A pitch hard to resist
THE grit and determination that Australians celebrate and Geelong has thrived on is intrinsically linked to Croatian migrants and their descendants now revelling in World Cup fever.
While not the only group to make an impact on the city post-war, it’s the efforts of men like Mary Didulica’s father, Joe Radojevic, who united Croatian migrants through soccer, that has led to so many Geelong people backing the nation in the World Cup final against France.
In the 1950s, after migrating and settling in Bell Park himself, Mr Radojevic would greet people off the boat in Melbourne and entice them to Geelong, opening his home for an instant family feel. From the around 350 people he first “adopted” off the boat and from the Bonegilla migrant camp, nearly 4000 people in the region today claim Croatian ethnicity.
Mrs Didulica saw dozens of newcomers build a life from those small beginnings, and most of it revolved around the soccer pitch.
“He was always working tirelessly to help the men and women that were coming by ship after him,” she said.
“Dad would find them permanent accommodation and a job and they’d move on.
“But if they were interested in soccer, that was my dad’s passion. He would put them in the club he formed.
“My dad wasn’t a soccer player, but he was very interested in having a Croatian team so Croatia would be known.
“I have such beautiful, warm memories from my childhood because it all revolved around the soccer club.
“A lot of the men who came here didn’t have a family, so they regarded my mum and dad and our family as their family and often they would become godparents to the players’ children.”
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