When Italian-born Pietro Verazzi was captured by the Australian army in North Africa, his life would change course forever.
He didn't know it then, but one day, the WA farm where the young man would be taken as a prisoner of war would become home.He enlisted in the navy, but not long out of training the young corporal was sent to Tobruk , in Libya.He was captured by Australian troops in February 1942, and along with tens of thousands of Italian s, he was taken to a prisoner camp in Egypt.
The poor conditions and lack of food during those 10 months in Egypt, she said, led him to temporarily lose his sight.From there, prisoners were sent to various Commonwealth countries.As a prisoner in a new country, Peter was moved between states and jobs, even renewing sleepers on the Perth railway line.Marrinup No.16 Prisoner of War Camp was built to alleviate a shortage of firewood in Perth and labourers in rural areas.
After the lack of food in Egypt, the food at Marrinup always featured in the stories Peter would later tell. "Mum was saying one day, they landed at Fremantle with a suitcase in their hand and a 350-pound debt, and that's all they had to their name.
Italian Family Farming Mount Barker Dwellingup Marrinup Wa News Great Southern Italy WWII World War II Tobruk Eygpt
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