I have been engaged by the Fletcher Jones ‘Stories From Our Community’ Project to create a series of short documentary stories about past Fjs employees and their memories of Fjs.
I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Gae Remme and learn about his life as an Italian who migrated to Australia in 1961 and his many years working at Fletcher Jones, Warrnambool.
A Dream Fulfilled from First Ladies – Colleen Hughson on Vimeo.
Fulfilling a Dream
Born in Bitonto, Italy, Gae Remine was born to a very skilled but poor tailor. Gae left school and took up the tailor trade himself at 11 years. Together with his father they made beautiful suits sewn by hand. Gae, however, did not want to spend his life as a poor tailor and had dreams of moving to America.
“I wanted to go always to USA. That was my dream because I used to go to the movies and dream about the, the American Chevrolet, you know, big cars,” recalls Gae. “And always loved the English language, always. I used to sing some American songs, which I didn’t understand what I was singing. You know, the old Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, oh, Dean Martin, all these people here.”
Gae was 20 when he began pursuing his dream to migrate to America but at that time period immigration to go to America was closed because what they did in those days, was every five years, they closed the immigration. They let the new immigrants settle first, and then they reopen and bring the next lot in. So for Gae, America was not an option. Then he was told about Australia
“Anyway, I saw on the exchange rate in Australia. [and thought] I can send that much money to Italy. The exchange from the Australian pound to the Italian lire was [very good] then. Oh, they speak English there too. This [Australia] is the best that I can do”
So, Gae applied to migrate to Australia and was successful. The Italian Government paid part of the trip – the fare – and the Australian Government paid part of the fare. “See, I came on the Australian government invitation,” adds Gae. “[Once I started working,] I had to pay five pound a month back to the government and it was 110 pound I had to pay back. It’s five pound a month.”
Gae spent a short time at the Bonegilla Migrant Camp (North East Victoria) before hearing about the Fletcher Jones factory. In this video, Gae relays the story of when he arrived in Warrnambool for a work trial at FJs.
Fletcher Jones work trial from First Ladies – Colleen Hughson on Vimeo.
Gae was amongst a group of Italians at Fletcher Jones who were clever and hardworking tailors. Gae was often asked to find solutions to speeding up the manufacturing of garments, so making the garments quicker and easier to make. In this video, Gae talks in depth about the production of the FJ’s Skirt or Kilt as it is sometimes referred.
The FJ’s Skirt from First Ladies – Colleen Hughson on Vimeo.
The Italians that Gae worked with at Fletcher Jones were like family to him. They worked and played together. They formed one of Warrnambool’s first soccer teams and called themselves ‘Gothic’ after a restaurant they ate at in town.
Italian Soccer Team (Warrnambool) from First Ladies – Colleen Hughson on Vimeo.
It felt very fortunate to hear Gae’s fascinating story and to learn a bit about what is was like for Italian’s migrating to Warrambool in the 1950s and 60s. I left Gae’s with my head full of great stories, some home-made wine and plenty of life (and business) advice. Here are a few of his gems:
“ You want to eat for 7 days, then you gotta’ work for 7 days”
“You gotta chop the dead wood off, you see. Otherwise, you don’t get any more fruit. You get less fruit. So now and again, you gotta prune the tree, and if a branch is not producing or not giving you enough fruit, you might as well cut it off because a new shoot will come.”
“Look, perfection, it’s a wonderful thing, but is very hard and too costly to get it.”
“You treat the customers like your lawn. What’s in your lawn? Now and again, in your lawn, there’s a bad weed. So you pluck the bad weed and put it away. So get rid of the weed. Just get rid of it so you have a nice lawn.”
Brophy and Family Youth Services work with vulnerable children, young people and their families. They run a number of programs to support people in the community. I was engaged by Brophy and Family Youth Services to create a four videos to shine a light of the some of the these programs and services.
Brophy felt that video would be a way to engage with clients and an easy way to promote their programs on their social media channels.
What is The Foyer? Is it a drug rehabilitation centre? Is it a women’s crisis refuge? Is it a place for ‘really naughty kids’?
These are some of the questions floating around in the community and the reason why the young residents of The Foyer decided to make a film to educate the community. They were sick of people having the wrong idea about them and where they live.
The ‘well-being’ group formed by Foyer residents decided creating a film might be the best way to get their message across. And so, I was invited to work alongside young residents of The Foyer in Warrnambool to create a short documentary about their home. We called the film ‘Inside The Foyer’ because the film invites viewers to take a look inside and see for themselves what The Foyer is. It does this by physically showing viewers the inside of the building and by introducing viewers to some of the residents who live there (they’re not so scary afterall).
I mentored a handful of residents and staff through the process of filming and editing the film. The residents, with support from staff, independently filmed all the overlay footage predominantly on their camera phones.
The film was launched in November 2015 at a public screening at Brophy and Family Youth Services. The young residents believe the film has served its purpose and has had a positive impact in dis-spelling some of misguided beliefs.
What is The Foyer?
The Foyer is run by Brophy and Family Youth Services. It is supported independent living accommodation for young people aged between 16-25 who can live there for up to 2 years. The residents receive support to develop their independent living skills and focus on their education and employment pathways. The young people at the Foyer are responsible for managing their own self-contained units and the project is supported by staff 24/7. The Foyer’s motto is “Live, Learn and Earn” and to be eligible for a tenancy you must be experiencing housing difficulties and be motivated to study or work.
