Q: Did you arrive with your husband?
A: No. Vince was here 4 years before me.

Q: So you were still in Italy. When did you come over?
A: 1956. I left Italy on the 3rd of August and I arrived on the 5th of September. My ship was called Flaminia. And that was the last trip she did, it was a war ship. Because Vince called for me, I didn’t have to pay. I came by way of the government. So I didn’t have to pay. But Vince had to pay for me when he came otherwise I couldn’t come.  

Q: So you came 4 years after Vince. Did you come by yourself on the boat?
A: Yes by myself. My father wanted to come with me but because I got married on March 17 in St Giuseppe by proxy.. (Vince was in Australia, they were wed via documentation (procurement) through their respective churches) So we both agreed, we exchanged photos and then my father wanted to come with me but because when I got married I was Fabrizio I wasn’t Colanza anymore my father couldn’t come! He needed somebody to call him to come over. So he didn’t like it because I just turned 18 in January and he said “Where you going bambina!” I never went once in Vasto (nearby town) by myself because little girls in those days * translated: they were all really straight straight y’know? (would get into trouble if they didn’t do what their parents said) *laughs. I said “No! I’m married I’m going!” So when the papers came in July my mum got all my trunk (bags), wedding dress and linen, everything ready… and so I came! And when we left we went to Chieti, there was like a hostel, there was 15 girls from Abruzzi. And all the other girls were from north Italy. More or less was all girls on the ship... But because they came with the government they all had to go to Bonegilla because they had a number and they all had to get them in Melbourne. Anyway from Chieti we had to get to Genova to get the ship and we stayed there in a hostel for a week. My father and Vince’s father they wanted to come with me but they couldn’t even travel with us! Because we were like a soldiers. We had a hostess looking after us and no body could come with us, not even my father and my father in law!

Q: Only the girls?
A: Only the girls. No parents. So they found a little house… a farmers house near by and they spent all their time there. So when I wanted to see them I go out and I talk to them through a fence… but you weren’t supposed to. (Wow..) Yeah! We were like i carcerati (incarcerated) more or less. * Translated: Anyway, I went went back inside. There was a balcony upstairs from there we could see when the navy would arrive from Trieste. One morning the navy arrived and everybody was saying “Come on get ready, get ready! The navy’s here! We need to leave!” And so I was upset because how was I going to say goodbye to those two men now? So I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t do anything. So I went upstairs (on the balcony) and I could see them outside! Next to the fence on the outside not the inside. I don’t know if they could see me waving at them with my handkerchief in my hand when we left but… and that’s it I never saw them again.

Q: Wow…
A: Yeah… Then I came by myself. There was a woman (on the ship) from Vasto that had two little kids, um, lucky we were in the same cabin. And we travelled together till we arrived in Melbourne.

Q: Mmm. But you went back to Italy after didn’t you? To see everyone again?
A: Oh yeah but after 16 years. Because we had little boys. After 3 years we started to have a family. And we wanted the kids to grow up a little bit, so that both parents were still alive. So we did and we stayed 3 months. But for Vince it was 20 years that he didn’t go home. And he supposed to go home after 4 years! *both laugh.

Vince from the background: Yeah but it was a better life here…

Gilda: And funny thing when I came in here… because since I was young I wanted to go away. My mum had a brother in America, in New York and he used to send my mum a parcel. My mum had six children, she was a dress maker and he used to send her the material, y’know beautiful material. And “Mum! I want to go and see Zio Giovanni (Uncle John)!” “What are you crazy?! No! NO!” Anyway I had this in my head to go away, so when I got to 17 Vince wrote to his mum to have a girlfriend, some girl from here to go there he didn’t want to marry an Australian girl. Anyway so my sister and Vince’s sister married cousins. So, she had this lovely photo of Vince and she said to my sister “Do you know any girl that wants to go away?” She said “I’ve got a mad sister she will want to go away!” So they came into Vasto one Sunday both of them. They showed me the photo and straight away I said yes. Then it was time to go, and I did. When I came here… I didn’t even cry when I left home. And when I got here, I didn’t know him (Vincenzo) I only knew him by photo. But we wrote each other for a year and a half and when I arrived I had all the letters. But my sister used to come over and help me write the letters, because I was only a little girl, I never had a boyfriend. Yeah so that’s it.

Vincenzo in the background: I liked what I saw in the photo!

Me: Really?

Vince: Oh well the girl from here back in those days….

Gilda: Oh yeah they used to go with everybody.

Vince: They used to go with everyone. Ah nah…

Gilda: The Australian boys erano brutti (they were ugly). I don’t know why. Now there are nice young people, I always say to Vincenzo “why before these men wasn’t really nice?”

Me: The girls were nice looking but the men weren’t?

Gilda: The girls were but the men no. But now there’s some nice gioventu (well dressed young people) walking around. Mm… so that’s my story.

Me: That’s beautiful. Thank you.

Gilda: Thank you.