Historic New Italy stands on acreage that was once part of the original New Italy Settlement in Northern NSW. It had its beginnings in 1880, when poor farming families from the Veneto region in Northern Italy were beguiled by Frenchman, Marquis de Rays, to purchase land in a phantom paradise in the Pacific named La Nouvelle France – near Papua New Guinea. Finding no promised colony, enduring tropical diseases and starvation, the survivors were eventually brought to Sydney in April 1881. Many reunited at what became known as New Italy on some of the last land available for selection in New South Wales. As the community grew, it embraced the diverse cultures of the region. As the community grew, it embraced the diverse cultures of the region. Volunteers and descendants commemorate the stories of the expeditioners and those families who established the vibrant community of New Italy, carved out of the poor bush land of the region via the Museums, in the Park of Peace and on Anniversary Day in early April at Historic New Italy (always check website or Facebook for current events).
The Museums’ collection houses items from the 1880s voyage from Italy to Australia (a trunk, a musket, a book of bible stories and even bricks for a cathedral!) New Italy grown and spun silk, heritage fabric and domestic items as well as agricultural equipment donated by settler families and the local community.
Visit newitaly.org.
(02) 6682 2310 | 8275 Pacific Highway, Woodburn NSW 2472 [map]
info@newitaly.com.au | www.facebook.com/NewItaly | newitaly.org.au
New Italy Settlers 1899 – a Festa held at the Nardi Dance Hall, New Italy – photograph by Joseph Check. Courtesy New Italy Museum collection.
Scene from the Italian Pavilion window murals – Where we were… ‘Sandrigo (Vincenza) Italy 1951 – Before his departure for Australia, Giuseppe Basso is having a rest and a glass of wine after work with a threshing machine, with his relatives’.