In 1950, Francesco Macheda, a young Italian father of two young boys, left behind his wife, Maria, and sons Francesco Jr and Vincenzo in their village of Varapodio.
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Why? To journey to Australia for what he hoped would provide a good life for his family.
While World War II ended in 1945, all of Europe remained in recovery mode for some years after the conflict, which had wreaked havoc on infrastructure throughout.
People had lost their families, homes and businesses and were struggling to find work and earn enough money to put food on the table.
An opportunity to migrate to countries seemingly unaffected by the war seemed to provide an answer, particularly for those who had lost almost everything.
Francesco was the first of his family to arrive in Australia aboard the Ugolino Vivaldi, which docked at Fremantle before arriving in Melbourne.
He stayed in Cobram with Rocco Orsida, who was married to one of Maria’s sisters.
Francesco had served in the Italian Army during the war and, being disciplined, he did not have any problem finding work.
He secured a job with the Rural Water Commission on the irrigation channels and was paid a fair wage of two pounds a week!
He was provided with a shed by Rocco on his property which was divided into two sections and made as comfortable as possible, despite a dirt floor.
When Francesco’s wife, Maria, and sons arrived in 1952, the family of four squeezed into one room, just happy to finally be together.
Always house-proud and wanting the best for her family, Maria worked hard at keeping the shed spotless.
Life wasn’t exactly easy with so few modern conveniences, and she was forced to do the family laundry, by hand, on the banks of the nearby channel.
Yet, no-one heard one complaint from her.
Francesco enjoyed his job; however, each weekend he would help Rocco grow tomatoes and vegetables.
After a year or two, he purchased an old shack on land owned by the Botts family of Corowa in Catona Crescent while leasing adjoining land to grow tomatoes and peas.
He secured a contract with Kia Ora to provide tomatoes for sauce.
Francesco Jr was often given a job by mum to go to the Top Pub and buy two bottles of longneck beer for his dad.
Frank would put one in the family fridge, while he would give the other to his dad while the older Frank worked on his vegetables at night.
“It was pretty much every night!” Frank Jr said with a laugh.
By 1962, Francesco Sr was in a position to buy his own land.
He looked at a large allotment on the Katamatite/Cobram South Rd owned by the Irvine family and that had been broken up into lots of 35 and 50 acres.
All the blocks went into a ballot.
Francesco ended up with the largest; however, only 10 acres was cleared, the remainder was bush.
The other blocks, although considerably smaller, were all cleared.
Francesco was not deterred, despite there being a need to not only clear the land but build a home for the family.
Each night, Francesco and Frank Jr — who had left school to work with his dad — would travel back to Catona Crescent on the tractor.
Francesco never drove a vehicle, so young Frank Jr needed to drive them both home.
Only the tractor’s headlights showed the way.
“Dad did everything with a draft horse and purchased the tractor I drove to prepare the ground,” Frank Jr said.
“We needed it to get the job done!
“In 1967-68 we planted our first fruit trees on 10 acres and gradually built up from there.”
The family initially grew tomatoes, and beans and peas in the winter.
Younger sons Geuisseppi (Joe) and Vincenzo (Vince) both began working side by side on the property after leaving school at age 15.
Their dad set a good example to the two teenagers, who learnt that you need to work hard, just like their dad, if you want success.
The teenagers learnt about the industry from the ground up, picking tomatoes initially and spraying, pruning, picking and planting stone fruit.
The boys also learnt that their father planted the precious trees deep in the soil, the back-breaking job done with only a spade.
The family at this stage had now grown to a total of six: three sons and three daughters.
Francesco became well respected in the district, particularly among fellow fruit growers, for his determination and work ethic.
During the peak production period, the business produced generally 200 wooden boxes of fruit ready for delivery to the markets each night.
It was vital to get the freshly picked fruit to market as quickly as possible.
Young Frank Jr found that carriers were not always available when needed and decided to buy the family’s own truck, declaring one day, “We will cart our own!”.
They purchased their first truck and carted their home-grown fruit to Kyabram.
Frank Jr soon decided to go out on his own and bought several semi-trailers essential to interstate trucking.
The business took off.
In later years, he had a total of 14 B-doubles.
The business was split up among his children and began carting for VISY Board.
Over the years, the orchard, now occupying 81 acres, has continued to produce a quality product for the fresh fruit market — something that is of immense pride for the family.
“Mum and Dad were proud of what they grew, and we are too!” said Joe, who, together with his wife, Cherie, and son, Chris, owns the business outright.
They continue to produce quality fruit in high demand at fresh markets in Sydney and Melbourne.
While Frank Jr and Vince each owned a share in the business, they were bought out by Joe several years ago and he continues today.
Frank Jr continued in the trucking business, while Vince moved with his family to Melbourne.
Today, Joe is 71 years old and has no intention of retiring yet.
Being an orchardist is what he knows, and he plans to continue for some time yet!
Cherie has worked side by side with Joe during 50 years of marriage while raising their family of three sons and a daughter.
While son Chris works alongside his parents, he plans to ultimately take over in the future.
After all, he has two young sons of his own, and perhaps they will be the fourth generation involved in Macheda Fresh Produce.
According to Frank Jr, Joe and Vince, the brothers wouldn’t have changed their lives in any way.
“We have enjoyed ‘la bella vita’ just as Dad envisaged it when he made the decision to come to Australia all those years ago!” Frank Jr said.
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