Their story’s award

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
WHEN Wandin resident Luigi Fotia was approached to tell his father’s story of Italian migration to the community, he was sparked by the desire to have the stories published.
Little did he know that four years later the book, which was compiled of 25 stories from Italian families in the Yarra Valley, would win a Victorian Community History Award.
Mr Fotia’s father, who is turning 99 this year, came to Australia in 1949 and stayed with his brother-in-law in the Yarra Valley and they picked beans on the Chapman’s farm.
Mr Fotia said it had been his dream to record his father’s story for all of his family to enjoy.
“I feel proud I’ve done something before he’s gone. It’s so important to acknowledge people while they’re in front of you,” he said.
“A lot of grandchildren were there (at the book launch) who didn’t want to listen to their grandparents before, but once they knew their stories were worthy they were proud and wanted to read them.”
The 25 families from the Yarra Valley Italian Cultural Group (YVICG) won the Best Collaborative Community Work for their tribute book titled Dreams on a Suitcase.
Their entry was one of a record 175 entries.
The group’s secretary Maria McCarthy accepted the award at the State Library on 19 August, and said she was overwhelmed at the many phenomenal entries.
“It was a privilege to be involved in the creation of the book and to have the opportunity to accept the award on behalf of all the families who took the time to tell their personal histories,” Mrs McCarthy said.
Mrs McCarthy said several of the narrators had passed away since the book was published.
“We felt that if we didn’t do it quickly the stories would be lost forever,” she said.
“My mother put her story in. She was eight when she came to Australia where her father had already settled in Wandin East – he came out before the war to work on his uncle’s farm but hadn’t expected the war to last so long.”
She said their group’s next goal was to have the book translated into Italian, and said many schools had been asking for the book in Italian to encourage students to learn the valley history in the personal stories and language of the people who settled there.