Interview with Angelo Piovesan [sound recording] / Interviewer: Madeleine Regan

The interview is in two parts: his family and memories of the Veneto market gardener community and his role in the building of the Veneto Club. Part 1 Angelo begins by talking about his family background. He was born on 2 February 1950 in Adelaide, a few days after his parents arrived. He gives an account of his father's family history and his parents' living arrangements in Adelaide and relatives and friends who were part of the Veneto market gardener community at Kidman Park. He consults an aerial map of the area taken in the late 1950s during the interview and refers to the market gardener families and social activities and the initiative many of the Veneto families took in the early 1960s to buy land for market gardens at Bolivar when subdivision began occurring in the early 1960s. His parents bought land there and grew potatoes for several years and the family worked the land. He also speaks about the range of socialising in the community. He began school without English because the family spoke Italian at home and in the community. He speaks about the family vegetable garden, keeping chickens and rabbits and traditions such as killing the pig to make salmi and making wine. Angelo emphasizes the closeness of the Veneto market gardener community. He speaks about the value of the Veneto market gardener oral history project as it gives a sense of belonging and history and he appreciates the website which compiles the histories and oral history interviews of the family members and a connection to people he grew up and the area of the market gardens. Part 2 Angelo outlines his role in the engineering work for the Veneto Club Inc. Adelaide in the early 1970s, explains his decision to become a Civil Engineer and his path to being involved in planning construction of the Veneto Club at Beverley as a member of the Design Committee when he was 22 years old. He received advice from his peers at the Public Buildings Department about the structure and provided drawings and calculations the foundations to the architect in December 1972 for submission to the local council for approval before construction. Angelo describes the contribution of volunteers who constructed the Club on weekends over less than two years, the opening of the Veneto Club in May 1974 and his continuing involvement when the Management Committee asked for his advice about additional building projects including the extension of facilities in 1990. He emphasises the strong sense of community and the shared sense of achievement and pride in the existence of the Club as a common meeting place especially for the post-war Veneto migrants who wanted to maintain their culture. The Club has changed over the years because of ageing membership and the sale of the Club at Beverley in 2014. The current arrangements enable members to meet at the Clubrooms at the Woodville West Torrens Football Club at regular and special functions and Angelo acknowledges the roe of the Management Committee which wants to maintain the legacy of the Foundation members.