The Life of Antonio Zaccardelli

Antonio Zaccardelli was born on 14 January 1937 in Prezza, a small village in the mountains of Abruzzo, Italy. His life would take him from a childhood marked by hardship to a new beginning in Australia, where he built a family and formed friendships that lasted for decades.

He was the third child in his family, joining his older brother, Vincenzo, and sister, Delia. His early years were shaped by war, separation and limited means. His father was away during the war years and, according to the family’s account, did not return until Antonio was about ten. Vincenzo went to live with their grandparents to help work the land, while Antonio and Delia remained with their mother.

Food and money were scarce. When Antonio was a baby and his mother did not have enough milk, other women in the family and community helped feed him. It was an early example of the practical generosity that helped families survive difficult times—a generosity Antonio would later show throughout his own life.

As a boy, Antonio nearly drowned in the lake at Prezza. A young man named Gabriele saved him. Antonio never forgot what Gabriele had done, and the story became part of the family’s history. His children would later reflect that their own lives, and those of their children, were possible because someone had saved his.

Antonio attended high school briefly before returning to work the land and help support his family. His education continued through work, observation and an enduring curiosity about the world. He developed a remarkable memory and would become known for the detail with which he recalled people, places and events.

Leaving Italy

In May 1955, at eighteen years of age, Antonio left Italy for Australia.

He was leaving his family, friends, language and the village he knew in the hope of finding better opportunities. Keeping in touch across such a distance was difficult, and he could not know exactly what awaited him.

For years, his family imagined that the voyage had been a long and uncomfortable ordeal. Much later, Antonio revealed a rather different picture. There had been music, entertainment and dinner dances aboard the ship. The discovery that his journey had included some of the pleasures of a cruise brought considerable laughter to the family.

His early working life in Australia involved several moves and demanding jobs. His first job was at Yallourn Power Station near Morwell in Victoria. He subsequently worked in a tobacco factory before travelling north to Innisfail, in Far North Queensland, to cut sugar cane.

Eventually, Antonio settled in Melbourne. He experienced the excitement surrounding the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, an occasion he remembered fondly for the rest of his life.

Working in Melbourne

In Melbourne, Antonio lived in Bennett Street, North Fitzroy, and began driving taxis. Taxi driving became an important chapter of his working life, giving him an intimate knowledge of the city and friendships he would treasure for many years.

Long before satellite navigation, he learned Melbourne’s streets, lanes and shortcuts through experience. His knowledge remained a source of pride well into old age. His family often joked that Antonio trusted his own directions more than Google Maps.

He also valued the company of his fellow drivers. The friendships he formed through work became part of the life he established in Australia, providing companionship and many stories to share.

Marriage and Family

After several years in Australia, Antonio returned to Prezza. In 1966, he married Luigina Pasquale.

Together, Antonio and Luigina came to Australia to build their married life. They settled first in North Fitzroy and later moved to Brunswick, where they welcomed their son, Giuseppe, known as Joe.

Like many migrant couples of their generation, they worked hard and saved carefully towards a home of their own. They eventually purchased their family home in Campbellfield. Their daughter, Angelica, was born in 1973, and the house became the setting for decades of family life.

Antonio later spent many years working at Pinola’s Grocery and then at Gully Wines in North Fitzroy, where he remained until his retirement in 2002.

He and Luigina maintained strong ties with Italy. They returned to Prezza in 1982 and again in 2002, revisiting the place where their lives had begun. They also enjoyed cruise holidays together.

His Italian Community

Antonio’s connection with his homeland extended into his community life in Australia. In 1982, he became a founding member of Casa d’Abruzzo.

The club gave him a place to spend time with friends and fellow Abruzzese migrants, sharing the language, customs and memories that connected them. Years later, he was delighted when his daughter and son-in-law became members too.

He particularly enjoyed telling them that their discounted membership was possible because he was a founding member. Beneath the humour was pride that his family would continue a connection he had helped establish.

Another much-loved part of his routine was playing Scopa. For many years, he visited the Greenvale Italian club on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to play with friends.

Scopa also brought generations of his family together around the kitchen table. Antonio was fiercely competitive and played to win. For his grandchildren, those games became treasured memories of time spent with their Nonno.

A Lifelong Love of Sport

Sport was one of Antonio’s great passions. Soccer held a special place in his life, particularly his beloved Napoli, but his interests reached far beyond one team or one game.

He followed football, motor racing, motorcycle racing, tennis and boxing. He loved telling stories about the champions he admired and the teams and contests that had stayed with him.

His son remembered hearing about Hungary’s great soccer team of the 1950s, Brazil’s celebrated sides, and the Torino team lost in the 1949 air disaster. Antonio spoke with particular excitement about Italy’s dramatic 1970 World Cup semifinal against West Germany.

His sporting knowledge was extensive. His family recalled his ability to name Olympic host cities and recount World Cup finals, including the teams, results and goalscorers.

He shared that enthusiasm through experiences as well as stories. He took his son to football at Princes Park, soccer at Olympic Park and motorcycle racing at Laverton in 1976, where they watched Giacomo Agostini. That outing helped inspire his son’s lasting love of motorbikes.

Their 1982 visit to Italy brought another unforgettable experience: the celebrations following Italy’s World Cup victory. The streets filled with flags, horns and jubilant crowds. Antonio’s happiness became a memory his son would carry throughout his life.

Through these shared occasions, Antonio passed his love of sport to his children and grandchildren. Watching a match together became a familiar and valued way of spending time with him.

Generosity and Everyday Life

Antonio’s childhood influenced the way he treated both people and possessions.

Having grown up with very little, he disliked waste and could see a possible use for almost anything. Timber, screws, tools and containers were kept because they might come in handy one day. His family sometimes found it amusing, but understood the experiences behind his reluctance to throw things away.

He was equally willing to give things away when he thought someone else needed them. Occasionally, his children discovered that something of theirs had disappeared, only to learn that Antonio had passed it on to another person.

Helping others came naturally to him. He expressed affection through practical acts, generosity and a willingness to be there when his family needed him.

He also had a determined personality. Antonio liked things done his way and was often convinced that his opinion—or his route through Melbourne—was the right one. His strong views, humour and stubbornness were familiar parts of the man his family loved.

Although he did not often put his feelings into words, his children never doubted his love. They recognised it in his work, his sacrifices and the attention he gave them.

Being Nonno

Antonio took great pleasure in his grandchildren, Francesco, Emily and Anthony. He supported them, guided them and became a steady presence in their lives.

For five years, Antonio and Luigina walked to their daughter’s home every school morning. They stayed with Emily and Anthony while Francesco was taken to school. It was a daily commitment that helped the family and gave the younger children many hours with their grandparents.

His daughter remembered him as much more than a grandfather to her children. He was someone they could rely on, whose care was woven into their everyday lives.

Family meals, visits, cups of coffee, stories and card games all provided opportunities to spend time together. These ordinary occasions became some of the memories his family valued most.

His Final Days

Antonio retained his memory, humour, opinions and independence of spirit until the end of his life.

On the Monday before his death, he watched the King’s Birthday football match between Collingwood and Melbourne with his son. It was another afternoon spent enjoying sport together, as they had done so often.

On his final day, Antonio attended a cardiologist appointment with his daughter and son-in-law, Angelo. During the drive, he continued offering directions through Melbourne, drawing on his years behind the wheel of a taxi.

He also pointed out places connected with his younger days, including a street where a former girlfriend had lived and a house in Carlton where he had once stayed.

A wrong turn took them through Reservoir and led to a stop at his favourite grocery store. Antonio bought sardines and pasta for dinner. For his daughter, that unplanned stop became a precious memory of her dad doing something familiar and ordinary.

She walked him back into his home and said goodbye. Neither knew it would be their last farewell. Shortly after she left, she received the call that he had passed away.

The Life He Built

Antonio’s life connected two countries and several generations. He carried memories of Prezza into the home he made in Australia, while giving his children and grandchildren opportunities very different from those of his own childhood.

His family remembered his willingness to work, his loyalty to friends, his generosity and his deep attachment to those he loved. They remembered his sporting stories, competitive card games, strong opinions and unshakeable confidence in his knowledge of Melbourne.

The young man who left Italy in May 1955 built a life whose value could be seen in the people around him. His influence continues in the interests he shared, the help he gave and the family stories passed on to the next generation.

For those who knew him best, Antonio remains present in everyday memories: a familiar road, a game of Scopa, a football match, a cup of coffee and a story told once more.