Book One:
Lessons of a Barefoot Childhood

You can purchase my eBooks for your Kindle device or Kobo app directly through either my Amazon or Kobo store.

Buy Now from Amazon!
Buy Now from Kobo!
Download a Free Sample
Contact Trish

About Book One

Book One: Lessons of a Barefoot Childhood

Preface

Mum and us 8 kids (taken May 1974)

Of course I’m a little young to be writing my memoirs, but this all began as a response to people wanting to see the stories of my childhood on paper. It really was a barefoot childhood, and very different from the lives of my school mates in the boom times of the 1970s.

The story also had to include the lives of my parents, two extraordinary people who came here, separately, as young people from the Calabrian countryside in the 1950s, married, and established a farm in Bindoon.

It was my working childhood on that farm that lead me into the corporate world and ultimately into community based work. Clearly that was not the only possible response to such a childhood – my seven brothers and sisters all followed different paths. But the connections between my path and my parents’ drive and ethics seemed important enough to try to describe for the benefit of a possible reader who might be asking whether anything is worth making a commitment for.

I think the answer is yes. Same dance, your tune.

Trish Rechichi

Page Up…

Foreword

There are too many books about success that promote the idea that it’s easy, effortless and just a matter of a ‘positive mental attitude.’ Trish Rechichi’s Same Dance Different Tune is a refreshing change. In it, Trish shares the true secrets of success – diligent effort, persistence, commitment to a dream, and – yes, even hard work.

As I read Trish’s story, it reminded me of many successful people I have known. I was fortunate enough to be selected as WA Telstra Businesswoman of the Year in late 2006. The TBW experience brought me in touch with many successful men and women. Each had their own story, but all shared most of the things Trish writes about in her book. These were not people who won Lotto, inherited millions or were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They achieved their success through hard work, struggles and setbacks.

I first met Trish in early 2005 at a meeting to organise my involvement in Dancing with the Telethon Stars, where she played a role in marketing the event. I was immediately struck by her outgoing personality, sincere character, her love of family and her generous spirit. As I got to know her better, and she became a personal friend, time only confirmed and reinforced those initial impressions. I always knew Trish had an inner strength, but little did I know just how much that was shaped by her early years as child of Italian migrants growing up in rural Australia. Our childhoods are poles apart!

Trish Rechichi is an outstanding role model for us all, and her story is truly uplifting. I urge you to read this book, and – more importantly – let Trish’s experience and wisdom serve as inspiration for your own life.

Barbara Etter APM
WA Telstra Business Woman of the Year 2006
B.Pharm LLB(Hons) LLM MBA FACBS FAICD

Page Up…

Introduction

From the first European settlement migrants have come to Australia in search of a better life for themselves and their children. They have worked hard and saved their money, becoming more prosperous than they could have dreamed of in their old countries. But what many couldn’t leave behind were the ingrained habits of sacrifice and austerity, resulting in a mixed legacy for their children. At the same time that they were setting up their offspring for a bright future, they were depriving them of the many daily pleasures enjoyed by their friends. Some children resented this and rejected their parents’ values; others used it as a spur to ambition. They appreciated what had been done for them, and they had learned how to work hard and to achieve material and educational goals. At the same time they were determined to enjoy the good things of life. I am one of these people. I loved and honoured my parents, even as I planned a different future for myself.

Transportable converted as a bedroom.

The 1950s were years of peak immigration from Europe, with 170,420 people arriving over the decade. During those years, Italians made up twenty per cent of the total number of immigrants, a figure exceeded only by those arriving from the British Isles. After the Second World War, the largest group of Italians came from Sicily, followed by those from Calabria. Many of them left for Australia from the port of Messina in Sicily.

For those arriving in Australia in the 1950s the conditions were not always as rosy as the government’s advertising had led them to believe. Instead of employment and prosperity, many spent long months searching for work. During the 1960s the numbers fell considerably and by 1971 only few Italians made the journey to Australia.

Many Italians have made important contributions to Australian society in public life, the arts, business, sports and politics. While the part played by high profile individuals is often acknowledged, the contribution of many thousands of ordinary men and women of Italian background is understated. Yet they too have played a major role in the growth of the Australian nation and have had a significant influence on the Australian lifestyle. In an address given in Melbourne as part of the Bicentenary celebrations in 1988, His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephens, Governor General of Australia, said, ‘Today Italians are the third largest ethnic group in Australia, immediately following the British and the Irish. Italian history is an important part of Australia’s history. With many more than a million Australians who look to Italy as their ancestral home, the story of Australia’s Italians is very much a part of the Australian story…’

My barefoot childhood working on the vineyards.

Italians, and Australians of Italian origin, have formed many clubs and associations over the years. Through these organisations they have expressed their identity, maintained aspects of their culture, worked for causes in which they believed, followed their interests and enjoyed each other’s company. Italian immigration has benefited both Australia and the migrants. Italian migrants and their families succeeded very well in establishing themselves in a new homeland. And by managing to preserve and share aspects of their cultural heritage, they have enriched the wider Australian community.

I am proud of my predecessors and want to share their story. Those who share a similar background may have their own memories stirred by this account. Others may wonder at the hardships that my siblings and I endured and be thankful that their own childhoods were easier. But ultimately, those of us who did it hard may be thankful that our steel was forged in a hot fire, and salute our parents for the life they opened up for us.

Page Up…

Sample Chapter

Excerpt from Chapter 12

So that was my life then, working full time, studying part time, managing a household, paying the bills with the money Dad gave me, looking after two younger sisters and a younger brother and catering for two older brothers (they called in on their way to work in Perth to collect their lunches and again on their way home for their evening meal). Mum and Dad understood that I had a lot on my plate, and no longer was I expected to go to the farm on weekends.

At the same time, Dad decided I needed a car of my own. He wanted me to buy a brand new vehicle, just as my elder sister and brothers had, but I disagreed. I didn’t have enough money. I had saved some money from the little that had came my way in earlier years, including the allowance Dad gave me for transport and lunch at TAFE, but I only had about a thousand dollars.

Page Up…