More treasures & stories from afar

My correspondence with Mr Venturi has continued and he has kindly provided yet another marvellous photograph and glimpse into the past.

My father worked for SAE (Milan) & went to Australia to work with EPT from 1951 till 1962 when he returned to work with SAE until he retired. The whole family (my mother and two brothers ) went with him to Australia. SAE was the parent company which owned EPT and my father was seconded to EPT. He was one of the first to go to Sydney, I believe in the middle of 1951. The first "camp" with steel deposits, machinery, motor works was in MENAI (near Sutherland), subsequently a major works with galvanizing plant, offices, steel deposits etc. was built and managed till 1958 by my father, who subsequently worked as chief engineer in the Sydney headquarters of EPT. Incidentally my father also had a church built on the Marayong site (I attach a photo of my father and me taken at the time 1955) and it is still standing there ...

Of course the new "camp" I refer to (also had housing barracks - in Menai people actually lived in tents) was situated in MARAYONG.

We have ascertained that Mr Venturi's father and my father would have known each other. It would have been unavoidable as my father lived in Marayong for a couple of years. I spoke with my mother about this today, and she said that she had never met Venturi, but remembered the name as someone from head office.

The church, St Anthony's Italian Chapel, is acknowledged as part of the cultural heritage of Marayong.

Blacktown Council has a brief history and timeline, noting the EPT camp and St Anthony's Italian Chapel
http://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/our-city/history/the-city/marayong.cfm

And here is some information about the Catholic migrant ministeries (scroll down to the Italian Ministry)
http://www.parra.catholic.org.au/Ministries.htm