Ralph Caccavo

1943 - 2022

"Do good and forget about it, do bad and think about it" 

In 1954, at the age of 11, Ralph migrated with his family from Italy to Australia.

Ralph’s eagerness and drive to pursue business was very clear in the early years of arriving in Hobart. When his family needed olive oil to cook, you could only purchase it from pharmacies for high prices. Ralph was negotiating better costs before he was even a teenager.

Ralph began his career out of school through an apprenticeship as a welder. However, he knew his true passions lay elsewhere and at 16 opened one of the first Italian delicatessens and grocery stores in Hobart. Within 18 months he started a wholesale food service business, together with his two brothers. Two years later they had 60% of the wholesale food market in Hobart.

Continuing to expand into the food market, Ralph’s Super 7 was established in 1976. Furthermore, in 1989 Ralph’s Super 7 would become the first major supermarket in Hobart to operate 7 days a week. It lives on as an iconic part of Hobart’s history.

Moreover, the 80s introduced the computer age into the workplace and home. Therefore, Ralph was involved in the manufacture, distribution and education of ergonomic furniture. This brought about the opportunity to supply government departments and companies Australia wide. Ralph in the 80s was also involved in the importation of Taiwanese goods into Australia, established a pine plantation and purchased a restaurant and leisure centre - The Sanctuary, now called the Villa Howden.

In the early 90s Ralph purchased Werndee, a rundown federation house built in 1903. This was an absolute love project for Ralph, he renovated the building and restored it to its former glory.

Furthermore, he and his son, Rocky, purchased Statewide Constructions in 1990. They started the manufacturing and construction of warehousing and expanded into a home manufacturing plant.

1996 saw further expansion of business interests for Ralph when Ralph’s Tasmanian Seafood was established. Focusing on the exportation of live abalone to China. The Caccavo family also established Olive Groves of Tasmania, planting the first of what is now more than 17,000 trees. They further imported a processing machine and equipment to produce award winning olive oil

Although in 1997 Ralph's Super 7 would close after 21 years, Ralph always had a passion for sale and wholesale of food. Thereby in 2002, the Caccavo family established Island Markets, an indoor/outdoor market which included the largest live and fresh seafood market in Tasmania.

In 2009, the Caccavo family moved into larger scale property development, which to this day is operating in multiple sites,  with both commercial and residential tenancies. During 2014, as a passion project for both Rocky and Ralph, they started Hobart Whisky, a distillery in Hobart which continues to gain a reputation for their award-winning Tasmanian single malt whisky and liqueurs.

In 2018, Ralph and Rocky purchased the existing council chambers at Triabunna. The goal is to build picturesque, waterfront accommodation. Ralph had been spending time at Orford and wanted to put his passion and energy into a project nearby.

Ralph is synonymous with Hobart. However, what was important to Ralph was that he kept his humbleness no matter what. Although we can observe an array of impressive business ventures throughout the decades, he was never too big to serve someone $10 worth of scallops. There was success and there was failure, but Ralph was a risk taker and always had his eye on the next thing.

Caccavo Group has extensive business interests in Tasmania, ranging from property and construction, indoor markets, the export of seafood, and production of specialty Tasmanian goods.

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