The evening featured speeches by the Consul, Deputy Premier of WA Rita Saffioti, and Leader of the State Opposition Basil Zempilas. References were made to the many ways in which Italians have fundamentally shaped Western Australia.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italian immigrants were the backbone of the Goldfields’ mining and timber industries, working tirelessly to support the state’s early economic growth. Italian migrants pioneered the state’s first permanent commercial fishing fleets based in Fremantle. They also cultivated the Swan Valley’s vineyards and established vital market gardens in the Spearwood and Bibra Lake areas, sustaining local food supplies. The Re Store, founded by the Re family, revolutionized how Western Australians shopped for food, introducing local communities to imported Italian ingredients. Italians have established deep-rooted community welfare and aged care services such as the Italo-Australian Welfare & Cultural Centre (IAWCC) established in 1956 and Villa Terenzio founded as the Italian Aged Care Home in 1972. Annual events, including the Italian Film Festival, are now major fixtures on WA’s cultural calendar, promoting culinary and language dialogue.
