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General News

31 May, 2022

Road named to honour Edmonton pioneer

The remarkable contribution of the late Louie Piccone to the Cairns community was recognised with the renaming of a road in Edmonton in his honour.


Cairns Councillors Rob Pyne and Brett Moller and Mayor Bob Manning with Peter and John Piccone.
Cairns Councillors Rob Pyne and Brett Moller and Mayor Bob Manning with Peter and John Piccone.

Mr Piccone – the name behind the well-known Piccone’s IGA supermarket in Edmonton – had a lifelong connection to the area through support for community, sporting and charity groups. 

A small ceremony was held on Tuesday outside the Hambledon Hotel in Edmonton to unveil Louie Piccone Way, formerly an unnamed service road known as the “old Bruce Highway”, from the Petersen Road/Bruce Highway intersection to the Mill Road intersection. 

The road will officially change its name on Monday, May 30. Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said the Piccone family epitomised the hard work ethic and strong community connection of countless migrants, who played a pivotal role in shaping the city. 

“His parents, as new residents of Australia, were hard-working members of the Edmonton community, and it was they who introduced a young Lou to the world of small business,” Cr Manning said. 

“They set their son on a path not only to business success but toward a lifelong connection with Edmonton and its people. 

“Lou made a real difference to his community and the city.” 

Division 1 Councillor Brett Moller, who has known the Piccone family for over 40 years, said the road naming was appropriate recognition for Lou Piccone, who had touched so many in the community with his generosity wisdom, and commitment. 

“Lou was a mentor to me when I first went into business,” Cr Moller said. 

“He told me, ‘It’s important in business to support the community that supports you’. 

“He spent his life supporting others, and through this recognition, he will be fondly remembered.” 

The newly renamed road services a daycare centre, accommodation, police station and commercial shops and includes the former butcher shop and general store that was run by Louie’s father, Luigi. 

Louie later developed this site into the Piccone IGA and the Edmonton Shopping Village, a shopping centre now operated by his sons Peter and John. 

John Piccone thanked Council for honouring his father’s legacy through the renaming of the road. 

“We are very appreciative to Cairns Regional Council for organising this service road to be named in honour of our amazing father ‘Louie Piccone’,” he said. 

“Dad and Mum always instilled in us the wonderful feeling of being a part of our community by giving back through charity work and community involvement. 

“Dad grew up in Edmonton, and this road passes our Shopping Village where his family home was. 

“Thank you to all the people in Edmonton and surrounds for your recognition of our wonderful father.” 

Louie Piccone was born in Cairns on February 28 1934, the son of Italian immigrants, Luigi and Anna, who arrived in Australia more than 90 years ago. 

Luigi arrived in 1925 and was joined by Anna in 1930. While the couple settled briefly in Ingham and then Babinda, searching for a town with less rain brought them to Edmonton. 

Luigi, a butcher by trade, acquired a share in a bakery and grocery shop in Edmonton. 

The family business grew with the addition of a grocery store to their successful butchery and bakery. 

Although he never intended to follow in his father’s footsteps, Louie returned to the Far North and, in 1957, took over management of the Piccone business enterprise.  

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