This photo was taken in December 2006. The start of the traditional tomato season in my family.

The photo is of my dad, Pietro, the 70 year old inspiration for this essay. I chose this photo as it reflects, on an individual level, the passion he has as a gardener (provider). It shows his pride & joy in something as simple as a (giant) tomato he grew.

On a more collective level it reflects something about the passing on of tradition to the first generation of Australians (or any other nation).

Tomato season (during our Australian summer) involves lots of sharing of fresh, home-grown tomatoes with family, friends, and neighbours. For many it is their first taste of a "real" tomato. It also involves the eventual processing of sun ripened tomatoes to create fresh sauce and lots of jars of tomato puree "passata" stored away for cooking throughout the year.

My dad came to Australia, as a 19 year old straight from the rural south of Italy. He is one of eleven children. When he was born he was not expected to survive and thus the registration of his birth (which involved a trek into the "town") was delayed several weeks. In Italy he worked hard on his family's property from the age of 9, being pulled from school after only reaching 3rd grade.

Later, at the bequest of his father, he arrived in Victoria (Australia) where he continued working hard in the tobacco fields. They were not so strict about workplace safety back then and they were continually in close, unprotected contact with strong chemical fertilisers. Eventually he moved to Sydney where with several friends he set up a building/concreting business. Unfortunately, whilst in his 40s, he was involved in a work-site accident, requiring complicated back surgery. This therapy failed and he was left with chronic pain.

He has been unable to return to any form of paid work since.

He has since survived a serious heart attack, subsequent heart bypass surgery and more recently has begun a difficult battle with prostate cancer. I really believe that his dedication to keeping his garden abundant has helped him through, keeping his passion for life alight even in the darkest and hardest of times.

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