Fruitful life built on service

Many in the region were saddened to hear of the passing of the man with the broad, engaging smile, the booming voice and the warm handshake.

Santo Antonio Varapodio was born on October 10, 1935, the son of Rocco and Anna Maria Varapodio who migrated from Italy to Australia in 1926, settling in Ardmona to make a new life.

He was born at the Mooroopna Base Hospital and grew up in Macisaac Rd, Ardmona.

He attended Ardmona Primary School with his siblings and other local Ardmona and Mooroopna identities, making friendships that continued throughout his life.

After completing Grade 8 at the age of 15 he started what would be a long and successful career, working to build the family business in Macisaac Rd.

After World War II, Santo’s father, Rocco, sponsored a lot of his relatives and countrymen who were seeking to migrate to Australia from the family’s home village in Calabria, with their eyes on a more prosperous future.

When the ships arrived in Melbourne Port, Santo, aged 12, would travel to the wharf with his father in their 1937 Chev ute to pick up the “new arrivals”.

On one occasion, a customs officer noticed that Santo was fluent in both English and Italian and called him over.

He said: “Son, what is your name?” Santo thought he was in some sort of trouble and was surprised when the customs officer put a name tag on him that said ‘Santo, Interpreter’.

It was an early sign that he was going to be a leader and someone who people could look to, for help.

As the family business grew, in his early 20s Santo purchased a truck to transport the fruit and vegetables from the family farm, and other orchards, to the cannery and wholesale fresh fruit market.

He would also transport produce from the Queen Victoria wholesale market to fruit and vegetable shops around suburban Melbourne.

One particular fruit shop in Hawthorn got special service as the daughter of the owner, Teresa Conti, worked in the shop and had caught Santo’s attention.

Teresa looked forward to when the red Ford truck arrived with the delivery of produce from the markets. Soon after, the truck bore the name ‘Miss Theresa’ across the front.

Santo and Teresa were married in 1959 and had two children, Maria in 1960 then Rocky in 1962. They built a home in Macisaac Rd, Ardmona to raise their family.

In 1978, Santo was asked if he would run what was then called ‘Pear Day’, a modest fundraiser for the Mooropna Rotary Club.

Santo said that he would, “if he could run it his way”.

He called on his network of fruit and vegetable contacts not only across the Goulburn Valley but in the Footscray Market, and he set the prices for produce to be sold leading to the Fruit Salad Day which became so popular it was moving up to 70 tonnes of produce each year.

Santo’s formidable bearing accompanied by a cheery, positive approach, led to him spear-heading many other successful fundraising endeavours.

His resilience and determination to succeed was demonstrated in December 1987, on the eve of the fruit season, when a large fire ripped through the family’s packing shed and cold storage facility, taking out about 80 per cent of the complex.

The next day, with the support of family and friends, he set out to rebuild the facility bigger, better and in record time.

Hospitable by nature, Santo and Teresa hosted exchange students, numerous Rotary visitors including district governors, study group and Rotary Friendship Exchange visitors.

Santo lost his wife of 56 years, Teresa, in 2015. Later he met Anna and the two became close companions.

In 2016, Santo was invited to the wedding in Germany of a former exchange student and in 1996, he was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow.

In 2000, he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal. The citation for this read: ‘For service to the community of Shepparton and District, and to the fruit industry’.

In 2020, a wing at the Rodney Park Retirement Village was named Varapodio Way in his honour. Santo also became a life member of Shepparton Villages, given in appreciation of his untiring support for the Mooroopna facility.

Santo Varapodio died on June 16 at his Shepparton home surrounded by family. Following a service at St Brendan’s Catholic Church, he was interred at the Mooroopna Cemetery on June 22.