She has a warm smile, curious blue eyes and she walks as though she’s gliding gently over the floor. Years have passed since she was last on a catwalk, but it seems that hers is a gait you never lose.

A lot has been written about post-war immigrants and their quest to build a new life in an unfamiliar and remote land as Australia still was in the middle of the last century. Little account has been given of their children’s experiences as they grew up torn between two cultures, wrestling with society’s push to mainstream or marginalize them.

There are many stories of Italian migrants who came to Australia with nothing more than a suitcase and were able to achieve great success in their business undertakings: stories of hard work, endurance, determination and, in some cases, extraordinary fortitude in the face of dire circumstances.