A defiant woman til the end
Photo of Terese Croce-Benedetti by Hubert Papillion Egypt

A defiant woman til the end

A defiant woman, Teresa Croce Benedetti was a not so silent member of the Silent Generation (those born 1928 to 1945), she fought for her independence and rights and that of others her entire life. A force of nature, un terremoto (an earthquake) Teresa Croce Benedetti lived a full and long life leaving us on 28 October 2022, to no doubt cause havoc in another realm.

Teresa was a complicated woman of her time, she was a feminist, an advocate born of lived experience as a widow, a teacher, a migrant, and a passion for advocacy for migrants. After decades as a member of the ALP Teresa defiantly joined the Liberal Party in 1998 and I remember mum and Livio handing out how to votes for opposite parties at the same booth at elections. She met some good people in the Liberal party and had found Labor too passive. Her love of family and work in community were at the centre of her life, a matriarch, she commanded and lived to see three generations of her family.

Born 15 March 1932 in Port Said, Egypt to Savino Croce and Ida Lombardi who migrated to Egypt so Savino could work on the Suez Canal. Savino was born in Italy and Ida was born in Corsica and landed in Port Said, Egypt in the late 1920s, they spoke French, Italian and Arabic at home. Teresa's early years marked with loss, a widow in her 20s she re-educated as a teacher - she taught English at the British boys school in Alexandria. In 1972 she left Egypt to start a new life in Sydney, Australia, where she worked in factories and hospitals to make ends meet and bought her first apartment in Hillsdale. Teresa sat for a welfare work course which set her on a career in migrant services with the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. Teresa was a brilliant and talented linguist speaking English, Arabic, Italian, French and Spanish.

She loved her work and through this she met her beloved Livio Benedetti. Teresa and Livio connected through their shared interest in advocacy and together they achieved much over 50 years. In the 1970s they were part of the founders of the Ethnic Communities Council and Federation of ECCs, they fought for the establishment of SBS Radio. Livio worked as Director of the Marconi Club, CoAsIt, Medicare and Medibank Private.

Through the 1970s til the mid 1980s Teresa remained at the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and wanted to establish a sessional service out of Hillsdale Shopping centre, the department was not interested and Livio suggested she pitch to Sydney Rotary to see if they could help. Around 1974 Teresa pitched to Sydney Rotary and they donated a caravan that sat at the entrance to the capark and for 10 years Teresa and Livio saw newly arrived migrants and helped them with settelement services. She didn't wait for the govenment to fund her and she put her time, talent and resouces to work to get stuff done.

Migrant women having apicnic in a park, some talking, some eating

The 1980s saw Teresa and Livio establish Unione Pensionati Italiani (UPI) to advocate for Italian pensioners in Australia and later founded Patronato ACLI Australia to expand on their services to Italian seniors, and mamma founded ACLI women to support women to live their best lives though education, culture, folk dancing, travel, cherry and chestnut picking. UPI achieved the dual pension agreement with Italy, which precipitated all other dual pension agreements.

Teresa never really retired and in the 1990s througout the 2000s she continued her advocacy work as a COTA NSW Beyond Blue ambassador and her role with ACLI Women and Patonato ACLI Australia alonside Livio. She never accepted the status quo and was the wind beneath many wings. Her advocacy shifted along her own life journey and she became passionate about active ageing and mental health in later life.

As ageing took hold, Teresa fought for her and Livio's independence and was supported to age in place as long as practicable. Around 2018 aged care became the respite for Livio and then eventually the final home for Teresa and Livio. As residents in aged care they advocated for better food, and social and cultural activities. Livio Benedetti departed on 23 March 2020 and Teresa continued to fight for her dignity and independence and that of others, her linguistic skills allowed her to talk to residents and gave them comfort in speaking their native tongue.

So many people have reached out to pay their respects, current and former state and federal politicians on both sides of politics, community leaders and friends who remember her tenacity and commitment to community. Her legacy lives on through those she worked with, lobbied and glared at!

Teresa Croce-Benedetti OAM left an impression wherever she went and certainly made her mark many times over in her life. I am proud of mamma and what she achieved in her lifetime, and while it is the end of an era in so many ways, it is also the start of a new one where we, the next generation must step up to fill the void left by the not so silent generation.

Ballina Gee

Impact Advocacy Producer | Social Justice Safeguarding and Restorative Reforms | Concept to Delivery Project Implementer of Innovation - Startup - Social Impact | Award Winning Performance Artist

3 周

An extraordinary woman ... a legacy that ignites and lives within you

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David Anstee

Innovator and Founder. Cofounder of CONJA and Talke Innovation

3 周

Wonderful story of a woman that gave so much. Mums like Teresa make the world go around.

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Madiha Latif L

PHD Scholar at RMIT University, Victoria, Australia, Lecturer (Management) at IBMAS, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur | Certified in AI, Web Design, Ecommerce, HRM, Graphic Design, and Digital Marketing.

1 个月

story of a Life with a strong purpose

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great

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Margaret O'Brien

CEO & Co-Founder Young Change Agents

2 年

What a life! What an amazing person your Mum was AM! Thank you for sharing.

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