During World War II, Italian prisoners of war were sent to Australia to work on farms and in vineyards to fill wartime labour shortages. Some were lucky enough to find connection in the most unlikely of places...
Luigi Bortolotti — Clare Valley, South Australia
This is the brief story of Luigi Bortolotti Italian POW. Captured at Tobruk in 1941, the 24 year old Italian soldier spent years as a prisoner of war , including 3 long years at Hay in NSW, before being assigned to farm work in the Clare Valley in 1944. He recorded his days in a diary - the hard labour, the strangeness of a new land, and the friendships formed with fellow prisoners and local families. Even in captivity, small moments of humanity endured: shared meals of rabbit and pasta, stories of home, and simple joys found despite uncertainty. Luigi would eventually choose to make Australia his home.
It started with a shared meal on his first night as a POW labourer on the Jarman family’s farm — a simple act that reminded him dignity and kindness could survive even in wartime, and one that would quietly shape the rest of his life. In his diary, he wrote:
“First evening meal. Feeling very self-conscious. I accept a cup of tea and feel awkward, almost foolish. Everyone is kind, and I am aware of their patience and good will. After the meal I return to my room, reflecting on the strange kindness of these people — and I feel, perhaps for the first time since capture, a sense of hope.”
Over the following weeks and months, the boundaries of formality and fear gave way to trust and friendship. Meals shared with the Jarman family became moments of connection, spaces where differences melted away. He fished and rabbited with them, met other local Italians, and began to feel a sense of belonging and envision a life beyond captivity. As he noted in his diary:
“By now I felt very much at home in Australia and in Clare. I began to entertain the thought that this would be a good place in which to settle after the war".
The bonds formed over those simple, human acts of sharing food and company were so deep that when the time came to leave, farewells were heartfelt: It “was quite dramatic. Like me, everyone was crying.”
For Luigi, that shared meal was more than sustenance — it was a bridge between cultures, a way to rebuild trust after years of confinement, and a reminder that humanity can be found in the most unlikely of places. His eventual return to Clare as a migrant, sponsored by the Jarmans, was a testament to these connections: it was friendship, kindness, and shared meals that helped him see a future beyond imprisonment, in a place that had become home.
This story — humble, human, and rooted in the soil and kitchens of wartime South Australia — is emblematic of the values Rabbit & Spaghetti celebrates: the simple and powerful impact of sharing a meal and a glass of wine.
To read more: From Tobruk to Clare – detailing Italian POW Luigi Bortolotti’s journey from Tobruk to Clare, South Australia.
National Archives of Australia (RecordSearch) – explore archival records on World War II POWs and internees, including files on Italian prisoners like Bortolotti. naa.gov.au
