Sarina Roppolo Navarra passed away quietly last Sunday after a long battle with dementia. She was a lady ahead of her time, an immigrant to Australia in 1959 at age eleven who displayed entrepreneurial skills in a period of history where women were not yet fully embraced in the workforce, a time where women needed permission from their husband to be allowed access to a bank card.

Sarina Navarra immigrated to Australia from Sicily and within two years of studying with the Sisters of St Joseph learnt the English language, getting up at 4am and staying up late at night to achieve top grades. By the age of fifteen she was head hunted by the Royal Bank of Australia at a time where it was rare for a woman to be recognised in this way.

Sarina will be remembered as an intelligent, graceful and gentle lady, a woman who navigated the Navarra family legacy as wife to Filippo Navarra, mother to Giovannino Navarra, Marie Florio and Salvatore Navarra, Nonna, great Nonna, mother in law, Zia, friend and entrepreneur ahead of her time, in her own right.

Sarina Navarra built an empire with her husband whilst raising their family. The Navarra family are entrepreneurs and respected within the community having created an event business, esteemed as leaders in the hospitality event industry having held over 200 000 events and still growing. They also have a charitable arm of the business with the Navarra Care Foundation.