MELBOURNE - Eusebio Marcocci is a man who embodies determination, sacrifice and a deep connection to his roots.
At just thirteen, he left Filetto, a small town in Abruzzo, and moved to Australia with his older brothers.
He brought with him the rebellious spirit of a child who wasn’t fond of school and often found himself in trouble for using “colourful” language at one of Melbourne’s Catholic schools.
Adjusting to his new life, he taught himself English in his own way by reading Mickey Mouse and Daffy Duck comics.
“They were easy to read, and the drawings helped me understand the context of each scene, showing me when to use certain words,” he said.
After his time at the Catholic school, he tried a public school, but things didn’t improve much.
Older kids mocked him and ordered him to pick up litter in the schoolyard.
“I tried to explain I wasn’t there to clean up, but it only led to more fights,” he recalled.
“I wasn’t a good student,” admitted Marcocci, “I had other things on my mind.”
It was away from the classroom where Marcocci found his English - in hard work – all the while resisting the pressure to forsake his Italian identity.
From the very beginning, he made every opportunity to make money count. He remembers earning pocket change by collecting empty bottles left around the city.
“I’d gather a dozen and make a few pennies. Back then, three pennies could get you four or five kilos of bananas, and that’s what I did for a while, until I got food poisoning,” he laughed.
After a period of adjustment, he began an apprenticeship as a butcher, a trade that would shape his future.
In the 1960s, he opened University Meat in Carlton, which quickly became a local institution.
“I’m good at what I do; I’m precise with my cuts,” he said, “I always woke up an hour early so I could have 25 hours in a day to get everything done.”
Marcocci’s skill in the meat business grew rapidly. He soon supplied hotels, restaurants and hospitals, expanding his operations and founding University Food Group (UFG).
UFG now includes Country Cooked Meats, specialising in ready-to-eat meat and vegetable dishes, and Service Sphere, a leader in coffee equipment, servicing, spare parts and training across Australia.
In the 1960s, he briefly returned to Italy, where he met Pasqualina Giovannina, the love of his life and future mother of his children.
The couple married in August 1965 and moved back to Melbourne, where Pasqualina focused on raising their family while Marcocci managed his many business ventures.
Despite his demanding entrepreneurial life, Marcocci never forgot his community or his hometown.
He co-founded the Abruzzo Club and served as president of the Italo-Australian Theatre, working closely with Nino Randazzo.
He actively promoted the Italian language and culture, funding scholarships for young people to study in Italy and partnering with the Dante Alighieri Society.
After the devastating 2009 earthquake, he helped raise funds to restore L’Aquila’s civic tower, which had been heavily damaged.
In the 1990s, Marcocci faced personal hardship when his son Maurizio, at just thirteen, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He remembers those painful years spent in and out of hospitals.
“At first, I couldn’t understand,” he said, “I was so caught up in work that I didn’t even know these illnesses existed. It was a tremendous pain.”
At the time, hospital facilities were sparse and bleak. Determined to ensure children didn’t lose their dignity in such an environment, the Marcocci family, along with two other families, began raising funds to improve hospital spaces.
They also co-founded the My Room Children’s Cancer Charity, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to fighting childhood cancer.
Through this foundation, they have supported families both financially and emotionally, funded medical research and invested in advanced treatments and equipment.
“It’s not money that makes the man, but the man who makes the money,” Marcocci stated firmly.
He believes true worth lies in one’s ability to create and give back to the community, rather than in material wealth.
“I’ve been offered a knighthood [from Italy] many times,” he shared, “but I believe every Italian who left their homeland to work in Australia deserves that honour.
“We’ve all contributed to this country; we’ve given so much to Australia.”
Behind every venture and community initiative is an ambitious and visionary man driven by a desire to “come together and create something for the community”.
Reflecting on himself, Marcocci said, “My brain is bigger than my stomach. I’m an ambitious person and I get involved in any project where I can sense even the smallest grain of opportunity.”
In fact, by his own calculations, he’ll need another twenty years to bring his many plans to life.
One such plan includes the construction of a fountain near the stunning La Storia residential complex in Carlton, developed by Marcocci Property Group.
Recently, Eusebio Marcocci’s dedication to the community was recognised when the Italian Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Business Awards night.
