FROM refugee camps to settling in a foreign country, life has not been easy for 100-year-old Mount Gambier resident Emma Morandin.
Born just north of Venice on October 30 in 1917, the loving mother and grandmother has battled through many tough times and faced more challenges than most people in her lifetime.
Spending around two years in a refugee camp in Italy with her two sons, Ms Morandin, like many other Italian refugees, made the brave move to Australia in 1950.
Based between Nangwarry and Tarpeena, a former prisoner of war camp was then home for the small family for many years before they were able to make the move to the Blue Lake city.
“When we arrived in Kalangadoo on a steam train my uncle came and picked us up and took us out to the camp – when we got there the room allocated to us was filled with rabbits,” Ms Morandin’s son Lui said.
“It was the middle of the rabbit plague and there were rabbits everywhere.”
However, this was not all bad news for the new arrival, as in Italy rabbits were considered a rare delicacy.
“When she arrived in Nangwarry she probably weighed only 60kg and she ended up doubling her weight in the first year,” Lui
said.
Although the prolific rabbits were useful, Ms Morandin would rather not have come across so many snakes.
“I was scared of the snakes, there were so many, each night I would look behind my bed to see if there were any there before I went to sleep,” she said.
Life in the camp was hard work and Ms Morandin spent her days cooking for the Italian men, who had not become accustomed to the Australian cuisine.
With no fridge or cars, she would walk over 5km to reach the shops, carrying heavy bags full of food back to her family each week.
“She had to do most of the shopping by sign language because she could not speak English,” Lui said.
“I remember one day she was after an iron and could not seem to get the point across so grabbed the bloke’s leg next to her, put it up on the counter and pretended to iron.”
Thankfully, as Nangwarry began to grow and with the forestry industry booming, Ms Morandin and her sons Lui and Angelo soon moved into one of the first houses built in the South East town.
Working in the saw mill alongside Australians, her English improved and in 1962 the move was made to Mount Gambier.
In what was then the convent at the Catholic church, Ms Morandin worked for the nuns for around nine years.
“I enjoyed working there, it was very good and I made some lovely friends, including Sister Anastasia and Sister Mary,” she said.
“Everyone was very friendly.”
Following this, Ms Morandin decided to leave the work life behind and stay at home to look after her children.
Celebrating her 100th birthday last month, Ms Morandin now has three grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
“She has had a quiet life, never had much money, but always lived well,” Angelo said.
“Religion is very important to her and she carries a rosary with her all of the time.”
With a “bit of a sweet tooth”, lollies, chocolate and ice cream have been a must in her diet, alongside the usual meat and potatoes.
Never smoking and only having the occasional drink, Ms Morandin said the secret to a long life is keeping busy.
“I always worked very hard and would cook for lots of people,” she said.
“It has been a hard life.”
