50 years ago, a group of Italian immigrants in Mirboo North commissioned a statue of St Paul, the patron saint of their hometown “Solarino” in Sicily, and had it shipped to Australia.
The statues arrival was celebrated with the first St Paul’s Festival in 1966.
The St Paul’s Catholic Social Club became responsible for the planning and organization of subsequent festivals on and off over the following 50 years enabling the Italian community to celebrate the faith, customs and traditions of their old homeland in Italy in their new homeland of Australia.
In 2016 a new committee identified the need to revitalize the Festival, rebranding it as the Mirboo North Italian Festa.
The new Festa aims to respect history and tradition, but also to re-engage all members of the community, especially children and youth to celebrate and appreciate the best of Italian culture, food, music and entertainment whilst attracting visitors to the beautiful region of South Gippsland.
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