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SCARI Joe Information
gathered from an interview between Bob Scari and Lesley Choules on 2nd
January 2006 and other sources. Joe Scari was born in northern Italy in 1890. At the age
of seventeen he came to Australia with his brother Peter. They disembarked in
Sydney and then made their way to Brisbane. After working there for a period of
time Joe got homesick and returned to Italy about 1908. It is presumed that he
worked on the family property. About 1914 he returned to Australia but this time to
Western Australia. He found work as a labourer at Barton’s Mill, Pickering
Brook. He did a multitude of jobs including working as a benchman, as stacking
timber and helped load the rail trucks with transported the timber down the
Zigzag railway to Perth. Whilst attending a dance at the Carilla Hall at Pickering
Brook, he met a young Salagari girl. She was Dominica (Lena), the daughter of Joe
Salagari who had a small orchard property south of Barton’s Mill. They fell in
love and married in 1921 and settled in together at Barton’s Mill.
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DAPHNE SCARI (Nee CREYK), ROBERT (BOB) SCARI |
Their first born was Joseph Robert in 1924 and then
Kathleen was born on 7th September 1926. They then decided to move
and live at Canning Mils and lived across the road from very good friends, the
Hanburys, but Joe still worked at Barton’s Mill. He traveled back and forwards
each day by horse and cart. Their third child, Marco was born on 20th
March 1928 while they were living at Canning Mills. About 1928 they bought an existing orchard property
called “Miaweeroona” in Karragullen on what was then called Beverley Road, now
Brookton Highway. It was previously owned by a German called Joe Steffan who
had served in the German Army during the Franco-Prussian War. It consisted of
two separate lots and the other one was bought by Alex Larson who was not
married and lived with his mother on that property. |
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Joe later had more of the land cleared by Archie Anderson
from Carmel who had a steam traction engine. After firing it up with wood at
Carmel he would take all day to drive this monster machine over to Karragullen.
Because Joe knew a bit about steam boilers from working at the mill, he used to
fire the boiler up early in the morning, so by the time Archie arrived the
engine had full steam ready to start pulling. He grew a range of vegetables and
also had seven or eight cows. Joe worked at Barton’s Mill from 1926 till 1939. When
working there he would get up about four o’clock in the morning, milk the cows,
collect the vegies and then drive the horse and cart to the mill where he would
distribute the milk and vegies before starting work at the mill. Friend Ernesto
Carpene worked with Joe in Karragullen and was still there when his wife,
Erminia Truccoco, who he had married three and a half years earlier, arrived
from Italy into Australia in 1930. Whilst living on this property another six children were
born. Margaret on 16th July 1929, Albert Anthony on 14th
November 1931, William on 4th February 1932, Roma on 31st
January 1934, Mary on 16th July 1936 and Robert “Bob” on 5th
April 1940. Mrs. Scari was a very hard worker who besides looking after the
eight children she also helped in the orchard and vegie garden. They were never
overly endowed with money but they always had clothes to wear and were never
without. The neighbours were a Mr. Ferguson and his wife, on a
road named after him, Ferguson Road. Then there was Francesco (Frank) Di Dio who was born in Roccella Valdemone
in Sicily on a five acre property. At the rear was State forest and there was
no-one opposite. Just a little south along Ferguson Road was a family called
O’Meaghers. There were two soaks or dams on the property. A
drain was dug by hand connecting the top one to the bottom one. The excess
water then flowed on through to the Larson’s property and then on to others
further down the road. They grew a range of fruit starting the season with
early apricots followed by late apricots, then nectarines, peaches and pears,
followed by three or four different varieties of apples. Everyone in the family
had to help because the father Joe could only work evenings and weekends
because his was still working full-time at the mill. Their fruit was taken to
market by Joe Lori who did this for the Scaris right through until they sold
the orchard in the 1960’s. Joe Lori still operates a transport business in
Kelmscott today (2020) but no longer carries produce as he is now mainly a fuel
distributor. |
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JOE LORI'S TRUCK #2 |
JOE LORI'S TRUCK LOADED WITH CASES OF FRUIT #3 |
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A very active social life
evolved, with many of the neighbours getting together around a keg of beer or
something. Regular dances were held in the old hall with Alice and Bert Beard
from Pickering Brook playing lively music. It was at a dance in Kelmscott that
Bob met his future wife, Daphne. He had a couple of dances with a couple of
other girls then he had a dance with her. And whilst they were dancing around
he said to her “Save the last dance for me ‘cause I’m taking you home tonight.”
So the rest is history. Because none of the kids had pushbikes, Bob and the
others walked the three and a half miles to school and back each day. However
occasionally, there was an old gentleman who cut firewood in the area, and if
they passed by him he would give them a lift to the school. |
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KARRAGULLEN SCHOOL 1937 #4
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KARRAGULLEN SCHOOL 1938c #5
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KARRAGULLEN SCHOOL 1947? #6
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Catholic Church services were first held
in the old Karragullen Hall. A new church building was built with Father Abramo
holding the services. Bob spent a short time acting as alter boy. |
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1955 KARRAGULLEN CATHOLIC
CHURCH GROUP #7 |
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Sadly in 1932 his eldest brother, Joseph
Robert, had been to a Christmas party and was getting a ride home with the
O’Meaghers when he jumped off the back of the truck and developed a cyst or abscess
in the groin. He developed a temperature and two or three days later he was
taken to hospital. Unfortunately it burst and the infection went right through
his body and he died at the age of eight. The family didn’t has a vehicle for many
years and relied on the O’Meaghers whenever transport was required. His Dad was
a bit lad in his day and apparently one day he went to Perth and came home that
night driving a Chandler car which he had bought. This car in its day was equal to a Rolls
Royce. Needless to say his wife told him he had to return immediately at eight
o’clock the next morning. Records show that in 1926 he bought a Chevolet One
Ton Truck from Skipper Bailey Motor Co., Ltd., for two hundred and fifteen
pounds ($430). Some of the family members became very
involved in local sports. Marco never played sports at all as he was always
busy working driving trucks delivering firewood from Karragullen to Monarch
Laundry in North Perth. Kath played hockey in Kelmscott while Margaret didn’t
play much at all. Tony and Bill played football for Kelmscott. Roma married
early and didn’t play much sport, while Mary was a keen hockey played. Bob also
played football for Kelmscott later becoming their trainer and in 1972 was made
a life member. Tony and his wife Mary, were also granted life memberships of
the Kelmscott Football Club. Bob’s father, Joe died of throat cancer
in 1958 when he was about in his seventieth year. His wife passed away seven
years later due to a heart attack brought on by diabetes. Kathleen Elizabeth married Albert
Raymond Francis (Scotty) Curtis from Karragullen in 1948.
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Every endeavour has been made to accurately record the details however if you would like to provide additional images and/or newer information we are pleased to update the details on this site. Please use CONTACT at the top of this page to email us. We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.
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References: Article: Interview with Lesley Choules, City of Armadale Birtwistle Local Studies
Library Images: 1 Roleystone Courier
Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2008-2020
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