General News
13 August, 2022
Italians Honoured at inaugural Hall of Fame Awards
ITALIANS who have made a significant contribution to the region were recognised on the weekend at the inaugural Cairns Italian Festival’s Carnevale Ball.
The awards are designed to pay homage and honour Italian immigrants who left their homeland in search for a better life and future in Australia and have contributed to the region through arts and culture, education, business, agriculture, development, and community service.
“The Italians have been coming here since the 1930s, and we really wanted to honour the people that migrated here and what they did for Far North Queensland,” festival president Steve Cordenos said.
“We never want to forget our roots and the sacrifices of those that made our lives what they are today.”
Well-known for his lifetime commitment to Mareeba, in particular initiating the town’s annual Multicultural Festival, Giuliano Cordenos took out the Community Service Award category.
Arriving in Australia with nothing but a suitcase, Giuliano has spent his life working hard and giving back to the community and, at 83, he still takes a keen interest in the festival he started 24 years ago, having served as chairman of the organising committee for 20 years before stepping down in 2018.
Giuliano has been involved with many community clubs and organisations, with his community efforts recognised in 2006 when he received the Cavaliere Ordine Della Stella Solidarieta Italiana award, one of the highest and most prestigious Italian awards that a person can be decorated with in their lifetime.
For his remarkable achievements including inventing, fabricating and patenting a tobacco harvester that totally revolutionised the tobacco industry, the late Romolo Beghin was named as the winner of the Farming and Agriculture Award.
Born in 1938, Mr Beghin, who passed away in 2008, immigrated to Australia in 1959 with nothing to his name but burning ambition. As a tobacco grower, Mr Beghin was driven to reduce the laborious nature of harvesting the product while maintaining the integrity and value of the leaf.
That drive resulted in the invention of a mobile harvester that combined picking and racking, reducing the labour required and, at the same time, improving the cost outcome for growers.
He was also very active in his community of Dimbulah, being involved with the Lions Club, soccer club, bowls club, gun club and founded the Trevisani Nel Mondo group.
The Developing and Building Award was presented to Salvatore (Sam) and Francesco (Frank) Marino who were recognised for their major contribution to the sugar industry and their role in the development of Cairns.
The two men worked on cane farms before buying their own land at Redlynch, West Cairns and Whitfield where they developed major cane holdings. Seeing Cairns developing as a tourist destination, the brothers built the High Chaparral Motel, and later, following Sam’s death in 1979, Frank and the family redeveloped City Arcade in Grafton St, then Marino’s Arcade.
They also established the quarry on their West Cairns land, and later developed Kanimbla Heights as a housing estate, and Redlynch Central Estate.
The Arts and Culture Award went to Lui and Gina Codotto who have dedicated most of their lives to the Italian community.
They established the Cairns Italian Club in 1992 and with Lui’s love of Italian opera and traditional music, together with his amazing voice, they have always promoted their home country’s art and culture and continue to do so. Lui has appeared in more than 30 musicals, all for the love of music and to nurture the Italian culture.
For his long involvement with football including establishing the Leichhardt Soccer Club, Giovanni (John) Bomben was awarded the Sporting Achievement Award.
John was nominated for a Pride of Australia medal for his decades of commitment to the sport and has spent his life promoting local soccer and inspiring local players like Karl Stefanovic, Milan Jankovic, Steve Corica, and Jimmy Eszes.
The Educational Achievement Award went to Alberto Avolio who has excelled all of his life through his educational pursuits.
He graduated from St Augustine’s college as Junior and senior Dux. He has degrees in both electrical engineering and Biomedical engineering, and over a tenure of 35 years at the University of NSW, he was a lecturer, associate professor and professor.
For his contribution to the Cairns tourism industry, Peppi Iovannella won the Business Recognition Award. Peppi is a pioneer in the Cairns Tourism industry taking advantage of its greatest asset, the Great Barrier Reef.
In 1999, he opened the world’s largest dive training facility and in 2017, he raised the bar again when he introduced the luxury super yacht “Evolution” to the market. Over his 32 years in the industry, he accumulated numerous awards including “Best Day Cruise in the World” and “Best Travel Experience in Australia” by TripAdvisor.
Named Young Italian of the Year, Angelo Senna is a second-generation Italian born in Cairns. He has a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and is a software developer and Director of ProList.
In 2011, Angelo developed a software platform for real estate agencies locally and across Australia in the digital and print media sector which allows real estate agents anywhere to access and manage their own information.
