Rosa Conti

Stay strong, never give up.

Rosa and Carmelo at a family wedding reception. 
Credit: Conti family

Born in 1898 in the mountain town of Roccella Valdemone, Sicily, Rosa grew up in a world shaped by tradition and hard work. She married Carmelo Conti there, and the couple had two children before Carmelo migrated to Australia in 1925 to build a future for his family. Rosa followed in 1927, arriving in Fremantle with their children, Josie and Chris.

The couple first settled in Newdegate in the Lake Grace region before moving to a farm in Wanneroo. There, they planted an orchard and vineyard and raised eight children in a modest but well-loved stone house of four rooms and a lean-to. The fertile land supported a self-sufficient rural life, with the family producing vegetables, olive oil, wine, sausages, cheese and pasta. Today, small reminders of that time remain, with the old orchard and olive trees still bearing fruit each season.

Rosa and Carmelo Conti in later years.
Credit: Conti family

Rosa’s days began before sunrise and stretched late into the evening. She rose to tend the  market garden, feed livestock and milk the cows, and then made bread, pasta, cheese and olive oil from scratch. Every day, she prepared meals for a household of 10 as well as the vineyard workers, laying out an abundant table where no one went without.

She also led the great seasonal rituals of sausage-making and passata (tomato sauce) days. These were feats of endurance – raising livestock for a year before butchering, preparing each cut of meat, stuffing and tying sausages, then curing them on wooden beams, growing and harvesting tomatoes, boiling and pressing them, and bottling rich sauce to last the family through the year. These traditions were as much about connection as they were about making food.

Amid the relentless demands, Rosa was a calm, nurturing presence. Her son Paul recalls feeling happiest tucked beneath her apron – a small but telling gesture of the everyday comfort she offered. Rosa never raised her voice, meeting hardship with quiet strength and unshakeable faith.

She was the engine behind the family's success, allowing others to focus on growing the business. Her devotion, resilience and character laid the foundation for a legacy that endures through the Conti family today.