Tributes to Orange Tenpin Bowl legend whose Belmonte name will live on forever

Alongside his wife Rosa, son Aldo and daughter-in-law Marisa, Mr Belmonte was a founding partner of the Orange Tenpin Bowl which is currently in its 40^th year of existence.

But his journey to the much-loved figure that brought joy to thousands of families across the Central West began more than two decades prior.

Born in the Italian Comune of Melito di Napoli in 1933, at the age of 27 he moved to Australia to give his family "a better life."

"This is a man that came to a country that he couldn't speak the language," his daughter-in-law said.

"The customs were different and he was prepared to do that for his family. He embraced the fact that Australia was such a beautiful country and he wanted that good life for everyone and that's what he gave them."

For the next 20-odd years he would often work two or even three jobs at any one time to make sure his wife and children were well looked after.

It was a conversation in the early 1980s that wouldn't just change the lives of the Belmonte family, but the people of Orange as a whole.

Marisa and Aldo had guests around when one of them pondered aloud how nice it would be to have a bowling alley in town.

This peaked the couple's interest and they would ask Tony and Rosa if they would like to go into business together.

"They pretty much put everything they had and worked for their whole lives on the line," Marisa added.

Then in 1983, Orange Tenpin Bowl was born and it's still going strong 40 years later.

Tony would officially work there for 15 years, but was always around to lend a helping hand even after his retirement.

"Aldo would give him little jobs that needed to be done," Marisa said.

"He's always been a family man. A strong, honourable and kind man."

Tony Belmonte died on June 14 at the age of 90.

Marisa said that to him, the bowling alley was a place where families could get together and have fun.

"It brought people together," she said.

"His idea of hard work was a sense of pride. It was never a negative to him."

On top of giving the people of Orange a place to have fun, it also proved a worthwhile cause for his own family.

Tony's grandson, 15 time major winner Jason Belmonte, learnt his craft at Orange Tenpin and owed "so much" to he man he called Nonno.

"Along with my parents, he invested everything he had saved in his life into building a bowling centre," he said.

"A game he didn't even knew existed till my parents asked for him to join them in building one. He taught me so much that I will pass down to my own children. Lessons only he could share with me.

"Without him, I would not have had the opportunities I have had and a career that I love."

But it wasn't just the Orange community where Tony's impact was felt. In 1985, the family built another tenpin centre in Dubbo.

With Aldo and Marisa busy operating the Orange facility, Tony was the go-to man to make sure that project became a reality.

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