, I read Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar which I absolutely loved. Couldn’t wait then to read Mezza Italiana. Thoroughly enjoyed both books. Wow – Zoe – you have a very special gift to be able to tell a story the way you do. So much detail – I can’t wait to visit Fossa one day – you have opened my eyes to the plight of early migrants and their struggles – things that I had never ever contemplated before your story. I was born in 1952 and I related to so much to details in Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar – my mother spent a lot of time on a farm in Stanthorpe when my Father was in the Army (WW2) and I remember my mother telling me stories of the wonderful Italian family she knew there. – so much of your story resonated with me. Just can’t wait to read your next book – I hope it is close to being finished. You are just so talented and God has certainly blessed you with a wonderful talent. Many thanks and keep writing!!! PS Roger sounds like a wonderful man. You must be a formidable couple.
Hi Jill, it is really lovely to hear that you have enjoyed reading both Mezza and Joe’s! I appreciate your getting in touch to let me know. Thank you for seeking out the books and for your kind words (about Roger too!) It is especially wonderful to hear how much the stories resonated with you, particularly with your mother’s link to Stanthorpe too. I am currently continuing writing the next book and it is coming along. I don’t like to put definite timeframes on writing but I do hope to have it completed within the year. When I can reveal more about it I will be sure to put something here on the website and also on my Facebook page. I am putting in many hours working on it at present and can say I have travelled to three Australian states as well as Germany to research this one! Again, thank you for your lovely message. It really means a lot to learn how you enjoyed the books. Warm wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
I have LOVED reading Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar and sad that I have finished it as I didn’t want it to end. I think it will linger long in my mind. Your grandparents were wonderful people and were perfect examples of ‘New Australians’ working hard and being successful. Congratulations for writing so beautifully about them. It is a book which speaks ‘volumes’ to me as I was born in Brisbane in the mid 50s. Thank you for bringing back to life the various places and names so evocatively e.g. I often drank Tristrams lemonade with the wax paper straws! I can remember squashing them and tasting the wax!!
Brisbane had many milk bars and corner stores in the suburbs in the 60s, often run by Italian or Greek families. Thank you for bringing back the memories. In the 60s I remember going to an orchard near Stanthorpe that was owned by Italians, as my father was an accountant and had audited their books. Again, you describe the area so accurately – congratulations.
I also read with great interest about the Intern Camps. It is so important to record this history especially from your family’s perspective.
Once again, congratulations on such a heart felt, heart warming book. I will certainly recommend it.
Sincerely,
Louise
Hi Louise,
Thank you for your lovely message about Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. It is really wonderful to hear how the book resonated with you and that it brought back so many memories from Brisbane of the 1950s and 60s. (Although born slightly after this time, I too remember the wax paper straws and sometimes ‘sucking them shut’ as a kid, and for me it was the Tristram’s truck delivering crates of soft drinks to houses around the suburbs.)
It is especially such a thrill to learn that for you the book captured both the places and times of Brisbane then (and Stanthorpe too) as I was really concerned with doing both the stories and the era justice out of respect for all those who lived through this time and experienced its joys as well as its challenges.
Thanks again for letting me know how you felt about the book and for your lovely wishes including to recommend it. I really appreciate it!
Kindest wishes,
Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
I am not aware if my great grandmother was related to your Dad. My great-grandmothers maiden name was ‘Boccabella’,she was born in a village called Petogna,which is a frazione of Barisciano. The area is called ‘Picenze’ made up of San Martino,Villa di Mezzo and Petogna.
My great -grandmother was called Santa Boccabella. She married a Giuseppe Garzone. Her daughter,my grandmother,married Paoloantonio Speranza and lived in San Martino,now referred as ‘Picenze’l
All the family have migrated to different countries. My family is in Melbourne. We have relatives in NSW and Brisbane.
Hi Anna Maria,
I cannot say for sure regarding the connection however there is a definite possibility considering the relative close proximity of Petogna to Poggio Picenze and Fossa where my family comes from. (I do recall driving through Petogna the last time I was there.) Unfortunately, I cannot confirm the connection at this stage but it is certainly possible.
Best wishes, Zoe x
Thank you for answering my message.
You be interested to know that work has been started on my earthquake damaged house in Picenze. I believe work has also started in Fossa.
I had less points being a non permanent resident.I was 32 in line,so actual construction starts in September this year. Houses already done are very well reconstructed. Hopefully your house will be done soon.
Regards, Anna Maria
Hello Anna Maria, yes, it is heartening to know work is underway on repairing houses in many of the earthquake damaged villages of Abruzzo. There is no word of my family’s house in Fossa being repaired at this stage as it is situated right in the red zone. However it is really wonderful to hear of those villagers who have been waiting patiently for so long that work is commencing on some of their homes. Best wishes for the reconstruction on your place. Kind regards, Zoe
Just finished reading Joes fruit shop and milk bar, thank you for sharing the history of your family.
I became so immersed in reading that I just missed my bus.
a long while since I have read a book with such warmth . Thanks again
Doug beal
Hello Doug, thank you, that is so lovely to hear. I do feel sorry that you missed a bus but I have to say I am chuffed that it was because you were so immersed in reading Joe’s. I hope another bus came along soon after! – smiling. Zoe x
How far away is your next book Zoe??? Just love your writing style!
Hi Jill, thank you!! The next book is well progressed but I cannot give a timeframe just yet. I will definitely put something here on my website or on my facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/Zoe.Boccabella.Author/ – once I can say more. Zoe x
Ciao Zoe, Recently my daughters travelled to Italy with school on an Italian language tour. Part of their preparation for the upcoiming immersion of all things Italian was to listen to current songs charting on the Italian top 100. From this I was exposed to an artist, Francesco Gabanni who currently has two successful songs “Amen” that won him a division in the 2016 San Remo festival – great song – not religious at all given it’s title and another song titles Eternamente Ora. That song, with it’s corresponding video has prompted me to write to you. I immediately thought of Nonno Anni and his beautiful wife Francesca. If you get a chance google the official Vevo video clip of it….I hope the song and the video touch you as it did me. warm regards, Diane Belle
Ciao Diane, that sounds really wonderful that your daughters got to travel to Italy recently. (Such a difference to when I was at school and there was never any prospect of overseas travel!) I’m sure it must have had such a beneficial impact for them.
One of the things I love about travelling is discovering different artists in that country including in music. I had a look at the clip you suggested for Eternamente Ora. It is very kind of you to share with me that you were moved to think of Nonno Anni and Francesca when you saw it. And it is also touching to know that, further on from your previous lovely messages about Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, the story and the people have stayed with you. Thank you. Warm wishes, Zoe xx
Hi Zoe,
I loved your book Mezza Italiana and I am currently eagerly reading your second book.
I was shocked to read about the secret camp atWestern Creek. So I googled a fewthings and came up with the following site which has photos of remains of a camp and barracks at Western Creek. Itmay be nothing or it may be whatyou are looking for http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=57839&d=pics&c=1&op=1562&x=150.98651&y=-27.83582&w=145274&mpsec=0
Best regards from a fellow Brisbaneite.
Sarah
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for getting in touch. It’s really great to hear you enjoyed Mezza and I hope you enjoy reading the rest of Joe’s.
Yes, unfortunately the secret camp at Western Creek stuns many but I felt it was important to include it as while a small part of history, it is still a part (and significant for all those involved). I took a look at the link you included and did some more searching of that camp and I don’t believe it is the same one that I have written about. It seems the one you found pictures of is actually further north to the location of the internment camp and was most likely used by forestry workers. It is lovely that you felt compelled to go searching though – thank you!
Again, hope you enjoy the rest of Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I am getting very close to finishing the next book and hopefully, being from the Brisbane area too, it might interest you as well! Thanks again! Best wishes, Zoe x
Cara Zoe
I have been learning Italian for 3 years at our local U3A. Initially this was to assist us during our 3 month stay in Italy in 2013. We were based in Monte San Biagio, a small hill-top village between Roma and Napoli. But, I fell in love with the language (as i did the country) so have kept it up. Our Italian teacher one day showed us “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”, so I borrowed it form the library. I became totally absorbed in it so I then had to read “Mezza Italiana”. Again I became enthralled and found myself aligning the culture of Fossa with Monte San Biagio. Sigh! We want to go back!! Amazing how Italy and its culture gets under the skin. What is it, compared to other European countries?
I very much look forward to your next book … and maybe others after that!
Auguri,
Susan
Hello Susan,
Thank you for getting in touch with me. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed reading both Joe’s and Mezza – thank you! Yes, there’s definitely something about small Italian towns that gets under your skin. I imagine you must have had a fantastic three months in Monte San Biagio. And how wonderful that you have fallen in love with the language! I do hope you have the opportunity to have another extended stay in Italy to converse with the locals. Yes, I am currently working on the next book and it is coming along – with hopefully more to follow! I will definitely post something here and on my FB page once I know when the next book is coming out. Again, thank you for your kind words.
Tante belle cose, Zoe x
Zoe, I had contacted you some time ago after having read “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. Well last week I was in Florence and went into one of the bookshops – and guess what I saw – your wonderful book!! Thought this news would please you.
All the best
~Carmen Russo
Hi Carmen, thank you for letting me know. It’s such a thrill my books are starting to appear in bookshops in Italy. Just recently another lovely person told me they’d found Mezza in Milan and now you’ve spotted Joe’s in Florence! Have to pinch myself really. I appreciate your sharing this with me – grazie mille!
Warm wishes,
Zoe
Hello Zoe,
I have been meaning to write to you ever since I read and thoroughly enjoyed your book Mezza Italiana, earlier this year.
I am a member of a book club and this was the chosen book for that particular month. What I particularly liked was the ‘love of life’ which Italians seem to have….they really live life. Your grandparents were very strong people and I think your growing realization of their wonderful attributes and what they could teach you was something with which I can confer. I came to appreciate my grandparents and all that they had done for our family as I matured and grew into adulthood.
I think it is rather wonderful too that your husband Roger has come to love the Italian way of life so very much.
I loved reading about your journeys back to the area of Italy from where your grandparents came and how you came to know and love the people and the way of life there.
On Page 217 of this book you mentioned having visited La Spezia. That village is very memorable for me. In January 1974 I was on a school tour with the Shore School from Sydney and on the 5th of January we travelled from Nice to Lirici, which as my diary says ‘ is a small port just near La Spezia’. My diary goes on to say that Lirici ‘has a pretty beach front and is surrounded by mountains. When we arrived some of the group went for a swim ( not having seen the sea for some time) and created such a stir by swimming in the middle of winter that we even had two policemen watching on and
quite a crowd of local people’!!
Why I am writing to you now, however is that as soon as I heard about the devastating earthquake in central Italy and the name of L’Aquila, I immediately thought of you and your family. No doubt you are trying to find out about the fate of relations and friends living in this area. The images on television are frightening. I can just say that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. My thoughts are also with the tireless rescue workers and maybe there will still be a few miracles, with the discovery of more survivors.
With kindest regards,
Joan Schubert.
Hello Joan,
Lovely to receive your message – thank you. It’s great to hear that you enjoyed Mezza Italiana. Yes, there is something wonderful about how many Italians embrace life and are very strong and stoic about hardship, particularly those generations that lived through such a challenging era, including war. And it is also wonderful to hear how you felt a similar way about your own grandparents. I’m not sure if you are aware but I ended up also writing a follow up called, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, and I must admit as I delved further into the lives of my grandparents and great grandparents both in Italy and more so in Australia, I came to have an even greater appreciation of that ability to ‘get on with it’ and maintain that love of life in the face of challenge. I am currently writing and researching a story based on German ancestors on my mother’s side who came to Australia in the 19th century and this unveils another whole set of challenges that people overcame! I confess I am very much inspired by those who, when faced with challenge overcome it with such calm forbearance.
I had a smile at your experience at Lerici. It sounds just like Italy of that era based on stories my parents told me of their travels in the late 60s and early 70s. Also, I think the picturesque village you visited was perhaps a little different to where I stayed near the very busy port of La Spezia! – smiling. What a wonderful experience for you to have in travelling to Italy at school age!
Regarding the most recent earthquake in central Italy, as you mentioned – the area where it occurred is about 50km north of my family’s village so they definitely felt it and were frightened but are thankfully safe. I think the similarity of the 2009 earthquake occurring at 3.32am and the 2016 happening at 3.36am have traumatised people again at their most vulnerable in sleep. Having seen the devastation and the effect on people in Abruzzo weeks after the 2009 earthquake, my heart goes to those currently facing it and the long road ahead that they will endure in recovery. The images are as frightening as you mention and I found the reality so sobering and overwhelming when I saw it firsthand. My family’s village of Fossa remains a ghost town seven years on with the villagers still in temporary housing, including my relatives. The rebuilding is an extremely complex and wrought issue. My family’s house in Fossa that I wrote about remains damaged and uninhabitable as it was the day of the earthquake. It has been emotional to learn of this most recent earthquake in the area. Again, thank you for your kind thoughts.
Warm wishes, Zoe x
Dear Zoe,
I was about three quarters way through reading Mezza Italiana when the devastating news came through about the earthquake.Such horrible images of small villages being extinguished by the power of nature. I do hope your relatives are safe and you were not visiting the area.
Take care
Barbara Krefel
Dear Barbara,
Thank you very much for your message. My family’s village is about 50km south of the most recent earthquake in central Italy so it was definitely felt there. I wasn’t in the area at the time however I admit it has brought back memories of visiting the Abruzzo just weeks after the 2009 earthquake. Having seen how that traumatised people, I keep thinking of and feel concern for those currently going through this tragedy. Without giving too much away, by the end of reading Mezza you will know more of my visit to Abruzzo after the last earthquake. Sadly, the villagers including my relatives are still in temporary housing seven years on and the village is all but a ghost town. A long road ahead for the most recent survivors.
Again, many thanks for your thoughts, they are much appreciated. Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
of course when I finished reading your memoir I realized that Fossa was badly affected by the 2009 earthquake. What a shame that the village has not been re built. My heart goes out to all the survivors.
I also want to say how much I enjoyed “Mezza Italiana” and could identify and laugh about the Italian traditions bought by migrants to Australia.My husband was eight years old when he migrated from the Tyrol with his parents after the war and made their own wine in the suburbs of Sydney. When we got married Peter decided to carry on the tradition and we stored the bottles underneath the house at Cammeray. The neighborhood was often awakened by the blast of an exploding bottle and Peter would put on his racing helmet to cautiously retrieve a bottle for dinner.
I could also identify with Roger embracing all things Italian even though I am 4th generation Australian but unlike him I loved a strong espresso and a good red wine from the start.
Warm wishes
Barbara Krefel x
Hi Barbara,
It is lovely to hear how much you enjoyed reading Mezza Italiana and could identify with various aspects in it. Thank you! I had to laugh at your husband Peter’s experiences with the exploding bottles, this can certainly be the case with both wine and passata alike! I think my Mum may have been more like you in that she embraced many of the Italian traditions and foods from the start. Roger has certainly come a long way from that first trip to Italy twenty years ago. Just recently he’s been trimming the grapevines in the backyard in preparation for the growing season for next season’s wine grapes!
I do hope the village of Fossa is rebuilt one day especially for the residents who have remained in the area since the earthquake and hope to return to their beloved Fossa in the future. It seems once these stories disappear from the news headlines, it is assumed people may have returned to their towns while they in essence remain displaced.
Thank you again for sharing with me how you identified with Mezza Italiana. Much appreciated!
Best wishes, Zoe x
I thoroughly enjoyed your both of your books. It is so nice to read about your interest in the history of your family. My husband is Dutch, but I am from the United States and my 4 grandparents were born in Italy. They came to America in the early 20th century. One set came from Priverno and the other set lived in Sicily. We visited both towns and found the “castle” my grandmother lived in till she left for America at 14 years old. She thought the castle was hers because they lived there, but she didn’t realize that her family were the contadini! It is Palma di Montechiaro and was in the Giusseppi di Lampedusa family. Now, we spend a lot of time in the Abruzzo as well. We live in Barrea and Florida and visited L’Aquila after the earthquake. What a sight…
I so enjoy your description of life and people in Abruzzo…So true!! May you continue writing and have much success.Your books bring smiles to many faces, especially if their roots are from Italy…….
Hello Vicki,
Wonderful to receive your message! I also have relatives in the Boccabella family who migrated to America. I’m thrilled that you have enjoyed both of my books – thank you very much for letting me know! I love the story of your grandmother living in a castle in Italy and thinking it was hers. (My family were contadini too as you will know from the books!) How incredible that it was the castle of the Lampedusa family. Il Gattopardo, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s book, I very much enjoyed reading and have also seen the 1963 film, The Leopard and the BBC program Carluccio and the Leopard.
Barrea is in a truly beautiful position on the lake. It must be fantastic to spend part of your time living there. L’Aquila after the earthquake was certainly a very distressing sight. These days the city’s horizon seems to be filled with cranes, a promising sight… Sadly, my own family’s village of Fossa currently remains much a ghost town since the earthquake in 2009 with most villagers still in the temporary housing. The repercussions of terremoto certainly lasts many years…
Again, thank you for your lovely message. I am currently working on the third book and hope to write many more, some with Italian stories and also others. I will put something about the next book here on my website and also on facebook @zoeboccabella.author once it gets closer to being completed.
Tante belle cose, Zoe x
Hello Zoe Picked up “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar” from my local library not really knowing what to expect from your book. I must say it was a beautiful surprise to read, so informative in so many ways and so wonderful to read about your family. I felt so emotional reading this book, as though I had been part of the stories told. I cannot wait to read other books by you.
Hi Yvonne, thank you very much for letting me know how much you enjoyed reading “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. It’s so lovely to hear how the book connected with you. I’m at my desk about half way through editing book three and to receive your message certainly gives me a boost to keep going! Again, thank you, I really appreciate your message. Warm wishes, Zoe x
Dear Zoe I am a 79 yo Aussie, and have just read your beutifully descriptive book – Joes’s friut shop and milk bar. Your book really brings alive the times, scents, and memories of growing up during the war years and afterwards when so many “new australians” of many different nationalities came to our country. Growing up in the town of Kingston SE, Sth Aust. we initially had a number of Polish and German families come to the area working on the railways, really hard working , good living family men who eventually had their own businesses and were well respected people in the community. I remember they were really good gardeners, and it was often my job to go and buy some fresh vegies from the as did so many other families. In the 1960″s when I was a pay clerk for the E & W S who were constructing major drainage works throughout the South East of our state, there were many different nationalities who were required to work for a certain time on govt. projects when first arriving in Australia. They were a varied lot with some real characters, and I can still hear one young Italian lad who would have been no more than 17/18 and whose English was very limited singing away at the top of his voice on his way home from work – in Italian of course, but happy to be here in this land. For many of these the story was likewise in that they were hard working family men determined to make the most of their opportunities, and the same again, many of them started their own businesses, and became valued citizens in their communities. I often used to think that if we Aussies had had to do the same in reverse and end up in places in Europe, foreign in so many ways and in a language that we didn’t understand, we would not have coped nearly as well
Once again thank you so much for the way you write, and I am looking forward. to getting ‘Mezza Italiana’ from our library shortly.
Yours sincerly with a love of your writing. Ross Threadgold
Dear Ross,
I was thrilled to receive your message and to learn how much you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar – thank you! It was a great pleasure for me to write about the era that you mentioned. I was very conscious of wanting to do it justice for those who lived through it so to find out that the book captured it for you is especially lovely to hear.
It is interesting what you wrote about South Australia (it is a place I plan to visit and do more research in future) and in particular, the German and Polish migrant families that you spoke of since my next book, which I am almost finished, has involved much research about a German migrant family coming to Australia.
Also, I loved the image you described of the young Italian fellow singing on his way home from work. I appreciate your sincere compassion and understanding that yes it was indeed challenging for many such migrants of various cultures to start anew in a different country and that they did so with hard work and open hearts.
I do hope you enjoy Mezza Italiana as well and once I have some news about the next book I will put something here on my website too. Thank you again for your lovely message, it was such a pleasure to receive it!
Kindest wishes,
Zoe xx
Hi Zoe,i recently read your book Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar and loved it so much my wife bought me Mezza Italiana which i am now reading.I went to a Catholic boarding school in Charters Towers from 1955 to 1961 and there were lots of Italian students attending and most of their families were in the sugar cane industry and we all got along just fine and i was shocked and saddened to learn of some of the abuse some people had to put up with.I worked in Brisbane with a chap i became very good friends with and he related some of the things his uncles were subjected to while working in the canefields and it made me very sad.I worked as a sales rep and one of my customers were the Borgo family who ran a small goods business and were always willing to help by purchasing something which i suspected they might not really need.In return i always got my Christmas ham from them.I am retired now and have moved so i am not sure if they are still running their business but my memories of Italians were good ones.You are a brilliant writer and i loved reading your books.Best wishes
Terry Smith
Hi Terry, thank you very much for your message. It is wonderful to hear that you have enjoyed the books – much appreciated. I can tell you that the Borgo family are still running their salumi business and are into the third generation as far as I am aware (I’m guessing it must be the same family that you knew). While the era mentioned provided challenges especially to many migrants it was also a time it seems when there was much generosity in supporting each other also and it is great to learn how you experienced that in reciprocation with the Borgo family and those you went to school with who were from Italian cane families. For me, writing Joe’s in particular, and putting down many of those stories to paper, both the tough ones to write and the inspiring ones, felt like an honour in a way. Knowing that similar stories were experienced by many I hoped to convey them with much respect for what so many went through during that time. I did love writing about that era I have to say and no doubt will write more of this time. In the meantime, I continue to work on book three. Again, thanks for being in touch, it really is lovely to know that you enjoy the books. Warmest wishes, Zoe xx
Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar
Dear Zoe Boccabella
Thank you very much for your story right from your heart.
You have certainly pulled a few of my heart strings.
This is my story and I will tell it as simply as possible before I hit you with some of my questions.
Born in Stanthorpe August 1943, father Allen Russell, mother Dulcie Pierpoint, I was brought up by my Grandmother as my mother had TB and due to ill health was not able to have much contact with me. My mother passed away when I was very young and for the life of me I can not remember her.
In my early years I stayed with my Grandmother in Warwick, she with the help of some of my Aunties ran Russells Café in Warwick which was in King Street across the road from Kings Picture.
For some reason the Café was seconded by the Americans during the war and my Grand mother used to let out their kitchen in her house in Wantly St to another couple to make ends meet. She did all her domestic cooking in the Café.
I started school at Warwick Central had two stints there, between stints at Thulimbah School.
Our northern neighbours were Mr and Mrs Sam Laspina, and our southern neighbour was Don Watson.
I used to walk to school about three miles with Connie, Santa(deceased), Bruno(deceased) and Connie was the boss she would have been 12 or thirteen at the time.
Bill Savage was one of our permanent workmen and he married Elma Chapmen and they ran the Thulimbah Post Office, she was very familiar with a lot of the Italians in the district.
My Uncle Don McNevin worked at the Pachendale Forrestry, he served in Cypres,NewGunea, and Milmn Bay. I never realised at the time but he could speak fluent Italian. He worked in the following Forrestries, Leyburn, Pachendale, and lastly Jimna. As a child I would have spent small periods of time at each place.
My dad was one of the founding members of the Summit bowels club, and I can remember a lot of the farmers had a hand in laying the first bowling greens, all voluntary, with the aid of Massey Ferguson tractors.
Every one got the cane at school if you got a spelling mistake you got the cane, we just thought that was normal. One funny thing happened one day one of the horses got the cane, we would have had about 10 or so kids that used to ride to school. This particular horse had a habit of pinching school lunches but got stuck under the veranda, so was caught in the act.
One of the main reasons that I am writing is that I have always had a query about a camp that my dad and I found in the late forties, we had followed our cow into a thick patch of scrub, and came across an a banned camp, surrounded by a lot of set rabbit traps. The bike which was there belonged to one of the neibours , there were sheets of iron, and a lot of empty jam jars, all jam then was home made. The jam would have been taken taken from Reg Simmons house he owned the orchid before Dad.
We were always told that Italians were in a camp at Wallangarra, with you research some one might have told you about that story.
I can relate to how your parents felt in the seventy four flood, we were in Booval Ipswitch at the time, watching TV at seven by 10 pm our house was under. My wife went to go to the loo on our last trip and toilet was under water.
When we came back to clean up one never forgets the smell.
Once again thanks for your book, it brought a few tears but most of the memories were good.
Regards Alwyn Russell
Dear Alwyn,
Thank you very much for sharing your story with me. I’m thrilled to learn how Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar has resonated with you. Yes, you are right, I did write it from the heart having heard many of these stories over a number of decades and for a long time I hoped to put them altogether.
I’m sorry to hear that you lost your Mum at such a young age. I noticed her surname was Pierpoint and I’m guessing she was perhaps related to the Pierpoints who owned the shop and blacksmiths that my grandmother’s family often visited in Stanthorpe. From the memories you have shared it seems you had much interaction with different Italians in the area (and I love the story about the horse stealing the school lunches by the way!)
You mentioned a camp that you and your father came across in the late 1940s. Do you recall roughly where that was or which town in particular it was near? Of course it is possible there are other ‘unofficial’ WW2 internment camps in the area as well as the one I wrote about that was near Millmerran since the other officially listed camps were full. If only there were records kept of these.
That must have been quite a shock to have your house go under in the 1974 flood. And yes, one never forgets the smell – I do know exactly what you mean! The next book I’ve been working on is partly set in Ipswich and includes the time of the 1893 floods in Brisbane and Ipswich that were even bigger. These weather events are certainly very much a part of the history of this area.
Again, thank you very much for contacting me. It is a privilege for me to share such stories that evoke memories from over a lifetime. I wish you the very best.
Warm regards,
Zoe xx
Cara Zoe,
Io sono Mezza Italiana. Recently , I celebrated my 75th birthday and received your book entitled Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar which I really enjoyed. In the meantime
II Ordered Mezza Italiana. You have a lovely way of telling a story, a true boccabella.
I was born in Canada. My father was born in Fiumme Veneto, Province of Pordenone and my grandparents on my mothers side were from Mondolfo Marotta on the Adriatic. Both families spoke to us in Italian and we answered in English.
My Nonna on my dad’s side was Redanta Bonnazza her name dates back to the 16th century her ancestors had a Sculpting School for over one hundred years in Padova.Giovanni and his sons adorned the churches and villas in the Veneto.
I have found 2 beautiful books on their work and life
You tell a story so well that I thought that you might like
to do their name justice by telling their story. They lived at the time of the great artist Tiepelo.
I have many more stories to tell of my life if you are interested. I would love to hear from you.
Best regards
Teresa Goegan
Grazie mille, Teresa. Buon compleanno e congralutazioni – 75 anni!! It is wonderful to hear how you enjoyed reading Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. (And I see you realise the meaning of Boccabella! – smiling.) It always amazes me how so many of us of migrant background have grown up with those conversations in a mix of two languages, and no matter where that might be in the world.
I do understand your interest and pride in tracing back your family history and it must be a thrill to have discovered two books written already on the work and life of your ancestors. I’m currently working on completing book three and do already have commitments to books beyond that at this stage but you are most welcome to share some of your stories with me. Being a mezza italiana also, perhaps you’ll discover some aspects of that book that resonate with you. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you again for your lovely message.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
Hi !!. Zoe.
Read your books. “MEZZA ITALIANA ” and ” Joe’s milk-bar and fruit shop”, how much I enjoyed it. Amazing.
As a matter of fact, read the latter twice,I did not want to miss a thing.
The whole concept takes me back in my care-free childhood days roaming the streets of Fossa.
ONLY a fossolano born in Fossa (1938) can comprehend the true meaning of the story well laid out.
Meraviglioso, excellent, keep up the good works. Un bacio e un abbraccio. Grazie.
Hi Augusto,
Really wonderful to receive your message – thank you! So pleased that you enjoyed the books, especially being a fossolano yourself! I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that they brought you back to your time in Fossa, that’s lovely to know, grazie mille.
I admit I spent much time roaming those streets of Fossa myself to really get a feel for the village before I wrote about it and I believe you were very fortunate to be born in such a beautiful place (despite the turmoil and hardship of the era, a hard time for many Italians who then had to migrate).
I’m continuing to work on more books and while they may not all focus on the area around Fossa I do hope to write about it again in future. Grazie again for your message. Baci e tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Hi Zoe, I would really like to get a copy of Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar for my father and was wondering if it was available in Italian? Thank you 😊
Hi Angela, I wish I could say yes but it is available only in English at present. I will definitely let you know if there is an Italian version at some stage but for now I’m not aware of the publisher’s plans for a translation. Best wishes, Zoe xx
Dear Zoe,
Many thanks for your wonderful books. I read “Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar” several years ago when it came out, and found a copy at a bookshop in Perth which I gave to my daughter, Now I’ve just discovered “Mezza Italiana” after having it on my reading list for a while. Wow!, congratulations, a book from the heart, I haven’t any Italian heritage (Scottish, English, German) but Italy really resonates with me. We greatly enjoyed 2 weeks in a large farm house in Umbria several years ago with our 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren.
It’s so sad that Fossa and the area is still in ruins …
Looking forward to your next book,
Regards,
Hi Robert,
Thank you very much for letting me know. I’m thrilled to learn that you enjoyed the books. Much appreciated!
And that would have been a truly wonderful experience you had to stay in the Italian farm house with three generations of your family there. And Umbria being such a beautiful region to get that true sense of life in Italy too.
Yes, it is a shame regarding Fossa. I still have hope for the future of the town as many remain quite attached to it but the recovery is certainly a test of endurance.
Regarding your own heritage, I actually have very similar heritage on my mother’s side and in recent years have travelled to Germany to do research for the third book. (In south-west Germany near the Black Forest area.)
Again, thank you for your message, really lovely to hear from you!
Best wishes,
Zoe xx
Dear Zoë
My sister gave my best wife a copy of ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ for Xmas. Dorothy had read the book and it reminded her of Linda’s Mum and Dad, Giuseppina and Mario Cambruzzi, both post-war Italian immigrants who achieved so much from so little.
I picked it up yesterday and devoured it. What a magnificent yarn. And loaded with love. I felt seriously guilty reading it in less than a day after the mountains of work over so many years to build your masterpiece.
I wrote and delivered the eulogy for Linda’s dad (‘Victor’ as he was known) earlier this year (happy to share if you’re interested). It was an intensely moving experience, as I’d imagine your writing was. Your book had the feelings for Victor welling in me throughout. He too had an incredible story. It has helped me better understand what I saw from ‘the other side of the fence’ growing up in a small bush community south of Mackay that included many immigrants, mostly Maltese and Italian, who my parents greatly respected. When older, I worked for 20 years in a community of immigrants up-river from Ayr, mostly Italian, and they became my second family. I never did understand dagophobia. I am from a fantastic Strine family and lucky enough to marry into a family such as your own.
I read ‘Joe’s’ on a very hot and very dry day south of Charters Towers, going a bit troppo waiting for the break in the season, which BoM always says is coming but never materialises as they suggest. The cattle have just come in for one of several visits to the trough today, bustling in and out quickly so they can retreat to shadier parts of their paddock. And I could be, and should be, writing. It’s just a pity most of us are insufficiently motivated and equipped to write the stories of our forebears. I am very pleased to tell you that ‘Joe’s’ is a great surrogate if I never get it done. I have this plan when l retire……. Till then, family life (our sons have 28 uncles and aunts) and cattle are an unrelenting but very satisfying drain on my time.
My sincere thanks your sharing your family’s story,
Geoffry Fordyce
Dear Geoffry,
Thank you very much for your message (it’s a thrill to hear that you read the book in less than a day) and for appreciating, yes, how many years it was in the making. It is wonderful to learn that it was received so by you – many thanks!
I feel honoured that the stories resonate with those that are personal to you. When I was writing Joe’s, throughout I felt that these were not only my family stories but the shared experiences of so many. It did give me a sense that I wanted to do justice to them and had a responsibility to preserve this part of the lives of ‘everyday’ working people that is our history too. (And yes, it was emotional at times!) I do hope you do manage to write those stories of your own family, and I’m touched should Joe’s be that surrogate. Having an Australian mother and an Italian father it’s been interesting to see both sides ‘of the fence’ so to speak with one having very Australian customs and the other very Italian so I do know what you mean!
I loved that you shared where you read the book and the weather (hope that change comes soon for you if not there already) and you are the first person to contact me to tell me of the cattle coming in nearby. Lovely to be able to picture this. I am always amazed to discover the stories that for me began at my grandparents’ kitchen table and my very modest desk end up reaching such different places. As I sit here today at the very beginning of research for what will hopefully be book four, messages such as yours give me that added impetus to keep going. Thank you very much!
Warm wishes,
Zoë
PS You are most welcome to share Victor’s eulogy with me (I won’t publish it publicly without your permission).
Hello Zoe
I was recently given a copy of you book “Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar”. I found it most enjoyable and more importantly I could relate to so many things mentioned throughout the book.
It would appear that my father was on exactly the same ship ”Toscana “ that your bisnonna Maddalena boarded in October 1948 and arrived in Sydney in December. Purely by coincidence my mother, younger brother and myself were on the same ship in June 1949. I was able to relate fully your description of the “third class” accomodation. We happened to have had allocated two bottom bunks between the three of us! Even to this day whenever I smell hemp rope or creaking noises it brings back memories of that trip- which to me seemed a big adventure particularly when arriving at strange ports like Port Said, Aden and Colombo.
My teenage years were spent on tobacco farms (near Texas) and boarding schools! My family knew many Italian families in the
Stanthorpe area and it was yearly excursion to one of the farms to collect a “drum” of wine of doubtful quality and the occasional bottle of grappa. However I do not recall any of your ancestors names.
I was particularly interested in your story about Jim Anthony with whom we graduated together and remained professional colleagues prior to retirement.
Finally I believe my wife (an Aussie) studied briefly with your brother Lorenzo at the IML at Qld Uni.
Once again many thanks for your most entertaining book.
Dan Scodellaro
Hello Dan,
Lovely to receive your message and to hear that you enjoyed reading, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar and could relate to many instances in the book – thank you! What a coincidence that your family also travelled out on the ship, Toscana. It is particularly wonderful to learn that you could relate so to the description of being on board the ship. When I was writing about such instances in the book I found myself doing a lot of research to accompany the stories told to me, sometimes of happenings many decades before. I was determined to make sure to get them as accurate as possible knowing these were not only my family stories but stories that belonged just as much to others too, so it is especially great to know you related so.
It certainly seems you also have many other connections with aspects of the book… from Stanthorpe, to Jim Antony and my uncle, Lorenzo. I had to smile at your recollection of the “drum” of wine of interesting quality back in those days. I do hope in future to write more of that era in Stanthorpe as there are many more interesting stories to be told.
Again, thank you for getting in touch. It is really lovely to learn of your connections with book.
With best wishes,
Zoe x
I heard made mention on the ABC of your work on the Astoria story. I enjoyed the story very much. I too come from a long line of pioneers who have traded in Central and Western Queensland for over 100 years.
Hello Victor, lovely to hear from you, thank you. Yes, in my research for the book I definitely came across the Cominos name in relation to cafés. How wonderful to have this history in your heritage. Whenever I visit Australian towns I always look for the tell-tale signs of the shopfront that must have once been the iconic Greek café. If only there were more still around! I would definitely go to them. Zoe xx
Hi Zoe. My name is Andrew Cantarella and I was born while my parents Andrea and Lucia where living at 62 Heal Street New Farm. I thoroughly enjoyed your book and while reading about your loving and generous grandparents I realised I had met your grandfather during his time with ANFE. My cousin Tina Russo was crowned Miss ANFE in the mid seventies. Your book was so interesting for me as my father left Sicily in 1949 as a 19 year old and heading straight from Sydney to Stanthorpe to work staying with his sponsor Mr Privitera in the town centre. He then left to cut cane up North Queensland, married the farmers daugther, and headed to a farm in Ballandean, just south of Stanthorpe for their honeymoon. I built a house in Stanthorpe in 1985 and lived there until I was diagnosed and treated for cancer in 2000. Having spent a great deal of time in Stanthorpe while growing up and loving it so much I am able to shed light on the fruit shop owner Mr Alfio Patti whose name appeared on the scales at the Stanthorpe museum Page 143 of you book.
Mr Alf Patti was a Sicilian farmer with a stone fruit and table grape orchard on the highway approx. 8 Km south of Stanthorpe at Glen Aplin. Being on the highway he and his wife supplemented their income selling fruit from a small stall at the front of their property. If you require more detail concerning Alfie Patti please do not hesitate to return email.
In conclusion I will mention my favourite story of my late fathers during the German occupation of his tiny town of Milo at the foot of Mt. Etna. My father was 14 when the Germans came to my grandparents house and demanded they hand over the best mule the family had ever purchased. My father gripped the reins and refused to let the mule go to the soldiers. The Germans pointed their rifles at my fathers head and made it understood to my grandfather his son would be shot if he did not let go of the mule. My grandfather then wrestled the reins from my father and the Germans paid a fair price for the mule and leaf it away. As you can tell Zoe I am very passionate in knowing my ancestors and the way the lived. I wish you all the best in the future and would like you to know your book has been an absolute joy to read.
Yours thankfully
Andrew Cantarella.
Hi Andrew, lovely to hear you enjoyed reading the book, thank you. I appreciate you sharing some of your own family story with me. When I was writing the books, in a way it was as much to honour others who had migrated too in sharing the stories of my own family since in numerous ways many of the experiences are quite similar. I very much admire how people who migrated in that era got through many challenges with such forbearance and little if any complaint it seems.
I do remember the Miss ANFE balls though I was a little young to enter at the time! That’s wonderful that your cousin won!
And I can understand you must have loved living at Stanthorpe, I have been there many times and it is a great place. I sometimes imagine how incredible it would be to one day perhaps purchase the Applethorpe farm my great-grandfather bought back in the 1930s.
Thank you for telling me a little more about Mr Patti, that was great to know thank you. I do hope to write again about Stanthorpe in the future if possible.
I appreciate your interest in knowing about your ancestors and the way they lived. I hope you are able to find out more and to pass on their stories to the next generation.
It really is wonderful to know how the book resonated so much with you. Again, thanks for sharing your experiences with me too.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
Dear Zoe
I have just this minute finished reading your wonderful book : Joe’s Fruit Shop & Milk Bar. I could not put this book down and hated reaching the last page!
Your exposition of the history of your family, the migration experience, the pre-WW2 and WW2 years, and after was heartwarming.
Thirty years ago I was “absorbed” into a Sicilian family through my relationship with their only son, and as an Anglo the social and cultural differences (along with family life) were very diverse from what I was used to, having been brought up in an Anglo family. I resolved, however, to learn and understand all that I could about Sicilian/Italian family life and was rewarded through these efforts with exceptional insights into a history that, shared with many Italian immigrants as you described in your book, was often from the harshest of circumstances in Italy/Sicily to the major difficulties that had to be confronted in adapting to a new language and new way of life in Australia. Part of my personal journey was to learn Italian so that I could effectively communicate with my partner’s parents. While his mother spoke that unique mixture of dialect, Italian and English so often seen in older Italian immigrants, his father’s english language was very poor, and I only ever recall communicating with him in Italian (and Sicilian dialect, that he delighted in teaching me).
I believe because of my personal experience as an Anglo whole-heartedly and unreservedly absorbed by this family, this precipitated the intense emotional connection I felt with all that you wrote.
On a “six-degrees-of -separation” feature, I read with great interest the period of time when Annibale and Francesca were married and ultimately spending time in Brisbane during WW2 in 1943. My father, an American, who was in Australia as a member of the US Military, met my mother (an Australian girl) in Melbourne, and they married in September 1942, and subsequently made their way to Brisbane pending travel (by ship) back to USA in 1943. While they were in Brisbane my mother worked for the American army and was situated one floor below General Douglas MacArthur in the AMP building. My parents sailed to USA during 1943, though I cannot be sure exactly when that was. Though both my parents are now dead, mum used to talk of that time and referred to both the Shingle Inn and the Astoria that they regularly frequented. How strange that alongside the lives that they were leading around that time, Annibale’s story was unfurling at the same time. Who knows, they could well have been at the Astoria when Annibale and Francesca were working there! After the war ended they returned to set up life in Australia in a small country town in the New England region of NSW. As I child I did experience some of the negativism and even aggression focussed on Americans (my father was the only American in the town) that was not uncommon we’ll after the war years (I was born in 1951). Although not nearly as nasty as the negativism and vulgar disdain expressed against Italians during the pre-war and war years, it did sensitise me to overt and covert racism, and this too touched me deeply as it was detailed within the pages of your book.
I have already ordered your book Mezza Italiana and Dymocks inform me that it has arrived…I can hardly wait to read further of your personal voyage through the “half and half” world where cultures collide and merge!.
Thank you so much for what has been an incredibly uplifting and edifying reading experience.
Grazie mille
Dwight
Dear Dwight,
Thank you for your lovely words about Joe’s. Really great to hear. I had a smile at your perception of being ‘absorbed’ into your partner’s Sicilian family – in every positive sense of the word! I think when you next read Mezza Italiana you will understand more what I mean as that also occurred with my partner into my family. It’s wonderful that you did so with an open heart and to learn all you could, including the language – and yes, I do completely understand about the mix of dialect, Italian and English, including some actual words being a mixture of Italian and English in one! – smiling.
What a coincidence that your parents happened to be in Brisbane at the very time my grandparents were working at the Astoria! I’d say it would be very likely that your parents frequented the Astoria when my grandparents were there and perhaps even spoke to each other.
It is interesting that your father, as an American, also experienced some negativity and even aggression when he came to live in Australia after the war. Of course, not all feel so but it is such a curious circumstance that make some feel threatened by any type of difference that they need to show disdain and even aggression as such to newcomers. Particularly as most people on the receiving end are usually decent people simply trying to go about their lives and adapt in a different place.
Dwight, thank you again for getting in touch. It really is so lovely to know that reading Joe’s resonated with you in such a way. I hope you enjoy Mezza too. Tante belle cose!
With warmest wishes,
Zoe xx
Hi! Zoe.
August the 23rd 2017. It has been 16 months since I first introduced myself to your “Message Column “ by the name of
‘Augusto from Fossa’ the birth place of nonno Anni and the Boccabella’s. You gave life to 2 beautiful and very interesting
books about your family heritage, followed it through from Fossa to Q.L.D, where the family choose to live and settle afterwards.
I said then that I read the books with interest twice “I did not want to miss a thing”.
Yes Zoe, I was wrong , I did miss a very important part of the story. I’am truly sorry for that, I should’ve been more careful.
The books couldn’t been written better any other way, not a thing was added to it, and not a thing was omitted from it, it came
straight from your heart.
You always been a nice and understanding person, and a good friend to converse with.
** Another little story emerged couple days ago, I like to share it with you. I met up with a friend of the ‘ old school ‘, we always
bring up old stories from Fossa as kids. His mum and her ‘comara’ went to L’Aquila one day to purchase a wooden wine barrel
to take home to Fossa. For transport they used the same method as that of the “conca” caper, lift it on top of your head and
carry it home about 12-13 KM away. (must been a small barrel) The load was shared between the two ‘comares’ doing the
change-over along the way. A passing paesano going the same way with a donkey-and-cart stopped and gave them a lift
all the way home.**
SO THE DAY WAS SAVED.
Enjoy the story.
Tanti cari Saluti a te e Roger e tutti in famiglia.
Augusto.
Ciao Zoe,
I haven’t read any of your books however intend to given what I’ve heard about them.
I am from Fossa where I think you also have heritage and I’m at the stage in life where I’m trying to work out if I’m more Italian than I am Australian- especillay now that my mum has passed away.
I’m travelling to Fossa in September and hope that I will find solace in visiting our ancestors village and remembering all the stories mum would tell me about. I’d be interested to know if you have been able to source old photos from Fossa in the hope that I might see my family amongst the groups of people.
Would love to chat to you if it’s possible.
Apresto
Anna De Amicis ( figlia di Ginevra e Giovanni De Amicis)
Ciao Anna,
Lovely to hear from you. Of course, it is completely up to you if you decide to read my books but I can tell you there are many similarities in them to what you have shared with me of your own story. I also have centuries of Fossa heritage and have researched and written a lot about the village. If you are interested I suggest starting with Mezza Italiana because being ‘half-Australian/mezza Italiana’ I too have grappled with what you have mentioned, trying to work out that feeling of being ‘half-and-half’ between Italy and Australia and I write about going to Fossa for the first time (incidentally, it was in September, just as when you are going).
I too have lost my mother and also my grandparents and did find some solace in returning to Fossa and remembering the family stories I was told. You will find some old photos on my website and my facebook page and also in the second book, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, though I mainly have family photos rather than groups of people from the village yet you may come across a couple like that. (By the way, I do recognise your surname as a ‘Fossa’ one!) 🙂
Warmest wishes and I hope you enjoy the books if you do decide to read them.
Tante belle cose,
Zoe xx
G’day Zöe
I have just finished reading your wonderful memoir/family history. It obviously has been a wonderful journey for you – poignant, sad, happy, loving and all the other emotions. Whilst you’ve put a lot of hard work in compiling the info for the book, I’ve no doubt the task was undertaken with much love.
Thank you for letting me into your family life so vividly. I was very moved and very grateful for the opportunity.
Cheers, Ross
Hello Ross,
Thank you for your message, it’s lovely to hear how my family story resonated with you. Yes, it was with much love that I embarked upon writing this book (and also much trepidation in hoping to do all the stories justice!)
I didn’t quite expect some of the things that I uncovered in the research that went alongside piecing together many of the histories but as you rightly perceived, it was a wonderful journey to undertake and made me appreciate more the life I’m fortunate to have as a result of past family sacrifice. I appreciate your letting me know how you felt about the book.
Warmest wishes,
Zoë xx
Hello Zoe,
We enjoyed your book about Joe’s fruit shop and the Millmerran internment camp. You certainly did a lot of research to establish the fact that internment camp existed and the exact location. We are taking a group of caravaners out to Millmerran next weekend and I will be telling them about your book and the camp. We had a drive around there a week or so ago and tried to locate the site of the camp. I understand that we should go toward Goondiwindi to where the road forks. Is that where Turallin road joins the highway? If so, where do we go from there and how far? We would appreciate your help. Bob
Hi Bob,
That’s great to hear you enjoyed the book, thank you, and it means a lot to me that you’re keen to go and take a look at the spot. I posted a similar reply to your query on my Facebook page but you may not have seen it yet. It’s not easy to try to locate the site of the camp as there is very little to go by these days (and I should warn you there is not much to see but you will get a feel for the place).
From Saleyards Rd in Millmerran we turned left and drove along the Gore Hwy, turned right into Turallin Rd, went to its end then turned left into Western Creek Rd. This is where it gets tricky. We drove along Western Creek Rd including over a cattle grid to a stage where on the odometer we were about 20kms from Millmerran.
I’m trying to find the spot on Google Maps for you but am a bit disoriented as it seems some forest has been cleared since I was last there a few years back. I can tell you the spot I found was on the left before a road fork and it was the only section that appeared to have been cleared in the past, though of course many trees had grown back. You couldn’t see the creek from the road but once you got out and walked across this clearing away from the road you could see the creek.
I’m sorry but it’s difficult to be more specific. I’ve just followed the road on Google satellite for ages and am still having trouble getting a definitive spot that looks accurate. I hope what I’ve outlined might help and I’m sorry if it’s still not quite there. I recall it was quite a search for us on the day. I should warn you too that the roads were dirt and extremely dusty. If I can pinpoint the spot a little better with more searching, I’ll let you know. Very much appreciate your interest in this little-known bit of our history.
All the best and good luck on the day!
Zoe
Hi Zoe,
Thanks for your help. I think that I have found the spot on Google Earth. It is about 21 km from Millmerran at the end of Western Creek Road, where the road branches. One branch heads in the direction of Tara and the other in the direction of Goondiwindi. It looks like the roads may have been re-aligned slightly with the junction about 100 metres or so further from the creek crossing than it was. They have also been sealed. I think that the locals should have a board erected identifying the spot as a tourist attraction and an acknowledgement of what went on.
I intend to drive out for a preliminary look this afternoon.
Bob
Hi Bob,
Here’s the Google Map coordinates as close as I can get it… 27°49’58.5″S 151°05’48.7″E
If you copy and paste that into the search on Google Maps the spot should come up. Its about 20 kms from Millmerran and I’m only familiar with the previous dirt roads so not sure if they changed slightly when being sealed. The camp that was in State Forest shared a boundary with Western Creek Station if that helps. I spoke to a fellow in his 90s at the time who had worked there and recalled seeing the internees.
As I said, there’s not too much to see at this spot to show what occurred as at the time of the camp they lived in tents with sapling poles and everything is gone now. But you can walk around and imagine what it may have been like for the internees to be suddenly dropped in, what was for them, the middle of the bush and also see the creek where they got water and bathed.
It is a very kind and thoughtful idea to have a board erected identifying the spot, both for acknowledgment and tourism, although it’s likely to be a difficult task. While I’ve had many positive responses to my writing about the Millmerran internment camp there are those who dispute that it occurred or the location. And with camp records either not kept or destroyed it makes it harder. Still, I did gather anecdotal evidence and photographs from internees, Millmerran and Western Creek Station residents who definitely knew of the camp.
I’d love to hear how you get on.
Best wishes,
Zoe
Thanks Zoe,
I really appreciate your help.
I checked out the spot yesterday, and 16 of us are headed out this morning. It is quite a large clearing. The creek is dry at the this stage. That is not surprising with the drought we are in at present.
I don’t think that there is any doubt that the camp existed. It seems to be general knowledge around town. It is the exact location that no one seems to be sure of. When you came out, did the Western Creek Road branch off from the straight ahead section a km or so before the site? Are you able to say what year you came out? Can I send you some photos?
Bob
Hi Bob,
I hope it went well. Yes, it’s very difficult to pinpoint with complete accuracy the exact location, particularly more than 70 years later. I think it has been at least five years since I was last there so likely it’s even changed more since then especially if the roads have now been sealed.
You are most welcome to contact me via private message on my facebook page. It would be interesting to see your photos.
Many thanks,
Zoe
Hi Zoe – I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book. My parents migrated here in 1954 (on the Toscana) and I was 2 years old. They spent some time in Bonnegilla before coming to Brisbane. They seemed to have had similar experiences as your grandparents ie lived in Spring Hill boarding house and New Farm before buying a house in Red Hill. Dad worked cutting cane and tobacco and Mum did the Golden Circle cannery like most Italian families at the time. Like you I rebelled about my heritage and wanted to be more Australian and regret that I never really cared about speaking Italian nor any of the culture. I did go to Trieste (my parents and my home town) and visited some relatives and did get a feeling of fitting in. My parents have both died. They sponsored 2 of my aunts to migrate here and I miss the parties that we shared as kids growing up. Never knew any of my Dad’s relatives as he was very “secretive” about his past. My Mum had 4 sisters (2 of them migrated to Australia) and a brother who have all died now.
We have 2 little Italian ladies that go walking around The Gap where I live and I enjoy following them and listening to them talking. I smiled whenever you included a bit of Italian in your book and found it very emotional in parts.
I have not tried to do any ancestry lookups but am pleased that they gave me and my 2 brothers an opportunity that they did not have in their lives. Unfortunately my father was not as industrious as your Nonno and he struggled in this new land due to his lack of skills and language.
I am now going to read your other book and just wanted to thank you for sharing your family’s story.
Wally
Hi Wally,
Lovely to hear that you enjoyed reading, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar – thank you. What a coincidence that you travelled on the Toscana, the same ship my Granny Maddalena and her son, Elia came to Australia on. And that your family also has ties with Spring Hill, New Farm and Red Hill. When I was writing this book I was conscious that in a way it wasn’t just my family’s story but such a similar story for so many of us.
While my Nonno Anni fared well in his work, helped along by his ambition as well as luck along the way, I do know that both my Bisnonni found it much harder, like your father, in adapting to a new country and didn’t always have much luck. I feel for them very much. It is hard to imagine now suddenly going to the other side of the world to a strange place, expecting never to be able to return or see most relatives again, mostly only able to communicate in letters, if that, and having to start all over again in a way. It must have been so very challenging. And yes, the sacrifices they made back then went on to shape our future lives so we were very fortunate.
That’s lovely to think of you overhearing the two women speaking Italian as they walk. I feel emotional when I see older Italians in Australia now. In my own family hearing that older Italian voice has died out and those of us left all speak with Australian accents now. Like you, I regret not having been interested in learning more Italian when I was young. And yet, I did have that feeling of homecoming curiously when I went to Italy for the first time (which you will find out more when you read Mezza Italiana!) 😊
Thank you again for your interest in my books. It’s really lovely to hear how the stories have resonated with you.
Best wishes,
Zoe x
Hi Zoe
I so enjoyed “Joe’s Fruit Shop and MIlk Bar” and thank you for sharing your family’s story. I borrowed the book based on the title alone. Then, when I saw your name, thought “how many Zoe Boccabellas could there be in Australia?” During 1972 and 1973 at Everton Park High School, my teacher for German was Mr Boccabella. During one of those years, he told the class of the birth of his daughter “Zoe”. It wasn’t far into the book when I released the author was indeed, the Zoe, news of whose birth Mr Boccabella had told us during one of our lessons. I had conflicting feelings during the course of the book. On one hand I felt I had invaded your father’s privacy by hearing about his childhood and intimate family details. On the other, I enjoyed learning so many other dimensions for the person of whom I’d only previously had a one-dimensional view.
I also experienced such warm feelings of nostalgia when you related your family’s time at Teneriffe and Brunswick Street. My father worked at the wool stores and I visited them with him many times as a child in the 1960s. From 1976, I lived for a number of years in New Farm and smile to think that so often during those years you were probably only a couple of streets away, visiting your Nonno Anni and Nanna Francesca. How I wish I’d had the privilege of meeting them.
Again, many thanks for sharing your family’s rich, warm and interesting history.
Kindest regards
Christine
Hi Christine,
Thank you for your message. Great to hear from you. It’s lovely to hear that you recalled my Dad telling his class about the birth of his daughter. I never knew he may have done that. I can understand it must have seemed amazing and a little strange to then find yourself reading my book all those years later! Funny how things turn out like that. It’s lovely to hear you enjoyed reading it, even if it may have felt a little curious a times considering your past connection.
Haven’t both New Farm and the Teneriffe/ wool stores area changed so much since those times?! It was definitely more of a working class area back then in many respects with a lot of characters around the place. I miss how it used to be in many ways, I must admit. And I do remember after the wool stores closed, how for a while they were empty and it was like a ghost town through there, especially at night. It used to scare me a bit. And to think now the buildings are full of expensive apartments and the area has been gentrified. How times change! I do miss elements of the old days though. And yes, incredible to think you would have been living close by when I would have been at my grandparents’ place (and I was over there a lot!)
I will let my Dad know about your letter. I think he’ll be chuffed that you remembered him and his telling the class that news. He ended up teaching there for almost 40 years and has since retired and enjoys travelling and volunteer work (including some teaching still!)
Thank you for getting in touch and so lovely to hear of your interest in the family story. Much appreciated.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe x
Hi Zoe
I will have a look for your book too..congrats! Just a note that I also remember your dad teaching me at EPHS for many years (76-80) and he used to drive a cute mini ! He taught German to me and often showed many slides of his travels. Since then I have been to Germany many times..and also I was a university Professor for over 10 years (so he was a good teacher!). Re the wool stores, in one of my jobs I was a valuer for the Qld government and had to value much of that area, including the overhanging balconies from the woolstores over the footpath. It has been a great area to watch develop over the past 30 years. Small world eh. Say hullo to your dad for me pls : Richard Reed
Hi Richard, yes, I remember that mini very well. As a child, I was also shown slide shows of my parents’ travels too, and I must say their trips throughout Europe, Asia and Russia, especially when some of the countries were still quite closed, did inspire me to travel later on too! My father is retired now but continues to teach as a volunteer and is going well (and still travelling extensively! Until the pandemic arrived anyway). The woolstore area has certainly changed over the years, hard to believe now but I remember when it was quite derelict and a bit of a scary place to drive through at night (while bumping over the old train/tram lines!) Will say hello to Dad for you. Kind wishes, Zoe x
I have just read your book Joe’s fruit shop and milk bar. This is the first piece of writing I have encountered about the Italian search for a better life in Australia. I was impressed by your lovely grandfather who showed determination, his huge propensity to work hard, his honesty, the love of his family, his tolerance, and finally his generosity toward the underdog. The Italian community in Australia should be rightly proud of their achievements in the face of adversity. Thank you for such an interesting and honest appraisal of your wonderful family.
Hello Morris, thank you for your lovely words about, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I appreciate them very much. It means a lot to me that you mentioned those qualities of my grandfather’s as I too felt the same way and hoped I could do him justice in conveying them. Though he has been gone some years now, I still strive to live my own life by his example – as much as possible anyway! In a lovely footnote, I have found out recently that there might be plans underfoot to acknowledge the ‘secret’ internment camp that I wrote about. It’s too late for those men interned there to know, but I’m grateful that in some way this small part of history won’t be lost. Thank you again for your lovely message and for getting in touch. Kind wishes, Zoe x
I admired your perseverance in searching for that internment camp and I’m glad something is being done to acknowledge it. I was also intrigued by the circumstances surrounding their wedding. The church refusing to conduct the wedding, then the trip to Brisbane and ‘joy’ the deed was done! What a great story! So glad you have shared their story! Kind regards Morris Cutforth
Cara Zoe,
I absolutely adored your books and laughed and cried through the stories. I live in Brisbane and it was so lovely to hear the stories of old Brisbane and Stanthorpe where we have many Italian friends including Maria Pia Girardi mentioned in your thank you messages. I went to Art College with her son Louis. What a small world. I wish I had met Nonno Ani and Nanna. My parents are both Italian, Mum Angela Corti is Roman and came here in 1964 at 19 to marry my Dad Nicola Dalu (Sardinian) who came over a few years earlier. I am so glad they missed the terrible war years of internments but there was still a lot of antagonism toward Italians especially in the 60’s and 70’s. I grew up with Dads family. Two sisters & their families, Maria Potessu and Pasqualina Piras and his parents, Nonna Maria Rosa Allegria (Rosa Dalu) and Nonno Melchiorre Dalu. Both Sardinian. Reading your memories was a joy, we share so many lovely memories of food and laughter and big family gatherings. We worked on tobacco farms in Tamworth and then my grandparents bought 200 acres in Georgica Northern NSW so I grew up helping farm bananas (which they took to New Farm Brisbane to sell) and small crops including pomodori and we made the passata with our own tomatoes and Dad made delicious prosciutto and we had the pasta draped everywhere. I’ve travelled to visit all the family in Rome and Sardinia and felt that same feeling you mention. I married an Aussie as well and now my daughters are ‘Mezza Italiana’ but sadly I didn’t teach them to speak Italian. Your style of writing is so beautiful, I was there at every event with my heart and soul. Well done!
I love it and look forward to reading your future works. x Margherita xx
Cara Margherita,
It is an absolute joy to receive your message, thank you so much for all of your kind words. I’m thrilled to hear the books resonated with you in such a way, and yes, it sounds like we share many similar experiences! Thank you for sharing with me about your own family. So many beautiful names! It is very special to have Sardinian heritage too, such a beautiful place, and to have that Sardinian longevity in your genes as well. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in northern NSW and it is a beautiful area, though of course, farming is very hard work. As we know, migrants work so hard to carve out a new life in a new country and I continue to be in awe of their achievements with much respect. And of course it wasn’t easy being Italian in Australia for many, many years after the war and what they had to endure as a result. Yet, they endured and succeeded and I have so much admiration for that. While I didn’t always think it growing up, I have come to realise I’m so fortunate to have Italian heritage and I can see you feel the same way. Thank you again for your lovely words and for sharing your own Italian family with me. I do appreciate it very much. I remain inspired by our Italian heritage and am continuing to write about it. Fingers crossed re the current climate and I am able to share them with you in the future.
Tante belle cose, Zoe xxx
Hi Zoe what time is your audio story on abc radio tomorrow night please?
Hi Rina, thanks for you interest! I’ve replied to your same message on my Facebook page. xx
Hello Zoe, I have just spent today finishing Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. I loved it. I’m neither an Italian nor a migrant but it was such an evocative story I found myself close to tears several times. I’m giving it to the daughter of Italian migrants here in WA, I’m pretty sure she’ll relate to it. Thank you so much for filling in such an important part of Australian history. I taught that for many years and learned things I did not know from your book. Cheers
Ginny O’Keeffe
Hello Ginny, it is really lovely to receive your message, thank you! I’m so pleased to hear how you enjoyed reading Joe’s and appreciate your giving the book to someone else who may be interested in it too. (And I confess I also found myself close to tears several times when I was writing it!) I think it was one of those stories that I just knew I had to write to preserve this small part of history and I’m thrilled to hear how the book resonated with you. Thanks again for letting me know. Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Thanks Zoe, I’ve read your books and my sentiments are the same. Our father , Pasquale Faraone , owned a fruit shop in Springvale ,Melbourne and sadly passed away at 96 nearly three months ago. Our parents migrated here from Calabria as teens and married here in Melbourne. I relate well to your stories and have recommended them to many friends. I’ve just completed e -reading Sergio Scassaoli’s book titled Italians Down Under, a most interesting and informative read.
Will tune in to Nightlife tonight.
Rina.
Sent from my iPad
Hello Rina, I’m very sorry to hear about your father, Pasquale. He must have been born a similar time to Annibale (Joe) so I understand how you must have related to the stories I wrote about. I admit when I was writing them that, in many ways, these were all our stories really and it felt important to preserve this part of our history. In recent years, I’ve continued to learn more about Calabria with my Nonna and her family being from there and it has such an incredibly rich history. It must have felt like a long way to go when our relatives came to Australia (at such a young age too!) and I feel so blessed for the lives they created here, especially with their fruit shops!!
Warmest wishes, Zoe xx
Zoe,
I am researching my Father’s early history in Applethorpe. He lived on Blue Mountain Orchard in Blue Mountain Road, Applethorpe from 1930 to 1933, when they moved back to Stanthorpe. His name was Lex Ellwood and his parent’s names were Paul and Gurney Ellwood. They had five children, Margery, Paul, Dorothy, Cedric and Lex. I am having great difficulty finding anything about Blue Mountain Road or Blue Mountain. The Ellwoods had a number of orchards in the area and there is an Ellwood’s Road. The relatives who lived on these orchards have no recollection of where my family lived as they are a fair bit younger than my father. After reading so much of your interesting stories about your family history, I thought I would take a chance and reach out. Would you have any references to the Ellwoods or Blue Mountain in your early history (I know this is an extremely long shot!)? I would love to hear from you.
Kindest regards
Joanne Otto (nee Ellwood)
Hello Joanne,
I’ve been looking over the information I have and also spoke to my father and a friend who lives in Ellwood Road though I only have a little bit of information on the Ellwoods. Apparently, Ellwood Rd was named after an E. Ellwood who was an orchardist. And as you will know, in Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, I mentioned an Ellwood who sold tractors in the area through the the Allis-Chambers agency. I may have some more information coming to me and if I do, I will definitely let you know. In the meantime, I would suggest you go to Trove and do a search containing “Ellwood” and “Applethorpe” or “Stanthorpe” and you will find numerous newspaper articles that mention Ellwoods from the area. Really hope this helps! Let me know if you have some success.
Warmest wishes,
Zoe
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/
Ciao Zoe! I am the editor of Sunflowerpublishing and have been asked to write some book reviews for an Abruzzo magazine. I came across your books, and wondered if I may have a copy of your book ‘Mezza Italiana’ for review. I am based in th UK but also have a property in Bisenti, Abruzzo. My website is http://www.sunflowerpublishing.com or @Italywriters on twitter. Grazie. Wendy
Hi Wendy, thank you for your interest in Mezza Italiana, very much appreciated. I don’t have review copies to send out as my publisher ABC Books/HarperCollins takes care of that. However, I will send you a private message to put you in touch with them. Best wishes, Zoe
Hi Zoe
Thank you so much for your reply. Could you send either a DM on my facebook account ( Wendy Ridolini) or email me at sunflowerpublishing23@gmail.com with a contact name at ABC Books/Harper Collins. Grazie!
Hi Wendy, I sent the contact details to your email a couple of days ago just after I replied here. Hopefully you have received them but of course let me know if you haven’t. Zoe x
Hello Zoe. I have been totally immersed in your book for the last few days. There were times of laughter as I recognised familiar traits amongst Italian family members and friends both here and in Italy and moments of sadness and loss, especially identifying with the passing of loved ones and the devastating destruction of Fossa, which brought me to tears. I am Anglo-Australian, with a smattering of German, but am married to a Capoliverese from Isola d Elba. We live in FNQ, where Peter’s family have strong ties to the history of cane cutting and the injustice of internment during the war. Peter however, spent much of his youth in Melbourne, where much of his extended family still reside. I want to thank you for this delightful and absorbing trip down memory lane, as I had forgotten, but recognised with fondness, similar experiences on our several trips home to Italy. I can identify with Roger, bella Italia certainly gets under your skin, in the nicest way. Thank you again for the memories and the recipes!
Hello Kathy, it is so lovely to hear how you’ve related to these stories, thank you. They are all of our stories really and it is the best part of having written these books to know that others like yourself have shared such similar experiences. (And I can tell you I also have a smattering of German from my Anglo-Australian Mum’s side and went back to Germany to see where those ancestors came from. I do hope I get the opportunity to write about that one day.) Yes, I still miss my older relatives very much too and it is also terribly sad about Fossa. If you happened to scroll down through my posts, you will find a link to some footage that shows how the village looks today. It is quite poignant to watch (link below). I do hope to be able to visit again one day but I’m not sure how possible it will be to stay there again, though I hold hope. In the meantime, I’m continuing to write and have more books that are being published once we get past the covid delays. Again it’s so great to hear how you enjoyed the lovely memories and could relate to Roger too. (He continues to love Italy, tend to his backyard grapevines and cook Italian food!) Thank you for your lovely message. Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe,
Reading your article about the Wyandra Street Gospel Hall brought back fond memories of the area from the 1950’s. I hope you do not mind my saying this but the Friday night Scout meetings weren’t actually the official Boys Scout Movement. I was a member at the time and it was called “The Bulimba Everyboys Rally Group”. Each member wore a black armband on which were sewn badges for different awards obtained. (There might even have been one for knot tying). After i read your story, i found my armband to reminisce and would be happy to photograph it and send to you if for some reason you would like to see it. I also found written references given to me by the Leader and Assistant Leader of the group when it was time for me to earn a living. As well, I found my Gospel Hall Sunday School book for when i attended . It contains numerous coloured images which also were awarded, event though it might have been just for attendance.
I think anyone who grew up in the area when it was just working class, would have a chuckle at how it has changed yet there are still plenty of reminders of the old days. Most of them are just bricks and mortar or timber but it is the associated stories which are being lost. Long may they stay.
Did you or your family happen to know the Cividen family in Helen Street ? They had a Terrazzo factory and Mr Cividen used to make his own wine. However his vines used to grow along the building next door and as a kid we used to climb on to the roof and feast on fresh grapes.
Thank you for your story.
Sid Toomey
Hello Sid,
Lovely to receive your message – many thanks! I don’t mind at all your clarifying about the Bulimba Everyboys Rally Group. Great to know the official name! And happy to take a look at the arm band if you’d still like to share it. If you happen to be on Facebook you could direct message me there (link on this site).
When I was writing about this area in the 1950s era for, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, apart from the usual research I found spoken histories and photographs particularly invaluable. My Dad in recalling an incidence as a child from around 70 years ago no doubt thought it must’ve been the Scouts not having been an official member so I’ll be able to pass on your memory to him, which I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear. I will also ask if he knew the Cividen family. That’s such a lovely memory about feasting on the grapes but I’ll bet Mr Cividen was cursing come time to make his wine! Haha…!
Yes, that area has changed so much in recent years and I do despair at all the high-rise apartments, many with views into other high-rise apartments there are so many. I can’t help but feel I prefer the old way the streets were with their timber workers’ cottages, back gardens, train tracks, brick buildings, trams, washing on the Hills Hoists and children playing in the streets compared to the so-called luxury residences that now cast so much shade. But that’s just me! I do wonder though if the children growing up in those apartments will have such stories like my dad’s or yours and if they get to experience that sweetness of feasting on stolen grapes! – smiling.
Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Dear Zoe,
I have just read Joes Fruit Shop and Milk bar for the 2nd time or I should say audio book. It is read so well I can see all your relations etc. I lived in Stanthorpe after migrating from England as a 15 year old in 1953.My father got a job as engineer in charge of Stanthorpe Power House and we lived next to Quart Pot Creek. I married a Stanthorpe boy who played soccer with lots of Italian
young men. We later moved to Brisbane where I first lived when arriving in Australia the places in your book bring back many memory’s of Brisbane and Stanthorpe. My husbands father has the park opposite the museum named after him Brock Park, he kept it neat and clean and he also helped in the museum.
I could not stop listening to your audiobook now I must purchase the book. Please keep writing you have a great gift.
Yours sincerely
Wendy Brock
Hello Wendy,
It is lovely to receive your message and to hear how, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar has resonated so with you – thank you! And yes, Daniela Farinacci did a wonderful job reading the audio book.
Your time in Stanthorpe would have overlapped with the time my family lived there and I imagine it must have been nice to live near Quart Pot Creek. I’ve been to the Stanthorpe Museum and loved looking at the exhibits. It was great to include it as part of my research when I was writing the books and I have so much respect for the people who maintain and run local museums, usually as volunteers. Such an important part of preserving local history.
I have to say, Wendy, that if this book brought back some Stanthorpe memories, the next one (The Proxy Bride) might too as, while it is a novel, it is also based on true happenings and is set almost entirely in Stanthorpe this time. Thank you again for your kind words and I will do my best to keep writing.
Warmest wishes, Zoe xx
Ciao Zoe
I have written, performed and recorded a song called “Hannibal” about Annibale Boccabella and my Dad in the WW2 internment camps in Queensland. Lorenzo Boccabella was a guest speaker at the album launch.
Check it out on my CD “The Giovanni Theories” on Spotify etc etc. Was Annibale related?
Saluti
Giovanni Porta
Ciao Giovanni,
I’m stunned to receive your message. Not only is Annibale my grandfather, I’ve written two books about him including about his time in the internment camps. I’m sorry I haven’t known sooner about your song or album that seems to have been out since 2019. We don’t hear from Lorenzo too often but I’m amazed he didn’t tell my father or myself about this sometime in the past three years.
I listened to the song immediately. How wonderful that you felt inspired to write this song about your Dad and Annibale. If only I’d known sooner and I would’ve shared it when it came out with my readers who are very familiar with the story and Annibale.
You many be interested to know that in my book, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, I’ve written quite a bit about life in the internment camp my grandfather was in, as well as about his life. (A lot of people couldn’t say Annibale so they called him, ‘Joe’, hence the book title.)
I’ve also done many posts both on here and on my Facebook page about the internment camp too and am pleased to say there is now a memorial marker at the internment camp site after my collaboration with the lovely people of Millmerran who wanted to honour this previously hidden history.
I’m pleased you decided to get in touch.
Tante belle cose, Zoe
Post: Secret Internment Camp
Giovanni, I should have also mentioned in my previous reply that I’m the daughter of Annibale’s eldest son, Remo. Zoe
Hi Zoe
Small world – I worked with Giovanni Porta a long time ago – please pass on my regards to him
Regards
Wally Vicig
Hi Zoe,
My daughter brought me your latest book, The Proxy Bride. I thoroughly enjoyed it & look forward to reading some of your other books.
I was wondering how you are related to the Boccabellas from Tatura / Shepparton Victoria?
I was always fascinated with my parents in laws story, your story reminded me of times spent with them.
Kind Regards,
Shirley.
Hi Shirley,
That’s really great to hear you enjoyed, The Proxy Bride, thank you! (Thanks also for your interest in my other books, I should mention to you that both are non-fiction and some is about where the Boccabella family comes from in Abruzzo, Italy.)
Without having the extended family tree in front of me just now, I can say I’m fairly sure the Boccabellas there in Victoria are linked through my great-grandfather, Vitale. I think they are the descendants of one of his brothers but I’d need to check to be certain. Vitale actually initially came to Victoria when first in Australia and I’ve written about that too in the first books.
Lovely to receive your message, Shirley, again many thanks! Zoe xx
Hi Zoe,
I have just spent the last couple of weeks listening to your wonderful life in ‘Mezza Italiana’ as I drove around some isolated parts of Queensland with my job. Your recount of your life and that of your wonderful extended family and friends writing took me back to both of my previous visits to my homeland in Sicily. I shed so many tears listening and thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to ‘Joes Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’. Well done.
Kind Regards
Corrado (John) Coppola
Hi Corrado,
Thank you for your wonderful, kind words. It is truly touching to hear what ‘Mezza Italiana’ meant to you and I’m really happy that it took you back to your own visits to beautiful Sicily (just across from where my Nonna’s family come from in Calabria!) 😘 I love the thought of you listening to Mezza while travelling around some isolated pasts of Queensland. In some ways it must’ve felt like quite a contrast to Italy at the time. And yet, of course, the ‘new’ land is a part of us as is the ‘old’. I’m so pleased to hear you are going to delve into, ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ next – thank you. I put many, many years of gathering stories into it, pretty much from childhood really and when I’d listen to Nonno Anni at the kitchen table. Thanks again for your lovely, kind words. They made my day!
Warmest wishes,
Zoe x
Hello,
The audio book copy of The Proxy Bride said that copies of the recipies could be downloaded from your website but I can’t see them anywhere. How do I find them?
Hi Stewart,
The link is on The Proxy Bride page, on the left directly under the blurb. There’s a picture of the audiobook with the words – click to download. I’ll also add the link for you here, below. Hope this helps! Zoe x
The Proxy Bride recipes
Hello Zoe,
Thank you for your very prompt reply with a link to the recipies. I look forward to trying them!
Stewart
No problem at all, Stewart. Hope you enjoy cooking (and eating!) them. Best wishes, Zoe x
Hello again Zoe, I made your “Angry spaghetti” for lunch today. I topped it with a good handful of pecorino and accompanied it with a glass of Sangiovese. Molto bello! 😋 Grazie mille! Stewart
Hi Stewart, that is so great to hear! It sounds like a wonderful combination (and I’m smiling because by chance the different elements of your pranzo also brought together the two areas of central and southern Italy where my grandparents are from). I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! Tante belle cose e auguri, Zoe x
Saluti Zoe,la ringrazio per vostro bellissimo libro, cioè Mezza Italiana.It resonated with me on many levels and evoked lots of memories, mostly good but the odd painful one too. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland in ’56. My parents were Ligurian from around Le cinque terre (sorry about La Spezia,it was never that pretty but it’s the nearest big town to our villages) and we spent every summer with my nonni there. They were millers and contadini going back generations. Among the things I have in common with your family apart from immigration in no particular order are my balilla dad and squadrista nonno-fans of Benito unfortunately, although like you I have only fond memories of both. Communist partigiani on my mum’s side. I spoke Italian before I spoke English, grazie di nuovo papà e’mamma and got the occasional racist abuse AND anti catholic remarks, Scotland being what it was back then. Strangely,about twenty years ago I was called a wog by a visiting Aussie in Ireland where I mostly now live. I could go on indefinitely; women carrying washing in baskets on their head to and from the river when the water supply to the house ran dry, my nonna smashing the shirt buttons in half on rocks as she beat them dry on rocks, spraying sulphur on my nonno’s tomatoes, cleaning out chicken coops and rabbit hutches. At school in Scotland we wanted to fit in and be Scottish,but we lived in a small Italian community unlike Oz. We WERE Italians and pretty much stuck to our own until my generation started marrying out as it were.Like your nonno Anni, my dad,uncle and my own nonno were interned. In Canada though,not Australia. I am going to make a point of visiting Abruzzo this year, having already visited a good part of the south (against my northern family’s advice although like you say some of them haven’t even been to Rome. Thanks for the recipes too. Buona fortuna con i libri è tutto quello che fai, Paolo Rossi, Irlanda e Spagna
Ciao Paolo, grazie per vostra gentile parole su Mezza Italiana. It’s wonderful to hear that the book resonated so with you and evoked many lovely memories. Thank you for sharing some of them with me. (I do especially love the one about the shirt buttons by the way!) Please don’t apologise about La Spezia, it is a hard working city and looking back I’m quite glad to have stayed there. It’s so important to see and experience all sides of Italy, north, south and everything in-between, not just the tourist areas. I agree, we’re so lucky to have this part of our heritage, and again – the good, the bad and the in-between. As Nonno Anni would say, ‘It’s how it is, it’s what happened, you can’t change it.’ I’m sorry to hear you Dad, Uncle and Nonno were interned in Canada. I hope they were given an apology. This hasn’t happened yet in Australia and is too late for most now, though I’m pleased to share that after I wrote about the internments in full in my book, ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’, there’s since been some acknowledgment in that a memorial stone has now been placed at the site of the camp and I travelled out there to see it. (You will find some photos on one of the posts on this website or on my Facebook page). It’s also really wonderful to hear that you are planning to visit Abruzzo this year. If you happen to go to the area I wrote about, you will discover that sadly Fossa, where my family are from in Abruzzo, remains a ghost town since the earthquake but the area is still very beautiful to visit with much history. Please feel free to share with me if you do make it there! Again, thank you for your kind words and memories. Very much appreciated. Tante belle cose, Zoe xx
Thanks Zoe. I am copying your recipes at the moment. Regarding wartime racism and internment, the fact is my grandfather WAS an enemy alien in Britain, an unreconstructed Fascista. My father and uncle less obviously, although they remained supporters of the Duce all their lives. I could go on, but mille grazie di nuovo. Paolo
Hope you enjoy the recipes, Paolo. And I appreciate what you’re saying. Of course, the flip side is that many Italians who’d migrated and were interned weren’t Fascists nor supported il Duce. Some had even left Italy to escape the politics. Difficult situation, different times and war always brings about the unexpected of course, right and wrong. Era quello che era. Zoe x
Recently I watched the STAN series called “10-Pound Poms” and found it totally unrealistic and over the top. (I came out as a 2 year old with my parents from the UK in 1949-50) So growing up in Sydney in the 50-60s, I have first time experience. So what has this got do with your book about your Grandparents Fruit shop…
I have just finished reading it and I think it would make a great mini series. Make sure that who ever does it keeps to the facts as you have portrayed them.
Well done
Ray Pedley
Hello Ray, thank you for your kind words about the book. I haven’t seen the series you mentioned. However, I have to say, I do understand your frustration when dramatisations of events don’t quite live up to reality.
It would certainly be wonderful if, ‘Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar’ was made into a mini series! (Many people have said the same to me that they hope it might happen but there are no plans I know of just yet.) And yes, it would definitely mean a lot to me to keep the facts as portrayed in the book as I spent many years researching them and interviewing many different people to make sure these were spot on. To me, this is best way to respect those who lived through the era and to preserve their history and those times.
Thanks again for your kind words, warmest wishes, Zoe x
Hey Zoe,
I have to tell you how much I enjoyed @Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar. my parents are from Delianuova, Calabria and their and their parents experiences are similar to what you describe in your book. It brought it all to life for me. Thank you. In the back of your book you talk about collecting spoken histories and the stories of migrants. I would very much like to do this with my aunties who have very interesting stories to tell from their youth in Italy. How do I go about recording their stories with audio that will last. can you give me some tips. Ive just ordered your book The Proxy Bride and cant wait for it to arrive.
Hi Mimma, my parents too are from Delianuova. My Zio Pasquo owned Bar Giordano on Via Umberto for many , many years until one of his sons took over for a while. Zoe’s narratives have been delightful to read because we can connect to the stories passed on to us by our families. Cheers Rina
Hi Domenica, thank you, it’s wonderful to hear how Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar resonated with you! Delianuova is only about 40 minutes south of Palmi in Calabria where my Nonna’s family are from so I can imagine your family’s experiences must be similar in many ways.
I’m so pleased to hear you’re collecting your aunties’ spoken histories. That’s fantastic and so important. I bet they’d have a lot of interesting stories! Regarding recording these stories… when I recorded interviews, it was some while back now so that I recorded them on audio tapes whilst taking notes at the same time. What I did then, was transcribe those audio tapes so that I have a written record of the interviews both printed out in hard copy form and in a digital format. I think the key is preserving them in a number of formats and in multiple copies to prevent them being lost.
Thank you for your interest in The Proxy Bride. I hope you enjoy it! You’ll find many more references to Calabria in there and I wrote from the experience of when I travelled there too (there’s a chapter in Mezza Italiana on it). Calabria is such a fascinating part of Italy that I’ll definitely revisit and write more about it in future. Zoe x
Hi Zoe, I found your book The Proxy Bride in my local Library and I enjoyed reading it. In the story… xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx … I liked the book because I could relate to a lot of it. My parents came to Australia from Sicily. My Dad and his brother both married by proxy and the family lived on a cane farm in Cairns. During the war the men were interned and sent to Loveday in South Australia and then to Tasmania. We had cousins who were on farms in Stanthorpe. I look forward to reading your other two books. Thank you for a good story. Angelina La Spina
Hello Angelina, it’s lovely to hear you enjoyed reading, The Proxy Bride, thank you! And so nice to hear that many parts of it resonated with your own family history. The idea for this book came from a true story I was told about a group of women on the farms banding together after their husbands were interned during WW2, as well as interviews with proxy brides, so much of it is based on fact that has been turned into a story. (The part of your message about what happened at the end of the book has been taken out so it doesn’t spoil that for others who might read this and haven’t read the book yet – but I think you do understand what might have happened in the end!) I hope you enjoy the other books too. Again, I’m sure you’ll find many similarities with your own and your family’s experiences in them. Many thanks, Zoe x
Cara Zoe,
Your book, Mezza Italiana has resonated and inspired me, no end. Your writing puts me right there with your experiences. Some of the Abruzzese traditions eg Ossi dei Morti biscuits my mother (both parents were from Corfinio, Abruzzo) never practiced or explained. I now make these biscuits for Souls Day. Being an artist, it’s not first time I have used my Italian heritage in my artwork. I retold your story of that tragic day, April 6th in Fossa. In, “Where The Wild Things Thrive” (group exhibition), I depicted the devastation of the aftermath of Mother Nature and how weeds, plants, vines reclaimed this abandoned town. I hope that one day the town thrives again with people, children, babies and other living creatures.
Gianna Fallavollita (Newcastle, NSW)
Cara Gianna,
It’s truly wonderful to hear how Mezza Italiana has resonated so with you, and especially that it has inspired you as well. I love that you now make the Ossi dei Morti on All Souls Day too. I wasn’t sure what some may have thought when I put those in the book – smiling.
I see your parents’ town of Corfinio is in the same L’Aquila province as my family’s towns and I can say that Corfinio was also on our way to Cocullo when we went to the snake festa that I wrote about. xx
I’m thrilled to learn of your art and straightaway I looked up and found your stunning artwork that is part of “Where the Wild Things Thrive”. (If you don’t mind, I will contact you via the email address you provided about this.) Yes, it is very poignant to wander through the ghost village that Fossa now is since the earthquake and one of the first things I noticed was Mother Nature reclaiming the town. It inspires me too. I have hope for its future but we’ll see.
Thank you very much for your kind words, Gianna. I’ll be in touch.
Auguri e tante belle cose, Zoe xx
I just finished Proxy Bride, I could not put it down, over Christmas the family were here and of course I soaked it up like the grandmother I am, but I kept your book in the corner of my heart. In the early hours of this morning I decided I had to know how Gia and Sofia were going and have just read till the end. A beautiful book capturing emotions and a time in history. A book I will share. Actually crying, so moved.
Hello Vicki, I’m very touched to hear how this story has resonated with you. Thank you, it means a lot to hear that, especially as I wrote it inspired by the true happenings surrounding several women and it is really lovely to know that their little-known stories are being embraced and remembered. I truly appreciate your kind words. (I can share with you too that someone else also told me they read the book into the early hours to the end and that was Jackie French who provided the cover quote.) – smiling. Again, thank you for your kindness. It’s a privilege for the story to have been a part of your special time over Christmas too. Warmest wishes, Zoe x
Hi Zoe
Absolutely loved your book.
I am going to Fossa next month to visit my families ancestral home.
My name is Antonucci and my great great grandmother was Carmella Boccabella
Born 1823 died 1880 Fossa!
Maybe we are related 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you for your loving memories
Hi Robyn,
Thank you, it’s so lovely to hear you enjoyed the book and wonderful too that you are heading to Fossa soon to the place of your (and our shared!) ancestors. 😊🌠
So far I’ve traced Boccabellas in Fossa back about six centuries and I believe it’s fair to say we are most likely related in some way! I do also recall Nonno Anni, when he’d go and stay in Fossa, that he’d catch up with a fellow with the surname Antonucci. 😊
Regarding your great-great grandmother, Carmella, I’m wondering if she might be a sibling or cousin of my great-great grandfather, Demetrio. You may have read of him in Mezza Italiana (the book I’m guessing you’re referring to in your message) or you might be, Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, as in that book I wrote a lot more about Fossa including Demetrio. At any rate, we’d be related I’d say. Again, thanks for your kind words and lovely to hear the memories resonated with you. Buon viaggio a Fossa! Zoe xx