Giovanni Sgro was born in 1931 in Seminara, a tiny village in Calabria, southern Italy.
He moved to Australia to work in 1952 and soon became involved in politics, as one of the leaders of the protests at the Bonegilla migrant camp in northern Victoria.
After working for two years in the Victorian country, Sgro moved to Melbourne in 1954, where ASIO, the Australian secret services, kept him under surveillance for his affiliation with the Communist Party of Australia.
After eventually obtaining the Australian citizenship in 1973, he was elected in the Lower Chamber of the Victorian Parliament. His maiden speech in Italian was deemed controversial even within his own party, with the leader of the Opposition Bill Landeryou walking off in protest.
It was the first time a speech had been delivered (in part) in a language other than English in a parliament, and that was in any country in the world where the main language spoken was English.
Giovanni Sgro passed away this week.
In the audio interview in Italian, former politician Carlo Carli remembers his life and analyses the importance of his legacy.
