Special Achievements

Concetta and Giuseppe GAGLIARDI opened the first Alice Springs "night spot," a dance hall, which was part of their complex opposite Melanka, in which they also sold meals and the first Cappuccinos in Alice Springs.

Additional Information

• Connie, daughter Pasquale "Patsy" CICCONE (gold miner) and Maria Antonia, arrived in Australia, via Argentina, in 1938 with her husband Giuseppe GAGLIARDI (miner and businessman) and their first child Antoinette.  Giuseppe had been brought out to Australia by Maria's father to help in his mining ventures, and the next fourteen years or so were spent living in mining camps in Central Australia.
• During this period, Concetta supported her husband in his ventures, and in the true pioneering spirit, they managed to survive the harsh conditions while raising seven children.
• Conditions later improved with the establishment of a citrus orchard in 1948 on land they purchased beyond the Gap, and in 1953 the Gagliardis opened a shop built on land in Todd Street, paid off by profits from their last mining venture at "Middle Knob" near Plenty River.  The shop stocked groceries, drapery, delicatessen lines and liquor while part of the building was used as a dance hall which was probably the first 'night spot' in Alice Springs.
• The couple retured to Adelaide but were back within four years to the familiar Centre.  Maria Concetta died in Alice Springs in September 1998 survived by her husband and four of their seven children.

Link - GAGLIARDI Giuseppe//Maria Concetta

PLACE NAMES COMMITTEE for the NORTHERN TERRITORY RESERVE LIST Alice Sp

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References

• Braham, Loraine.  “Maria always lived her life to the fullest”  Centralian Adovcate, 2 October 1998:16.
• Forrest, Peter.  “Concetta made the desert a home”  Northern Territory News, 6 October 1998:23-24.