Settimo Tamburini’s wartime heroics were an unexpected, and emotional, component of the long-time Rochester man’s celebration of life — when he was buried at Rochester cemetery last month after 99 years of life.
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A 16-year-old Stan, as he was better known to his Australian friends, took a stand against wartime dictator Benito Mussolini by joining the famed Italian partigiani.
The teenager from Italy’s northern Tuscan region helped to hide-away Allies soldiers from the occupying German military, his role in the war known — but not often celebrated — by his extended family.
A citation from the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Field Marshall Harold Alexander, read this certificate is awarded to Settimo Tamburini as a token of gratitude for and appreciation of the help given to the sailors, soldiers and airmen of the British Commonwealth of Nations, which enabled them to escape from, or evade capture by the enemy.
A second citation from the Canadian military was received by the brave Italian at a later stage, echoing the intermittent stories he shared with his grandchildren — including Mick Tamburini.
“I remember him telling my about a day he and a friend stuck their heads up to watch passing German troops at the wrong time,” Mick said.
“He recalled how a bullet hand landed in the dirt in front of him and sprayed his face with mud. His friend was not so lucky and if Nonno (what the grandkids called Settimo) hadn’t of survived none of us would be here.”
Rochester RSL members Cameron Lovering and Cade Kindness were at the burial site to lay a wreath in tribute to the resistance fighter.
Settimo was born on February 15, 1923, and died on September 13, just five months shy of his 100th birthday.
He was one of seven children and immigrated to Australian in 1949, two of his brothers and a sister following him to Australia in ensuing years.
He is survived by one of his sisters, 94-year-old Giuseppina, along with three of his four children, 12 grandchildren and 24 grandchildren.
He and his late wife Amalia (who died in 2004 after 57 years of marriage) were sponsored by another well-known Italian family, Elmore’s Rosaia family, and eventually moved to Rochester in 1954, living on the property of returned serviceman Ron Bryant.
In an extraordinary twist Mr Bryant was an Australian soldier that was hidden away during the way by an Italian family.
He had not known Settimo during wartime, but due to spending some time in Italy during the war he learned the language.
Ron Bryant’s son, Peter, was at the funeral of Settimo — representing the long history of the families in the region.
It made for a smooth transition for Settimo and Amalia when they arrived at the Bryant’s Campaspe Weir property — leading the development of tomato growing in the district, which remains an important agricultural component of the area.
Settimo left two young children and his wife in Italy when he came to Australia and embarked on a 40-day boat journey. The family was reunited 12 months later.
It was 1956 when the family moved into their Fuller Ave home and eventually Settimo saved enough money to buy 140 acres of land on Railway Rd, where he farmed tomatoes and beef cattle.
His two brothers Bruno and Peter leased land and followed into the tomato-growing industry. The family was part of the trial program of harvesting machines, replacing the hand-picking method.
In the 1960s Stan and Amalia purchased a café in Rochester, called The Chester Café in Mackay St, which was run by Amalia and her three daughters. The café kept the family busy and was later sold to the Roudis family.
Stan retired in the early 1990s and he and Amalia built their home in town, on Dingee Rd.
Mick Tamburini recalled stories of his grandfather’s arrival to Rochester and was able to re-live his grandfather’s early years when he visited his Tuscan homeland in 2010.
Settimo travelled with his grandson to Italy as an 87-year-old, where he was able to reunite with his sisters.
Setimo’s youngest sister, Giuseppina, still lives in Tuscany and still runs her own vineyard.
Mick’s father, Maurice (who died in 2015), followed in the family business and for a short time even Mick farmed the long-time Tamburini property.
Theresa (Moore), Carol (Cavallaro) and Mary (Oberin) are the three surviving children of Settimo and Amalia.
The name Amalia Tamburini lives on through the 10-year-old daughter of Mick and Emma Tamburini — who live at Echuca.
Rochester’s Tamburini family is celebrated through a book written by Mario Gerali, a nephew of Settimo.
It has a detailed history of all Italian families that immigrated to the area and is titled Storie do immagini ritrovate. It was written in 2007 and features several of the Tamburini family’s relations.
Mick said his Nonno had been an active community member for many decades and only slowed marginally when he had his first hip operation as a 90-something-year-old.
“That’s when he gave up the bowls,” he said.
The extended family has played an enormous role to the development of the region, through the Moore, Cavallaro, Oberin, Palmer, Cleary, Brentnall, Rush, Bolton and Rolfe families.
Settimo’s love of everything outdoors saw him produce an extensive and impressive vegetable garden, which earned him awards from the Rochester Garden Club in 2001 and 2002.
He regularly tended to the roses at Rochester hospital and alongside his passion for lawn bowls was always hunting and shooting — stemming from his Italian upbringing, which invovled regular quail, duck and rabbit hunts.
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