Joe Di Maio - My journey from Italy to Hamilton
Joe Di Maio - My journey from Italy to Hamilton
Category: Article
| Title | Joe Di Maio - My journey from Italy to Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009, edited in 2011 |
| Publication | Kete Hamilton |
| Language | English |
| Format | online article, photos, audio interview |
| Geographic reference | Hamilton, Salerno, Nelson, |
| Time reference | 1940s |
| Online resource | YES |
| Topic | Italian politicians, Italian city councillors, Ice cream, tomato growers, Italian businessmen, pomodori, gelato, exhibitions, Oral history |
Article about Giovanni (Joe) di Maio on Kete Hamilton, a digital library of storytelling, arts, cultural and heritage resources. Joe didn't immigrate by choice, his sister initiated his immigration to New Zealand where his mother's brothers were, so he could escape from poverty in Salerno. With the article there are also several photos (including some of Joe Di Maio’s early days in New Zealand, he was, among other things, also a good a ballroom dancer) and an short audio interview where Joe talks about his childhood in Italy when the war started, and when the US troops landed in Salerno in 1941 and there was no school from him. Di Maio was 19 when he arrived in New Zealand in 1950 (or 1951, according to other sources) and in the successive years he held several jobs, including growing tomatoes in Nelson, before opening in 1981 his Garden Place Pizzeria in Hamilton, which became very successful. Mr Di Maio stood for Hamilton City Council in 2004, he was successful in gaining a seat and was re-elected in 2007.
Also included on Kete Hamilton, a short entry about 'Qui tutto bene' (Here all is well) - Carnivale and about Circolo: Hamilton's Italian Community, with over 60 photos of Italian gatherings in the city from the 1980s through to 2008.
Joe Di Maio died in 2019, below is a list of obituaries:
Obituary: Giuseppe Di Maio (Joe) March 7, 1933 – February 16, 2019
Former city councillor and Hamilton cafe legend Joe Di Maio dies
Exuberant city businessman left his mark
