Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Sunday was a very special day for the Italian community in my electorate of Casey. The Yarra Valley Italian Cultural Group organised an event to both commemorate and celebrate some history. They met with large numbers from the community at the Lilydale cemetery, where they had a service and unveiled plaques for four Italians who had come to the Yarra Valley many decades ago and tragically died working in the Yarra Valley. They included workers who had worked on the Silvan Dam in the 1920s.

In doing so, they also wanted to celebrate the contribution of the Italian community to the Yarra Valley over all the decades. It is well known that many Italians came to the Yarra Valley, as they did to other parts of Australia, in the postwar years. They wanted to tell that story, but also the story that is not so well known of the contribution from the 1880s until today. In telling those stories, they have reminded everyone in the community of the wonderful contribution made to the Yarra Valley and the wonderful contribution that, we all know, will be made in the decades ahead.