La Bella Vita - Italians in Nelson

The first Italians came to the top of the South Island for different reasons, with the majority escaping poverty and a lack of opportunity in their homeland.

One of the first recorded Italians was Stefano de Filippi, who arrived in Nelson in 1862. He went to the Wakamarina goldfields and there is an unsubstantiated story that, en route, he had a cup of tea with the men who were to become the Maungatapu murderers.  In 1869 he moved to the Lyell goldfields, and by the 1870s had accumulated 360 acres  of grazing land.¹

Between 1874 and 1884, Francesco Ercolano farmed more than 13,000 sheep and cattle on D’Urville Island, and he apparently became a fluent speaker of Māori.² For 40 years, between 1906 and 1946, the Russo and Moleta cousins farmed more than 5000 acres on D’Urville Island.³

Tomato growers with bambini,  The Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C. Wood Collection, L9540 fr2
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It wasn’t until the turn of the 20^th century that a second wave of Italian migrants discovered that Nelson was ideal for market gardening. Many came via Wellington and ties have remained strong - the two communities still meet in Nelson or Wellington every Labour Weekend.⁴ Market gardening began in the opening years of the 1900s, in the Vanguard Street area and the Brook where many new arrivals settled. It then expanded to The Wood, a frost-free area due to the close proximity to the sea. Along with tomatoes, Italians grew other crops unfamiliar to many Nelsonians, including garlic, aubergines, capsicums and many traditional herbs.

At this time, land in The Wood was relatively inexpensive to buy. Several factors contributed. With a concentration of horses in the area, there was a risk of tetanus in the soil from horse excrement; its northern reaches were low-lying and tidal, with twice daily tides flooding estuary-edge properties with saltwater; and the Maitai River could become a raging torrent during periods of high rainfall, flooding the low-lying river plain. With more desirable places to live now further away from the central city, the affordable ‘Wood’ was a drawcard for Italian settlers, which led to the formation of Nelson’s ‘Little Italy’.

In the period between 1905 and the 1930s, Italian migration was characterised by chain migrations from Southern Italy. Chain migration is the progressive calling out of family, encouraging relatives or other villagers to migrate to the same destination.  The Nelson Italians primarily came from villages from the southern end of the Bay of Naples, including Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, S. Agata and Marina di Puolo. Others came from the Potenza region (Basilicata) and the towns of Moliterno and Saponara di Grumento.

Giacomo Persico, who came in 1904, is regarded as being Nelson’s first Italian tomato grower. He was from the fishing village of Massa Lubrense, near Naples.⁵ Sponsored by family members, the majority of Nelson’s Italians came from Massa Lubrense and Potenza in southern Italy, and most lived in a few compact blocks of The Wood. While they retained their cultural identity, the children attended local schools and families joined local Catholic parishes.

Vitetta brother playing the harp, The Nelson Provincial Museum, Ellis Dudgeon Collection, 212218/7
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Professional musicians, the Vitetta brothers Giuseppe, Vincenzo and Giovanni Battista, came from Wellington in 1915 and performed throughout Nelson. In the 1920s the Vitettas began to grow tomatoes, and Giuseppe was the first grower to use a sterilization plant in his hothouse. He worked with scientists from the Cawthron Institute in experimenting with this new method of soil disinfection.⁶

A sea of glass - The Wood, 1981. Nelson Provincial Museum Nelson Mail collection 5537 Fr5

By the 1950s about 37 acres of land in The Wood were covered with glasshouses, where 40-50⁷ Italian families ran market gardens, growing tomatoes for the local and Wellington markets.⁸  Growing under glass ensured favourable conditions for the tomatoes, but also brought new challenges, including dealing with pests and diseases which affected the crops. Scientific research by the Cawthron Institute helped improve conditions for Nelson growers.

There were so many Italians in Nelson at this time, that the Italian Government appointed Guilliamo (Bill) Monopoli as the Nelson Italian Consul.  He carried out his official duties from his property at 353 Trafalgar Square for over 30 years -  the Italian Consulate  (and currently the Consulate apartments).

Italian Club 1937, The Nelson Provincial Museum, Kingsford Collection 158636/6
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Nelson’s Club Italia was established in July 1931 as a place for Italians to preserve their culture and enjoy activities together. The first clubrooms were opened in Trafalgar Street in December 1931.

World War II was a difficult time, as Italians were declared enemy aliens and endured various restrictions and abuse - a fate suffered by Paul Casa, prominent tomato grower, fisherman, language teacher and business man of Nelson.⁹ The Alien Citizens office ordered Club Italia to cease activities in 1940, and it wasn’t until 1958 that new clubrooms were opened at 9 Trafalgar Street. The Club hosted visiting Italians - priests, ambassadors and rugby players - as well as making generous contributions to local charities.¹⁰

Following World War II, another wave of chain migration occurred, with Italians from the north joining those from the south in calling Nelson home.

By the 1990s the Italians found tomato growing increasingly unprofitable, as large supermarket chains squeezed profits and cheaper Australian tomatoes came onto the market.¹¹ In 1995 the De Cesare brothers, Emilio and Nandi, whose property ran between Halifax Street East and Grove Street, became one of the first Italian market gardener families to sell. Their market garden was subdivided into De Cesare Way and Pettit Place. Over a period of 10 years The Wood was cleared of its glasshouses and the land subdivided for residential townhouse development.

While the greenhouses have been replaced by suburbia, Nelson’s Italian connection continues through names such as Monopoli, Romano, Persico and Gargiulo, De Lorenzo, Esposito, Cappiello, Lauria, Perrone, Sannazzaro and Di Leva.  Many of the new streets in the Wood were named after these Italian families. Bella (Bella Grove Way) translates as beautiful in Italian. Rosa Cristina Way was named after the Pessione’s daughter who died aged nine in 1978. In Hardy Street East there is a Garsun Court – Garsun is an abbreviated form of Gargiulo and Sons. The Wood Retirement Village is on the site of the Esposito Gardens.

Sources used in this story

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