Danilo's Restaurant and the secret of success

'The secret of success,’ Danny Franco told his three sons, ‘is to always be the first.’ 

A pioneer of Newcastle catering and hospitality, restaurateur Danilo (Danny) and his wife Onorina (Nori) founded the stylish Hamilton restaurant Danilo’s. When he was speaking of success in business, Danny Franco knew what he was talking about.

A community finds its place - the Lettesi story

‘Why did we leave? Why wouldn’t we leave? We had lost everything.’ 

 In the Hamilton home of Tony (Antonio) and Pina D’Accione, I am listening to Ralph (Raffaele) Della Grotta with his wife Maria tell of their experiences as a member of the Lettesi community in Newcastle. The Lettesi[1] are part of a unique community of extended family members of some 145 households where one or both partners were born in the Abruzzo village of Lettopalena in Italy, and who settled in Newcastle between 1950 and 1956. [2] Two similar Lettesi communities are located in America and Argentina. [3]

An Italian childhood - Maria Martinelli

‘I was born in 1938 on a small self-sufficient farm on the outskirts of Ascoli Piceno, a city on the north coast of the Adriatic Sea. I am the 10^th child of a family of 12, seven brothers, four sisters and myself.’

So begins Maria Martinelli’s life story.[1]

Mac's Fruit Shop

‘He knew every piece of fruit in the shop. If anyone touched anything, he could tell!’

So says Julie Lomax, whose father Norman (Gaetano) Santamaria ran Mac’s Fruit Shop at 138 Beaumont Street, Hamilton, spanning the years of World War II, from 1939 to 1946.

I wondered how someone from the Aeolian islands in Italy’s far south, with the name Santamaria, happened to call his shop by the very English-sounding ‘Mac’s.’

Pina Deli - a community of food lovers

Pina Deli has been serving the cosmopolitan community of Hamilton and beyond for 54 years. There have been eight different owners of the business in that time, including two sets of sisters. The first five owners were from the tightly knit Lettesi community, people who migrated in large numbers from the war-devastated village of Lettopalena.

Elisa and Peter Sandrone

These days, Elisa Sandrone is retired from her work as restaurateur, cooking teacher, child care provider, caterer and chef. But with her friends and large family, including two children and five grandchildren, dropping in and out so often I doubt she will ever retire from taking care of others, offering hospitality, and responding to their desire for traditional Italian fare.

To her daughter Luana, Elisa is an inspiration.

‘I wish I could be more like her,’ she tells me, simply.

The Michelangelo Centre

It had been his dream for a dozen years or more – an opulent function centre in the heart of Hamilton, a dazzling extravaganza of imported sculptures and marble floors, fountains, hand painted murals in the fresco style, and 60 crystal chandeliers. Recapturing the splendor of 15^th century Rome and the Renaissance, the centre would also reflect the twin loves of its creator, Giuseppe Risicato - his Sicilian home, and immortal Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti.

One bet each way - Tony and Clare Rufo

Over the past decade, Hamilton residents Tony (Antonio) and Clare Rufo have travelled regularly to San Donato Val di Comino, Tony’s ancestral home town in Italy. Accompanied by family and friends, they fill a dozen rooms in a large B&B, and revel in the festival atmosphere that takes over each August. The population triples, as people make the journey home from far afield. Not just within Italy, but from places popular with emigrating San Donatese like Boston, New York, Toronto, and Ireland, for a month of parties and celebrations.

A Macedonian story

‘When my son was in London’, Bill Bozinoski tells me, ‘he went to where the Aussies were. Here in Newcastle, I go where the Macedonians are’.

For Bill, whose Macedonian name is Blagoja, that place is Beaumont Street, Hamilton. He explains :

‘I feel comfortable here, secure. When I walk along the street, I’m sure to bump into someone I know for a chat.’

The Italian Centre

It was an announcement that struck at the heart of the tight-knit community of Italian migrant families that had formed around the Italian Centre, in Hamilton.

Nina's IGA - Family Kiriakidis

If you walk into Nina’s IGA expecting a one-size-fits-all suburban grocery, be ready to be surprised. Nina’s is anything but average.

Northern Star Cafe

The character of the Northern Star Cafe on Beaumont Street has been formed over almost sixty years, infused with the history and aspirations of its Greek, Italian and Australian owners. Today, like any 60 year old, it knows who it is. It will have a few regrets - like all of us - and escapades best left hidden, but it enjoys the status of a Hamilton icon.

Gelateria Arena

She was working full time at the age of 11, travelled alone by ship from Genoa (Italy) to Sydney to marry a man she had not seen for five years, and cooked meals for 60 diners a night in a cafe in Beaumont Street, Hamilton. And by the way, Silvia Saccaro raised three children.

Hamilton Chinese - the Mook family

'I could wrap you up in newspaper and there wouldn’t be a gap anywhere!'

This somewhat startling skill comes from working in Mook’s Fruit Shop after school in 1960s Hamilton. Along with wielding an alarming knife to slice up the tough Queensland Blue pumpkins, it is one of the many skills of Teresa Purnell.

'So who are the other Chinese who came to Hamilton in the earliest days?' I ask Teresa.

'We are the Hamilton Chinese', is the rapid reply.

The Miller’s legacy

'You can sit next to him. He’s one of those'.

George Yanis was 8 years old, in 3^rd class at Tighes Hill Primary School. The boy told to sit next to George was Vancho Jovanovski, a Macedonian from what was then Yugoslavia. Since George could speak Greek, Macedonian and English, his teacher thought George could take Vancho under his wing. They spoke Macedonian to each other at first, and Vancho learned English.

George always remembers being dubbed one of those.