Monday, 3 June 2024
Doltone House
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari gamarruwa, Diyn  Babana  Gamarada  Gadigal  Ngura:  

From the language of the corroboree with its constant rhythm ‘thrumming’ stories of love and loss, I pay my respects to the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of this land and to Elders past, present, and emerging across New South Wales.

To the language of opera, with its lilting rhythms, also singing songs of love and loss:

Buonasera. Ma che splendida serata![1]

Parliamentarians, Consuls-General, Distinguished Guests,

It is an honour to join you, Consul General Rubagotti, and the Italian community of NSW, for this celebration of the Festa della Repubblica, proclaimed on 2 June 1946 after a tough six years of war and following a referendum, to decide whether Italy would remain a monarchy, as it had since Unification,[2] or become a republic.  It was the first vote by a universally franchised population and, with a voter turnout of  89.1%, public confidence in the outcome was assured, with a small initial hiccup.

The results were verified by the Corte di Cassazione on 10 June, and with a ceremony that wouldn’t occur in Australia, the President of the Court, accompanied by black-robed jurists, entered the packed-out Parliament building to announce the ballot count: over 12 million in favour of the republic and over 10 million against: 54.27% to 45. 73%.

As to the hiccup, there was almost a constitutional crisis as the Court counselled that no pronouncement should be made until missing votes and objections were investigated.  Not one for delay or indecision, the about-to-be-announced first Prime Minister of the new Republic, Alcide De Gasperi declared that the result “did not need to be proclaimed from the balcony” and: “If the court has felt authorised to communicate figures showing a majority for the Republic, we take that to mean that the court is satisfied that further adjustments cannot materially modify the result.”[3]

King Umberto the Second left three days later for Portugal, not waiting for the outcome of the voting challenges.  The final vote was declared on 18 June 1946.  

The Republic of Italy, the first since the end of the Roman Republic, was born.

I’m not sure precisely when the news reached Australian shores, but Australia was already home to many Italians.  Approximately 5000 Italians had been interned here during World War II.  Over 18,000 Italian Prisoners of War were transported here from various staging camps in Egypt, Palestine and India.[4]  Although the POWs were transported back to Italy after the war, many returned, along with a wave of Italian migration which saw the blossoming of one of our largest and most integrated diaspora communities, but not before a very Anglo society overcame its distrust and came to appreciate the contribution to all aspects of society and culture, from food to opera, to fashion and ... as I will explain … to cricket.

The late Carla Zampatti was born in Italy; the parents of Morris Iemma, the 40^th Premier of New South Wales, migrated from Calabria; 2^nd generation Italian, actor Anthony LaPaglia, is currently appearing in Death of a Salesman at the Theatre Royal, and Anthony Albanese, whose father is from Apulia, is our 31^st Prime Minister.

Recently, Ms Giovanna Cardamone was invested as a recipient of an Australian Honours Award for service to the Italian community of the Illawarra region, as was Dr John Vallance, recently retired NSW State Librarian, a classicist, linguist and scholar, who, as a Member of the Editorial Advisory Committee of Rome’s Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, has contributed to the promotion of Italian literature, language and culture.

A valued Government House staff member is from Rome and is here tonight – Chiara Paiella – proudly adding Australian citizenship to her Italian citizenship in 2023.

Which brings me back to cricket and Donald Bradman, ‘The Don’, as he is known - the great Australian cricketer. 

One-eighth Italian, his great-grandfather on his mother’s side, Emanuel Sebastiano Danero, a young Genoese seafarer, came to Australia in 1826.[5] 

A 14-year-old Danero or Neich, as he came to be known, found himself in New Holland, which in 1826 was still Australia’s official name, and not Holland where he thought his merchant ship was headed. He loved the place; fell in love not once, not twice, but three times, and had 24 legitimate children and three to a mistress.  With that heritage, it is obvious that the unassuming Donald Bradman had a deep well of passion, although he seems to have used it differently, and has still not been displaced as the greatest cricketer of all time!

Today, our collaborations are dynamic across all areas of public life: Opera conductor Daniel Smith is Australian Cultural Ambassador; our scientists are engaged in the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, the project founded in Rome, and we partner to investigate dark matter in the SABER project. Over 270 Italian companies are household names, and almost an entire NSW city – Griffith, in the Riverina - claims Italian heritage, settled by Italian fruit-growers and award-winning winemakers.

Six weeks ago, Kamilaroi and Bigambul artist, Archie Moore, took out the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale, a world-first for an Australian and First Nations artist!

In reference to the emblem for the Italian Republic, decided by public competition in 1948, your contributions can be summed up by the significance of its four symbols: The olive branch representing a commitment to peace; the oak, symbolising strength and dignity; the steel cog depicting a capacity for hard work - indeed, the first article of the Constitutional Charter, states that “Italy is a Democratic Republic, founded on work”, and the ancient iconographic Star, a symbol of Italian Solidarity.

Australians may have invented garlic bread as an Italian gastronomic delight and we drink cappuccinos from dawn to dusk again all Italian protocol, but we are so glad you came to our shores and have remained a vital and vibrant part of the fabric of our nation of stories. 

For each of us here, Italy’s Republic Day is an opportunity to celebrate the strength and the vibrancy of our bilateral friendship, which itself celebrates 75 years this year.

… Alla comunitá italiana del New South Wales e al Popolo Italiano!

[1] ‘Good evening. What a wonderful evening’ …

[2] 1861

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/11/italy-the-birth-of-the-republic-archive-1946

[4] https://italianprisonersofwar.com

[5] Lina Moffitt: Emanuel Danero (Neich): Italy to Australia, 2003: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Danero-1

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Danero-1