It was 1952, post war Europe, economic depression was widespread and jobs hard to come by.
Young men, like Giovanni (John) Clissa, went seeking their fortune in faraway shores such as Australia.
John and his bride Stella Nina (Nina) had been married barely a few days when the young groom left the isolated village nestled in the Apennine Mountains of central Italy. He was almost 19 years old and she was 18.
He had to borrow the one-way fare on the cargo ship bound for Perth Western Australia not knowing when he would see his young bride again. She eventually joined him on 28 May 1954 almost 2 years later.
Leaving her family which included grandparents, parents and brothers for a faraway country, where everything including the food and language was to be totally foreign and not knowing if and when she would be reunited with them was a heartache that took many years to heal. She was leaving for a country where she knew only one person.
In Australia she found that telephone calls were very extremely costly, mail took at least a month and there were few immediate prospects of seeing one’s family.
John learnt his trade as a carpenter with builder John Bianchini and worked on many projects for the Catholic Church in the metro area and rural Western Australia.
These included St Mary’s Cathedral and Our Lady Help of Christians (OLHC) in East Victoria Park.
John recalled in 2010 at the 50th anniversary of the new church at OLHC:
“The old church was very small, the parish was growing and we needed a new Church building to accommodate the growing numbers. It was a big community effort to get the Church built. It was built through the generosity of the parishioners. Many people worked on the site and donated their trade skills. Some people gave money while others gave their time and skills. Big jobs were paid for otherwise the majority of jobs were carried out by parishioners on weekends. We had many busy bees on weekends and fetes for fundraising. I remember when John Bianchini and I set out the site for the Church building. The church took about 12 months to build and I remember the opening was a big celebration with the Archbishop attending and all the parishioners brought a plate of food to share. We were very proud of what we achieved as a parish especially for our children who went to the church school.”
John and Nina have lived in Perth Western Australia all their adult life and after several trips back to their country of origin, they now definitely call Wilson, near Perth “home.”
They have been parishioners at Castledare parish since 1975 and developed a very close friendship with the late Fr Bacini. Nina still misses cooking for him.
Bishop Justin Bianchini has kindly arranged for John and Nina to receive a papal blessing to honour their 60th anniversary of married life. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren and will celebrate their Diamond Wedding with family on August 21st.