Italians of Brisbane

Italians of Brisbane 1

FABIO BAGGIO

III


History of the Italian Community from 1870 to 1940

Scalabrini Migration Center Rintocchi - Brisbane

2009

IV


First Edition

Copyright © 2004 by The Scalabrini Migration Center

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

without permission from SMC.

English translation by Drina Oldroyd

Scalabrini Migration Center 4, 13th Street, New Manila, Quezon City - Philippines

ISBN 971-8789-11-1 Printed in Australia

Front Cover “Custom House”

Top illustration - 1898: courtesy of the John Oxley Library - Brisbane Bottom illustration - 2004: courtesy of Rintocchi - Brisbane

V

CONTENTS

CONTENTS ............................................................................................. V ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. VII INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... IX CHAPTER ONE Italian Emigration to Australia between 1870 and 1940 .......................... 1

1. Once Italy is made … the Italians emigrate .......................................... 1

2. The “Chinese of Europe” ...................................................................... 12

3. The mirage of gold and sugar ............................................................... 31 CHAPTER TWO The City of Brisbane ................................................................................ 45

1. A maximum security penal colony ....................................................... 45

2. A flourishing town on the banks of the Brisbane River ....................... 50

3. The capital of the colony of Queensland .............................................. 55

4. The “Greater Brisbane” of the 20th century .......................................... 60 CHAPTER THREE First Italians Recorded in Brisbane (1870-1900) ...................................... 63

1. Priests, artists and men of culture: Monsignor Quinn’s “recruits” ....... 63

2. Other arrivals at the end of the 19th century ......................................... 81

3. Glimpses of community life ................................................................. 89 CHAPTER FOUR The Dawning of the New Century (1900-1922) ....................................... 93

1. Immigration somewhat by stealth ......................................................... 93

2. The Italian community of Brisbane ...................................................... 105

VI

CHAPTER FIVE A Timid and Tormented Community (1922-1930) ................................... 107

1. Between suspicion and advancement .................................................... 107

2. A much diversified Italian community ................................................. 117 CHAPTER SIX A Small though Tenacious Community (1931-1940) ............................... 137

1. A growing community .......................................................................... 137

2. An active community life ..................................................................... 145

3. The omnipresent Monsignor James Duhig ........................................... 158

4. Italian associations in Brisbane ............................................................. 169 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 181 REFERENCES ......................................................................................... 187 LIST OF NAMES ..................................................................................... 215

VII

ABBREVIATIONS AAB Archives of the Archdiocese of Brisbane JOL John Oxley Library p. page pp. pages QSA Queensland State Archives sic error in the original text tr. note added by the English translator vol. volume vols. volumes

Italians of Brisbane 1 IX

INTRODUCTION

To write the history of the Italians of Brisbane is by no means an easy undertaking, but the challenge made over two years ago has been accepted in the belief that the recovery of historical memory contributes to the reaffirmation of group identity. The initial project, outlined by the editorial staff of the monthly magazine Rintocchi and by the Scalabrini Migration Center of Manila (Philippines) in 2002, anticipated the collection and presentation of events in the Italian community of Brisbane from 1870 to 1990 in a single volume. The abundance of material uncovered, however, gave rise to a notable variation in the planning, by which it was decided to divide the project into two phases: before and after the Second World War. This first volume, therefore, is entirely dedicated to historical developments between 1870 and 1940. A second book covering the successive period will follow. The methodological approach adopted in this study will vary slightly from the traditional ones which emphasise the analysis of the phenomenon of migration in general, furnishing precise data and statistics, or else concentrate on the history of a single event or eminent person. Despite the inestimable value of such approaches, it has been decided to make the life of the community the prime object, bringing out events and the everyday life of people less known, but not for this less important. The research was carried out in different phases and varying locations. It began with the gathering of publications already written on the topic, in both Italian and English. The compilation of such a bibliography made use of the card or digital indexes of the main Australian libraries and of two institutions specialising in the history of Italian immigration: the Centro Studi Emigrazione di Roma (CSER) and the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) of New York. The indexes of the most important qualified journals were also consulted and articles judged of relevance to the research were examined. From here an analysis of the material gathered was

X Introduction

undertaken, bringing out all the information regarding the Italian presence in the city of Brisbane and in Queensland. In a second phase, according to the requirements of historical methodology, meticulous investigations were conducted in the national and civic archives in Brisbane; in particular the Queensland State Archives and the Brisbane City Council Archives. It was thereby possible to gain access to a series of unpublished data regarding the arrivals, family components, naturalisation processes and activities of Italians in the capital of Queensland. The research then proceeded in the ecclesiastical archives, especially in the Archives of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The latter disclosed an unexpected wealth: four crates labelled “Italians” containing original documents dating from the beginning of the 20th century to the Second World War. The research went on from there to the catalogues of the State Library in Sydney, the State Library of New South Wales, and in Brisbane, the State Library of Queensland and of the Fryer Library of the University of Queensland, in the search for periodicals in the Italian language published between 1900 and 1940. Consultation of the complete series of Il Giornale Italiano was most useful. It presented, between 1932 and 1939, a section totally dedicated to the affairs of the Italian community in the capital of Queensland. News of a more general character on Italian emigration in Australia were found in different editions of the Bollettino dell’Emigrazione and in various consular reports published by the Italian Ministero degli Esteri [Foreign Office] in the historical period under consideration. Other types of documentary material were later gathered at the John Oxley Library of Brisbane. In the successive phase the cataloguing of the data gathered and the selection of those most relevant to the scope of the study was proceeded with. For reasons of scientific rigour cross-referencing was carried out, in both Australia and Italy, in order to ratify archival information. Access to information on the Internet was frequent and particularly valuable. In the end the elaboration of a scheme of drawing up and drafting of the final text was completed, faithfully following the criteria of the historical method of the Gregorian School. In the cases in which the

Italians of Brisbane 1 XI

scarcity of the documentary sources or the contradictory nature of the same did not permit attainment of historical certainty, probable hypotheses, always indicated as such in the text of the volume, were formulated. The limits of the work are, above all, marked by the circumscription of the object of study, both at the geographical and temporal levels. The restrictions of time imposed by the deadlines predicted for the project have, furthermore, had a negative influence on the research, occasionally limiting its radius of action and meticulous care. It has not been possible to have access to any copies of the weekly L’italiano, published in Brisbane most probably between 1931 and 1934. Certain local ecclesiastical or congregational archives still remain to be consulted, which could eventually offer reports of popular missions and communications from missionaries with important references to the Italian community of Brisbane. It would be interesting to complete the general picture by means of a systematic analysis of the local press in English (especially the Brisbane Courier and the Queenslander), which have been consulted only regarding some specific events. It could be revealed as a rich source of information for a possible continuation of the study. Consultation of the Secret Vatican Archives in Rome could, also, turn out to be of extreme utility, offering the possibility of examining valuable reports, letters, communications between Australian bishops, Apostolic Delegates and the Holy See. Again in Rome, patient research in the Archivio del Ministero degli Esteri [Archives of the Foreign Office] could disclose private communications and reports sent by Consular representatives in Australia which have remained unedited. The project, started and financed by the editorial staff of Rintocchi, goes far beyond a mere scientific exercise, which still conserves all its validity. The recovery of historical memory is a duty of every community that declares itself proud of its own origins. The support guaranteed right from the beginning by the Italian Consulate of Brisbane deserves a special mention; such support was equally shown in a tangible way through financial collaboration with the project. I would thank Dr Don Dignan for the wise advice and cordial attention with which he answered every query of mine. I would also

XII Introduction

thank Fr Mauro Conte and Fr Maurizio Pettenà for their invaluable collaboration in my long and tiring research. Finally I would thank Carmela Bozzi for her inestimable contribution to the correction of the final proofs.

Italians of Brisbane 1 1

CHAPTER ONE

Italian Emigration to Australia

between 1870 and 1940

Many Italians have fertilised with their blood, blessed with their life, Australian earth, fields, railways, bush, mines and construction sites. It would take too long to speak of their collective and single merits, but, unfortunately, they do not shine with the splendour and renown accorded them in other lands, because here we have not had the immigration of artists or of elect erudite men of science or letters, of agricultural specialists with profound and rational knowledge. The merits Italians are known for are love of their work and the honour of their families. “They are very nice” say those who have had even slightly close dealings with them.

(G. Capra, Gli Italiani in Australia, 1911) 1. Once Italy is made…the Italians emigrate On 18 February 1861 the delegates of the states that had decided to create the Kingdom of Italy met in Turin. On 17 March of the same year, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed King of a new constitutional monarchy whose sovereignty extended over a large part of the Italian territories. Ideals of the Risorgimento [the mid-19th century uprising for the liberation of Italy, tr.] which had inflamed the hearts of so many statesmen and soldiers, were finally realised. The phase of national organisation thus began, which appeared so difficult because of the marked cultural and linguistic differences of its new subjects. From the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (AD 476), the Italian peninsula had been torn apart into lots of small states, without much common history. Having been invaded and “liberated” several times, both in the north and south, Italy had seen the formation of social and political realities within regions, provinces or cities. The

2 Chapter One

unity of the Kingdom needed to be followed immediately by the unity of its subjects. History, however, often presents surprises. And so, while liberal ministers were intent on elaborating political strategies aimed at creating a solid sense of national identity, Italians started taking themselves off in great numbers. As if hypnotised by “the American Dream,” thousands of them went overseas, leaving behind them a fatherland that they were not yet able to feel their own. Many others chose closer migrant destinations. The numbers demonstrate clearly: between 1869 and 1886 more than two million three hundred thousand Italians emigrated abroad; of these, 1,458,159 headed for countries in Europe and the Mediterranean basin, while 629,668 preferred overseas destinations.1 Table I presents the annual totals of the general movement of expatriations and repatriations in the years 1869-1886.2

TABLE I

Years European Countries and Mediterranean

Basin

Overseas Countries

Total Expatriations

Total Repatriations

1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877

108,924

89,620 - -

109,066 87,557 91,304 88,923 77,828

25,941 17,594

- -

42,715 20,671 11,917 19,848 21,385

134,865 107,214 122,479 146,265 151,781 108,228 103,221 108,771

99,213

- - -

86,516 86,790 78,998 83,247 73,611

-

1 It must be observed that the data furnished by ISTAT relative to the expatriations of the years 1871 and 1872 do not discriminate between migratory destinations; see V. Briani, Il lavoro Italiano all’estero negli ultimi cento anni, Rome 1870, p. 15. 2 As above.


1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886

75,065 82,545 86,643 94,768

101,736 104,818

90,698 83,712 84,952

21,203 37,286 33,258 41,064 59,826 64,283 56,319 73,481 82,877

96,268

119,831 119,901 135,832 161,562 169,101 147,017 157,193 167,829

- - - - - - - - -

Total 1,458,159 629,668 2,356,571 409,262

The data proposed become even more important if they are compared with the total population of The Kingdom of Italy, which the census of 1861 calculated as being about 21,700,000.3 That means that in 17 years Italy witnessed the exodus of more than 10% of its citizens. In the following years the numbers become even greater. Between 1887 and 1900 more that three million seven hundred thousand Italians emigrated, of whom 2,118,875 went overseas and 1,656,518 made for European countries or the Mediterranean basin.4 The preference for the most distant destinations is evident, mainly thanks to recruitment campaigns by emigration agents and by the more accessible fares offered by the shipping companies. The lack of data regarding repatriations does not allow us, unfortunately, to get a complete overall picture of the Italian migratory movement of the last years of the 19th century. It is, however, possible to establish that the phenomenon of emigration in this period involved more than 13% of

3 See Censimento Generale del 31 dicembre 1861 per cura del Ministro d’Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio, Florence 1863-1867. 4 See V. Briani, Il lavoro Italiano all’estero negli ultimi cento anni, Rome 1870, p. 18 and “Appendice Statistica (serie storiche 1876-1976)” in G. Rosoli, Un secolo di emigrazione italiana, 1876-1976, Rome 1978, pp. 345-349.

4 Chapter One

an Italian population of about 27,304,000 according to the 1881 census.5 Table II shows the annual totals of the general movement of expatriations in the years 1887-1900.6

TABLE II


Basin

Overseas Countries

Total Expatriations

1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900

85,363 86,036 94,823

102,295 106,056 109,421 107,769 113,425 108,664 113,235 127,777 147,803 167,572 186,279

130,302 204,700 123,589 113,559 187,575 114,246 138,982 111,898 184,517 194,247 172,078 135,912 140,767 166,503

215,665 290,736 218,412 215,854 293,631 223,667 246,751 225,323 293,181 307,482 299,855 283,715 308,339 352,782

Total 1,656,518 2,118,875 3,775,393

The beginning of the 20th century saw a consistent growth in the number of Italian emigrants. From 1901 to 1913 over eight million citizens left the Kingdom, of which 4,740,333 went overseas and 3,304,245 emigrated to countries in Europe or the Mediterranean basin. The contributing factor to that numeric growth, of almost 5 See Censimento della popolazione del Regno d’Italia al 31 dicembre, Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, Rome 1882-1885. 6 See V. Briani (1870), p.18 and “Appendice Statistica (serie storiche 1876-1976),” in G. Rosoli (1978), pp. 345-347.


geometric proportions, was undoubtedly the growth of the offer of temporary/seasonal work and the increasingly generous politics of agricultural settlement put in place by different American governments. The year 1913 marks the historically highest point of Italian emigration, with its 872,598 expatriations. Unfortunately, the data regarding repatriations start from 1902 and contain only the numbers related to the return from countries in the Americas. It is, however, relevant to note how, in the years under consideration, 2,133,434 emigrants returned home, which confirms the very high migratory mobility characterising the pre-war period. In only 14 years the Kingdom of Italy witnessed the departure of over 24% of its total population, which the census of 1901 estimated at about 32,966,000 people.7 Starting from the beginning of 1914 there was an obvious decline in emigration, due above all to the “war drums” which were signalling the approach of the First World War. Table III shows the annual totals of the general movement of expatriations in the years 1901-1913.8

TABLE III


Basin

Overseas Countries

Total Expatriations

Total Repatriations

1901 1902 1903 1904

253,571 246,855 225,541 218,825

279,674 284,654 282,435 252,366

533,245 531,509 507,976 471,191

-

98,446 130,705 195,276

7 See Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio, Direzione Generale della Statistica, Censimento della popolazione del Regno d’Italia al 10 febbraio 1901, Rome 1902-1904. 8 See V. Briani (1870), p. 39 and “Appendice Statistica (serie storiche 1876-1976),” in G. Rosoli (1978), pp. 345-348. It must be noted that the numbers of emigrants given in the two sources present some discrepancies. The author has opted for the numbers put forward by Briani.

6 Chapter One

1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913

279,248 176,042 288,774 248,101 226,355 248,696 271,065 308,140 313,032

447,083 511,935 415,901 238,573 399,282 402,779 262,779 403,306 559,566

726,331 687,977 704,675 486,674 625,637 651,475 533,844 711,446 872,598

119,858 157,987 248,428 300,834 134,210 158,902 216,820 182,990 188,978

Total 3.304.245 4.740.333 8.044.578 2.133.434

From 1915 to 1918 the flow of Italian emigration slowed up greatly because of the First World War (only 363,190 departures in four years), but right from 1919 it gathered momentum again with relatively high numbers. In the period between the two wars there was an average of almost 200,000 emigrants a year. It must be noted, however, that these numbers were in relation to an average of just over 100,000 repatriations a year, balancing out at a little above 50%. The highest number of expatriations was in the year 1920, in which 614,611 Italian citizens migrated abroad. In 1927 the Kingdom of Italy counted 9,163,367 subjects residing beyond its national borders; 7,674,583 were in the Americas, 1,267,841 in Europe, 188,702 in Africa, 27,567 in Australia and Oceania and 9,674 in Asia.9 The census of 193110 estimated about 41,652,000 subjects in the national territory: in these years almost 20% of Italian citizens were living abroad. In the third decade of 1900 an obvious turn in the flow of emigrants may be noted. That is due primarily to the fact that the government of the United States, after the economic crisis of 1929, decided to reduce the number of foreigners admitted, by means of a

9 See Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Censimento degli Italiani all’estero alla metà dell’anno 1927, Rome 1928. 10 See Istituto Centrale di Statistica del Regno d’Italia, VII Censimento generale della popolazione: 21 aprile 1931, Rome 1933-36.


presidential decree.11 On the other hand, in Italy the Fascist regime strove to rein in and regulate the migratory movement, with the aim of guaranteeing the number of “hands” necessary for the eagerly desired national development. The outbreak of the Second World War and Italian involvement in the conflict substantially stemmed the migrant flow in the years immediately following 1939. Table IV shows the annual totals of the general trend of expatriations in the years 1919-1939.12

TAVOLA IV


Basin

Overseas Countries

Total Expatriations

Total Repatriations

1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936

147,391 205,372

84,328 155,554 205,273 239,088 177,558 139,900

86,247 79,173 88,054

220,985 125,079

58,545 60,736 42,296 30,579 21,882

105,833 409,239 116,963 125,716 184,684 125,526 102,523 122,496 132,687

70,794 61,054 69,112 40,781 24,803 22,328 26,165 26,829 19,828

253,224 614,611 201,291 281,270 389,957 364,614 280,081 262,396 218,934 149,967 149,108 290,097 165,860

83,348 83,064 68,461 57,408 41,710

- -

123,999 110,786 119,738 172,811 189,071 177,617 140,428

98,752 115,918 129,023 107,730

73,175 65,836 49,827 39,470 32,760

11 See Herbert Hoover, White House Statement on Government Policies to Reduce Immigration. March 26, 1931, Washington 1931. 12 See V. Briani (1870), p. 120 and “Appendice Statistica (serie storiche 1876-1976),” in G. Rosoli (1978), pp. 345-349.

8 Chapter One

1937 1938 1939

29,670 33,554 13,291

30,275 27,994 16,198

59,945 61,548 29,489

35,741 36,892 87,279

Total 2,244,555 1,861,828 4,106,383 1,906,853 Between 1869 and 1939 Italy saw the departure of over eighteen million emigrants, in a large part men, young and enterprising.13 48% of them chose to emigrate to Europe or, anyway, the area round the Mediterranean basin, while 52% moved overseas, searching for an economic wellbeing that they were not able to find at home. In the early years of the period under consideration, emigrants came mostly from northern regions (especially from Veneto, Friuli and Piedmont); but already from 1900 the southern regions were overtaking them (in particular, Sicily and Campania). The “meridionalizzazione” or “southernisation” of Italian emigration coincided with the explosion of transoceanic migration, presenting a valid alternative to the continental emigration statistically preferred by northern Italians.14 In confirmation of what has been said, in Table V are presented the expatriations between 1876 and 1900 and between 1901 and 1915, divided by their region of origin.15 It may be noted how in the first period under consideration, over 63% of the emigrant flow came from the northern regions, while in the second period the majority were from the south.

13 See V. Briani (1870), p. 96. 14 See V. Briani (1870), p. 38. 15 See G. Rosoli (1978), p. 25.


TABLE V

Regions Absolute Totals 1876-1900

% Absolute Totals 1901-1915

%

Piedmont – Aosta Lombardy Veneto Venezia Giulia Liguria Emilia R. Tuscany Umbria The Marches Lazio Abruzzo Molise Campania Apulia Basilicata Calabria Sicily Sardinia

709,076 519,100 940,711 847,072 117,941 220,745 290,111

8,866 70,050 15,830

109,038 136,355 520,791 50,282

191,433 275,926 226,449

8,135

13.5 10.0 18.0 16.0 2.0 4.0 5.5

- 1.5 0.5 2.0 2.5

10.0 1.0 3.5 5.0 4.5

-

831,088 823,659 882,082 560,721 105,215 469,430 473,045 155,654 320,107 189,125 486,518 171,680 955,188 332,615 190,260 603,105

1,126,500 89,624

9.5 9.5

10.0 6.5 1.0 5.5 5.5 2.0 3.5 2.0 5.5 2.0

11.0 4.0 2.0 7.0

13.0 1.0

For a better understanding of the phenomenon, the totals of Table V should be read together with the percentages, which look at the expatriations according to the number of inhabitants per region. This calculation reveals that between 1876 and 1913 the highest percentage is that of Veneto with an annual average of 24.56 departures every one thousand inhabitants; in this specific classification there follow Basilicata with 19.9, Calabria with 17.5 and Abruzzo with 16.93. Table VI illustrates the detail of the average annual expatriations every one thousand inhabitants in the Italian regions.16 16 See E. Sori, L’emigrazione italiana dall’Unità alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale, Bologna 1979, pp. 9-63.

10 Chapter One

TABLE VI

Regions 1876-1880

1881-1890

1891-1900

1901-1910

1911-1913

Average

Abruzzo Basilicata Calabria Campania Emilia R. Lazio Liguria Lombardy The Marches Piedmont Apulia Sardinia Sicily Tuscany Umbria Veneto - Friuli

0.99 5.98 1.77 2.07 1.86 0.07 5.03 4.98 0.32 9.10 0.29 0.03 0.34 3.27 0.05

11.98

6.52

16.52 7.95 5.50 3.00 0.02 6.05 5.77 2.00 9.94 0.80 0.20 1.66 4.79 0.15

20.31

10.69 18.11 12.12 10.61 5.59 1.36 3.78 5.03 4.77 7.98 1.85 0.86 5.05 5.86 1.22

33.85

33.70 29.76 31.66 21.63 12.94

9.83 6.10

11.33 20.57 16.50 10.71

6.88 21.50 11.90 14.96

29.47

32.74 29.15 31.77 20.10 13.35 13.56

7.06 15.84 24.92 19.10 14.29 10.47 26.29 15.32 21.34

31.71

16.93 19.90 17.05 12.11 7.34 4.97 5.60 8.59

10.51 12.52 5.59 3.60

10.97 8.23 7.54

25.46

Still regarding the regional origin, in the period between the two wars an inversion of the tendency was noticeable, with an indisputable majority from northern Italy compared with the centre and south. In first place appears Veneto-Friuli with an average of over 25,000 departures a year, followed in order by Piedmont, Lombardy and Sicily.17 Table VII shows the number of expatriations per area of origin between 1919 and 1939.

17 See G. Rosoli (1978), pp. 357, 360 and 363.


TABLE VII

Years North-West North-East Central South Not indicated

1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

87,131

121,386 56,602 90,111

107,263 98,087 70,814 63,413 55,418 35,400 47,757 78,090 58,846 24,124 21,424 16,350 12,892 7,737

12,306 11,166 5,888

15,383 60,367 37,979 66,668 93,228

102,925 75,278 61,803 51,158 33,354 43,522 57,643 39,643 17,644 16,022 13,250 8,938 5,339 8,659

14,086 4,864

54,762

118,932 33,677 48,536 78,208 73,066 54,614 51,711 42,972 29,191 32,582 45,929 33,006 16,663 14,726 13,888 10,911 9,182

12,002 12,066 4,703

95,948

313,926 73,033 75,955

111,258 90,536 79,375 85,469 69,386 42,911 50,941 54,776 36,365 24,927 30,892 24,973 24,667 19,452 26,978 24,230 14,034

- - - - - - - - -

4,288 6,938 8,724 1,210 4,791

14,711 8,003 7,403 6,597 8,986 6,942 3,933

Total 1,082,205 807,753 791,327 1,370,032 85,626

12 Chapter One

2. The “Chinese of Europe” In 1887 an Australian newspaper, the “Australian Star” entitled an article on Italian immigrants, “The Chinese of Europe;” it was a deliberately offensive epithet, clear evidence of the climate of discrimination and prejudice which marked Italian immigration in Australia from the beginning.18 Even if the numbers in this exodus cannot be compared with those to Argentina, Brazil and the United States, the Italian migrant flow into Australia represents one of the greatest contributions to the peopling of the land of Australia in the last two hundred years. Even recognising that the 1st century of Australian history, in the shadow of the British flag, was also populated by navigators, soldiers and convicts coming from the Italian peninsula,19 one cannot speak of Italian immigration in the strict sense of the word before 1870. Even if in 1868 the first Consul General of Italy, Cavaliere [Italian title corresponding to a knighthood, tr.] Giuseppe Biagi, registered about 1,600 Italians living in Australia,20 in reality the censuses carried out quite regularly in the Australian colonies started to count a scanty Italian presence (860 individuals) only from 1871.21 Italian and Australian sources often diverge in presenting data relative to Italian immigration in Australia. That is due principally to the adoption of

18 Towards the middle of 1800 Chinese immigrants in Australia were the object of ferocious racist attacks on the part of the local press. They were accused of being uncivilised, unhygienic and with leanings towards organised crime. The pressure of public opinion led the colonial government to adopt strict migratory restrictions regarding them. A few years later the same campaign of denigration was unleashed against Italians, named the “Chinese of Europe;” see T. Cecilia, Non siamo arrivati ieri, Red Cliffs 1985, pp. 61-64. 19 For further information on this topic, see T. Cecilia (1895), pp. 15-43. 20 See C. Alcorso, “Early Italian migration and the construction of European Australia, 1788-1939,” in Australia’s Italians: culture and community in a changing society, ed. Stephen Castles, Caroline Alcorso, Gaetano Rando and Ellie Vasta, Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1992, p. 8. 21 It must be clarified that the Australian census of 1871 includes ‘Italians’ as a category only for the states of Victoria and Queensland; see G. Rando, “Italians in Australia: Assimilation, Integration, Multiculturalism,” in The Italian Diaspora: Migration Across the Globe, ed. Gorge E. Pozzetta and Bruno Ramirez, Ontario 1992, p. 63.


different criteria of computation. The Australian censuses, in fact, only counted those immigrants who declared themselves born in Italy, specifying, in some cases, the number of those who were later naturalised; Italian sources, on the other hand, are often based on ius sanguinis - the right of the blood line22 - counting the children of immigrants as Italians. As far as the period in this study is concerned (1970-1939), the divergence between immigration data supplied by the Italian authorities and those proposed by the Australian government show up very clearly. The phenomenon must, however, be read in the light of the scope of the study of the different sources. The Italian figures refer to the flow of migrants who declared themselves headed for Australia in a specific period of time; the Australian censuses, on the other hand, counted the migratory stock effectively settled within the national borders at the moment of taking the census. So, on the one hand it becomes quite difficult to establish if the intention of the migrants had been respected and if they had effectively settled in the country in which they disembarked. On the other hand, one may credibly suppose that the clearly discriminatory attitude of Australian society had led many immigrants to deny their own origins when faced with the census officer. In the last analysis, it must also be clarified that not even the numbers published by the Direzione Generale di Statistica [General Superintendence of Statistics] and by the Commissariato Generale dell’Emigrazione [General Commissariat of Emigration], both official organs of the Kingdom of Italy, are the same. While, in fact, the numbers of the Direzione Generale di Statistica were calculated on the requests for permission to apply for a passport for emigration, and from 1904 onwards, on the basis of passports actually issued for emigration, the data of the Commissariato Generale dell’Emigrazione were based on the embarkation lists compiled in the Italian ports from which the emigrants left: Genoa, Naples, Messina and Palermo. On the basis of the data offered by Italian sources, Gianfausto Rosoli23 elaborated a series of tables from which we have extrapolated 22 According to that right, Italian parents automatically transmit their nationality to their children, unless they choose and give notice to the contrary. 23 See G. Rosoli (1978), pp. 345-349.

14 Chapter One

several relating to Italian emigration to Oceania. In Table VIII it is shown how from 1877 to 1939 over sixty-seven thousand Italians headed towards the Newest Continent. Repatriations were calculated only starting from 1923 and were a little over twelve thousand in seventeen years. The highest number in the period under consideration belongs to 1927, with its 6,900 departures; it is noteworthy that in 1931, repatriations far outnumbered expatriations.

TABLE VIII

Years Expatriations Repatriations Years Expatriations Repatriations

1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901

-

216 194 31 15 10 29

164 173 158 231 216 163 156 291 784 144 54 68

154 467 436 371 427 535 890

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933

638 830

1,079 1,608 1,214 1,682

561 347 167 14

4 347 697

1,468 4,226

963 4,498 5,182 4,783 6,900 2,353 1,445 1,720

708 897

1,239

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

353 328 713

1,121 1,077 1,284 1,293 1,515 2,050

908 639


1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907

767 389 701 765 815 664

- - - - - -

1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1,333 1,676 1,182 2,372 2,726 1,820

584 346 248 515 467 425

Total 67,157 12,021

The Australian census collections supply the numbers of Italian migratory stock within the national borders at ten-year intervals. Even if the numbers presented in Table IX24 do not coincide with those of Table VIII, it may be observed that both the tables identify the second decade of the 20th century as the most significant on a migratory level.

TABLE IX

24 See G. Rando (1992), p. 63.

Census Born in Italy Total Population Percentage

1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1933 1947

1.880 3.890 5.678 6.798 8.135

26.756 33.623

2.250.194 3.174.392 3.773.801 4.455.005 5.435.734 6.629.839 7.579.358

0,08% 0,12% 0,15% 0,15% 0,14% 0,40% 0,44%

16 Chapter One

On the basis of a thorough study of the registers of Australian naturalisation, C. A. Price25 points out that between 1840 and 1940 the regional origin of Italian immigrants in Australia was mainly northern. From the registers it is even possible to go back to the province of origin. In the first place, however, was Sicily, claiming 21% of Italians in Australia (coming from Messina, Catania and Lipari), followed by Lombardy with 18% (particularly Sondrio and Brescia), Triveneto with 17% (above all Udine, Treviso, Belluno and Vicenza), Calabria with 8% (particularly Reggio Calabria) and Piedmont with 6% (above all Alessandria). Other data on Italian immigration in Australia, both in quantity and quality, may be deduced from reports and bulletins published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1889, H.M. Consul Nicola Squitti sent his report from Melbourne to Rome detailing the condition of his compatriots in Australian territories. The numbers are, in general, taken from the Australian census of 1881; but certain observations on the Italian communities of Melbourne and Sydney are worthy of mention, two cities that seem to have been, from the beginning, the main centres of migratory concentration:

“In the cities of Melbourne and Sydney there are several hundred of our compatriots who live and prosper with the exercise of their professions, diligently observing the laws of the country and enjoying the acceptance and esteem on the part of the rest of the population, except for exceptional cases in which religious fanaticism or racial prejudice, fostered by ignorance, obstructs clear and impartial judgement; or else is engendered by those who expose themselves to the mockery of the public by going around playing a portable organ and displaying a monkey without any shame. […]. The majority of Italians in the cities are small-time greengrocers, others are strolling players, others fishermen. There are further, in Melbourne as in Sydney, music teachers, artists, doctors,

25 See C. A. Price, “European Minorities in Australia, 1840-1940,” Historical Studies Australia and New Zealand, VI (November 1954) 23, pp. 290-300. The study was carried out on samples chosen from the nationalisation registers, therefore only percentages scientifically reliable are shown.


engineers and Government officials, all people who, my soul rejoices to be able to affirm, bring honour to Italy by their intelligence and conduct, and are justly esteemed and appreciated by the Anglo-Australians. The differences that occur between these classes of Italians in relation to their adaptation to the conditions of existence in this society is that the former usually live together in a single suburb, conserving, as far as they can, Italian language, habits and customs, while the latter mix, as soon as they have the opportunity, with the local population, whose language they have to speak by reason of their business affairs. But, to their honour and that of truth, I must say that not for this is their affection for their distant fatherland less fervent or their memory less keen.”26

The Bollettino dell’Emigrazione of 1904, published by the Commissariat of Emigration, among various items of information, records the numbers regarding the flow of Italian immigration in Australia for the year 1903. From the annual report on the application of Federal law on emigration it appears that, during that year, 44,117 immigrants had entered the Australian confederation, of whom 793 were Italian, almost 2% of the total.27 The following year, the same publication paints a more complete picture, presenting the data relative to immigration into Australia from 1902 to 1904.28 Table X shows the Italian flow of migrants compared with that of the other major components.

26 “Report of H. M. Consul Cav. N. Squitti, Baron of Palermiti and Guarna (4 November 1981),” in Emigrazione e Colonie. Rapporti di RR. Agenti Diplomatici e Consolari pubblicati da R. Ministero degli Esteri, Rome 1893, pp. 353-354. 27 See “Notizie varie. Immigrazione in Australia nel 1903,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1904) 15, pp. 68-69. 28 See “Notizie sull’immigrazione in Australia e nella Nuova Zelanda,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1905) 17, p. 1432.

18 Chapter One

TABLE X

Nationality 1902 1903 1904

English French Germans Italians Chinese Other nationalities

35,330 1,011 1,162 1,181 1,336 2,590

35,061 1,390 1,028

793 986

4,071

36,810 2,537

928 814

1,271 1,389

Total 45,468 44,117 43,336

In the August of 1902 the Consul General in Melbourne, Pasquale Corte, composed a long report on the Italians in the Australian Confederation and in New Zealand.29 In that report only published in 1906, some interesting details were furnished, which add life and colour to the numbers above. From the notes of Corte there appears a migrant stock well characterised by its regions of origin (Sicily and Lombardy), who came with the intention of staying temporarily but who settled down because of circumstances and a marked tendency to take wives from outside their own ethnic group:

“Italian immigration to Australia should be considered temporary, because men from Sicily and Valtellina, who constitute the main contingent, always have their eyes turned towards their home districts, as demonstrated by their frequent purchases of land there and dispatches of money meant for the improvement of the same. Despite this, because of the development of their commercial interests in Australia and of the liberty and security which they enjoy, they end up settling definitively, above all when they marry Australian women, which they do very frequently. Changes of location

29 See P. Corte, “Gli Italiani nell’Australia e nella Nuova Zelanda,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1906) 2-3, vol. II, pp. 513-561.


there, however, are so fast and frequent that in less than a year a little village that has grown up around a mine can become a town, later to return to being a mass of uninhabited shacks. For that reason the precision of census-taking in the Australian states is very relative.”30

Even with having to face up to the linguistic obstacle, Italian workers seem to have enjoyed an excellent reputation in the Australian labour market, where they generally occupied positions as generic manual or semi-skilled workers:

“Italian workers compared with the Anglo-Saxons find themselves in the struggle for competition in conditions of notable inferiority under several points of view, and in better conditions under others. The scanty knowledge they have of the English language is the greatest difficulty in finding a position; but, once they have found a job, their sobriety, application to work and habitual frugality soon restore the balance and tip the scales in their favour. They are not numerous enough to become the majority in individual trades, but in some they have managed to beat the competition. Thus our compatriots who exercise the trades of builder, bricklayer, stonemason, fisherman, travelling haberdasher, greengrocer, innkeeper, cook, waiter, musicmaker, chorister, gardener, market gardener, carpenter or sailor are generally favoured….”31

The report presented to the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs by the Commissioner General for emigration, Luigi Rossi, in 1910 furnishes other interesting data on the regional origin and geographical distribution of Italian immigrants in Australia.32 The report underlines the efficacy of chain migration, as in the case of migration from Lucania [now called Basilicata, tr.], and highlights

30 As above, p. 519. 31 As above, p. 528. 32 See L. Rossi, Relazione sui servizi dell’emigrazione per l’anno 1909-1910, Rome 1910, pp. 202-214.

20 Chapter One

how immigrants coming from southern regions prefer to settle in the cities, while those coming from northern Italy seem to prefer working in the bush:

“As far as the distribution of Italians in the interior of the country, it is clear that the cities exercise the same strong attraction on our immigrants as they do on the local population in the two most advanced states, Victoria and New South Wales, while in the other states Italians tend to avoid urbanisation, drawn to the interior by the mirage of gold, as in Western Australia, or by the remunerative cultivation of sugar cane, as in Queensland, or by the innate propensity of our people for life in the fields, as in South Australia and New Zealand in particular. […] The Italian inhabitants of cities come mainly from the province of Messina, in particular from the Lipari Islands [off the coast of Sicily, tr.], and are involved in two main areas of commerce: fruit and fish. Some are also fishermen. […] Behind the purveyors of fruit and fish come the ice-cream makers, recruited for the most part from around Naples, then players of musical instruments, mostly itinerant, who come from Basilicata in the south, more precisely from Marsico Vetere and surrounding villages. In the bush the first place belongs to the woodcutters and charcoal burners hailing from the province of Sondrio, and in particular from the Tirano district. […]. Many others, natives for the greatest part of northern provinces of Italy, are simple labourers or farm and vineyard workers.”33

At the end of a long journey in Australia, Fr Giuseppe Capra (1873-1952), a priest from Valdosta, geographer and lecturer at the universities of Rome and Perugia, wrote a detailed report on the conditions of Italians who had emigrated to the Newest Continent.34 The report, published in the Bollettino dell’Emigrazione in 1911, substantially confirms what had been reported in previous years. 33 As above, pp. 204-205. 34 G. Capra, “Gli Italiani in Australia,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1911) 2, pp. 175-280.


According to Fr Capra, Italian immigrants in Australia manifested an accentuated regionalism, they were generally single men, hard-working but uneducated, often discriminated against by the Anglo-Saxons. In conclusion, the author openly advises against mass emigration to Oceania, because of the lack of favourable conditions for Italian workers:

“Whoever might say: ‘Italians, factory workers, farm workers, cultivators of the land, emigrate to Australia, there you will surely make your fortunes’ would commit a grave error and would send many to their ruin. […] An emigration of ordinary workers is equally inadvisable; unemployment is too high and crowding in the cities is increasing alarmingly. In isolated cases let anyone who wants to go and, if he is strong-willed, he will probably do well.”35

In fact, the flow of Italian emigration towards Australia diminished drastically in following years, then stopped during the First World War. It was resumed after 1920, above all thanks to the abundant offer of work in the sugar plantations of the state of Queensland. In 1926, a correspondent of the London Observer published an article on the recent Italian immigration in Australia.36 In the opinion of the English writer of the article, the Italian migratory flow denoted a change of trend: Italians preferred agricultural work and intended to establish themselves definitively in Australian territory:

“the greatest success of Italian settlers is encountered in the area of the sugar plantations in North Queensland. The Italians have recently also engaged in the cultivation of potatoes and onions in the state of Victoria and have been blessed with good harvests. The tendency of the Italians is to buy their own farms as soon as they are able to afford them. Up to now, however, they have not considered cultivating

35 As above, pp. 255-256. 36 Part of the article in the Observer was translated and published as “L’emigrazione italiana in un giudizio inglese,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1926) 3.

22 Chapter One

grain or engaging in the milk industry or sheep farming, seeing that for these activities a large capital outlay is needed.”37

The following year, the Bollettino dell’Emigrazione contained an unsigned note on the Italians resident in Australia.38 About 26,000 Italian immigrants were registered in the Federation of Australia, of whom 7,000 in Victoria, 6,000 in New South Wales, 6,000 in Queensland, 5,000 in Western Australia and 2,000 in South Australia.39 These estimates are much higher than the data contained in the Australian census of 1921, which counted only 8,135 people born in Italy in the whole Federation.40 Unfortunately, it is impossible to cross reference because the article in question does not cite its sources. At a qualitative level a marked difference between Italians living in cities and those who have settled in rural areas may be registered. In both cases, however, the article signals a great versatility in the jobs sector, even if non-specialist work predominates:

“The majority of our compatriots work in the mines, in the forests as woodcutters, on the plains and mountain stations for raising stock, in fruit growing, in sugar cane cultivation (Queensland), but also as manual labourers in road building. In cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, the Italian dedicates himself to the commerce of fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs, not excluding the fishing industry, providing these products daily to the respective markets. Italians who are occupied in this commerce are counted in their thousands and until a short time ago,

37 Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1926) 3, p. 34. 38 See “Gli italiani in Australia – La regolamentazione dei salari,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1927) 11, pp. 20-27. 39 Tasmania and New Zealand are not numerically relevant because only a few hundred Italians were residing there. See the Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1927) 11, p. 20. 40 See J. Jupp, Birthplaces of the Australian People: Colonial and Commonwealth Censuses, 1828-1991, Centre for Immigration & Multicultural Studies, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 1995, p. 57.


especially in fishing, they held almost a monopoly. Neither are there lacking amongst our compatriots tailors, shoe repairers, motor mechanics, concreters, musicians, plasterers, painters and some from the professions, but in a limited number compared with the great mass.”41

The economic depression which followed the crisis of 1929 had tragic repercussions also in Australia. The flow of migrants was reduced to a minimum for the whole decade of the thirties, also because migratory policies became more restrictive. Every sector of production was hit by the crisis and immigrants suffered in a particular way from the rapid reduction of wages and spreading unemployment, because of a kind of “protectionist” solidarity aimed at benefiting the native born. The Italians suddenly found themselves at the bottom of the list of “desirables” in Australia which was watching with suspicion the conquest of Abyssinia by Fascist troops in 1936.42 Contrary to what was observed in other countries with immigration,43 the Italian population which emigrated to Australia, at least until the First World War, was not characterised by a strong tendency to form associations. Even if a certain inclination to concentrate themselves geographically in certain urban and rural areas is clear, one does not see the institutionalisation of such instinctive solidarity and cooperation, which nevertheless seem present starting from the 19th century. The elevated percentages of regional, provincial and civic components clarified above are undoubtedly the fruit of extremely efficient chains of migration. In this case, however, there

41 As above, p. 41. 42 See T. Cecilia, 1985, pp. 83-84. 43 F. J. Devoto, “Las sociedades italianas de ayuda mutua en Buenos Aires y Santa Fe y problemas,” Studi Emigrazione, XXI (1984) 75, pp. 320-372; F. J. Devoto and A. Fernández, “Asociacionismo, liderazgo y partecipación en dos grupos étnicos en áreas urbanas de la Argentina finisecular. Un enfoque comparado,” in L’Italia nella società argentina, Centro Studi Emigrazione, Rome 1988, pp. 190-208; L. Biondi, Sociedades italianas de socorro mútuo e política em Sào Paulo entre o século XX,” Travessia, XII (1999) 34, pp. 5-12; E. Milani, Mutual Aid Societies Among Italian Immigrants in the United States of America: A Comprehensive View, 1865-1977, Istituto Universitario di Lingue Moderne, Milan 1976-1977.

24 Chapter One

does not seem to have been an insertion of those processes which, in other migratory contexts, lead to the reproduction in the land of emigration of social structures belonging to the country of origin. One of the reasons for this deficiency may be the smallness of the numbers of the migratory phenomenon in general. A second reason may be found in the general tendency towards a rapid assimilation of migrants into their new setting, particularly in the frequent cases of marriage with non-Italians. One may, also, in all likelihood suppose that the substantial indifference towards expressions of Italian popular piety may have played an important role. This was manifested not only on the part of Australian society but also by the local Catholic church. Certain recent studies44 have shown, in fact, that Italian associations abroad were often formed around local religious traditions transported to the country of emigration. This is the case of the confraternities, and of the comitati, or support groups, behind the festivals or saints’ days which abounded in the Americas between the 19th and 20th centuries. Exceptions to the norm, however, are not lacking as the Consul General P. Corte pointed out in his report of 1902:

“In fact societies of mutual assistance, of charity and Italian teaching, exist in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Freemantle and Wellington, but the number of their members and their social capital are very limited for now. […] Five years or so ago two branches of the Dante Alighieri Society arose in Sydney and Melbourne by my initiative, which had many members, among whom many people belonging to the best society of those two cities; but, because they did not eliminate certain undesirable elements in time, the first has already closed and the other started, during my absence, to run down…”45

44 A. Bernasconi, “Confradias religiosase identidad en la inmigración italiana en Argentina,” Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos, V (1990) 14, pp. 211-224; “Chiesa ed emigrazione italiana tra ‘800 e ‘900,” Studi Emigrazione, XIX (1982) 66, and F. Baggio, La Chiesa argentina di fronte all’immigrazione italiana tra il 1870 ed 1915, Rome, 2000. 45 P. Corte (1906), pp. 528-529.


In the eyes of a visitor in 1909, Fr Giuseppe Capra, the overall situation of Italian associations in Australia seemed worrying. Over the whole territory of Australia and New Zealand, despite various attempts, a single active society with an effective centre and members was registered, and that was not located in Australia:

“Italian societies were founded, both in the shape of ‘Clubs’ [in English in the original, tr.] and that of ‘Mutual Aid’, but they almost all closed down. […] In April this year (1909) there were in Australia only two societies, both in Sydney: 1. a ‘Club’ for greengrocers called the Club Isole Eolie [Aeolian Islands Club], which did not have a centre and was looking for one; 2. the Società Stella Italia [‘Italian Star Society’], which has no centre and no other aim but to collect money for the two above mentioned festivals [Festa dello statuto and 20th September Festival]; the number of members is very small. The only active society, which counts a reasonable number of members, is the ‘Garibaldi Club’ in Wellington, New Zealand, with 40 members. Its motto is ‘Brotherhood, Education and Work.’”46

The historian Gianfranco Cresciani notes that before the First World War, in the whole of Australia there were only five Italian associations: the Circolo Isole Eolie (founded in 1903) and the Club Italia (opened in 1915) in Sydney, the Circolo Cavour and the Circolo Duca degli Abruzzi in Melbourne and the Circolo Savoia in Geelong, Victoria.47 The panorama changed radically after the First World War; the new contingent of migrants, in fact, seemed decidedly more inclined towards forming associations. In that sense, Fascist type nationalism and co-operativism played an essential role, informing the minds of the new arrivals as much as the programs of the Consuls, representatives of the King of Italy. On 20 September 1923 the Lega Italiana was opened in Sydney; the following year a group of Italians founded the Club Concordia in 46 G. Capra (1911), pp. 195-196. 47 G. Cresciani, Fascism, Anti-Fascism, and Italians in Australia, 1922-1945, Australian National University Press, Canberra 1980, p. 19, note 30.

26 Chapter One

Brisbane.48 In May of 1925 there was officially inaugurated, complete with recognition from Rome and a telegram from the Duce, the Sydney branch of the Dante Alighieri Society.49 In this case it was essentially a re-foundation of the Society that had arisen and quickly declined before the First World War. In the following July, still in Sydney, La Rinascenza [The Rebirth] was founded, a youth organisation which aimed to inculcate Fascist ideals in the new generations. Still at this time, on the initiative of Mons. Ernesto Coppo,50 the Italo-Australian Association was founded, an association of religious inspiration, openly sympathetic to the Fascist regime.51 In March 1927 the first Australian Fascio52 was inaugurated in Sydney, to which a female section was soon added. In June the Adelaide Fascio followed. A female section of the Fascio was created in Melbourne in August 1927. The scenario of Italian associations in Australia became still more interesting when a fairly large group of political dissidents, refugees or exiles, fleeing from the regime of Mussolini, landed in Australia. On the basis of their shared Anti-Fascist sentiments they united in associations of Anarchic, Socialist or Communist inspiration. In 1926 Giovanni Terribile Antico, from the province of Vicenza, founded the Lega Antifascista in Sydney, which

48 See G. Cresciani (1980), p. 19, note 31. The sources consulted do not offer any further information regarding the Club Concordia of Brisbane. There has been documented, on the other hand, the existence of a Club Concordia in Sydney; see Presentation to His Grace Mons. Duhig, Comm. Giacomo, Archbishop of Brisbane of Verocchio’s Fountain of Remembrance at the instance of ‘Il Giornale Italiano,’ Brisbane 1937, p. 6. 49 See Presentation to His Grace Mons. Duhig, Comm. Giacomo, Archbishop of Brisbane of Verocchio’s Fountain of Remembrance at the instance of ‘Il Giornale Italiano’, Brisbane 1937, p. 9. 50 Ernesto Coppa was born in Rosignano Monferrato (province of Alessandria) in 1870. After being ordained as a priest in 1892, the following year he entered the Don Bosco Society. After a long missionary experience in the United States, he came to Australia where he was named Apostolic Vicar of Kimberley, West Australia in 1922. In 1928 he returned to the Salesian Missions in the United States. Mons. Coppa died in Ivrea in 1948. See http://www.salesianmissions.org/salesians/giants/cop.htm (visited 9 June 2004). 51 See T. P. Boland, James Duhig, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1986, p. 221. 52 Originally Fasci di combattimento, they were the local cells, in Italy and abroad, of the National Fascist Party.


had over 300 members. At the end of 1929 Francesco Giuseppe Carmagnola,53 also from Vicenza, organised the Matteotti Club in Melbourne, which had about 600 members.54 Despite the opposition, the Fascist institutions continued to grow. In practically all the principal places where Italian migrants were concentrated, a Fascio and a branch of the Dante Alighieri Society appeared, together with other mutual aid associations, as the Bollettino dell’Emigrazione of 1927 observes:

“Not a few are the Italian associations of mutual aid, charity and culture in the capitals and in the principle towns of the states, institutions that are being more and more permeated by Fascism. The Dante Alighieri Society, with its libraries full of the works of our greatest writers is, especially in Melbourne, the meeting-place of those compatriots who are not forgetful of their distant Fatherland.”55

An enquiry conducted by the Australian police in the December of 1936 on Italian Fascist propaganda and activities in Australia lists a considerable number of associations scattered throughout almost all Federal territory. In Sydney the Fascio, the Fascio Femminile, the Gruppo Giovanile [Youth Group], the Associazione Nazionale Combattenti [National Association of Fighting Men], the Italian Army and Navy Union, the Associazione Nazionale Alpini [National Association of Alpine Regiments], the Dante Alighieri Society, the Unione Università Italia [Italian University Union], the Circolo Isole Eolie and the Club Italia are identified. In the state of Victoria the Fascio of Melbourne with its ramifications (Fascio Femminile, Balilla [boys’ group], Dopo Lavoro [workers’ group], Gruppo

53 Francesco Giuseppe Carmagnola was born in San Vito di Leguzzano, province of Vicenza, in 1900. During his military service (1918-1921) his anarchic ideals were strengthened and in 1922 he decided to emigrate to Australia. Until the outbreak of the Second World War he was a committed Anti-Fascist activist. He died in Sydney in 1986. See F. Cavadini, Italiano, anarchico, antifascista, Melbourne 1986. 54 See G. Cresciani, “The Proletarian Migrants: Fascism and Italian Anarchists in Australia,” Australian Quarterly, LI (1979) 1, pp. 4-7. 55 “Gli italiani in Australia - La regolamentazione dei salari,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1927) 11, p. 24.

28 Chapter One

Filantropico [aid group] are listed, as are the Associazione degli Ufficiali di Riserva [for reserve officers], the Associazione Giovanile Italiana [Italian youth group] the Associazione di Reduci [for returned soldiers] and the Dante Alighieri Society. In Queensland different Fascist groups were registered in various towns: the Associazione Nazionale Combattenti in Cairns and the Dante Alighieri Society in Brisbane. In South Australia, Fascist activity seems much less; the only mention is of a Fascio in an Italian school in Adelaide. For the state of Western Australia only the Club Italiano of Freemantle is marked as linked to Fascist propaganda.56 If the Italian formation of associations in Australia did not correspond to the levels reached by other migrant nationalities, neither did the Italian press seem to develop adequately in the Newest Continent. From an interesting study on the foreign language press in Australia between 1848 and 1964,57 periodical publications in Italian appear distinctly fewer compared with those of other migrant communities, above all as far as the period preceding the First World War is concerned. This is confirmed in the observations of Fr. Capra who, in his report dated 1909, deplores the total absence of Italian newspapers and magazines. According to the Piedmontese priest, such a deficiency, together with the lack of Italian schools, was at the expense of a necessary and augured cultural advancement of Italians in the land of Australia.58

“The Chinese have two newspapers, the Germans two, the French one, the Scandinavians one, the Italians none. Up until March 1909 there was the Italo-Australiano, a little weekly paper that came out in Sydney and lasted 5 years. In April of that year there was an attempt to revive it with a better format and life; I also worked very hard in that regard. To make it acceptable to everyone, the aim was to make it apolitical and non-religious, putting into it only what could be useful to

56 See G. Cresciani, Migrants or Mates: Italian Life in Australia, Knockmore, Sydney c.1988, pp. 183-195. 57 See M. Gilson and J. Zubrzycki, The Foreign-language Press in Australia, 1848-1964, Australian National University Press, Canberra 1967. 58 See G. Capra (1911), p. 217.


increase the sense of brotherhood and nothing that could create division, even if only of opinion. The first number appeared, which was also the last. Before the Italo-Australiano there was the newspaper Uniamoci [Let’s Unite], which was born in 1903 and died in 1905. Now one is completely bereft of newspapers. […] It does not seem to me that there were newspapers in Sydney before Uniamoci; there were none in the other communities as far as I knew, except at Daylesford in Victoria. In the years in which that community flourished, a newspaper had begun publication but did not last long.”59

The data contained in the Australian archival sources allow us, however, to amplify the view proposed by Fr. Capra. The first Italian periodical in Australia was Uniamoci, a weekly published in Sydney from July 1903 to August 1904. Its editor was a certain Giuseppe Prampolini; the periodical was the official organ of a group of Italian immigrants of radical tendencies. The weekly L’Italo-Australiano was born in Sydney in 1905 but ceased publication in 1909. In 1914 it was resumed and soon incorporated in The Oceania, which had been started as a weekly in 1913. The Oceania ceased to exist in February 1915.These two publications generally avoided political questions and promoted the cause of the assimilation of Italians in Australia. In 1918 the Voce d’Italia [Voice of Italy] appeared, a bilingual weekly (Italian and English), but its publication terminated in 1919. In 1922 Francesco (or, Frank) Lubrano, the proprietor of a travel agency and import-export business, and his nephew Giovanni Luciano, founded the weekly The Italo-Australian in Sydney. In this case also, the paper did not seem to be following a clear political tendency, claiming to favour the integration of emigrants. The Italo-Australian soon reached a wide circulation, in the south as much as the north of Australia. Despite the fact that it is noticeably often influenced by the views of the Italian consuls of Sydney and Brisbane, the weekly is basically well-balanced. Its publication stopped in 1940. On 1 July 1927 the Risveglio [Awakening] came out, an organ of Francesco Giuseppe

59 G. Capra (1911), p. 218

30 Chapter One

Caramagnola’s Lega Antifascista. On 23 August the publication was suppressed by order of the Australian authorities because of its subversive line.60 In 1929 Il Corriere degli Italiani [The Italians’ Courier] made its first appearance, taking the name Il Giornale Italiano from 1932. With a weekly circulation, the new periodical was published by the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Sydney. A monthly supplement was regularly added to it with the title “Italian Bulletin of Australia” (from 1932, “Italian Bulletin of Commerce”). Il Giornale Italiano lasted until 1940.61 In November 1929, in Melbourne, initiated by Carmegnola, the monthly La Riscossa [Insurrection] appeared, with a circulation of 3,000 copies. Because of problems with the Australian authorities, the monthly was suppressed in 1931. In June 1930, Isidoro Bertazzon,62 a renowned exponent of the Anti-Fascist movement, was expelled from the Club Matteotti because of disagreements with Carmagnola and founded L’Avanguardia Libertaria [The Libertarian Vanguard], a fortnightly paper with a strong anarchic line which was published regularly up until November 1932, when the authorities ordered its closure.

60 See G. Cresciani (1980), pp. 101-102. 61 See M. Gilson and J. Zubrzycki (1967), pp. 17-18. 62 Isidoro Bertazzon was born in 1891 in Pieve di Soligo (province of Treviso). At the beginning of 1900 he emigrated to the United States and founded, in Seattle, the Circolo degli Studi Sociali [Social Studies Club]. Having been accused of subversion he fled first to Canada and then Australia, where he arrived in 1922. He was active in the Anti-Fascist ranks until 1932, when he decided to retire from political life. See G. Cresciani (1979), pp. 5-12.


3. The mirage of gold and sugar Italian immigration in Queensland writes a variegated and interesting page of Australian history. Initially attracted by the mirage of easy gain in the gold mines, or recruited to work in the sugar cane plantations, the Italians in Queensland quickly adapted themselves to a thousand other jobs; they were woodcutters, bricklayers, farm workers, excavators of tunnels, charcoal burners, performers and carters depending on the circumstances, always faithful to that “mi arrangio a fare un po’ di tutto,” “I can manage to do a bit of everything” that they were used to repeating to their current boss. Often struggling against discrimination and prejudice, the Italian immigrants made themselves prized for their hard work and tenacity, showing that they were contributing in no small way to the economic and social development of the state of Queensland. From the archives it appears that the first “Italian” presence in the territory was marked by a little group of Passionist missionaries sent to Stradbroke Island, an island off Brisbane, in 1843 by the Archbishop of Sydney, Mons. John B. Polding.63 Unfortunately the mission was a failure and the last Passionist left the island in 1847.64 In 1859, when the Moreton Bay district became the colony of Queensland, there was an indeterminate number of “Italian” settlers recorded in the territory.65 Following the unification of Italy, the first consul of the Kingdom of Italy in Sydney, James E. Graham, visited the colony of Queensland and met with Sir George Ferguson Bowen.66 On that occasion an assisted immigration scheme was 63 John Bede Polding was born in 1794 in Liverpool, England. Educated in the Benedictine monastery of Woolton and in the seminary of Downside Abbey, he was ordained a priest in 1819. In 1834 he was Apostolic Vicar of London. In 1842 he was appointed Bishop of Sydney. In 1874 he retired to Darlinghurst in Sydney, where he died in 1877. See http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/Archdiocese/History/Polding. shtml (visited 1 November 2004). 64 See P. Bosi, On God’s Command = Mandati da Dio: Italian Missionaries in Australia, Melbourne 1989, pp. 36-40. 65 See J. Lyng, Non Britishers in Australia, Melbourne 1927, p. 99. 66 George Ferguson Bowen was born in 1821 in Ireland. In 1847 he was appointed Rector of the University of Corfu and consequently Government Secretary of the Ionian Islands. In 1859 he was the first Governor of the colony of Queensland. From 1867 to 1887 he was Governor firstly of New Zealand, then of Victoria, Mauritius

32 Chapter One

drawn up to bring Italian contadini, farm workers, to the colony, regulated by an agreement between the two governments concerned. Sir George seemed immediately well disposed and in July 1862 it seemed to be going well but, in fact, nothing was done.67 Then it was the turn of the Italian Vice Consul, Giancarlo Asselin, who, together with the Australian businessman Charles Brady, presented an ambitious project to the Prime Minister of Queensland, Robert Herbert. The plan was for the establishment of an industry for the production of silk on a large scale in Samford Valley near Brisbane, by means of the immigration of Italian workers specialised in the sector. It was all in vain, however, because of the unexpected departure of the Italian diplomat who, due to a scandal, was asked to leave Australia.68 In 1861 the first Bishop of Brisbane, Mons. James Quinn,69 took possession of the new episcopal see and soon presented the colonial government with an assisted immigration project for 3,000 Italians from the province of Como. This project was formulated during his journey to Italy in 1859 when, passing through Milan, he met an Italian noble who had assured him he could organise the emigration of 3,000 farm workers from the Como region to Queensland. The proposal was rejected by Prime Minister Herbert, probably for religious reasons. Convinced of the potential of the idea, the enterprising bishop defended his proposal before a Queensland parliamentary commission in September 1863, but obtained nothing. Mons. Quinn did manage, anyway, to establish the Queensland Immigration Society in 1862, through which he facilitated the immigration of more than four thousand Irish Catholics.70 Data relative to 1869 record two well-established Italian families in Queensland: the Regazzoli family, who, from simple miners

and finally Hong Kong. He died in Brighton in 1899. See under “George Ferguson Bowen” in the Dictionary of Australian Biography, ed. P. Serle, Angus and Robertson, Sydney 1949. 67 See C. Marletta, Pionieri italiani: Presenza italiana nel Queensland nell’800, Brisbane 1994, p. 9. 68 See C. Marletta (1994), pp. 9-10. 69 James Quinn, appointed and consecrated Bishop of Brisbane in 1859, took possession of the diocese in 1861. He died in Brisbane in 1881. 70 See D. Dignan and J. Dickinson, “Italians,” in Multicultural Queensland 2001, ed. M. Brändle, Brisbane 2001, p. 208.


became proprietors of large plantations of sugar cane, and the Borghero family, who made a fortune from gold discovered at Ravenwood, near Townsville.71 The first official estimates only appeared in 1871, when the colonial census counted 88 people born in Italy in the whole Queensland territory; not a particularly relevant number, especially compared with the 772 Italians recorded in Victoria. Unfortunately it is not possible to establish percentages at a national level, seeing that the other Australian colonies did not include a “born in Italy” category in their figures.72 In Table XI the data of the “born in Italy” are shown the way they have been recorded in colonial and national censuses held between 1866 and 1947.73

TABLE XI

Years NSW TAS SA WA VIC QLD AUSTRALIA 1866 1868 1870 1871 1876 1881 1886 1891 1901 1911 1921 1933 1947

521

1,477 1,577 1,723 2,080 6,319 8,721

11

36 50 21 37 92 64

35

141

185 327 184 344

1,489 2,428

10

36 1,354 2,361 1,975 4,588 5,422

772

947

1,717 1,525 1,499 1,850 5,860 8,305

88

250 322 438 845 929

1,838 8,355 8,541

3,890 5,678 6,719 8,135

26,756 33,632

71 See T. Cecilia (1985), p. 269. 72 See J. Jupp (1995), p. 18. 73 Table XI does not show the census numbers for 1911, 1921, 1933 and 1947 relative to the “new-born” states of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory; in any case, the numbers would not be significant for the scope of this study.

34 Chapter One

In the light of what is shown above, the accuracy of the numbers offered by the Australian censuses could be discussed at length, but they remain the only estimates at an official level. With the aim of presenting a more likely picture of Italian immigration in Queensland, this study has been concerned to draw data from other sources, perhaps less official but certainly no less valid historically. The difference of only 162 individuals between the estimates of the 1871 census and that of 1881 does not seem to recognise the immigrant flow which increased over the whole decade. The discovery of important seams of gold in North Queensland in 1872 stirred up a veritable “gold rush” throughout Australia, involving 30,000 people, among them many Italians. In this period, an Italian priest, Don Giovanni Battista Belangero,74 dedicated himself diligently to the spiritual assistance of Catholic gold-diggers in Ravenswood, on the explicit directions of Mons. Quinn. In reality, Don Belangero was only one of the 16 Italian priests “recruited” by the Bishop of Brisbane during his journey to Europe on the occasion of the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). The courageous missionaries arrived severally between 1871 and 1872, all with different stories that will be told further ahead. Together with the priests came the artists: the sculptor Achille Simonetti, the painter Giulio Anivitti, the musician Domenico Carmusci and the violinist Antonio Benedetto. These “luxury” immigrants were to write important pages in the history of Australian art and music. In the same period enterprising businessmen arrived in Queensland, such as Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire, son of a small Piedmontese landowner, and distinguished men of letters, such as Professor Fernando Cantù Papi, recruited in Dublin by Mons. Quinn. Several expeditions of Italian migrants followed, along more or less

74 See G. B. Belangero, Australia and Ceylon. Studi e ricordi di tredici anni di missione, Turin 1885. Giovanni Battista Belangero was born in Saluzzo (CN) in 1849. Ordained a priest in Genoa in 1871, he was a missionary from 1872 to 1879 in the diocese of Brisbane in Australia and from 1881 to 1886 in Colombo in Ceylon. After his return to Italy, he was immediately sent to New York at the beginning of 1886. In 1902 he entered the congregation of Mons. Scalabrini and in 1903 was assigned to the missions in the United States. He died in 1919. See A. Perotti, Scalabrini e le migrazioni, vol. I, Primo Periodo 1887-1890, unpublished manuscript (2004), pp. 23-24.


organised lines, unfortunately not very successfully. This will also be dealt with further ahead. The decade of 1880 is full of information about a variegated presence of Italian immigration in Queensland. The surnames of many miners, charcoal burners, businessmen, carters and woodcutters in the north of the colony are Italian. In 1885 the work of the Cairns-Tableland railroad was begun; among the three hundred workmen on the job we find a significant group from Piedmont and Lombardy, hired to excavate the tunnels. Data was collected from reports of serious or fatal accidents which, unfortunately, number several Italians among the victims. At the end of the job, many Italian workmen decided to settle in the place, dedicating themselves to agriculture.75 “Italian” work in the sugar cane plantations started only in the following decade. The cultivation of sugar cane began at the time of the creation of the colony, but the cost of local labour reduced the profits to practically nothing. It was decided then to hire indigenous workers, taking them directly from the Pacific Islands. These “full-time” low-cost workers were soon given the name “Kanakas.” It is calculated that from 1863 to 1901 about 60,000 “Kanakas” had been brought to Australia, both by legal and clandestine means. In the 1880s a veritable slave trade developed and abuses and outrages multiplied. The Brisbane authorities realised the seriousness of the phenomenon, but did not take a stand for fear of the separatist threats from landowners in the north. Only in 1890, thanks to the determination of the Prime Minister Samuel Griffith, the shameful slave commerce was outlawed. To replace the work of the “Kanakas” a program of assisted European immigration was planned. Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire76 took on the promotion of an expedition of emigrants coming from northern Italy and entered into agreements about them with several

75 A. Perotti (2004), pp. 271-274. 76 Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire was born at Envie, Cuneo, in 1852 and at the age of 19, “recruited” by Mons. Quinn, he emigrated to Australia. After a brief period in Brisbane, Fraire moved to the north of the colony and started a commercial activity in Townsville. From 1885 he was a private immigration agent. He died in 1931. See D. Dignan, “Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire, 1852-1931,” in The Queensland Experience, ed. M. Brändle Brisbane (1991), pp. 49-75.

36 Chapter One

sugar plantation owners. The ship Jumna, with 335 people from Piedmont recruited by Fraire, left Genoa on 24 October 1891 and arrived the following 2 December at Townsville. The eager Italians were quickly distributed among the various plantations, according to previous agreements. At the beginning everything seemed to be turning out for the best but, after a few months, the immigrants from the Jumna started abandoning their jobs in mass. The reason given was the failure to respect their contracts on the part of the employers. The latter defended themselves by explaining that the reduction of wages was due to the poor harvest that year. It is, however, quite likely that there was a hidden plan on the part of the landowners to make the expedition fail, to demonstrate to the government that the “Kanakas” could not be replaced by European workers. At any rate, it is calculated that at least forty of the 335 Piedmontese decided at the end to stay in the sugar cane industry, while many more scattered throughout the colony finding different work. A high number, not better defined, returned home.77 In the last years of the 20th century there is no information about any similar expedition, nor are there traces of a considerable Italian migration. Despite this, in the 1901 census the Italian presence in Queensland appears to have doubled compared with ten years earlier. It was a relatively well-established migrant contingent, as the Consul General, Pasquale Corte, observed in 1902:

“In Queensland the Italians are scattered in the north: near the Herbert River, where they almost exclusively cultivate sugar cane; in Cairns a man from Piedmont has various properties where he cultivates tropical plants and grape vines; near Bundaberg, in the flourishing locality named “Roma,” there are also many Italian settlers who make a reasonable living from the cultivation of grape vines.”78

The failure of the expedition of the Jumna did not seem to close the chapter of Italian assisted immigration in Queensland definitively, at least on the hypothetical level. In 1905 the Consul General, Camillo 77 See D. Dignan (1991) and T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 287-290. 78 P. Corte (1906), p. 525.


Bertola, mentioned a possible modification to Federal migratory law with the aim of permitting the recruiting of European workers for the sugar plantations of North Queensland:

“It is true that in the tropical regions of Queensland there is a great need of sugar cane plantation workers. […] It is believed by most that, because of the local climatic conditions, an Englishman cannot succeed. The planters hold that it is absolutely necessary, for the conservation of that important Australian industry, to modify Federal law on immigration in the sense that they may be permitted to import European workers under contract. It is possible that they may obtain this, in which case there will probably be a monopoly of Italian workers to replace the ‘canaca’ [sic] in Queensland, as has already happened in the coffee plantations in Brazil after the abolition of slavery.”79

The observations of Bertola seem to hit the mark, given that in 1906 the Federal government decided to send to Rome a delegation composed of Felice Regazzoli, of Halifax-Ingham, and Thomas Hughes, of the Colonial Sugar Refinery, to arrange with the Italian government a new expedition of workers for the plantations in North Queensland. But, to the great surprise of the Australian authorities, the Commissariato Generale dell’Emigrazione [General Commission for Emigration] of the Kingdom of Italy refused the proposal. Having been sharply criticised for its indifference to the abuses and inhumane conditions inflicted on Italians working in the “fazendas” of Brazil, the Italian government did not want to risk another case.80 A few years later, the situation appeared radically different; the Federal government declared itself still favourable to Italian immigration, but no longer for the sugar cane plantations. The new migrant wave was to become part of the colonisation program of the

79 C. Bertola, “Notizie circa le condizioni degl’immigranti in Australia,” in Emigrazione e Colonie. Raccolta di Rapporti dei RR Agenti Diplomatici e Consolari, vol. II (Asia – Africa – Oceania), Rome 1906, p. 547. 80 See D. Dignan – J. Dickinson (2001), p. 211.

38 Chapter One

still unexplored territories of North Queensland. This is at least what Fr Capra noted in his report, published in 1911:

“The desire to have us is general, both on the part of the government and of the population and district authorities. […] In North Queensland, where I have mainly stayed, because Italians are more numerous there, the saying was unanimous that, ‘This is the field for the Italians’ [in English in the original, tr.]. I received the same impression and I was very pleased with the general esteem with which we were surrounded. Having been the first to occupy these lands, we will have advantages also from a commercial point of view, and through the success of our own national shipping line.81

Despite the good premises, there is no information, in this period, regarding any agreement at a government level for a re-proposal for Italian assisted immigration in Queensland. At any rate, the advent of the First World War annulled practically all migrant movement from Italy. From 1919 Italian immigration progressively recovered, only to explode starting from 1922. It is calculated that between 1922 and 1940 about 53,200 Italians migrated to Australia; of these, about 8,600 arrived in Queensland, which means scarcely 16% of the total.82 Despite this, the estimates given in the census of 1933 reveal that over a third of the migratory contingent ‘born in Italy’ were living in Queensland. The apparent difference in the percentages is probably due to a phenomenon of “internal migration,” by which a considerable number of Italian immigrants who had landed in other states subsequently moved to Queensland, attracted by more rewarding offers of work. In the early years it basically concerned a “male” immigration; from 1922 to 1925, out of 3,547 arrivals 2,921 were men and only 626 women. From 1926 there is evidence of a considerable fall in migration, to the extent that in the period 1926-1935 the migratory balance was negative.83

81 G. Capra (1911), p. 269. 82 See W. D. Borrie, Italians and Germans in Australia, Australian National University, Melbourne 1954, p. 69. 83 As above, p. 70.


An interesting glimpse of the Italian presence in Queensland in 1923 is offered by the study carried out in the district of Ingham by a Franciscan missionary (Order of Friars Minor), Fr Severino Mambrini,84 who was sent there by his superior at the request of the pontifical delegate in Australia. In over two months of work the priest managed to collect the details of 1,902 Italians, recording 288 families complete with children, 119 married men with families in Italy and 631 unmarried men. 77% of the immigrants came from regions of northern Italy, while 365, 19%, came from Sicily (Siracusa, Messina and Catania). Nearly all of them were working in the agricultural sector; after a few years as canecutters, many had become the owners of modest properties.85 In the same year, official data reveal that Italians own 10% of the sugar cane plantations in the district of Cairns, 41% in the district of Johnstone Shire (far north) and 44% in the district of Herbert River.86 The enterprise and adaptability of the immigrants were not seen favourably by native Australians and their trade unions. Manifestations of hostility began to appear here and there against southern European settlers, particularly Italians, who began to be made objects of scorn by the Australian press. Following several violent anti-Italian protests, in April 1925 the government of Queensland set up a Royal Commission charged with verifying the impact of foreign labour on the sugar cane industry. The final report of the Commission, called the “Ferry Report,”87 expresses a rather positive judgement on Italian immigrants in general, underlining their willingness to work hard, sobriety and spirit of sacrifice and

84 Fr Severino Mambrini OFM arrived in Australia a little before the First World War. After a fruitful apostolate among the canecutters of North Queensland, in 1933 he was transferred to Sydney; see P. Bosi (1989), p. 112. 85 See S. Mambrini, “Report on a Two Months Visit to the Italian Settlement on the Herbert River (Parish of Ingham),” in G. Cresciani (c1988), pp. 96-109. 86 See D. Menghetti, “Italians in North Queensland,” in J. Jupp, The Australian People, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2001, p. 491. 87 The name “Ferry Report” comes from the head of the Commission, Thomas A. Ferry, who was sent to investigate the social and economic effects of the increase of foreigners in North Queensland; see “Royal Commission on Social and Economic Effect of Increase in Number of Aliens in North Queensland, Report,” in G. Cresciani (c.1988), pp. 64-91.

40 Chapter One

enterprise. While recording some problems of initial incomprehension with Australian workmates, the report observes that Italians, once they are familiar with the local laws, adapt quickly, join local trade unions and follow their directives. Strong prejudice against immigrants from the southern part of Italy is, however, obvious. According to Ferry, they are less educated and less willing to assimilate into Australian society than their northern compatriots:

“…the population of Italy is divided into two distinct groups – the Northern and the Southern Italians. The latter are shorter in stature and more swarthy. […] Unfortunately the majority of the new arrivals in Queensland appears to be from the South, being many of them Sicilians. […] The Southern Italian is more inclined to form groups and less likely to be assimilated into the population of the State.”88

The same prejudice may be noted on the part of the anonymous author of the report, “Italiani in Australia”[Italians in Australia], published in the Bollettino della Emigrazione of 1926.89 A retrospective look at the official numbers of Italian immigration to Queensland observes how the regional origin of the Italians had been “southernised” in recent years:

“In the post-war period, and particularly following emigration restrictions in the United States of America, emigration to Australia increased, especially for the state of Queensland where the opportunities for agricultural manual labour were greater. Migrants from all parts of Italy flocked there. […] While the first settlers were mainly from Veneto and other northern provinces, in these last years southerners from Calabria and Sicily also went, against whom, however, there exists the same racial prejudice so prevalent in the United States of America.”90

88 Excerpt from “Ferry Report,” in G. Cresciani (c1988), p. 80. 89 See “Italiani in Australia,” Bollettino della Emigrazione, XXV (1926) 8, pp. 969-978. 90 As above, p. 975.


Even if the protests of the workers of British ancestry were aimed at the elimination of foreign competition in general, the most ferocious attacks were, in fact, made against Italian immigrants. From 1925 rumours and tales spread about a Mafia organisation called the Mano Nera [Black Hand], alleged to have the monopoly of organised crime in North Queensland. The newspapers made a huge thing out of it, printing numerous stories which bordered on legend, and the southern Italians were pointed out as the main culprits. In fact, between 1925 and 1928 some isolated cases of extortion or murder did occur in which perpetrators and victims were Italian; such cases, however, cannot be credibly attributed to a Mafia-type secret society. They seem rather to have been the results of the local crime scene or private vendettas. The lack of foundation of the accusations against Italian migrants appear clear from a study carried out on the registers of the Supreme Court of Townsville between 1925 and 1941, which provides evidence as to how the cases in which Italian settlers were involved were generally not of a serious nature.91 The depression years following the crisis of 1929 were lived relatively well by the population of Queensland. The sugar industry continued to offer work, thanks above all to the protectionist policy adopted by the Federal Government. A new wave of internal immigration reached the northern state and the old resentments against foreign workers resurfaced. Certain organisations which had declared themselves pro-British demanded from the Government and from the big plantation owners the application of norms which would discriminate between British-Australians and foreigners, but without much success.92 The Italians were in the forefront in the defence of equal rights between immigrants and native Australians, also because in certain zones of Queensland, as in the district of the Herbert River, they were the owners of more than half the sugar cane plantations, both individually and in co-operatives with compatriots.93

91 See W. D. Borrie (1954), pp. 115-116. 92 See T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 302-305. 93 See D. Menghetti, “Italians in North Queensland,” in J. Jupp (2001), p. 491.

42 Chapter One

A study carried out by W. D. Borrie on the period after the First World War94 offers interesting data regarding the Italian presence in Queensland in the decade of the 30s. The 1933 census reveals that 27% of those born in Italy were aged between 15 and 29, while 48% were between 30 and 44 years old. Considering the high percentage of those who reached Queensland in the twelve preceding years, Borrie concludes that the Italian immigrants were generally young at the time of their arrival. Few emigrated with their families, this was revealed as a valid reason for a temporary return to Italy in the years following, with a second immigration complete with wife and children.95 Regarding their regional origin, Borrie observes that in the 20s and 30s Italian immigration to Queensland did not come from the poorest areas of Italy. The provinces most represented were Asti, Alessandria, Mantua, Vicenza, Treviso and Catania. The basic reason, according to the author, is to be found in the phenomenon of chain migration. This phenomenon is also responsible, in different parts of Queensland, for groups of migrants who all come from the same village or area of Italy.96 The anti-Italian protests started up again with vigour in 1935 following the decision of the Italian government to conquer Abyssinia, a decision explicitly condemned by Australian public opinion. The fear and caution with which Europe watched the consolidation of Nazi and Fascist imperialism had also spread to Australia, above all due to the propaganda of Mussolini which had found fertile ground in Italian migrant communities. In those years, “Italian” Queensland too was swarming with Fascist organisations. These were balanced, on the other hand, by different anti-Fascist associations, often backed by local authorities.97 In 1939, with the issuing of the National Security Regulations, North Queensland became a restricted zone and Italian immigrants were subjected to frequent thorough checks. The following year, when Mussolini’s Italy entered the War on the side of Germany and Japan, those “born in Italy” were declared “enemy aliens;” thus began the deportation of

94 This is the study by W. D. Borrie already cited. 95 See W. D. Borrie (1954), pp. 70-76. 96 See W. D. Borrie (1954), pp. 80-83. 97 See D. Menghetti, “Italians in North Queensland,” in J. Jupp (2001), p. 491.


thousands of Italians to concentration camps in the south of Australia.98 But this is another chapter of history.

98 As above.

44 Chapter One


CHAPTER TWO

The City of Brisbane

A marvellous, flourishing green valley, bordered by dark hills to the west and sloping down to the sea, a garden of red and white flowers – dwellings of single Australian families, typical little one-storey houses usually made of wood – a great navigable river, a blue sky: this was the first Australian Church in which I prayed this morning. I truly felt my faith, God. […] In the starry nights over the sleeping city – all the people work and go to bed early – as well as the Southern Cross another star shines: the illuminated Cross on the belltower of … , a blue flame of Faith, symbol of Peace, eternal emblem of the Catholic Church everywhere triumphant. (Anonymous, Brisbane 1930) 1. A maximum security penal colony The history of the city of Brisbane began only in the first half of the 19th century. Its foundation, in fact, goes back to 1824 and is a consequence of the need to establish, far from the centres of colonisation, a maximum security penal colony where habitual criminals could be gathered.1 With that aim Sir Thomas Brisbane,2 Governor of the penal colony of New South Wales, organised an exploratory expedition in 1823 under the expert guidance of the Superintendent General, John Oxley.3 The expedition, aboard the little

1 See H. Holthouse, Illustrated History of Brisbane, Brisbane 1982, p. 5. 2 Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane was born in Scotland, at Largs in North Ayrshire, in 1773. After having served for several years in H.M. forces, in 1821 he was appointed Governor of New South Wales. In 1825 he returned to Scotland, where he died in 1860. See the entry “Brisbane, Sir Thomas Makdougall,” in The Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia University Press, New York 2000. 3 John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley was born in England, near Westow in Yorkshire, in 1783 (or 1785). At only 14 years of age he entered the British navy. In 1812 he was appointed General Superintendent of New South Wales, a position he

46 Chapter Two

sailing ship Mermaid, went towards the northern coastline and dropped anchor near Bribie Island, seventy kilometres north of where the city of Brisbane would rise. Here the explorers rescued two shipwrecked men, Thomas Pamphlet and John Finnegan, who claimed to have spent the previous eight months with Aborigines. In recounting their wild adventure, the men mentioned a great river whose mouth must have been quite near. Oxley decided to search the coast with a small group of sailors. After a day of fruitless attempts, on 2 December 1823 the mouth of the river, which Oxley called Brisbane in honour of the Governor, was finally sighted. The expedition proceeded against the current for over 50 miles and several positions were picked out for anchorage and an eventual settlement. On the third day, weariness overcame enthusiasm and Oxley decided to turn back. In the final report presented to the Governor, the Superintendent General suggested establishing a first settlement near the mouth of the Brisbane River to serve as a support base for the exploration of the territory and the successive construction of a stable settlement in the hinterland, on the west bank of the river.4 The recommendations of John Oxley found easy favour with Sir Thomas who gave the order to start preparations for a new expedition as soon as possible. On 1 September 1824 the ship Amity left Sydney with Oxley and other explorers. With them sailed Lt. Henry Miller,5 with his wife and two children, another 15 soldiers accompanied by their families, and a group of convicts chosen for their skills as bricklayers, carpenters and gardeners. The latter had the job of constructing the first settlement near Red Cliff Point, at the mouth of the Brisbane River. On 16 September the explorers started their search of the hinterland, navigating upstream; the first night they camped in a clearing on the north bank of the river, near a stream that the next day they called Breakfast Creek, it having been the place of

held until his death in 1828. See E. Favenc, The Explorers of Australia, Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch (New Zealand) 1908. 4 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 6. 5 Henry Miller was born in 1785 in Londonderry (Northern Ireland). He entered the army at only 14 years of age and in 1823 his regiment was sent to New South Wales. He died in Hobart in 1866. See J. G. Steele, Brisbane Town in Convict Days 1824-1842, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1975.


their breakfast. In the meantime Miller, after having attentively valued the progress and difficulties of the settlement at Red Cliff Point, suggested to the Governor that they should immediately move away from the coast. In November of the same year, Sir Thomas Brisbane decided to inspect the territory in person and effectuated a brief voyage along the river which bore his name. Enthusiastic about the amenities of the places visited, at the end he ordered that the new settlement should be born near Breakfast Creek. It seems that the first name given to the new foundation was Moreton Bay, but the documents are not at all clear.6 In March 1825, Captain John Gray7 was sent to Red Cliff Point to organise the transfer of the settlement to the point indicated by the Governor. For reasons not given in the documents, another clearing was chosen, about 10 kilometres from Breakfast Creek, going inland. In May 1825 a group of convicts from Red Cliff Point reached the designated place to begin the clearing of the bush and the construction of the first buildings. Before this first phase was over, Lt Miller was replaced in his command by a subordinate, Captain Peter Bishop.8 Thanks to the hard work of the convicts, in the following months there were built various structures for use as warehouses, a wharf on the Brisbane River, the camp commandant’s house, some barracks for the soldiers, others for the convicts and special accommodation for soldiers and officers with families. The surrounding earth was then dug up for the cultivation of cereals and vegetables and a solid fence was erected all around to protect the camp. Before the end of 1825,

6 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 7. 7 There is not much information available on John Murray Gray, Captain of the Elizabeth Henrietta in 1822. In the same year he was appointed pilot of Port Jackson. On 8 November 1825 he was appointed to co-ordinate the removal of the settlement of Red Cliff Point to the banks of the Brisbane River. The last information about him refers to the rescue of people from the wreck of the Royal Charlotte at Frederick Reef, off the north coast, in 1825. See http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/indexes/colsec /g/F22c_gos-gy-07.htm, visited 13 July 2004. 8 Peter Bishop was born at Bishops Court in Waterford, Ireland. He joined the British Army in 1803 and was promoted to captain in 1812. In 1824 he was transferred to New South Wales and the following year he was stationed at Moreton Bay. In 1826 he became a magistrate and retired to civilian life until his death, which probably came in 1846. See J. G. Steele (1975).

48 Chapter Two

the new penal colony of Moreton Bay was ready to receive its special “guests.”9 In March 1826 Peter Bishop was replaced by Captain Patrick Logan,10 who was accompanied by his wife and two daughters. Under his command the first group of convicts returned to Sydney and the arrivals of recidivists began, in squads of thirty or forty. The new commandant soon showed himself to be an able organiser and an enterprising builder. Not satisfied with the work of his predecessor, Logan devoted himself to making substantial improvements to the settlements and putting up new buildings. The building work was done by the convicts who were often subjected to exertions well over the limit. Progressively, all the wooden constructions were replaced by ones of bricks made on the spot. A hospital, police station and windmill were added. A passionate explorer, Captain Logan did not miss any chance to reconnoitre the surrounding lands and thus enriched the first maps of the region with useful details. In these scientific incursions frequent armed clashes were recorded with Aborigines, who did not seem to appreciate an English presence in their forests. In 1830 Captain James Oliphant Clunie11 was sent to Moreton Bay to relieve the commandant of the penal colony. After Clunie’s arrival, Logan decided to venture forth on a final explorative expedition, during which he mysteriously disappeared to be later found dead, presumably killed by the Aborigines. Under the command of Clunie, the colony continued to receive new contingents of convicts, arriving in 1832 at a total of no fewer than 1100 prisoners, the maximum recorded. At any rate, the era of

9 See H. Holthouse (1982), pp. 8-9. 10 Patrick Logan was born in 1792 or 1796 in Berwickshire, Scotland. In 1810 he joined the British Army and three years later he was promoted to lieutenant. Made Captain in 1823, he was transferred to Sydney two years later. While commandant of the prison of Moreton Bay, he dedicated himself to expeditions to explore the territory. During one of these, in 1830, he was mysteriously killed. See J. G. Steele (1975). 11 James Oliphant Clunie was born in Scotland at Borthwick in County Midlothian in 1795. He enrolled in the British Army in 1813 and was promoted to lieutenant the following year. Made a captain in 1826, he was transferred to Australia in 1830, later to India. He was a major in 1836 and lieutenant colonel in 1843. He died in Edinburgh in 1851. See J. G. Steele (1975).


penal colonies in Australia was coming to an end and from this year onwards the number of prisoners at Moreton Bay gradually diminished. In 1835 Captain Foster Fyans12 replaced James Clunie. Under his command the female section of the prison, originally near the male one, was transferred to new accommodation at Eagle Farm, a clearing on the east of the river. From then on, the women convicts worked in the cultivation of maize and in the laundry. After Fyans another three commanders followed at short intervals, the last of whom, Lt Owen Gorman,13 in 1842 was charged with the closure of the by now deserted penal colony.

12 Foster Fyans was born in 1790 in Clontarf, Dublin. At twenty years of age he enrolled in the army and was promoted to captain in 1826, arriving in Sydney in 1833. From 1835 to 1837 he was commandant at Moreton Bay. He took on various civil responsibilities and in 1853 he returned to civilian life. He died in 1870. See J. G. Steele (1975). 13 Owen Gorman was born in Ireland in 1799 at Clogham, King’s County. In 1817 he was a soldier of Her Majesty stationed in Jamaica. Promoted to lieutenant in 1833, from 1839 to 1842 he was commandant at Moreton Bay. He retired from the army in 1847. See J. G. Steele (1975).

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2. A flourishing town on the banks of the Brisbane River Military regulations prohibited civilians from residing in the Australian penal colonies, except for the families of soldiers; however, when necessary, exceptions to the rule were made as is demonstrated by the history of the prison on the banks of the Brisbane River. The most famous case is probably that of Mr Andrew Petrie,14 who arrived in Moreton Bay in August 1837 with his whole family. He arrived aboard the ship James Watt as the Superintendent of building works in the colony, a responsibility he carried out diligently for several years. The Petrie family settled in a place near the river which thus took the name of Petrie Bight. The following year a little group of eleven courageous Lutheran missionaries decided to start an evangelising mission among the Aborigines along the banks of the Brisbane River. Having arrived at Moreton Bay, they stationed themselves on a hill they named Zion’s Hill, eleven kilometres to the north of the penal colony. Unfortunately, the mission failed because of the lack of interest shown by the Aborigines. With the depletion of their economic resources, the Zion’s Hill community was dissolved a few years later.15 In 1839 John Williams, owner of a small business in Sydney, sold one of his boats to the Australian Government for the Moreton Bay penal colony and decided to deliver it in person. Once he arrived, he was informed about the imminent closure of the prison and, attracted by the possibility of being able to do good business in the future, he resolved to settle there with his family. He requested and obtained from the Government permission to open a trading depot on the south bank of the river, opposite the penal colony.16

14 Andrew Petrie was born in Scotland at Fife, in 1798. He emigrated to Australia in 1831, where he worked for the Government as Superintendent of Works. Having been sent to Brisbane in 1837, he dedicated himself to his work and to exploration. He died in Brisbane in 1872. See D. Dornan and D. Cryle, The Petrie Family: Building Colonial Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia (QLD) 1992. 15 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 13. 16 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 14.


In May 1842 the colony of Moreton Bay was officially opened to civilians, with the name Brisbane Town, and the first settlers began to arrive. Despite the economic crisis affecting Britain and, consequently, Australia right at that time, the little town was gradually growing and establishing itself as an obligatory port of call for ships large and small on their way north. In 1845 the first census was held, which recorded a total of 829 people distributed in three main settlement centres: North Brisbane (483 inhabitants), South Brisbane and Kangaroo Point (346 inhabitants). In 1846 the colony of Brisbane was declared an “entry port” and a customs house was soon opened near the buildings of the old commissariat. Even if there is news of “clandestine” horse races since the beginning of the colony, only in 1846 was the first “official racetrack” built in the area called New Farm. It was to be managed by a club created for this purpose, the Moreton Bay Race Club.17 Still in the same year, initiated by Arthur Lyon and James Swan, the first issue of the newspaper “The Moreton Bay Courier” came out, which was later named “The Brisbane Courier.”18 A flourishing town with easy access to the ocean, Brisbane offered the ideal place to start a systematic plan of colonisation for the cultivation and fabrication of cotton. At least that is what John Dunmore Lang believed,19 Scottish Presbyterian minister and member of the New South Wales Parliament, when in 1845 he visited the little colony and realised the possibility of putting into practice one of his famous colonisation plans by means of assisted migration. Returning to Scotland, he quickly got on with organising the first assisted passage in collaboration with the Cooksland Colonization Company. But before the expedition could be organised, the British Government took over the idea and entrusted it to Her Majesty’s Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners. 17 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 19. 18 See http://www.ketupa.net/hwt2.ht.m (visited 16 July 2004). 19 John Dunmore Lang was born in Scotland, at Greenock in Ayrshire, in 1799. He attended the Faculties of Arts and Theology at the University of Glasgow and became a Presbyterian minister. In 1823 he decided to emigrate to Australia. After a busy life, spent between his ministry, political activity and colonisation campaigns, Lang died in Sydney in 1878. See D. W. A. Baker, Preacher, Politician, Patriot: A Life of John Dunmore Lang, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1998.

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A project was swiftly drawn up specifically for Moreton Bay and candidates recruited; in July 1848 the first contingent of emigrants was ready to leave from the Port of London on the vessel Artemisia. On 15 August, 241 colonists set sail from Plymouth. They were mainly farm workers coming from various counties of Scotland and England, many travelling with their entire family.20 The Artemisia finally reached Brisbane on 6 December 1848. In the meantime, Lang had worked very hard and to advertise his enterprise he had published an explanatory piece in the principal newspapers of Glasgow; the original text reads:

“As various respectable families of the industrious classes of society in this neighbourhood intend emigrating to Cooksland [New South Wales] in Australia, with a view to form a cotton growing settlement in that highly favored region, a First Class Ship, of from 400 to 500 tons, will be dispatched from the port of Glasgow, direct to Moreton Bay, in Cooksland, in all June, provided a sufficient number of emigrants should offer in the mean time. […] The emigrants will be landed at Brisbane Town, on the Brisbane River, where there is already considerable Scotch population, and conveyed by steam boat to the place of their settlement, higher up the river, free of expense.”21

On 9 September 1848, with more than two months’ delay compared with the initial program, the ship Fortitude left the port of Gravesend in Scotland with the first load of emigrants recruited by Lang. 270 Scots had been won over to the Presbyterian minister’s project. After four months at sea, on 20 January 1849 the Fortitude finally reached Moreton Bay. Unfortunately, ten emigrants did not

20 The Illustrated London News, 12 August 1848, cited in http://www.theshipslist.com /ships/australia/artemisia.htm (visited 20 July 2004). 21 See http://www.jenwilletts.com/lang’s_immigration_scheme.htm (visited 20 July 2004).


make it, but died of typhoid during the crossing.22 The local authorities declared that they knew nothing of Lang’s promises regarding concessions of land, but anyway assigned modest parcels of land to the new arrivals round Yorks Hollow, to the north of the township. The second expedition arrived the following May aboard the ship Chaseley; another 225 Scottish emigrants followed the fate of their compatriots. In the following November the last contingent of 84 settlers recruited by John Lang reached Moreton Bay in the vessel Lima. This time the Presbyterian minister was on the spot and had to pay from his own pocket to fulfil the promises made to his compatriots before they left. This way the settlement of Yorks Hollow was rapidly populated, taking the name Fortitude Valley. In 1850 the first court trial was held in the town of Brisbane, but it was not until 1857 that a permanent judge arrived, in the person of Alfred James Peter Lutwyche.23 In this period, the idea gradually grew of a necessary separation from Sydney and its government, too far away and not interested in the problems of the northeast. The idea became an insistent request and was amplified by the rumour of popular protests. In the meantime, on 6 September 1859, the municipality of Brisbane was instituted, with a total population of more than five thousand people.24 The first mayor was John Petrie, son of the pioneer Andrew Petrie. The town was subdivided into four major suburbs: South Brisbane, North Brisbane, Fortitude Valley and Kangaroo Point. Three months later, by decree of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the new colony of Queensland was born.25 The original text reads:

22 In fact, as far as the actual number of emigrants arriving on the Fortitude is concerned, the sources consulted (registers and transcriptions of passenger lists) are not clear. 23 Alfred James Peter Lutwyche was born in London in 1810. After finishing his studies in Law at Oxford, he emigrated to Sydney as a reporter on the Morning Chronicle. In Australia he worked firstly as a lawyer and then as a judge. In 1859 he was assigned to the colony of Moreton Bay. He died in Brisbane in 1880. See Brisbane History Group, Northern Suburbs Heritage Tour, Brisbane 1993, No. 36. 24 The 1856 census records a total of 5,345 inhabitants in the town of Brisbane. See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971, Bureau of Census and Statistics, Brisbane 1973, p. 9. 25 See H. Holthouse (1982), pp. 26-27.

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“We have, in pursuance of the powers vested in Us by the said Bill and Act, and of all other powers and authorities in Us in that behalf vested separated from our colony of New South Wales, and erected into a separate Colony, so much of the said colony of New South Wales as lies northward of a line commencing on the sea coast at Point Danger, in latitude about 28° 8’ south.[…] And do by these presents separate from our said colony of New South Wales and erect the said territory so described into a separate colony to be called the colony of Queensland.”26

26 “Letters Patent erecting Colony of Queensland 6 June 1859,” Queensland Government Gazette, No. 1, Saturday 10 December 1859. The document is dated 6 June 1859 but its effectiveness was linked to its publication in the official organs of the colonies of New South Wales and Queensland, a condition which was met only on 10 December 1859.


3. The capital of the colony of Queensland On 9 December 1859 the first Governor of the newly-erected colony of Queensland, Sir George Ferguson Bowen, who had previously been Governmental Secretary of the Ionian Islands, arrived in Brisbane aboard the ship Cordelia, with his wife, Lady Diamantina Roma. The next morning he took the oath before Judge Lutwyche and formally assumed the full power invested in him by Queen Victoria over the territories of Queensland.27 Brisbane accordingly became the capital of the new colony. 22 May 1860 marked the first session of the two Houses of Parliament of Queensland, composed of the Legislative Assembly with 26 elected members and the Legislative Council with 15 members nominated by the Governor.28 The first concern of the new Government was to populate the colony. Several plans of colonisation were soon drawn up with large concessions of land to colonists at very attractive prices. The initiative soon turned out to be a real success. Between 1860 and 1865 more than 35,000 emigrants landed at Moreton Bay, many of them, however, deciding to settle in Brisbane, preferring urban life to wild adventure in the Australian tropics. The census of 1864 recorded the presence of about 16,330 inhabitants in the town of Brisbane, compared with an estimated 8,240 in 1861. In 1868 the town’s population had already risen to more than 22,700 people.29 The summer of 1864 was particularly hot and dry. During the month of November a series of small fires in the city put the small squad of voluntary firemen under great duress, also because the water reserves were soon found to be insufficient. On the evening of 1 December a dramatic fire broke out in Queen Street, the main street of Brisbane. The flames soon engulfed and burnt down all the buildings of the town centre. The efforts of the firemen and of the people who rushed to help were of no avail. Next morning, hundreds of evacuees were going through the smoking ruins in the hope of finding a few pieces of furniture or utensils missed by the fire. Provisional

27 As above. 28 See H. Holthouse (1982), p.27. 29 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 9.

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accommodation was quickly erected for the homeless, while reconstruction was begun of the heart of Brisbane.30 The rapid development of the town on both banks of the Brisbane River had more than once made the town council consider the need for a bridge to join the north and south zones. The project was approved in 1864, but the time of construction turned out to be extremely long. Accordingly, in June 1865, it was decided to erect a provisional wooden bridge which, in fact, served the town until 15 June 1874, the date on which the Victoria Bridge was finally inaugurated.31 The work opportunity offered by the construction of new railways in Queensland had attracted many immigrants to the colony from 1860 onwards, but in 1866 an unexpected economic crisis caused a rapid emptying of the colonial coffers and many workers were sacked. The general ill-feeling, stoked by intense trade union activity, reached its peak in the months of July and August, when more than 1500 new immigrants landed at the port of Brisbane. On 6 September a group of 250 unemployed men organised a noisy protest march from the town of Ipswich to Brisbane, 40 kilometres, with their final destination the seat of the colonial parliament. The Governor of Queensland, previously alerted, brought out the forces of law and order, in full battle array, to defend the centre of the capital. The protestors, however, reduced to half after an exhausting journey, stopped on the opposite bank of the river and declared their readiness for talks with authorities. After three days of calm, a tumult unexpectedly started in the centre of Brisbane which sparked a police charge; everything was over in a few minutes without any bloodshed, but the message was received. The Governor quickly stepped in to offer solutions which, although provisional, satisfied the main part of the demonstrators. The economic recovery of the following months made the general situation gradually return to normal.32 From 1867 the so-called “Golden Age” began for the colony of Queensland. The discovery of gold deposits in the north generated

30 See H. Holthouse (1982), pp. 34-36. 31 See H. Gregory, The Brisbane River Story: Meanders through Time, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Yeronga 1996. 32 See H. Holthouse (1982), pp. 38-40.


unexpected economic development, from which the capital, Brisbane, was not excluded. In 1870 the Government set up a system of free education in the town. With its 26,382 inhabitants counted in the 1871 census,33 the capital of the colony took advantage of a period of prosperity to beautify itself with new and lavish buildings. In 1874, together with the inauguration of Victoria Bridge, the consecration of the Catholic cathedral in honour of St Stephen, called St Stephen’s Cathedral, was celebrated. A year later, the railway arrived. The decade of the 80s was a time of great development, with substantial improvements in public services. The population recorded in the 1881 census (48,146 inhabitants) was almost doubled compared with ten years earlier.34 In 1888 the area of South Brisbane became a separate municipality.35 So much ostentatious wealth inexorably attracted more immigrants. At the beginning of the new decade, the capital of Queensland easily surpassed 100,000 inhabitants.36 Subject from the beginning to sudden floods, in February 1893 Brisbane was literally submerged by a full tide of its homonymic river. Torrential rains had already started in January, but only at the beginning of the next month was the extent of the imminent disaster realised. The inhabitants of Brisbane watched the dramatic spectacle incredulously. The original text reads:

“Debris of all descriptions – whole houses, trees, cattle and horses, went floating past. There had been some lovely homes along the river banks. Many had just floated off the stumps they were sitting on, sailing with the mighty current until they crushed against the bridge, where they simply crumpled up and disintegrated under the water. One large house, intact, with verandas all round, came sailing down, swirling round and round in the current. As it passed abreast of us we could

33 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 10. 34 As above. 35 See H. Holthouse (1982), pp. 41-46. 36 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 10.

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see a breakfast table with white cloth and everything laid out for a meal. When it struck the bridge there was a crash and it simply disappeared.”37

On 3 February all the low-lying part of the town was virtually a lake. In the night between 5 and 6 February, Victoria Bridge also succumbed before the might of the current. In alternating phases, the floods continued until the end of the month, causing many casualties and huge damage.38 As had already happened other times, as soon as the deluge was over, people rolled up their sleeves and got on with the reconstruction of the township to make it even more beautiful and modern. In 1896 the colonial authorities inaugurated the first public library, the Brisbane Public Library, today called the Queensland State Library. The books were bought from the private collection of Mr Justice Harding.39 The following year, the by now ten year old horse-drawn public transport service was gradually replaced by an innovative system of electric trams. The rail links also underwent improvements. In 1899 Brisbane and Ipswich were linked by telephone. The end of the century was sadly marked by an epidemic of bubonic plague which struck several Australian towns. The first talks between the Australian colonies regarding the possible creation of a Federation within the Commonwealth began in 1895, but Queensland did not initially seem to be much in favour. In September 1899 the colonial Government decided to carry out a popular referendum on the Federal idea and, even if with a slim majority (38,488 votes in favour and 30,996 against), the initiative was approved. On 9 July 1900 the British Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, to take effect from 1 January 1901.40 On 9 May 1901 the first session of the Australian Federal Parliament was opened.

37 From The Queenslander, February 1893, quoted in H. Holthouse (1982), p. 49. 38 See H. Gregory (1996). 39 See http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/corp/slqhistory.htm (visited 21 July 2004). 40 See Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1900, in http://www.founding docs.gov.au/places/cth/cth1.htm, visited 21 July 2004.


The census of 1901 does not record the same rhythm of demographic growth of the preceding decades; Brisbane counted 122,210 inhabitants, of whom more than 71,000 were concentrated into a radius of 3 kilometres from the centre of the town.41 On 26 December 1902 the town of Brisbane, separate from South Brisbane, was formally declared a city, together with Rockhampton and Townsville.42 Meantime, on 5 June 1901 the Australian Federal Parliament had passed a new restricted migration law, called the Immigration Restriction Act, with the obvious intention of blocking immigration from China and India.43 Thus began the famous “White Australia Policy” which was to last for over fifty years, favouring, in effect, the arrival of new immigrants from Europe.

41 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 10. 42 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 52. 43 See Immigration Restriction Act, 1900, in http://www.peo.gov.au/resources /immigration_bill.htm, visited 1 November 2004.

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4. The “Greater Brisbane” of the 20th century The Brisbane which faced the first decade of the 20th century was a relatively big and cosmopolitan city. The ongoing increase in population necessitated the creation of more accommodation and services, which contributed to the further expansion of the habitable centre of the city on both banks of the Brisbane River. In March 1907 the Brisbane Fish Market was opened. On 10 December 1909, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the separation of Queensland from New South Wales, the University of Queensland was founded by an act of State Parliament. This was the first university in the State, and the fifth at the national level. In April of the following year, 83 students, of whom 23 women, attended the first lectures in the rooms of Government House in George St.44 The census of 1911 records a total population of 146,991 inhabitants. Demographic growth was already significant on a general level (about 20%), but it was even more so if we consider the different zones individually. The second ring of the city, whose radius extended from 3 to 6 kilometres from the centre of Brisbane, showed an increase of almost 30%, compared with 14% in the first ring (up to three kilometres round the centre).45 The city was, therefore, clearly expanding outwards and this phenomenon was also reflected in the commercial life of Brisbane too. For example, the cattle market of Newmarket, the Newmarket Saleyards, created in 1877 in the bushland northeast of the centre, by 1913 was surrounded by houses and boasted a frenetic activity: every week saw the sale of 300 head of cattle and 2000 of sheep coming from the north-west of the district.46 In January 1912 long-term resentment between the trade unionists and employers in the tramways were rekindled by new disputes and some unjust sackings. The workers went out on strike and were soon joined by their colleagues in the railways. At the end of the month

44 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 55. 45 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 11. 46 See Stafford and Wilston-Grange Heritage, Brisbane History Group, Brisbane 1995, p. 36.


there were more than 20,000 people on strike and the social tension became unbearable. The square in the centre of the city became the theatre for demonstrations and clashes between demonstrators and police. The “great strike” ended after a few weeks without any positive results.47 The years of the First World War, in which Australian troops were engaged for the first time in an international conflict, did not bring many new changes, except for some new taxes imposed to pay for the expenses of the war. The migratory wave from Europe was almost zero until 1918, but the population of Brisbane still continued to increase until it reached 220,371 inhabitants recorded in the 1921 census. This time the outward expansion was even more apparent: the second suburban ring reached a demographic growth of 83%, while for the third ring (more than six kilometres from the centre) the increase was as much as 124%.48 Still in 1921, a new epidemic of bubonic plague broke out in Brisbane, because of a slackening of sanitary measures, and 64 people died.49 In June 1923 the first number of the newspaper “The Sunday Mail” came out, destined to cross the city frontiers to establish itself on a national scale. In October of the same year Brisbane and Sydney were finally linked by telephone. Still in the field of public services and utilities, by the end of 1923 the sewerage system for the central zones of the capital of Queensland was completed and in December 1924 the new railway line between Brisbane and Cairns was opened (more than 2,100 kilometres). The on-going population growth in the outlying suburbs of Brisbane had given rise to different small town councils managed autonomously at the local level. In those years, however, the idea spread of unifying all the town councils under a single administration through the creation of the so-called “Greater Brisbane.” In the centenary year of the foundation of the first settlement at Moreton Bay, with the City of Brisbane Act of 1924, the idea became reality:

47 See H. Holthouse (1982), p. 52. 48 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 11. 49 See P. Ross, A History of Health and Medicine in Queensland, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1987, pp. 225-231.

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Brisbane City, South Brisbane and all the suburban town councils throughout an area of 971 square kilometres were united. The first elections of the Lord Mayor and aldermen were held on 21 February 1925 and the new City Council decided to use the old City Hall of Brisbane City provisionally while waiting for a new building, more suited to the needs of the newly-elected administration. Work began in 1927 and the new Brisbane City Hall was inaugurated on 8 April 1930. It was designed to be large and imposing, with no expense spared. For that reason, the citizens of Brisbane soon baptised it “the Million Pound City Hall.”50 In 12 years the city had grown to over 70,000 inhabitants, as affirmed by the 1933 census, which recorded a total population of 299,748 in Brisbane. For the first time the second suburban ring, 111,925 people recorded, overtook the first ring numerically (103,132), with a relative growth of about 61%.51 On 28 August 1933, from the merging of two city newspapers, “The Brisbane Courier” and “The Daily Mail,” came the daily newspaper “The Courier Mail” which today, with its circulation of 952,000, represents the second most important newspaper at the Australian national level.52 During the whole decade of the 30s, favoured by an economy which stood up to national and international crises, Brisbane continued to grow and receive immigrants, both from abroad and other Australian states. On 6 March 1936 the first stone was laid for the construction of the new buildings of the University of Queensland in the area called St Lucia, a south-western suburb. On 24 May the same year traffic lights were installed for the first time in the city, in Queen Street.

50 See H. Holthouse (1982), pp. 53-55. 51 See Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971 (1973), p. 11. 52 See http://newsmedianet.com.au/home/titles/title/index.jsp?titleid=7 (visited 22 July 2004).


CHAPTER THREE

First Italians recorded in Brisbane (1870-1900)

After the opening of the Suez Canal, our emigration towards Australia increased every year, even if in scant measure, and no longer limited to Italians from the northern provinces. The central regions also took part, especially Tuscany, which now counts over there highly reputable persons in medicine, astronomy, engineering and commerce. The southern provinces were more tardy in making their contribution to emigration to Australia, but this was soon much more numerous, to the point that the fruit and vegetable industry and the sale of fish is now almost exclusively in the hands of people from the Messina region, especially Lipari, living in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Freemantle and Perth. (P. Corte, Gli Italiani nell’Australia e nella Nuova Zelanda, 1902) 1. Priests, artists and men of culture: Monsignor Quinn’s “recruits” From what was considered in the first chapter it seems, if not probable, it was at least possible that several immigrants from the Italian peninsula (even before the creation of the Kingdom of Italy), were living in Brisbane before 1870. The presence of Fr Giovanni Cani, about whom we will have more to say later, is certainly clearly documented, starting from 1861. As far as other eventual Italian figures are concerned, both the studies consulted and the archival sources do not present relevant dates. The history of Brisbane begins to be enriched by Italian names and related facts only from 1871, thanks to the work of recruitment carried out by Mons. Quinn. James Quinn was the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Brisbane (Diocesis Brisbanensis), which was founded on 12 April 1859. After his consecration as a bishop in Dublin on 29 June 1859, Mons. Quinn waited nearly two years before taking possession of the

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diocese, on 12 May 1861. The diocesan territory covered the whole of Queensland, more than a million square kilometres, in which there were scarcely two priests, two churches, two small schools and 7,676 (27%) Catholics in a total population of 28,056. The bishop arrived in Brisbane accompanied by six nuns and five priests, among whom Fr Cani. Convinced of the necessity of populating the rich lands of Queensland with good European Catholics, Mons. Quinn rapidly dedicated himself to elaborating immigratory schemes which he then proposed to the local authorities, without, however, obtaining much in the way of results. In 1862 he founded the Queensland Immigration Society to promote the immigration of good Irish settlers; in the three years of its existence the Society managed to organise no fewer than ten ships full of Catholic immigrants who poured into Queensland. The unexpected Irish “invasion” rekindled old ethnic and sectarian resentments and the bishop of Brisbane was ironically accused of wanting to turn Queensland into “Quinn’s Land.” Attacked from several quarters, Mons. Quinn found himself obliged to suspend his mass recruitment drive.1 Once the storm had passed, in the mind of the prelate a new project was forming, directed at promoting an immigration of quality rather than quantity. The new plan had a two-fold aim: on the one hand to recruit European priests for the Diocese of Brisbane, and on the other to persuade a good number of lay Catholics, gifted with good intelligence and an excellent education, to opt for emigration to Queensland. It seems that Mons. Quinn was originally only interested in collecting Irish priests, but the work of persuasion turned out to be more difficult than expected, probably because of his fame as a rough and authoritarian bishop, which had spread in Ireland through the various letters of complaint written by “his” diocesan priests. This may well be the reason why the bishop of Brisbane turned his attention towards the Italian clergy.2 The favourable occasion for carrying out the new plan was the First Vatican Council, to which all the Australian bishops were

1 See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02789b.htm (visited 31 July 2004). 2 See P. McLean Armati, Pio Vico Armati, 23 August 1846 to 5 December 1923: A Family History Concerning Pio, His Family and Descendants, St Ives (NSW) 1997.


invited. Mons. Quinn left Brisbane on 13 October 1869 and stayed in Rome until 20 September 1870. After the dramatic closure of the sessions of the Council, the prelate crossed Europe to reach Ireland, where he remained until January 1872. In the more than two years of his stay, the bishop managed to recruit a good number of Italian ecclesiastics and lay people, whom he “dispatched” to Brisbane in various echelons. There is evidence of Mons. Quinn’s widespread work of persuasion in a letter written by Fr Carmelo Patergnani, Superior General of the Gerolimitani, to the Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith3 in 1874. In it, the Holy See was asked to insist that the Bishop of Brisbane repatriate, at his expense, the three priests that “he had imprudently persuaded to go to Australia.”4 The clerical “recruits” started to arrive in 1871. Even if their stories are, generally, only briefly linked to the City of Brisbane, we feel it opportune to amplify the brief comment made earlier. Of sixteen priests about whom there is documented information, eight arrived aboard the ship Storm King early in 1871, four on the Polmaise in the second half of the same year and one on the Silver Eagle in 1872. It has unfortunately not been possible to find details of the arrival of the other three. The vessel Storm King, 91 tons, commanded by Captain Samuel Brown, left the port of London on 25 November 1870 and reached Brisbane 2 March 1871. On board was Fr Nazareno Clementoni, an Italian priest aged 32 years.5 According to the documents conserved in the Archives of the Archdiocese, Fr Clementoni was immediately sent to Bowen as assistant parish priest (1871-1873), to later be transferred to Charters Towers in the north. The sources consulted do not offer

3 The Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith is the organisation in the Holy See that has the duty of superintending missions and the diffusion of the Catholic faith in the world. It was created by Gregory XV in 1622, based on various initiatives begun in the second half of the sixteenth century. In 1967 it assumed the name of Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples. 4 Y. M. McLay, James Quinn: First Catholic Bishop of Queensland, Armidale (NSW) 1979, p. 81. 5 See C. Marletta, Pionieri italiani. Presenza italiana nel Queensland nell’800, Eureka Publications, Brisbane 1994, p. 8.

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further information regarding his ministry in the diocese, presumably very brief, and his departure. Fr Girolamo Davadi also arrived on the Storm King. Born in 1846 in the province of Ancona, he was ordained priest in about 1870. With the enthusiasm of his 25 years, he soon left Brisbane for Warwick, a rural town 162 kilometres south-west of the capital of the colony. In 1874 Fr Davadi was transferred to the parish of Stanthorpe, a small town near the border with New South Wales, where he was parish priest until his death on 22 January 1900. His memory is linked, as well as to his zealous pastoral care, to the cultivation of grapes and fruit trees, of which he was a pioneer in the district of Stanthorpe.6 Another arrival on the Storm King was Fr Giuseppe Romani, a priest of the Gerolimitani, who was 39 years old in 1871. At the beginning he remained in the city, assigned to the Cathedral, but in 1872 he was transferred to the tiny isolated town of Nanango, 150 kilometres north-east of Brisbane, where he found himself carrying out his vocation among pioneers and settlers. After a few months he wrote to Mons. Quinn complaining about dreadful condition of the church and presbytery. He did not hold back words of harsh criticism of the bishop and his vicar, Fr Giovanni Cani. Not satisfied with the replies he was given, Fr Romani decided to go back home.7 Fr Costantino Rossolini, from Ancona and just 26 years old, arrived on the same ship. The very young priest was immediately destined for Gayndah, a little town 300 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, as “resident priest.” In 1876, Fr Rossolini, still keeping his earlier position, was named parish priest of Bundaberg, another small town a few kilometres to the north on the coast, where he moved in 1880. He joined a group of foreign priests who opposed the pastoral vision and “strongarm” methods of Mons. Quinn. Nevertheless, the sources show him as an excellent missionary. He died in Bundaberg in 1893.8

6 See T. Cecilia (1985), p. 358 and C. Marletta (1994), p. 8. 7 See P. J. Tynan, The Apostle of Brisbane: Joseph Canali, Brisbane 1992, p. 33; D. Dignan, Queensland’s Italians, unpublished manuscript, p. 5; P. Bosi (1989), p. 92; T. Cecilia (1985), p. 361. 8 See T. Cecilia (1985), p. 361; C. Marletta (1994), p. 8; D. Dignan (as above), p. 6.


Fr Benedetto Scortechini also arrived aboard the Storm King in 1871. He was born in Cupramontana in the Pontifical State on 17 February 1845. From Brisbane he was quickly sent as assistant parish priest in the parish of Stanthorpe, where he remained for some time. From there he was transferred, still as assistant priest, to Roma, one of the oldest settlements in the colony at over 400 kilometres north-east of the capital. From 1873 to 1875 he carried out his ministry at Gympie. In 1875 he was appointed parish priest of the newly founded parish of Logan, an immense area to the south of Brisbane with several villages, but without church or presbytery. Not in the least discouraged, Fr Scortechini quickly dedicated himself to the construction of various churches and chapels in the area. In 1879 he was the victim of an attempted murder perpetrated by an Irish immigrant. The man, furious about part of the inheritance that his dying brother had left to the Church, wanted to take justice into his own hands for the wrong done to him. Despite the wounds inflicted on him by the crazed parishioner, Fr Scortechini managed to recover in a surprisingly short time. A passionate student of botany, the parish priest of Logan often managed to reconcile his pastoral ministry with valuable scientific studies on tropical plants. In 1884, at the invitation of the British Resident of Malaya and with his bishop’s permission, Fr Scortechini left Australia to devote himself to the classification of the Malayan flora. He finished the work in two years and decided to go to London to publish the results of his studies. Unfortunately, during a brief stay in India, he contracted a strange virus and died in Calcutta on 4 November 1886.9 Another three priests arrived in Brisbane on the Storm King in 1871: Fr Giacomo Natali, 30 years old, Fr Giovanni Rossi, 26 and Fr Girolamo Pieranto, 36.10 Unfortunately no information about their ministry in Queensland appears in the sources consulted. Such a gap makes one suppose that their stay in the Australian diocese was very brief.

9 See P. J. Tynan, Pioneer, Priest and Botanist: The Life-Story of Father Benedetto Scortechini (1845-1886), Brisbane 1989. 10 C. Marletta (1994), p. 8.

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Fr Eugenio Ricci arrived in Brisbane on 19 September 1871 on board the Polmaise, which had set sail from London on 10 June 1871. He was part of the second clerical contingent recruited by Mons. Quinn in Italy. His age of 54 makes one think straight away of a missionary past completely different from that of his priestly companions, but actually, Fr Ricci had been forced to flee Italy because of certain serious threats made against him by a secret society called Sesta. He remained in the Diocese of Brisbane for a few years but he soon stood out for his tenacious opposition to the orders of his local bishop. Of a strong and impetuous character, he made himself the spokesman of the dissatisfaction of the “foreign” clergy against Quinn’s exasperating authoritarianism and aggravated (Irish) nationalism. As a result of these diatribes, the “rebel” priest wrote a letter threatening to shoot the bishop! In fact, on one deplorable occasion he physically attacked the Vicar General, Fr Giovanni Cani. For this last act he was suspended a divinis.11 In 1886 Fr Ricci left the diocese.12 It is interesting to note that the directory of the Queensland Post Office lists, in 1874, a Dr Eugenio Ricci as having a surgery in Gibb St, Brisbane; it is unlikely that it could mean someone with the same name.13 Fr Michele Antonini also came on the Polmaise. Born in 1845 at Envie, in the province of Cuneo, young Antonini finished his Secondary studies at the school of the Don Bosco priests in Turin. He went on to earn a degree in Theology and Canon Law in Rome, where he met Mons. Quinn who persuaded him to leave for Queensland as a missionary. A few days after his arrival in Brisbane, Fr Antonini was transferred to Rockhampton where he devoted himself to his mission among Catholics and among Aborigines until 1875, the year in which he left Australia to return to his own country.14

11 With suspension a divinis the priest is forbidden to carry out all or some of the functions of his sacred ministry, such as the celebration of the Sacraments and Sacramentals. 12 See T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 361-362; P. Bosi (1989), pp. 81-82; C. Marletta (1994), p. 8; D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 8. 13 See the Queensland Post Office Directory: Trade and Professional Directory, Fiche 1, Year 1874, p. 100, JOL. 14 See T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 357-358; C. Marletta (1994), p. 8.


Fr Giuseppe Pompei, a priest from the Collegio Apostolico di Propaganda Fide in Rome, also arrived on the Polmaise. Born in 1844 at Ferentino, in the province of Frosinone, after his priestly ordination he decided to emigrate to Queensland, thinking he could find a climate better suited for his health as he was afflicted with an acute form of tuberculosis. Fr Pompei was quickly sent to the small settlement of Nanango, where he began his mission with enthusiasm. After some months, however, he suffered a serious relapse and decided to return to Brisbane for more extensive medical examinations. Fr Pompei was immediately admitted to the town hospital, only to die, after a few months, on 5 July 1872, aged 28.15 The fourth priest on board the Polmaise in 1871 was Fr Oreste Tardozzi. As soon as he arrived, he had to travel another 800 kilometres to reach his mission at Clermont, north-west of Brisbane. There is no information available about his Australian apostolate which, in any case, was destined to last for only a short time. After a few months, in fact, his superiors in Rome asked Fr Tardozzi to return home to take care of his mother who was seriously ill.16 Fr Pietro Capra arrived in the retinue of Monsignor Quinn after a long and exhausting voyage. Having embarked on the Silver Eagle, he left London on 26 January 1872 and arrived in Sydney on 20 May of the same year. The last leg, as far as the port of Brisbane, was on the Lady Young, which reached the capital of Queensland the following 24 May. A Milanese priest with a Doctorate in Theology, Fr Capra began his ministry in Georgetown among the gold diggers in the far north of the colony. Between 1874 and 1877 he was parish priest at Ipswich, the following year he was assigned to the parish of Gympie and in 1879 he was an assistant priest at the Cathedral of Brisbane. From the middle of 1880 he was transferred to the parish of St George, 450 kilometres east of the capital. From 1882 he was parish priest at Roma, where he remained until his death on 4 May 1907.17 The date that Fr Giovanni Battista Belangero embarked in Italy is known: 15 September 1872, but not that of his arrival in Brisbane. In 15 See P. J. Tynan (1992) pp. 30-33; T. Cecilia (1985), p. 362; C. Marletta (1994), p. 8. 16 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 8. 17 See P. J. Tynan (1992), pp. 24-25; P. Bosi (1989), p. 84; T. Cecilia (1985), p. 356.

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1871 Fr Belangero, after completing his theological studies at the Collegio Apostolico Brignole Sale in Genoa, was ordained priest and was then sent as a missionary to the diocese of Queensland. As soon as he arrived in Australia, Mons. Quinn “dispatched” him to Ravenswood, a tiny settlement in north Queensland which had become unexpectedly famous after the discovery of gold there. After only two years of fertile ministry among miners and settlers, the Congregazione di Propaganda Fide entrusted him with a new missionary charge in Ceylon and, somewhat reluctantly, the good priest obeyed. In 1885 he returned to Italy to then leave again for New York, where he stayed for several years. In 1885 he wrote a book on his missionary memories entitled Australia e Ceylon. Studi e Ricordi di tredici anni di Missione [Australia and Ceylon. Studies and Memories of Thirteen Years of Mission].18 In 1902 he entered the congregation of the Missionaries of St Charles, founded by Mons. Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza in Italy, and spent the rest of his life among the Italian emigrants in North America.19 The date of arrival of Fr G. Guerrini is not known either, but he figures among Brisbane priests in August 1884. The sources consulted identify him as another “rebel” priest towards Mons. Quinn. His criticisms were addressed more generally towards a supposed “religious hypocrisy” spreading throughout Queensland, in which the bishop did not seem to be interested. He left the diocese in 1886 and went to Armidale in New South Wales, where he exercised his priestly ministry until his death on 7 November 1918.20 Even more mysterious is the case of Fr Augusto Loretucci, whom the Annals record in the Diocese of Rockhampton in 1897. Two years later he was parish priest at Barcaldine in the centre of Queensland. In 1902 he returned to Italy and was then assigned the parish of San Carlo in Rome. Even if the majority of authors place him among

18 See G. B. Belangero, Australia e Ceylon. Studi e Ricordi di tredici anni di Missione, Turin 1885. 19 See A. Perotti, Scalabrini e le migrazioni (2004), pp. 23-24; P. Bosi (1989), pp. 90-92); T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 360-361. 20 See P. Bosi (1989), pp. 80-82; T. Cecilia (1985), p. 362.


Mons. Quinn’s recruits, in fact there is no information regarding his apostolate in the Diocese of Brisbane.21 Even with all the difficulties and conflicts, thanks to Mons. Quinn’s “recruits” the situation of the clergy in the diocese had clearly improved compared with that of 1861; in 1873, in fact, there were 29 priests in Queensland dedicated to the pastoral care of about 32,000 Catholics, with an average of one priest every 1,100 faithful.22 Among these must obviously be included Fr Giovanni Cani, who has already been briefly mentioned. It seems in any case opportune to add a few more particulars relating to the missionary experience of Fr Cani in Brisbane. After a short stint in Warwick, the Bolognese priest was recalled to the capital and became first secretary to the bishop, and then Vicar General. When Mons. Quinn left for the Vatican I Council in Rome, Fr Cani was nominated administrator of the diocese, a responsibility he would keep until the return of the bishop. During those years he distinguished himself for his laudable apostolic zeal, manifest in his constant concern for the construction of new ecclesiastical buildings. At the return of the incumbent, he reassumed his position as faithful collaborator of Mons. Quinn. Despite personal attacks on him, Fr Cani tried to keep out of the painful conflict between the bishop and certain Italian priests which has already been mentioned. In 1877, his refusal to sign a letter written by Mons. Quinn hitting back at the attacks of the “rebel” priests cost him his position as Vicar General. In 1878 Fr Cani was called to take the place provisionally of the Apostolic Pro-Vicar of North Queensland and moved to Rockhampton. In August 1881 Mons. Quinn died and the Archbishop of Sydney, Mons. Roger William Bede Vaughan, decided to nominate Fr Cani administrator of the Diocese of Brisbane. This choice, however, unexpectedly stirred up a wave of protests on the part of a good number of priests, who, incited by a handful of zealous supporters of a “purely” Irish Australian hierarchy, tenaciously opposed the nomination. In a letter addressed to Mons. Vaughan, twenty priests affirmed that their preceding experience of Fr

21 See P. Bosi (1989), p. 92; T. Cecilia (1985), p. 362. 22 See P. J. Tynan (1992), p. 30.

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Cani as administrator had been a complete failure. The original text reads:

“We attribute Dr. Cani [sic] failure as an administrator to his natural incapacity for that office, to his complete want of order and method, the consequence of which was that any body dealing with him was in perplexity and trouble; and finally to his violent temper and rude manners, which rendered his government unreasonable and tyrannical.”23

Among the signatories to the letter we also find his “compatriots” Fr Costantino Rossi and Fr Giuseppe Canali. The protests achieved their aim and Fr Cani was relieved of his appointment. In 1882 the vicariate of Rockhampton became a diocese and the priest from Bologna became its first bishop. Consecrated on 21 May of the same year, Mons. Cani was installed in “his” cathedral the following June.24 Another important clerical figure who was mentioned in the first chapter was Fr Giuseppe Canali. He has not been placed in the number of priests recruited by Mons. Quinn because, at the moment of his “recruitment,” he was a layman, a young Roman architect and engineer, picked out in 1870 by the bishop of Brisbane to terminate construction work on the new diocesan cathedral. Giuseppe Canali, son of an employee of the Pontifical State, was born in Rome in 1841. From 1859 he studied at the Collegio Romano and earned his baccalaureate in Philosophy and Mathematics. In 1865 he graduated in Engineering and Architecture from La Sapienza University in Rome. In about 1870 he met Mons. Quinn and decided to emigrate to Queensland. From Italy to England, crossing the whole of Europe, and then the interminable voyage on the Silver Eagle, is how Canali finally arrived in Sydney in May 1872. In two days, on the Lady Young, he reached Brisbane and soon got to work to finish the new St Stephen’s Cathedral. The conscientious Roman architect was also given the sad duty of assisting Fr Pompei in the last days of his life at 23 Published in P. J. Tynan (1992), pp. 134-135. 24 Information regarding the life and work of Giovanni Cani has been derived from P. Bosi (1989), pp. 80-82; P. J. Tynan (1992), pp. 134-135; http://www.castelbolognese. org/giovannicani.htm (visited 12 June 2004).


the Brisbane Hospital. It is likely that this experience had in some way influenced the vocational development of the young man. Two intense years of building work followed: on 17 March 1874 the new cathedral was consigned to Mons. Quinn. Following this, Canali decided to devote himself to teaching and in October was appointed teacher of the Third Form at St James’ School, where he remained until 1877. Sure of his priestly vocation, he entered St Killian’s College, a sort of college-seminary, where he was at the same time Prefect of studies and Theology student. On 29 June 1878 Giuseppe Canali was ordained a deacon in Brisbane Cathedral. On 5 January 1879, with the imposition of hands by Mons. Quinn, Fr Canali received ordination into the priesthood. Among the priests present at his ordination were Fr Benedetto Scortechini and Fr Pietro Capra. Although remaining linked with St Killian’s College, the new priest was appointed to give religious assistance at the Brisbane Hospital and the Children’s Hospital, where he always demonstrated an extraordinary zeal for the sick and their families. He also devoted himself to plan and follow construction or restructuring works at various ecclesiastical buildings: All Hallows Convent (1879), the Christian Brothers School on Gregory Terrace (1880) and the Catholic School on Petrie Terrace (1881). Between 1882 and 1883 he was transferred to the parish of St Patrick’s in Fortitude Valley, where he remained until his death on 15 August 1915. In those years he was often seen rushing to go and celebrate Mass in various churches and chapels, without ever neglecting his wonderful ministry among the sick in the two city hospitals. On 31 July 1886 he became a British citizen, with the name of Joseph Augustus Canali.25 An exemplary priest and generous pastor, Fr Giuseppe Canali was later defined by Mons. James Duhig, one of Quinn’s successors, as “the Apostle of Brisbane.”26 As has already been explained above, the plans of the first bishop of Brisbane also anticipated the recruitment of good Catholic lay people, artists and men of culture, who could in some way promote

25 See Register of Aliens 1882-1892, Supreme Court, QSA, Microfilm Z 2286. 26 Almost all the biographical notes regarding Fr Giuseppe Canali are contained in P. J. Tynan (1992).

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the flowering of a hoped-for Catholic “civilisation” in the colony of Queensland. And for this reason, on the same ships which brought Mons. Quinn’s clerical “recruits” other illustrious Italian personages arrived whom history claims were linked to Australian cultural development. Maestro Antonio Benvenuti arrived on the Polmaise in September 1871. Even though the documents consulted are not clear in this regard, everything suggests that his emigration to Australia was the work of the bishop of Brisbane. Maestro Benvenuti was born in Padua in 1820 and, following the career of his father Angelo, studied violin at the Regio Conservatorio di Musica in Naples. Having finished his studies, he began an intense activity as a concert violinist, which led him to tread the boards of important theatres in various European capitals. Arriving in London, he married the very young Catherine and decided to settle definitively in the British capital. His virtuosity soon brought him modest fame; he used to play at Covent Garden, Drury Lane and the Alhambra theatres. On various occasions he entertained the Royal Family. A possible meeting with the bishop of Brisbane, between the end of 1870 and the beginning of 1871, was said to have persuaded him to change his plans and venture to the Newest Continent with his whole family, which in those years had grown by three sons: Luigi, Victor and Italo.27 After his arrival in Brisbane, Maestro Benvenuti took up residence in a little house near the Catholic church in Boundary Street, in the south west of the city. The modest home was also the place of the violin and guitar school that the Italian musician opened almost immediately. He also gave private Italian and French lessons. After a few years, together with his three sons, he founded the Orchestra Benvenuti, a quartet which on many occasions provided brilliantly executed music to fin-de-siecle Brisbane. Antonio Benvenuti died in 1896, at the age of 76. Luigi,

27 The registers of the arrival of immigrants in Queensland show different names for the three sons of Benvenuti: Antonio, 11 years old, Angelo, 10 years old and Joseph, 8 years old. See “Benvenuti Antonio,” in the Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens, QSA.


Victor and Italo, at least initially, continued the work of their father on both the concert scene and in teaching.28 In the course of 1871 the very young schoolmaster, Fernando Papi, arrived. Born in 1851 in the Pontifical State, he attended the Pontifical Seminary in Rome where he graduated in Philosophy in 1869, a year later graduating in Mathematics at the Royal University of Rome.29 He then went to Dublin to do an English course and met Mons. Quinn who persuaded him to emigrate to Queensland. In May 1873 his Roman educational qualifications were recognised and he was appointed to teach in the colony’s state schools. In 1882 he moved to Goodna, between Brisbane and Ipswich, with his wife Josephine. The following year he was transferred to the nearby town of Toowoomba and taught at the Toowoomba South Boys School. He later returned to Brisbane and was made headmaster of the Wooloongabba State School. After 17 years of a respectable teaching career he came first in a public examination, beating seven British colleagues, to be appointed District Inspector of Schools for the Ministry of Public Education of Queensland. Despite the opportunity of embarking on an attractive political career, after a few years Papi decided to return to his studies and teaching. The fame of discerning man of letters, gained during the preceding years, allowed him access to the best Brisbane circles. Sir Samuel Griffith availed himself of the valuable advice of the Italian schoolmaster for his English translation of the “Divine Comedy.”30 In the new century until his death in 1923, he was the most outstanding man in the little Italian community in the capital of Queensland.31

28 The biographical notes regarding Antonio Benvenuti have been drawn from C. Marletta (1994), pp. 20-23 and D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 8. 29 The La Sapienza University after 20 September 1870 became the Regia Università di Roma. 30 See The Divina Commedia of Dante Alighieri literally translated into English verse in the hendecasyllabic measure of the original Italian by Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, Oxford University Press, London-Melbourne 1911. 31 For biographical notes regarding Ferdinando Cantù Papi see C. Marletta (1994), p.18; D. Dignan, “Italian immigrants of the 1870s,” in Brisbane. The Ethnic Presence since the 1850s, ed. R. Fisher and B. Shaw, Brisbane 1993, pp. 64-65 and http://www.goodna.info/history/papi.html (visited 15 August 2004).

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On 16 March 1872 on board the George Crowshaw, which had left London on 12 December 1871, Maestro Domenico Carmusci arrived in Brisbane. He had been recruited by Mons. Quinn in Rome, where Carmusci was a respected music teacher. In his curriculum vitae he could claim a prestigious past as the master of music at the Sistine Chapel. Appointed choir master of St Stephen’s Cathedral, he devoted himself to teaching and musical composition, and was also a part-time teacher at St James’ School. For the consecration of the new Brisbane Cathedral in 1874 he wrote a special sung Mass which, however, was not performed in that particular circumstance. In the same year, Maestro Carmusci unexpectedly decided to return to Italy.32 On the George Crowshaw in March 1872 Pio Vico Armati also arrived. Born 23 August 1846 at Marino in the Roman hills, Pio Vico entered a seminary in Rome in 1859 and stayed there until 1867, the year in which he obtained a Bachelors’ degree in Philosophy. The following year he received his Bachelors’ degree in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) and his Doctorate in Philosophy. From 1876 to 1870 he studied Jurisprudence at the La Sapienza University and in 1871 earned a Law degree. It is very likely that his meeting with Mons. Quinn happened in the Italian capital towards the end of 1870, seeing that in 1871 Armati was in Dublin studying English in preparation for his imminent departure for Australia. There is little information regarding Armati’s early times in Brisbane; he probably worked as an apprentice at the pharmacy of a certain Mr Kenway. In 1874 he became a naturalised British citizen and his name was placed in the Queensland register of pharmacists. In 1875 he bought a pharmacy from Mr Kenway in Townsville and relocated to the flourishing northern township. In the same year, Armati joined the local Masonic Lodge. In 1876 he married Frances Abigail Norris from London, and, to please his wife, became an Anglican. On hearing this, Mons. Quinn inflicted a “temporary excommunication” on him, which makes it likely that there was quite a personal relationship between the Bishop and the Italian pharmacist. In 1881 Armati sold the

32 The scanty biographical information regarding Domenico Carmusci were taken from P. J. Tynan (1992), p. 45.


pharmacy, which had apparently made him a lot of money, and went into business with Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire. Together they set up a prosperous company for the sale of textiles, which, despite its flourishing bank balance, closed its doors only six years later. In 1888 the Armati family moved to Sydney and Pio Vico Armati decided to invest all his savings in buying property. The crisis of 1893 brought the real estate sector to its knees and Dr Armati found himself obliged to go back to work as a pharmacist in Townsville. As soon as he arrived, he was able to offer assistance to his compatriots from the Jumna. Pio Vico Armati died on 5 December 1923.33 The sculptor Achille Simonetti was another of Mons. Quinn’s distinguished recruits. Born in Rome in 1838, he studied Sculpture at the San Luca Academy of Art. After meeting the Bishop of Brisbane, he followed him on the Silver Eagle and the Lady Young as far as the capital of Queensland, where he stayed only three years, from 1872 to 1875, setting up house in Gibb St.34 In this brief time, Simonetti showed that sculpture was not his only art; gifted with an excellent voice, he carried out an intense activity giving concerts, in collaboration with the volinist Benvenuti. Probably seeking more elevated cultural surroundings, he moved to Sydney and opened a big studio in Balmain and at the same time started teaching at the New South Wales Academy of Art. They were years of fruitful work. The Italian sculptor travelled through most of the centres of New South Wales, where the houses of leading citizens were enriched by many of his works. He won many prizes and medals in different Australian art competitions. In 1891 he completed the famous bust of Mons. Quinn which still adorns St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane, a tribute due to his patron. Simonetti died 23 March 1900 from a heart attack.35 Another arrival with Mons. Quinn on the Silver Eagle was the painter Giulio Anivitti. Born in Rome where his father was an

33 For biographical information regarding Pio Vico Armati the text consulted was P. McLean Armati, Pio Vico Armati, 23 August 1846 to 5 December 1923: A Family History Concerning Pio, His Family and Descendants, St Ives (NSW) 1997. 34 See Queensland Post Office Directory. Trade and Professional Directory, Fiche 1, Year 1874, p. 67, JOL. 35 Biographical information on Achille Simonetti is drawn from T. Cecilia (1985), p. 323 and C. Marletta (1994), p. 18.

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engineer, Anivitti attended the same Academy as Achille Simonetti and, very probably, shared the same migratory process. Reaching Brisbane in May 1872, he stayed there for three years. Unfortunately, the documents consulted do not offer any information regarding his artistic activity in the Queensland capital. In 1875 he moved to Sydney to devote himself, with considerable success, to teaching Painting and Design at the New South Wales Academy of Art. As the months passed, the fame of his artistic gifts spread throughout the colony so that towards the end of the decade, Giulio Anivitti was the most famous portrait painter in the capital. He died prematurely, at only 31 years of age, on 2 July 1881.36 Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire, son of a small landowner, was born on 22 October 1852 at Envie, the same village as Fr Michele Antonini, who had probably exercised some influence in young Fraire’s decision to emigrate to Queensland. In fact, the latter was a travelling companion of Mons. Quinn on the Silver Eagle and Lady Young. In May 1872 he disembarked in Brisbane together with other “recruits” of the Irish Bishop. He stayed in Brisbane only eight months, without being able to find a stable job. A textile merchant took him on as an apprentice, at first unpaid. Later, he was given a very meagre wage. In 1873, Chiaffredo let himself be attracted by the mirage of easy riches in the gold mines in the Palmer area and left for North Queensland. Young Fraire did not have much luck as a gold-digger and after a year decided to return to selling textiles. He soon found work with the firm of James Burns in Townsville. In 1878 he became a British citizen. In 1880, on his return from a business trip to Europe, Chiaffredo Fraire married Sarah Ann Shekelton and decided to go into business for himself, together with another Italian, Pio Vico Armati. In seven years of activity the new firm made notable gains for both partners, who, separately, decided to invest their savings in real estate. Fraire also ventured into the organisation of immigration schemes for the sugar cane plantations. He was the main supporter of the expedition of the Jumna in 1891, which has been amply covered above. The problems caused by the negative results of that experience

36 For biographical information about Giulio Anivitti, see T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 323-324 and C. Marletta (1994), p. 18.


were increased by the economic crisis of 1893, because of which Fraire was forced to declare bankruptcy. Six years later he moved first to Brisbane and then Rockhampton. He left the Catholic Church to devote himself to theosophy and the occult. In 1921 he retired from business and on 5 January 1931 he died at the age of 78.37 Even Andrea Stombuco, in a literal sense, could be considered one of Mons. Quinn’s recruits. Born in 1820 or 1821 in Florence, he lived a wandering life until he was thirty years old. A young, gifted architect, he travelled through several continents until he landed in South Africa, where he carried out an intense activity in the building sector, mainly in Capetown. In 1849 he married Jane Frances Miles and two years later decided to emigrate to Australia, living for several years in the colony of Victoria and devoting himself to sculpture. In 1858 he was awarded the contract for the construction of the Catholic Church of St Mary in Kyneton, a town 80 kilometres north of Melbourne. His work became highly appreciated in ecclesiastical circles, to the extent that in 1869 he became the official architect of the Diocese of Goulburn, in New South Wales. During this period he came to know Fr Patrick Dunne, a “pioneer” Irish priest in Australia, who suggested to Stombuco that he should move to Queensland, to the “court” of Mons. Quinn. From the documents there does not seem to be an official appointment on the part of the Bishop of Brisbane, but it may be supposed that the prelate had stipulated some kind of agreement with the Italian architect before his arrival in the diocese. In fact, as soon as he arrived in Brisbane in 1875, Stombuco was commissioned to design the presbytery of St Mary’s Catholic Church in Ipswich. In 1877, having finished this work, he decided to go into commerce and opened a “pub” in the centre of Brisbane which he ran for only two years. In 1878, Stombuco prepared the plans of St Andrew’s Anglican Church, South Brisbane, which was finished in 1883. For 1880 he had prepared the design of the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church (originally dedicated to St Patrick) in Goodna. In the same year work started on St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Fortitude

37 Biographical information taken from D. Dignan, “Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire, 1852-1931 in The Queensland Experience, ed. Maximilian Brändle, Brisbane 1991, pp. 49-75.

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Valley designed by the Florentine architect. In 1881 it was the turn of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Sandgate. In 1885 Stombuco drew up the plans of St Joseph’s Catholic Church at Kangaroo Point, while the following year the first stone of the Holy Cross Catholic Church was laid in the suburb of Wooloowin. His work, however, was not limited to ecclesiastical architecture; among the numerous private residences and various public buildings designed by the Italian architect, the theatre Her Majesty’s Opera House of Brisbane, built between 1885 and 1888 and demolished in 1995 deserves special mention. In 1882 Stombuco became a British citizen. In the same year he presented an innovative model for a water-closet, or toilet. Thanks to several articles which appeared in the local papers, “the Stombuco closet” became the object of heated public debate until, in 1883, the project was definitively discarded by the Brisbane authorities. Between 1889 and 1892 the Florentine architect, probably as a result of family problems, moved by himself to Perth in Western Australia. There is very little information available about this last migratory stage, marked by a painful solitude. Old and sick, probably suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Andrea Stombuco died on 6 February 1907 in a Freemantle old people’s home.38

38 For biographical information about Andrea Stombuco, see P. P. Giorgi, Stombuco. The Building of Brisbane in the 19th Century, Minerva E & S, Brisbane 1998.


2. Other arrivals at the end of the 19th century Not all the Italians who landed in Brisbane in the last three decades of the 1800s were Mons. Quinn’s recruits. Many others arrived on expeditions organised from Italy, still others came on their own account, for a bit of an adventure. From the scanty information recorded in the documents consulted, it is difficult to pinpoint how many among these established themselves definitively in the capital of Queensland. In any case, the data collected give an idea of a relatively significant Italian presence. It is fitting to start with two illustrious exponents of Italian nobility: Count Giovanni Battista Pullè and Count Giuseppe Franceschi. Count Giovanni Battista Attanasio Pullè was born in Modena in 1854. After a privileged infancy and youth, at 21 years of age he decided to try his luck in Australia and arrived in Brisbane towards the end of 1876. He was quickly employed as a lithograph designer at the Survey Office of the Queensland Lands Department, where he worked for five years and nine months. In 1878 he became a British citizen and a year later married Sarah McFarlane. Convinced of the greater possibilities available in the private sector, in 1882 Pullè returned to Italy to launch his Italo-Australian Commercial Company. In 1884 he attended the National Exposition in Turin as a delegate of the Italians in Australia, and the same year set sail again for Brisbane to start a series of successful businesses. His import-export firm had a rapid success in the city. In the same years, the enterprising Pullè took over a café in the city, the Coffee Palace in Albert Street, and built a little brandy distillery, probably the first known one in Queensland. He also ventured into the production of wine, with good results. The flood of 1893 and subsequent economic crisis convinced him, however, to leave Brisbane. In 1896 he moved to Sydney with his family. In 1903 he opened a pasta factory, the Excelsior Macaroni Company, and founded two weekly papers, L’Italo-Australiano (1905-1909) and the Oceania (1913). Giovanni Battista Pullè died in 1920.39

39 Biographical information taken from C. Dewhirst, “Giovanni Pullè: Pioneer and Founding Father of Italian Ethnicity,” Spunti e Ricerche, 17 (2003), pp. 26-49.

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Giuseppe Franceschi arrived in Maryborough on 18 January 1877 on the ship Lammershagen which had left Hamburg on 11 October 1876 under the command of Captain H. J. Pauls. He was a young count from the province of Pisa, travelling on a free ticket. With him travelled, as assisted migrants, 37 Tuscans: eleven couples, four children, ten unmarried men and one unmarried woman. Count Franceschi’s luggage included a complete series of shoots of grape vine, olive, bay, arbute and different fruit trees for a declared value of six hundred pounds sterling. It was all part of a precise migratory scheme for the experimentation of typically Mediterranean cultivations in Queensland. This fact is confirmed by the haste with which the agent general of emigration in London informed the Australian authorities after the departure of Franceschi from Hamburg.40 Regarding the courageous expedition, in December 1877 Ferdinando Gagliardi wrote to the Gazzetta d’Italia,

“I read in the Giornale delle Colonie, Rome, of 13 October 1877 that a ship from Hamburg disembarked 40 Italians at Maryborough, a port on the Mary River at a distance of 180 miles north of Brisbane. They will be followed by some more […] with the aim of founding a big colony that would introduce a certain number of cultivations from southern Europe to the land of Queensland.”41

Soon after his arrival, Count Franceschi started his delicate experimentation in the Botanical Gardens of Brisbane, with encouraging results. From Europe, however, startling news was unexpectedly received about an epidemic of phylloxera which was devastating the vines of France and Italy. The colonial authorities, fearing for the safety of the local cultivations, on 26 May 1877 ordered the destruction of all the samples of vegetation imported by the young Count. In the following months, Franceschi decided to try a second experiment in an agricultural settlement in the Way Bay

40 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 11. 41 F. Gagliardi, “Lettera alla Gazzetta d’Italia del 18 Dicembre 1877,” published in T. Cecilia (1985), p. 282.


region, near Bundaberg. The results, however, were not positive and Franceschi moved to Melbourne from where, after a short time, he returned definitively to Italy.42 The expedition of the Indus followed on from that of the Lammershagen and 104 Tuscan emigrants disembarked at Rockhampton on 2 June 1887, convinced they would find the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, the reality was very different. After two weeks, during which they were assisted by Fr Michele Antonini, 77 of them transferred to Brisbane on the ship Lady Bowen, at the expense of the Queensland Government. It was immediately suspected that a cynical scam had been perpetrated by emigration agents in Hamburg and Livorno (north-west Italy) against the poor Tuscan settlers.43 It is not possible to determine how many of these immigrants stayed in the capital and how many scattered over the territory of the colony, but sources record the existence of at least two figures whose stories are linked in some way with the City of Brisbane: Giovacchino Maccheroni and Raffaello Franchi. Giovacchino Maccheroni was born in 1855 in Pappiana, in the province of Pisa. Arriving in Brisbane in June 1877, he soon found work with a family of Australian farmers. He then ran a big farm in the area of Enoggera, a suburb in the north-west. With his savings, he managed to buy a plot of land on the slopes of One Tree Hill, now called Mt Coo-tha, eight kilometres west of the city. He started working for himself, dug a well and devoted himself to the cultivation of grapes, vegetables and coffee and to the production of wine. In 1882 his wife Natalina and daughter Amelia came out from Italy. In the following years another two children were born and the Maccheroni family moved a bit further south, to the suburb of Toowong. Giovacchino started a pasta factory in Indooroopilly, a low-lying area near the Brisbane River; however, the flood of 1893 put paid to that new commercial venture. As well as for the production of a good wine, Maccheroni made himself famous in Brisbane for his services to the local bishop in the field of assistance to the new Italian immigrants arriving in the city. In the new century,

42 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 11. 43 As above.

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the enterprising agriculturalist from Pisa purchased a property at Ascot, in a north-eastern part of the city, where he spent the last years of his life. Giovacchino Maccheroni died in 1929.44 Not as much is known, unfortunately, about Raffaello Franchi. He was 23 years old at the time of his arrival in Rockhampton in 1877. He was accompanied by a certain Carlo Franchi, aged 16, who was probably a brother or cousin. Both had been provided with a free ticket.45 Raffaello then went to Brisbane on board the Lady Bowen. On 13 August 1887 he became a British citizen, registering himself as a carpenter, 31 years old. In the list of Italians naturalised in Brisbane between 1882 and 1892 his name appears straight after that of Fr Giuseppe Canali.46 From this information one may reasonably suppose that after his arrival he settled definitively in the capital. It has not been possible to discover further details about the fate of Raffaello Franchi. The historical studies of Cesare Marletta have led to the identification of a kind of “Little Italy” in the suburb of Breakfast Creek, which was already flourishing in the last 20 years of the 19th century. It was probably due to efficacious migratory chains, which began with a few migrants choosing to establish themselves in Brisbane and then facilitating the migration of relatives and friends from home. The first of those seems to have been Fortunato Baroni, who arrived in Brisbane on 10 October 1877 on the ship Humboldt, which left Hamburg on 8 June of the same year. From the passenger lists, in which 19 Italian emigrants appear, Baroni figures as unmarried, 33 years old, holder of a free ticket.47 The 17 October 1887 marked the arrival, on the Waroonga, of Fiorenza Castagnola, a 17 year old girl who seems to have braved the crossing on her own before continuing her journey to Mackay, in north Queensland. This fact may be understood in the context of some sort of family reunion which could link her to Pasquale Castagnola, an Italian immigrant

44 As above, p. 14. 45 They figure on the Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens, QSA, as Franchi Carlo and Franchi Raffaello. 46 Register of Aliens 1882-1892, QSA, Supreme Court, Microfilm Z 2286. 47 See Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens, QSA, under Baroni Fortunato.


who is recorded as living in Breakfast Creek in the 1890s.48 He, some time between 1893 and 1895, married Rosa Denaro who had arrived in Brisbane on 8 December 1892 on the India, which had left London on the preceding 12 October. Rosa, 18 years old, had embarked in Naples with her mother Sebastiana, 44, and family members Philipe, 16, Vinera, 14, Vintiro, 13 and Francisco, 10 years old.49 In this case too, there was a family reunion: Sebastiana’s husband, Gregorio Denaro, had arrived in the capital of Queensland much earlier, probably in 1887. Born in Riposto, in the province of Catania, Gregorio Denaro had embarked as a sailor, together with his two sons Filippo and Francesco, on a sailing ship which had taken him from Messina to Brisbane. Having settled at Breakfast Creek, he engaged successfully in fishing, with his sons, and some years later brought out the rest of the family.50 The “head of the family” of the Briganti (or, Brigante), another family living at Breakfast Creek, could have been Francesco Larosa Briganti, a 26 year-old fisherman who became a British citizen in Brisbane on 16 January 1889.51 Among the naturalised British in the capital of Queensland there is also a “Briganti Mariano,” who arrived on the Jumna in 1891. A native of Calabria, Mariano Briganti declared to the official at the migration office that he was a gasworker. It is also recorded on the register that the 18 year-old Calabrian could read and write English.52 The first arrival of the De Candia family of Breakfast Creek appears to have been Cosimo, a young sailor from Bari in south-west Italy, who came to Brisbane in 1893. He was 19 years old and was registered as a sailor. In 1900 he married Mary Ann Elizabeth Mindham.53 That fact seems to signal the renouncing of marriage exclusively within their own national and social structure typical of the earliest groups of immigrants and confirms a fair level of integration in local society. The “Little Italy” of Brisbane at the end of

48 See C. Marletta (1994), pp. 19 and 21. 49 See India, List of Immigrants, Imm. 124, p.392, QSA, Microfilm Z1965. 50 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 21. 51 See Register of Aliens 1882-1892, Supreme Court, QSA, Microfilm Z2286. 52 See Jumna. List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p.27, QSA, Microfilm Z1968. 53 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 21.

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the 1800s was also home to other families of obvious southern origin. The Scordo and Salotti families, of Sicilian origin, were certainly among the pioneers. The Faiella, Melita, Morfea, Stanislao and Testa families are also recorded.54 On the basis of different sources consulted, it may be reasonably supposed that the Italian presence in Brisbane in the last three decades of the 19th century amounts to far more than the “recruits” of Mons. Quinn and the families at Breakfast Creek. The Queensland Post Office Directory of 1874 shows an interesting list of artisans, small businessmen and professionals living in Brisbane, among whom are several obviously Italian surnames. Mr A. Antonini was a maker of custom furniture in Helmer St, Kangaroo Point, while Mr Henry Dente ran a tailor’s shop in George St. Mr Paolo Vergo was a wine merchant at the Coffee Palace in Albert St, of which he was probably the proprietor.55 The official list of those who were naturalised as British citizens in the capital of Queensland between 1882 and 1892,56 as well as the aforementioned Giuseppe Canali, Raffaello Franchi and Francesco Larosa Briganti, records another eleven Italian immigrants. It must be made clear, however, that the historical data regarding these people should be seen within the limits of the information contained in the documents. It is not possible to be sure, for example, that the Italians registered were living in Brisbane before their naturalisation, nor that they settled there definitively after it. Given the ease with which the new citizenship was conferred, it is not possible to put forward hypotheses about a preceding minimum period of residence, nor the fulfilment of special conditions.57 54 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 21. 55 See Queensland Post Office Directory. Trade and Professional Directory, Fiche 1, Year 1874, pp. 13, 45 and 101, JOL. 56 See Register of Aliens 1882-1892, QSA, Microfilm Z2286. 57 In that regard, it is sufficient to quote what the Consul General N. Squitti wrote in 1893: “As for naturalisation, it may be obtained by any European or North American simply by taking an oath to Her Majesty the Queen, however long the time of residence may have been...;” “Rapporto del R. Console cav. avv. N. Squitti, Barone di Palermiti e Guarna (4 November 1893),” in Emigrazione e Colonie. Rapporti di RR Agenti Diplomatici e Consolari pubblicati da R. Ministero degli Esteri, Rome 1893, p. 350.


Nevertheless, it is probable that the following people spent a fairly long period of their lives in Brisbane. First on the list is Willielm Johan Theodor Reller, a 35 year-old accountant who was naturalised on 27 July 1883. Even if his name seems to indicate a different origin, Willielm is clearly registered as an Italian. A month later, 22 August 1883, it was Antonio Reggiardo’s turn, a 38 year-old showman. On 30 April 1884 John Rosetto, aged 24, registered as a “worker” was naturalised in Brisbane, followed by Domenico Re, another worker, 35 years, on 20 July 1885. Gaspare Spellini, 30, naturalised on 3 September of the same year, was also a worker. Among the naturalisations of 1888 we find three Italian names: Francesco Rossetto, 37 years old, a “hawker,” on 19 January; Nicola Ceccolini (or Ugolini), 25, fisherman, 25 August; Giacomo Ordo, 26 years, farmer, 30 September. In 1889, within a few days of each other, two Italian fox hunters were naturalised: Francis Williams, 30 years old, on 28 March and Salvatore Albanese, 45, on 8 May. The only female mentioned is Laurena Barza, 45, decorator, who was naturalised in Brisbane on 23 May 1889. In the following decade only three Italian naturalisations were registered.58 First on the list is Giovanni Battista Lazzaroni, worker, 44 years old, naturalised at South Brisbane on 2 December 1895. In 1898 he is followed by Joseph Zocchi, 36, another worker, who swore his oath to Her Majesty on 2 July. On 4 October 1900 it was the turn of Giuseppe Truda, 31, a music professor. The Queensland State Archives offer the researcher a series of cards, catalogued in alphabetical order, on which are synthesized the data, as they appear in the various registers preserved, of all the immigrants who arrived in Queensland from Europe by ship and were later naturalised, from 1848 onwards.59 Unfortunately, because of internal regulations, it is not always possible to consult the original documents. However, thanks to cross referencing, it has been possible to identify certain persons whose surnames, according to other sources consulted, appear in the “Italian” history of Brisbane of the first half of the 20th century. As their names are not recorded in the

58 See Register of Aliens 1893-1901, QSA, Microfilm Z2287. 59 This is the Alphabetic List of Naturalised Aliens, available in the reference room of the Queensland State Archives.

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lists of people naturalised in Brisbane, it may be supposed that such persons (or their children) had moved to the capital of Queensland after starting off somewhere else. Even here one is dealing more with probable hypotheses than historical certainties, but it is still worth dedicating a brief note to them. The misadventures suffered in the expedition of the Jumna in 1891 have been mentioned in the first chapter. Only a small percentage of the 335 of northern Italians from Piedmont enrolled by Fraire actually settled in the districts targeted by the original project. Many scattered throughout the colony and, most probably, some of them turned up in Brisbane. This could be the case of Battista De Ambrogi, aged 29, Giovanni Cavaliero (or, Cavallero), 40, Angelo Gatti, 20 and Giovanni Grasso, 26 years old.60 In 1892, together with the large Denaro family, Gesualdo and Elisa Conradi arrived in Brisbane on board the India. There do not seem to be, however, any link between the two migrant histories, at least initially, in so far as the Conradi couple had embarked at Port Said, in Egypt.61

60 See Jumna. List of Immigrants, Imm. 124, pp. 315, 320, 404 and 405, QSA, Microfilm Z1965. 61 See India. List of Immigrants, Imm. 124, p. 392, QSA, Microfilm Z1965.


3. Glimpses of community life It is not easy to form a clear idea about the life of the little Italian community in Brisbane in the final three decades of the 1800s, above all because the information contained in the documents mainly refers to single individuals or families. In the census of 1871, the statistics regarding the capital of Queensland show the category “born in Italy” for the first time. The numbers, when compared with what has been said above, seem rather “reduced;” the Italians recorded are just 12, of whom 9 are men and three women.62 The first report of community life goes back to 1877 and is directly linked to the inauspicious results of the unfortunate expedition of the Indus, the fate of whose protagonists seemed to stir the sensibilities of the Italian citizens resident in Brisbane. On 27 (or, 28) July 1877 a public assembly was called, in which 35 Italians participated, resulting in the creation of the Società di Patronato e Mutuo Soccorso tra gli italiani nel Queensland [Society for Patronage and Mutual Aid between Italians in Queensland]. The Presidency was entrusted to the local consular agent, B. L. Bennet, while Giuseppe Franceschi was named Vice President and Giovanni Pullè Treasurer.63 The Society proposed, in the original text, “…to aid all deserving persons of Italian nationality by giving advice, procuring occupation, making loans or giving monetary assistance.”64 It seems, at any rate, that the initiative was more motivated by a contingent enthusiasm than by a genuine wish for long-term social action; just four years later, the Society was dissolved.65 The census of 1881 recorded 42 people born in Italy in Brisbane, of whom 32 male and 10 female.66 A good occasion for social life

62 See Census of Queensland, 1871, Government Printer, Brisbane 1872. 63 See D. Dignan, Queensland’s Italians, Manuscript, p. 16. 64 C. Dewhirst, “Inventing ‘Italians’: Experiences and Responses in Australia’s Colonial and Federation Societies,” Paper presented to the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference, Centre for Social Change Research, Queensland University of Technology, 22 November 2002, p. 7. 65 See C. Dewhirst, “Giovanni Pullè: Pioneer and Founding Father of Italian Ethnicity,” Spunti e Ricerche, 17 (2003), p. 30. 66 See Census of Queensland, 1881, Government Printer, Brisbane 1882, p. 270.

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could have been offered by the arrival at the port of Brisbane of the Italian transport ship Europa, commanded by Frigate Captain Cesare Romano. The Royal embarkation was on a special mission to the International Exposition of Melbourne (1880-1882). Having arrived in Oceania on 26 August 1880, the Europa visited various Australian ports until 3 September 1881, making Brisbane her last port of call. Captain Romano wrote no fewer than seven articles on the beauties of Queensland, published in the Rivista Marittima [Maritime Review] of 1882, but did not mention any contact with the Italian community of the capital, which usually happened on such occasions.67 In 1891 the census data reveal the presence in Brisbane of 71 Italians, of whom 58 men and 13 women.68 That was the year of the arrival of the Jumna expedition, whose organisation alighted an interesting discussion in the midst of the Italian collective of Australia. And the little community of the Queensland capital could not stay at the edge of it. The organisational efforts of Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire, and in particular a visit of his to Bundaberg, made news in the colony, to the extent that certain notable Italian residents of Brisbane, at the beginning of 1891, decided to meet to discuss the validity of Fraire’s initiative. Surprised by the unconditional support that the Italian Government had guaranteed to the expedition, they sent a formal request for explanations to the Consul General of Italy in Melbourne. The prolonged silence of the diplomat increased their doubts and, on 28 February 1891, at the Palace Hotel in Brisbane, about 50 Italians gathered for an emergency meeting. After two hours of discussion an “ad hoc” committee was appointed for the drawing up of a circular to be sent to the Italian Government and to the main Italian newspapers.69 The circular aimed to explain the real conditions in the colony of Queensland and the concrete possibilities of work on offer to prospective migrants from Italy. It proposed, moreover, to warn Italian settlers about possible swindles and disadvantageous contracts. It was signed by Dr Pietro Bonacini, a distinguished member of the Italian community of Brisbane about whom it has not 67 See M. Arpino, “Le navi della Marina Militare Italiana nel Queensland: 1866-1957,” Presenza, (July-September 1994) 1, p. 8. 68 See Census of Queensland, 1891, Government Printer, Brisbane 1892, p. 456. 69 See “Italian Migration,” The Queenslander, 7 March 1891, pp. 463-464.


been possible to find further information. In the same way, it has not been possible to access an original copy of the unique circular, although its text was published in full in the Panaro, a journal from Modena, north Italy, dated 25 April 1891, a section of which was published in translation in “The Queenslander” of 27 June 1891. The original translation reads:

“[The Brisbane committee]… above all things strongly advise none but those belonging to the genuine agricultural class to emigrate as this colony is already overstocked with mechanics and general labourers.”70

Bonacini’s circular proceeded to warn Italians who were not agricultural workers not to accept an eventual offer of migration to Queensland because they would have ended up swelling the ranks of the colony’s unemployed. In May 1891 the Italian Government officially acknowledged that it had received the circular and had taken into serious consideration the concerns of Brisbane compatriots. Dated 27 May, a letter from the Consul General N. Squitti was addressed to Dr Bonacini, the translation of which was published in “The Brisbane Courier” of 3 June. The original translation reads:

“In accordance with the instructions just received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Rome, I have pleasure in offering you his warmest thanks for forwarding him the circular concerning Italian emigration to Queensland and for the interest taken by you and our fellow countrymen resident in that colony in the welfare of intending migrants to Queensland. The Government has taken into special consideration the information and advice contained in your circular.”71

Beyond the thanks demanded by protocol, it is difficult to establish historically how far the praiseworthy expression of solidarity

70 See “Italian Agriculturalists,” The Queenslander, 27 June 1891. 71 The Brisbane Courier, 3 June 1891.

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and wholesome nationalist concern of the little Italian community of Brisbane had effectively influenced the choices made by the Italian Government regarding emigration to Australia. The fact remains that the fate of Fraire’s expedition was substantially different from that of the Indus; the emigrants on the Jumna revealed themselves to be generally well-briefed and aware of their rights and duties. There were, unfortunately, other circumstances, mainly contingent, which deprived the initiative of its hoped-for success.72 In demonstration of the fact that generosity and patriotic affection were virtues characteristic of the Italian citizens resident in Brisbane, in 1896, when a “world-wide” collection was raised to aid the veterans of the war in Abyssinia, the distant community of the capital of Queensland organised itself and collected over £50, a conspicuous sum at that time.73

72 See C. Dignan, “Chiaffredo Venerano Fraire, 1852-1931,” in Maximilian Brändle, (1991), pp. 64-68. 73 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 16.


CHAPTER FOUR

The Dawning of the New Century (1900-1922)

Those of our immigrants who have a trade, a skill or a profession, if they know a little English, earn a reasonable living; those who come under the generic heading of manual workers must adapt themselves to any job before they are able to choose the work that is best suited to their own experience and inclinations. For this reason the men from Valtellina are almost exclusively engaged in mining, bush clearing and charcoal burning; those from Piedmont, Lombardy, Tuscany and Liguria in agriculture, market gardening, wine growing, as well as doing piece-work in excavation or the railways, and as innkeepers, cooks and waiters. Neapolitans take on work as musicians, tinkers, shoemakers, barbers, flower-sellers, shoeshine boys, pedlars; Sicilians are engaged in the commerce of fish and fruit. (P. Corte, Gli Italiani nell’Australia e nella Nuova Zelanda, 1906) 1. Immigration somewhat by stealth In the months of July and August 1897 the Consul General of Italy, Pasquale Corte, visited Queensland with the clear intention of verifying the possibilities of boosting the scant commercial relations between the Kingdom of Italy and the Australian colony. From an official interview given by the Consul to “The Brisbane Courier” it seems clear how the principal attention was reserved for the elaboration of new schemes of immigration for Italian settlers, who had already amply demonstrated their extreme adaptability to the local climate and customs. The original text reads:

“Queensland wants a bigger population and Britain cannot spare it. The next best thing is to induce a stream of European immigration. Invite people who will readily adapt themselves to English life. Italians are the very people for Queensland

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and Queensland is the very country for Italians who wish to migrate.”1

Obviously Consul Corte was satisfied with what he had been able to observe regarding the conditions of compatriots in the colony, especially in the north of Queensland. From the documents consulted no specific reference appears regarding the Italian community of Brisbane, even if it seems improbable that it would have been excluded from the visit of the royal representative, considering that this urban community, although reduced in number, had been able to make its voice heard regarding emigration, as has already been discussed. Despite good premises, the beginning of the new century did not hold important changes on the horizon of of Italian immigration to Queensland. It is most probable that this fact was motivated by an immigration policy which was not clarified by the State of Queensland, nor by the whole Commonwealth of Australia in general. Many local governments, initially open to a massive immigration flow from Southern Europe, showed themselves later too sensitive to the remonstrations of local trade unions, which were of a somewhat conservative tendency, and passed more restrictive legislation, as pointed out by Corte himself in his report to the Foreign Office of 1902:

“To reply to the question as to whether Australian governments tend to encourage or restrict our immigration is not easy, because the criteria change according to the political leaders, and this happens frequently. By way of example, in Queensland Premier Byrnes was very favourable towards our immigration, to encourage which he had even sent a commercial agent of his to Italy, who had worked hard in order to succeed. After the Premier’s death, that agent was recalled, and the new leader of the government, yielding to pressure from the workers’ party, revoked all the provisions made by his predecessor.”2

1 “Italy and Queensland,” The Brisbane Courier, 20 August 1897, p. 3. 2 P. Corte (1906), p. 530.


The new Australian immigration law, the Restriction Bill 1901, was meant to aid the arrival of good European colonists (White Australia Policy) possessing a sufficient level of education, and to eliminate “undesirables.” The method of selection consisted in a dictation test of fifty words in a European language, chosen by the examiner, to whom, in that way, was attributed a notable level of discretion.3 In order to dissipate the doubts on the benefit and desirability of Italian emigration to Australia, in 1901 Captain Andrea Canale, commander of the military cruiser Puglia, was invested with a special mission. During his journey to Oceania, in the second half of 1901, he visited the main Australian ports with the aim of verifying the real economic conditions of the southern continent and sounding out the migratory prospects for Italian settlers. The last leg of the journey was to Brisbane and it seems that the information gathered in this last phase was extremely positive, so much so that Captain Canale was in favour of new migration schemes aimed at the colonisation of the immense uncultivated lands of Queensland.4 The judgement of Luigi of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi, captain of the military cruiser Liguria, which stopped in the port of Brisbane in September 1904, appears much more prudent. Despite the warm welcome by the Italian community in the capital of Queensland, the captain revealed himself quite sceptical about the outcome of emigration programs to Australia, and to Queensland in particular.5 No mention of Italian emigration is made, on the other hand, in the report of Captain Enrico Marenco di Moriondo, commander of the military cruiser Calabria, which docked in the port of Brisbane at the beginning of 1906.6 The new Consul General of Italy in Melbourne, Cav. Camillo Bertola, quickly realised the scant migratory prospects offered by Australia at the beginning of the 20th century. In his first report to the Italian Foreign Office, compiled in June 1905, he emphasises how,

3 See P. Corte (1906), pp. 530-531. 4 A. M. Arpino (1994), “Le navi della Marina Militare Italiana nel Queensland: 1866-1957” in Presenza, 1, pp. 8-9. 5 As above. 6 As above.

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despite the innumerable possibilities of settlement offered by the newest continent, in fact the only immigration destined to succeed was that involving chain migration and family ties. For all the others, according to the diplomat, the Australian adventure could soon become a drastically failed experience:

“Our compatriots who have made the best life in Australia are the fishermen and green grocers on the one hand, and farm workers on the other, who came twenty or so years ago. But both groups will only be able to continue migrating successfully through that slow immigration which takes place through invitation or encouragement by compatriots already established here. Woodchoppers, market gardeners, miners and many more who could even earn reasonable wages once they were employed, if they do not know the country and have no friends here able to find work for them, are at risk of using up all their savings and having to accept the most menial jobs which hardly keep them.”7

In effect, the data contained in the sources consulted reveal that new arrivals in Brisbane during the first twenty years of the 20th century fall mainly into the category of family reunion and of the migrant chains of people from the same home locality. From 1891 to 1901 the population of Brisbane had grown by little more than 20,000 individuals, demonstrating a considerable inversion of tendencies compared with previous years.8 The main reason was undoubtedly the decrease in the flow of new settlers from Europe, due in part to the failure of immigration schemes put in place earlier, in part to the lack of clear political decisions and in part to the general surroundings substantially hostile to foreign “competition.” On 29 April 1901 Giovanni De Ambrogi, who had left the port of Naples some months earlier, arrived in Brisbane on board the ship Prinz Regent Luitpold. He was only 12 years old and was with his

7 C. Bertola (1906), p. 547. 8 See Bureau of Census and Statistics (1973), Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971, Brisbane, p. 9.


mother, Luigia De Ambrogi.9 Even if the fact is not registered in the documents consulted, one may readily suppose that they were the wife and son of Battista De Ambrogi who had arrived on the Jumna in 1891. Little Giovanni was destined to become an important character in the Italian community in the years to come. We find him again in the thirties (a few years older and with his name transformed into Joe De Ambrosi) as the factotum of Brisbane Italians. Il Giornale Italiano of 12 September 1934 dedicates a sympathetic note to him, entitled “Il factotum De Ambrosi:”

“Joe Di Ambrosi is not a person, but a machine of dynamic activity who has risen to the heights of a genuine institution for the Italians who come and go from South to North and vice versa with a stop off in Brisbane. […] He is everywhere omnipotent and omnipresent, pontificating in his little kingdom as absolute autocrat. He is [...] at the customs, in the City Hall, at the docks; he registers births, presides over weddings, acts as guide, interpreter, ambassador and host, but it is at the train station where he reigns as an absolute monarch, as a true autocratic king, and holds up the trains or makes them leave at will. He is the friend of policemen, the interpreter of government officials, […] guide, protector, defender, assistant and factotum of Italians in transit for whom he deals with legal documents from the highest to the most humble acting in whatever capacity from secretary to nursemaid, from witness to peacemaker. If you happen to find yourselves in transit through Brisbane and, jumping from the train, you see a busy little man, dynamic, and with the authoritative look of someone who knows what he’s doing, directing with expertise and energy a herd of confused, sleepy, disorientated migrants, shouting orders in Italian, dialect and English with a Piemontese accent, you can’t be wrong. That nimble, energetic little man with salt and pepper

9 See Prinz Regent Luitpold List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p. 305, QSA, Microfilm Z1968.

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hair is the factotum De Ambrosi for Italians, and J. P. (Justice of the Peace) Joe for Australians.”10

The resourcefulness of the Piemontese factotum was not limited to such activities. In the thirties he ran, together with his wife Cesarina, an Italian restaurant in Leichhardt St, Spring Hill, offering bed and board to Italians passing through Brisbane. Although it became the favourite meeting-place of Italians, in the middle of 1934 the De Ambrogi couple - alias De Ambrosi, Deambrosi or Deambrose11 - decided to change the restaurant into a rosticceria and friggitoria [which in Brisbane would be a café or deli selling roast chickens and fried foods, tr.]. This activity proved far more lucrative than the one before.12 In the following February the Rosticceria Deambrose earned a special mention, again in Il Giornale Italiano. The reason, this time, was the skill of the cook, Cesarina, who was able to satisfy the most exacting palates:

“In Brisbane, whoever wishes to eat well and abundantly, with a rare combination of quality and quantity, need only turn to the Rosticceria of Joe Deambrose in Spring Hill, and there he will surely find the true gastronomic Australian Land of Cockaigne. Mrs Deambose, rather than a cook, is an artist of pots and pans. For her, cooking is not a task nor a job but an art and a pleasure to which she lends her skills with noble prodigality. In this world of the most greedy and rabid commercialism, Mrs Deambrose plays the role of the Good Samaritan with sainted simplicity and amazing generosity, to the point that, for a meal costing two shillings, she is capable of spending four in delicious morsels to make the food more tasty. Thus one needs to wish her few clients because at this

10 “Istantanee di Brisbane. Il factotum De Ambrosi,” Il Giornale Italiano, 12 September 1934, p. 5. 11 Their café was called Rosticceria Deambrose. The mangling of Italian names and surnames in Australian registers is frequent practice; often the migrants did not care about their exact spelling, so that one person might have slightly different names and surnames in different documents. 12 See “Da Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 13 June 1934, p. 5.


rate, with such largesse, hers is an unbridled race not only towards culinary fame but also towards financial failure.”13

From the marriage of Joe and Cesarina only one child was born, Lawrence. In 1935 he, too, though very young, won for himself a special mention in Il Giornale Italiano thanks to his musical gifts. An excellent pianist, he passed the Conservatory exams with full marks and a certificate of special distinction. Beyond the indisputable brilliance of the boy, a certain tendency to emphasise the fact as a kind of victory of Italianness in a foreign land is noticeable in the author of the article.14 For reasons not better specified in the documents, the De Ambrosi couple returned to the hotel business with notable success. In May 1935 their new Pensione Piemonte [a pensione being a small private hotel, tr.] changed address and the fact was reported in the local newspaper:

“The well-known and renowned Pensione Piemonte run by Mr and Mrs Deambrosi which was situated at 484 Upper Edward St, Spring Hill, Brisbane, has moved to larger and more modern premises at 240 St Paul’s Terrace, Spring Hill, Brisbane. With this move the owners of the Pensione Piemonte have reached two goals; i.e. a larger dining room where numerous gourmets from all over Australia may be seated, and a house where guests may have bed and board and be treated as if they were at home. Mr Deambrosi (Joe to everyone) continues to be the “factotum” of the Italians, he does everything for them and will always be at the port or the station waiting for Italians in arrival. For those who come to Brisbane from the North, it is easier for them to get off at Brunswick St (Valley) which is very near the Pensione Piemonte. Those who arrive at Central Station may take the Line 8 tram to St Paul’s Terrace and for only a penny fare will be taken right to the Pensione Piemonte which is near the

13 Il Girovago, “Viaggio Culinario,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 February 1935, p. 6. 14 See “Virgulti della razza. Lawrence Deambrosi promettente pianista,” Il Giornale Italiano, 10 June 1935, p. 6.

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tram stop. It is unnecessary to point out that at the Pensione Piemonte you eat better than anywhere else…”15

In November of the same year, another mention of the Pensione Piemonte appeared in Il Giornale Italiano which, as well as referring to the by now routine positive aspects of the hospitality and cuisine offered by the Spring Hill couple, sang the praises of Joe De Ambrosi’s activities as translator and guide. He was always ready at the port and railway station to welcome and accompany the first steps of Italian immigrants arriving in Brisbane. His activities as interpreter at the local government Income Tax Office is particularly deserving of a mention.16 On 17 March 1902 there arrived in Brisbane, on board the ship Duke of York, Natale Fasone, a Calabrian baker aged 22 years.17 He had embarked in London on 17 January of the same year. Even if in a lesser way, Natale in the first thirty years of 1900 was one of the protagonists of the life of the little Italian community of Brisbane, of which he was described as one of the pioneers. Some biographical details may be gleaned from his obituary in Il Giornale Italiano to mark his death in 1936:

“Brisbane 17 Feb. Last Friday [February 14], surrounded by his four beloved daughters and by other relatives, Mr Natale Fasone, one of the Italian pioneers of Brisbane, passed away. Mr Fasone, born in Scilla, Reggio Calabria, came to Australia thirty-five years ago and settled in Brisbane where, in a short time, he managed to achieve a respectable social position. Many Italians from North Queensland arriving in Brisbane looked to the late Mr Fasone for advice and help and always found him ready and willing to help them, often even financially. Mr Fasone, a Justice of the Peace, was loved and respected by many Brisbane residents. He is survived by his four daughters: Mrs Maria Polistina, Mrs Angelina Denaro

15 “Pensione Piemonte Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 25 May 1938, p. 7. 16 See “Ristorante Deambrosi Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 16 November 1938, p. 7. 17 See Duke of Norfolk List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p.361, QSA, Microfilm Z1968.


and Misses Luisa and Nancy. Our deepest sympathy goes to his four daughters, his brother Salvatore and other relatives.”18

The surnames of the two married daughters, Polistina and Denaro, unquestionably link the Fasone family to the history of the Italians of Breakfast Creek. Natale was a Justice of the Peace who also enjoyed a good reputation among Australians, who attended his funeral in large numbers according to the same obituary. He was a prominent person in the Italian community and a self-made man. He was active from the beginning in the Brisbane Fascio [branch of the Italian Fascist party, tr.] named in honour of Giuseppe Degol, of which he was one of the leading exponents. This is shown by his role of “official spokesman,” together with other distinguished persons, on the occasion of the dinner organised to celebrate the awarding of the title of Cavaliere [the equivalent of a knighthood, tr.] to Dr Giovanni Battaglia, another illustrious member of the same Fascio, on 19 August 1934.19 After his death and burial in the Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane, the memory of Natale Fasone remained alive among the members of the Italian community, especially among those who were involved in the work of Fascist propaganda:

“Following a decision recently taken by the Direction of the Fascio Giuseppe Degol of Brisbane, every year on the Sunday preceding or following All Souls, a group of Fascist representatives will go to place flowers on the graves of their late companions. In fact, on Sunday 7 November a deputation of Fascists went to say a prayer and place flowers at Toowong Cemetery on the graves of ex-Companions Natale Fasone, Pietro Grasso and Salvatore Zagami, while at the same time another group of Fascists went to Kedron Cemetery to

18 “La morte di un vecchio pioniere di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 February 1936, p. 6. 19 See “Da Brisbane. Un pranzo al Neo Cav. Dr. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 August 1934, p. 5.

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conduct the same mission at the graves of ex-Companions Francesco Calcino and Giovanni Tessero.”20

On 12 March 1906, Achille Simonelli arrived on board the ship S.S. Orontis, which had left London a few months earlier. Unfortunately, the documents consulted do not offer further information.21 In the same year, on 7 December, the ship R.M.S. Ompah, which had left the British capital on 29 October 1906, reached the port of Brisbane. Aboard was Amelia Truda, together with Gilda.22 As it is very unlikely that two women would set forth on the Australian adventure alone, one may suppose with all probability that their emigration was in some way linked with that of Giuseppe Truda, a music teacher who, as already reported, was naturalised in Brisbane in 1900. The migratory experience of the Truda family does not appear to have turned out too well; in a note signed by Mons. James Duhig, Archbishop of Brisbane, dated 16 March 1937, the sad case of Amelia, an elderly woman without means, was warmly recommended to the recipient of the missive, probably the Italian Consulate in Sydney:

“I know the Truda family, who have lived in Brisbane for many years. Mrs Amelia Truda is already old and I believe that in her old age she is lacking the means to live. In these circumstances the poor woman is in great need of money left to her by her relatives in Italy. I hope that the necessary permit to have this sum transferred to Australia will be issued by the proper authorities.”23

20 “Fascio ‘Giuseppe Degol’ – Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 November 1937, p. 7. 21 See S.S. Orontis List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p. 494, QSA, Microfilm Z1968. 22 See R.M.S. Ompah List of Immigrants, Imm. 128, p. 31, QSA, Microfilm Z1968. The document does not state the relationship between Amelia Truda and Gilda, nor their age. Considering the archivistic methodology noted in similar cases, one may suppose with all probability that they were mother (Amelia) and daughter (Gilda). 23 J. Duhig, Lettera ad anonimo del 16 marzo 1937 [minute], AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937.


Giovanni Grasso, a farm worker 22 years of age and his wife Giuseppina, 23, arrived in Brisbane on 9 October 1908. They had completed the crossing on the ship S.S. Orient.24 The sources consulted are somewhat lacking in information regarding the Grasso family, but it is noted that a Mr Grasso, resident in Brisbane and member of the Giuseppe Degol Fascio, appears among the signatories of a telegram sent to Mons. James Duhig on his birthday, 2 September 1930.25 In February the following year the ship Oroya brought another group of immigrants to the capital of Queensland. Among them are recorded two related family groups: Carolina Gatti, housewife of 26 years of age, arrived with her daughters Giovanna, 4 and Angela, 2 and Maria Gatti, housewife of 27 years who disembarked with her son Francesco, 3.26 In these two cases also, it is likely that family reunion was involved with husbands who had already emigrated to Australia (one of whom could have been the Angelo Gatti who arrived on the Jumna, and who would have been 38 years old in 1909). The documents consulted confirm the presence of various families called Gatti in the first thirty years of the 20th century.27 Still in 1909, in the month of September, Nunzia Denaro, who had embarked in Naples on the S.S. Osterley coming from London, arrived. Nunzia was 38 and was accompanied by her children Giuseppe of 16 years, Antonio 15, Carmelo 13, Maria 12 and Orazio of 8.28 As previously noted, a numerous Denaro family had been living in Breakfast Creek since the 1880s. It is likely that Nunzia was related to them (she could have been the wife of Filippo or Francesco, sons of Gregorio Denaro). On 1 May 1911 Francesco Cardillo, a labourer of 19, arrived in Brisbane

24 See S.S. Orient List of Immigrants, Imm.131, p. 22. QSA, Microfilm Z1167. 25 See G. Battaglia, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 2 September 1930, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1930. 26 See Oroya List of Immigrants, Imm. 131, p. 51, QSA, Microfilm Z1167. 27 See “Noterelle sociali di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 May 1935, p. 6 and “Un gruppo di Italiani in Casa Nostra a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 May 1935, p. 6. In the latter there is a group photo with the names Mrs Gatti, Miss Gianna Gatti, Miss Giuseppina Gatti and Mr Gatti among others. 28 See S.S. Osterley List of Immigrants, Imm. 128, p. 162, QSA, Microfilm Z1968.

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after yet another crossing by the S.S. Osterley, which had left the port of London on 17 March the same year.29 In 1913 Sebastiano Mazzaglia, a Sicilian fisherman, settled in the capital of Queensland. Born in Giarre, in the province of Catania, he had arrived in Sydney as a migrant in July of the same year and had soon decided to seek his fortune in the northern state. In the following years he had a fish shop in the suburb of East Brisbane, at 4 Merlington Parade, and in 1921 decided to bring out the rest of the family, having paid a bond of £30 directly to the Immigration Agent in Brisbane on 31 May. For both his wife Concetta, 33 years, and for his daughter Giuseppina (or Giuseppa) of 12 he put down £26 as deposit for the ticket. For his other two daughters, Tina (or Agata) of ten and Concettina (or Concetta) of five, he paid a reduced price, only £13 each. The sponsorship papers were approved on the following 16 June, but Sebastiano had to wait several months before his family could rejoin him, probably in the course of 1922. Among the documents conserved in the State Archives of Queensland, there are the medical certificates attesting to the good health of the three girls dated 4 January 1922.30 The arrival of his wife Concetta offered Sebastiano the opportunity to extend his commercial activities; the following years were marked, for the Mazzaglia family, by flourishing enterprise in the catering and hotel sectors which, in 1936, led to the opening of the Ristorante Catania in Spring Hill:

“At no. 118 Leichhardt St, Spring Hill, Brisbane, a new restaurant under the name of Ristorante Catania has opened. The manager is Mrs C. Mazzaglia, known and appreciated by all Italians after her long residence in this city for running other businesses of this kind. The service is impeccable and in truly Italian style, and at this restaurant you will find every comfort, bed and board, and be treated very well.”31

29 As above, p. 433. 30 See under “Mazzaglia Concetta,” Imm. 63, QSA, Microfilm Z4260. 31 “Nuovo ristorante a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 August 1936, p. 6.


2. The Italian community of Brisbane The 1901 census records a population of over 145,000 individuals in Brisbane,32 of whom only 82 declare they were born in Italy, 66 men and 16 women.33 In this case, too, it seems that the data do not do justice to the actual Italian presence in the capital of Queensland. Ten years later, the population of Brisbane had grown to 175,485 inhabitants,34 marking a total increase of about 20%. The number of Italians recorded in 1911 was 132, of whom 98 men and 34 women.35 For the latter, there had been a growth percentage which exceeded 60%. Considering the small number of new arrivals, one may suppose with all probability that such an increase was mainly caused by an influx of Italian immigrants coming from other areas of Queensland or from other Australian states. For the first decade of the new century, the documents consulted did not offer significant information regarding the little Italian community in the capital of Queensland. The consular reports published in the Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, while containing lots of information on the Italian groups resident in other cities and areas (especially North Queensland), hardly ever mention Brisbane. On the other hand, still according to the sources examined, Italians did not seem to interact very much with the political and social life of the city. Only in 1915 an “Italian” topic was brought up for discussion by the Brisbane City Council: the death of a distinguished immigrant, Fr Giuseppe Canali. On that solemn occasion (15 August 1915), the Mayor of Brisbane proposed sending a letter of condolences to the family and relatives of the popular priest. The proposal was approved by the Council.36 One has to wait until 1918 to find another mention of Italian affairs in the minutes of the City Council. Following the

32 See Bureau of Census and Statistics, Population Growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971, Brisbane 1973, p. 9. 33 See Census of Queensland, 1901, Government Printer, Brisbane 1902, p. 125. 34 See Bureau of Census and Statistics, Population growth within the Brisbane statistical division, 1856-1971, Brisbane 1973, p. 9. 35 See Census of the Commonwealth of Australia taken for the night between the 2nd and 3rd April 1911, Dept. of State for Home and Territories, Melbourne 1914-1917, vol. II, pp. 292-297. 36 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1915, Brisbane 1916, p. 76.

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death of two Italian workers caused by an unexpected flood at the Eclipse Colliery, Tivoli, a locality near Ipswich, sadly notorious for disasters caused by frequent floods, the Council decided to send a letter of condolences to the respective wives and children of the unfortunate immigrants.37 In 1921 a City Council ordinance required that the shop of Mr E.R. Sessarago, Ann St, be demolished. The owner sent a letter to the Council asking them to reconsider the decision. He also asked for authorisation to carry out the repairs that were considered necessary (probably in order to meet the norms established by law).38 It seems that the affair was protracted for several years and did not turn out to have a satisfactory conclusion for Mr Sessarago, who in 1926 appeared on the list of people requesting compensation from the City Council. On the same list, for unspecified reasons, the name of Mr E.B. Rosetta also appeared.39 In the first twenty years of the 20th century, the Italian community of Breakfast Creek continued to grow. In 1914, after an initial migratory experience in New Zealand, Antonio Faiella, born in Sorrento in 1889, settled there, and five years later married Giuseppina Castagnola, the daughter of Pasquale Castagnola and Rosa Denaro. Antonio and Giuseppina lived in Brisbane until 1932, the year in which they decided to move to Sydney.40 In 1920 the wedding was celebrated between Peppino Stanislao and Sebastiana Castagnola, the sister of Giuseppina.41

37 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1918, Brisbane 1919, p. 52. 38 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1921-1922, Brisbane 1923, p. 106. 39 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1926, Brisbane 1927, p. 466. 40 See C. Marletta (1994), p. 20. 41 See Presenza italiana in Australia (1995), p. 14.


CHAPTER FIVE

A Timid and Tormented Community (1922-1930)

We have the honour to have among us today the Archbishop of Brisbane. He is something more in our eyes than the Spiritual Head of the Diocese; with the nobility of a Knight of old, He has established himself as our champion, He has defended our rights when they seemed to him unjustly trampled upon. He has lavished the treasures of his paternal bounty on all our compatriots who remember his name and bless it. (Anonymous, Speech to the ‘Fascio di Brisbane,’ 1930) 1. Between suspicion and promotion On 25 March 1922 the cruiser Libia dropped anchor in the port of Brisbane. The Italian military ship was coming from Newcastle where it had taken on board the Consul General Antonio Grossardi for a special mission: to visit the agricultural communities of Queensland and verify the conditions of his compatriots resident there. From the report of the Captain of the vessel, Ernesto Turzigli, one learns that the diplomat stayed in the capital for three days before sailing on towards Townsville. Strangely, no information regarding the Brisbane community is recorded. It is, however, pointed out that the Italians of Queensland generally managed to amass a reasonable fortune and tended to return home with their savings after a few years. This could be the reason for the caution with which Australians regarded Italian immigration.1 In fact, as has already been explained, the reasons for such suspicion, easily discernable in different social contexts, are also to be sought in the great adaptability of the Italian settlers to the difficult working conditions, which often weakened the Trade Union negotiations of their local colleagues, and in a certain “racist” 1 See A. M. Arpino, “Le navi della Marina Militare Italiana nel Queensland: 1866-1957),” Presenza, (1994) 1, pp. 8-9.

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prejudice towards the southern regions of Italy, from which the greater part of migrants came at that time. Soon after the First World War the considerably declining demand for immigrants from Argentina and Brazil, on one hand, and the restrictions imposed on the Italian influx to the United States by the Quota Law of May 19, 1921 on the other, made emigration to Australia, and in particular to Queensland, more attractive.2 The official data present a notable increase in arrivals throughout the whole state after 1922; in little more than ten years, Italian presences rise from 1,800 to 8,300. The census of 1933 records 233 people born in Italy living in Brisbane.3 This is an increase of only 100 individuals compared with 1911, which is most improbable considering the overall growth verified for the region, above all in the third decade of 1900. The Australian government, perhaps worried about a possible Italian “invasion,” in 1924 stipulated a particular agreement with the Kingdom of Italy which foreshadowed a considerable reduction in the granting of passports for the Newest Continent. The following year, the authorities of Queensland, with an appropriate bill, prohibited the preparation of new land for the cultivation of sugar cane. Despite the fact that the bill caused a clear decrease in the offer of employment in North Queensland, the Italian presence on state territory kept growing.4 However, Australian policy, substantially open to European immigration, did not change. In those years, appropriate structures for the reception of immigrants arriving in the main ports of various states were set up. As far as Brisbane was concerned, in 1925 the office of the Immigration Agent, located in Main St, Kangaroo Point, was always ready to offer information about convenient lodgings in the capital. In the same office, Captain L. T. Maplestone, the representative of the New Settlers League, did all he could to help immigrants in all their needs. The different religious denominations were equally involved in guaranteeing a dignified welcome to the new

2 See W. D. Borrie, Italians and Germans in Australia, The Australian National University, Melbourne 1954, p. 79. 3 See E. Palmieri, “Italians in Queensland,” in Multicultural Queensland, ed. Maxmilian Brändle and Steve Karas, Brisbane 1988, p. 121. 4 See W. D. Borrie (1954), p. 70.


arrivals. In the case of Brisbane, the Catholic Church had delegated Fr T. Molony, administrator of the Cathedral, for this important office. This and other information was commonly distributed to emigrants before they left home by means of a pamphlet prepared for this purpose.5 Regarding the involvement of the Catholic Church in the migration process, the sources consulted emphasise a particular attitude of benevolence towards Italian immigration taken at this time by the Archbishop of Brisbane, Mons. James Duhig.6 After his formation by his predecessor, Mons. Quinn, it does not appear in the least out of place to argue that the aforementioned benevolence was essentially derived from a clear intention to increase, by means of Italian settlers, the number of Catholics in the territory of his Archdiocese. On the basis of abundant evidence uncovered in the Archdiocesan archives, it may be said that Mons. Duhig comes across as a genuine benefactor of the Italian community, always ready to stretch out a hand to the most needy. This special exercise of his “spiritual paternity” often seems to have begun even before the migrants’ departure. In this period, several Italians intending to emigrate to Oceania turned to him to secure some valid support. This is, for example, the case of Artiaco D’Alfonso, surgeon (obstetrics) from Pozzuoli, in the province of Naples, who wrote a long letter to the Archbishop of Brisbane in 1927:

“Wanting to emigrate to Australia, I began, some time ago, to look for friendships in that land, and had the fortune to meet a pious priest […]. It had been my desire to leave with him from Marseilles on the first of September, but he, while kindly giving me some valuable information, advised me to

5 See Commonwealth Immigration Office, Hints for New Settlers Coming to Australia, Melbourne 1925. 6 James Duhig was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1871. In 1885 he emigrated with his family to Brisbane. After completing his theological studies in Rome, he was ordained priest in 1896. He returned to Australia and exercised his priestly ministry for several years in the capital of Queensland. In 1905 he was appointed Bishop of Rockhampton. In 1912 he was recalled to Brisbane as Suffragan Bishop; five years later he took up the reins of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Duhig died in 1965. See http://www.library.uq.edu.au/about/duhig.html (visited 17 September 2004).

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have recourse to Your Excellency for direction, in order to have some orientation on my arrival. He advised me in the first place to choose the region of Queensland as being the one, for various reasons, which would be best for me, practising as I do the profession of Surgeon, and so he advised me to throw myself on your exquisite bounty, to obtain specific and valuable advice.”7

The priest in question was Fr Thomas Brady who had shortly before been ordained presbyter in the Collegio Pontificio of Propaganda Fide and was about to sail for Adelaide. Dr D’Alfonso’s letter poses a series of questions which sound more directed to an immigration agent than a bishop. They concern the migratory and professional prospects offered by Queensland, the process of obtaining Australian citizenship, the eventual work opportunities for a brother of his, another doctor, who wished to accompany him, whether it was advisable to marry before emigrating, the recognition of university degrees and, finally, climactic differences.8 In the footsteps of his distinguished predecessor, Mons. James Duhig also seemed interested in the application of more comprehensive immigration schemes, especially for the northern part of his Diocese. According to the Archbishop, Italian farm workers must be considered among the most suitable elements for this new adventure of colonisation, thanks to their propensity for hard work and their great capacity for understanding agricultural problems and finding the most opportune solutions.9 The fame of the good Australian Bishop who helped Italian emigrants even reached as far as the African colonies. Thus, in 1929, the twenty-seven year old Alessandro Pilati from Trento in northern Italy, employed by the Catholic Mission of Mogadiscio, Somalia, did not disdain to have recourse to Mons. Duhig before attempting a

7 A. D’Alfonso, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 April 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927. 8 As above. 9 See J. Duhig, Letter to J. Birch of 19 May 1928 [minute], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929.


second migratory experience, which he hoped would work out better than the first:

“This is the motive which drives me to turn to Your Most Illustrious Excellency: I would like to have some sort of occupation in those distant lands, both for the urgent need to earn some money to pay off the debts left by my relatives, and to find a little peace and spiritual tranquillity of which my heart, brought low by adversity, has need. […]. Please be kind enough to reply to this pitiful message telling me if I may hope to obtain a post in that place, introducing me or recommending me to some company or person that you know.”10

Despite having a teachers’ certificate and a past as a telegraph operator and typography instructor, Mr Pilati declared himself ready to do any kind of work (even domestic), as long as it was reasonably paid.11 In this unpredictable swing between suspicion and promotion, in 1925 the afore-mentioned “Ferry Commission” presented its report. The study was essentially concentrated on the sector of the cultivation and harvesting of sugar cane in the north, a sector that in this period absorbed the great majority of the Italian migratory influx. The results of the government investigation substantially contradicted all the accusations that were generally made against Italian immigrants. Rather, certain quite common discriminatory practices detrimental to canecutters from Italy were identified and reported. Despite this, public opinion continued to express serious reservations about the benefit of Italian immigration. Often the newspapers in the Queensland capital delighted in painting Italians, with mocking irony, as “ugly, dirty and bad,” people who were threatening to steal jobs and livelihood from the local workers. The question became one of the principle topics of conversation as much in the citizens’ parlours as in the halls of Parliament. From the sources consulted, the Italian 10 A. Pilati, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 October 1929, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929. 11 As above.

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community of Brisbane did not seem to take an active part in the discussion the way it had (with some success) in the preceding century. The whole affair escalated to the point of reaching the extremes of paradox, as a correspondent of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera showed when he visited Brisbane in 1925:

“Good companions! Our blood dirties, fouls, adulterates their Australian blood. ‘Pollute, polluted’ is the most concise and brutal expression of this concept. […] And it is because of […] this infinitesimal percentage of Italians, decent people, model workers, who come to offer two strong arms and a willing heart, that commissions are formed, conferences are concerned, newspapers are blustering, so that here in Australia […] the doors be shut with bad words in the face of the ally of yesterday, the friend of today, the third greatest European power, Italy, as if against a kind of second ‘yellow peril,’ the ‘olive peril.’”12

As the months passed by, the tension did not give signs of diminishing; rather, the increase in unemployment and the general discontent because of the restrictions imposed by the Queensland government on the cultivation of sugar cane contributed to worsen the conflict. If on one hand the timid Italian community of Brisbane did not seem to react to the provocations, on the other, Mons. Duhig, taking advantage of his position of a certain prestige, took a clear stand in favour of the immigrants, using every occasion to reinforce the benefit of the Italian workforce, as in the case of the laying of the foundation stone of the new church in New Farm in 1927. It has unfortunately not been possible to find the original text of that speech, but the words of thanks written by the Italian Consul in Brisbane a few days afterwards are extremely eloquent. The original text reads:

“I have read with the greatest interest the statements made by you on Sunday 5th inst. on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of a new church in New Farm, and I gladly

12 “Italiani del Queensland. Il Pericolo Oliva,” Corriera della Sera, 10 July 1925, p. 1.


take this opportunity to express to you, as official representative of the Royal Italian Government in Queensland, my deep appreciation of the lead towards a better understanding between people of different nationality wich [sic] Your Grace has never ceased to give to public opinion in this country.”13

The stated benevolence of Mons. Duhig was not limited to the Italian community resident in his Archdiocese but extended to the whole of Australia and even beyond the national borders. The Archbishop of Brisbane, in fact, did not make any secret of his substantial sympathy towards the Fascist government of Mussolini, even before the Lateran Pacts of 1929. In December 1928 Mons. Duhig did not hesitate to reply to an editorial in the Beaudesert Times of the preceding 23 November which, citing sources in Italy, accused the Duce of anticlericalism. In a lengthy letter, of which a copy is conserved in the Archdiocesan archives of Brisbane, the prelate comes to the defence of Mussolini. The original text reads:

“Mussolini has certainly restored religion to the schools, but he has restored much more than the Lord’s Prayer. He has declared publicly that the religion of Italy is Catholic and that Catholicism and nothing else is its national creed.”14

The benevolent attitude of Mons. Duhig with regard to the Italian collective was often able to translate itself into concrete manifestations of solidarity and support, not rarely coordinated together with the consular representative of the Kingdom of Italy for Queensland, whose consulate was stable in Brisbane at least until the end of 1928. It was generally to do with situations of particular need brought to the attention of either the Archbishop or the diplomat. Many of these concerned Italian immigrants living in Brisbane with their families, as in the case of Francesco Montesu, whom the Consul,

13 G. San Marzano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 June 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927. 14 J. Duhig, Letter to the editor of the Beaudesert Times of 5 December 1928, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929.

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Count of San Marzano, referred with confidence to the Archbishop, after furnishing him with an appropriate letter of recommendation. The original text reads:

I hope you will excuse me for taking the liberty of introducing to you the bearer, Francesco Montesu, stone-worker by trade, who has been unemployed for some considerable time, and he has a wife and two small children to support. I hope Your Grace will be able to assist this man, whom I think worthy of consideration…”15

Moved by compassion, the Archbishop had Mr Montesu taken on as a labourer in the building site of the new cathedral. Unfortunately it was only a temporary job as the construction work had to be suspended a short time later for lack of funds.16 In the light of the documents consulted, between Mons. Duhig and the Italian consul of Brisbane there seemed to be a level of friendship, or at least a courtesy that went beyond mere formality. Among other things, this is evident from a fine group photo published by the city newspaper, The Brisbane Courier, on 14 September 1927, which shows the Count of San Marzano waving goodbye at the railway station to the Archbishop leaving for Rome. Posing in the same photograph with the two personages were Mr Giovanni Battaglia, Mr Giovanni Tessero, the Consul’s secretary Mr Burla, and other priests of the archdiocese.17 At the beginning of 1928, Mons. Duhig was back in his See and always ready to help Italian immigrants. His relationship with Consul San Marzano continued to be characterised, in this sense, by a fruitful collaboration. In March 1928 the diplomat, after a personal discussion, sent a letter of recommendation on behalf of Pietro Cossu,

15 G. San Marzano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 5 May 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927. 16 See F. Montesu, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 June 1933, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933. 17 See the photograph published in The Brisbane Courier, 14 September 1927, with the caption: “Archbishop Duhig’s arrival at the Central Railway Station yesterday morning en route to Rome,”


an Italian workman who, after a migratory experience in another part of Australia, was trying to settle in Brisbane. The original text reads:

“Following upon our conversation of yesterday, I take the liberty to introduce to you an Italian worker, Pietro Cossu, whom I understand to have good experience of drill-work and such like, having been a miner both in Italy and in this country. Hoping he may be of some use to you…”18

Some cases are more complicated, like that of Germano Caneva, an Italian immigrant with psychiatric problems. Due to the sudden decline in his condition, he had to be admitted to the Goodna Mental Hospital, where he stayed for several months. A priest in Italy, Don Cipriano Fiorentini, took an interest in the case and sent two letters requesting information, one addressed to the Archbishop and the other to the Consul. On 24 March 1928, Mons. Duhig asked for the intervention of the consular representative, who made it his business to inform the prelate immediately that the ill-fated immigrant had already been repatriated and assured him he had already taken care to inform Don Fiorentini by letter. The original text reads:

“I beg to inform you that Germano Caneva, having been a patient at Goodna Mental Hospital for some months, was repatriated under the existing Federal laws by S/S ‘Regina d’Italia’ on 18th February last. Having myself received a letter from the above-mentioned Reverend Father [Fr Cipriano Fiorentini], I wrote to him giving the required information on the 21st February last, so that I hope by now Caneva’s relations shall have been informed of the approaching arrival of this Mental patient.”19

The fruitful collaboration between Mons. Duhig and the Royal diplomat continued even after the transfer of Consul San Marzano to

18 G. San Marzano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 14 March 1928, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929. 19 G. San Marzano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 24 March 1928, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929.

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Townsville. Relying on the prestige of the high prelate, the Consul in May 1929 asked for his help in order to secure the appointment of a “philo-Italian” official, J.A. Murray, to the position of magistrate in Cairns or Innisfail.20 Although it was not made explicit in the request, this appointment must have generated a less tense atmosphere in the far north of the state, where the conflict between Australian-born workers and Italian immigrants was still strong. The depression caused by the economic crisis of 1929 notably slowed down the migratory influx in the years immediately following, and with this the protests against Italian settlers also weakened.

20 See G. San Marzano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 10 May 1929, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929.


2. A much diversified Italian community The varied composition of the Italian community of Brisbane in the third decade of 1900 could perhaps be the key to reading why it was apparently “extraneous” to the discussions about the benefits of Italian immigration. Although more numerous, the Italians resident in the Queensland capital did not seem able to “form a group” round a common cause. Among them there were already some who had begun flourishing enterprises, often in collaboration with local businessmen. That was the case of V. A. Bosio, founder and general administrator of the Contractor’s Cooperative, a construction company started in 1925, under the auspices of Mons. Duhig, probably to initiate work on the new Catholic cathedral of Brisbane, Holy Name Cathedral, a dream which unfortunately never became reality:

“I have the pleasure to inform you that yesterday, 29 June, I have officially constituted the ‘Contractor’s Cooperative’ which at present consists of 18 members and furthermore I have been elected General Manager. I can assure you therefore that everyone is inspired by the best intentions to fulfil well and with the greatest loyalty the duty assigned to him in the common interest. I also assure you that we are very glad to begin our work under the happy auspices of Your Grace and it is with faith and gratitude towards the labour of Christian brotherhood and love of Italy accomplished by Y.G. that we solemnly undertake the obligation of meriting the trust placed in us.”21

In the same year in Brisbane a company with a clearly Italian name, the Amico Ltd., asked the City Council for permission to carry out a publicity campaign by launching balloons. For reasons not clearly specified in the sources consulted, authorisation was refused.22 Neither did the proprietor of T. B. Costa’s Cigar Store, in Queen St,

21 V. A. Bosio [the given name is difficult to read], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 30 June 1925, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927. 22 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceeding 1925, Brisbane 1926, p. 307.

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have better luck in 1927 in his request for permission to put up a billboard.23 By now elderly and retired, Giovanni Tessero was the “doyen” of the Italian community in those years. Born in 1844, after a past as a Garibaldino [fighter in the liberation army led by Garibaldi, tr.] and itinerant theatrical impresario, he had turned up in Australia in 1888. In the 1920s he had decided to settle definitively in the Queensland capital.24 The sources consulted do not contain information about any business activity undertaken by Tessero in Brisbane, but his friendships and the social circles he frequented give a glimpse of a somewhat prosperous lifestyle. One may, therefore, suppose with all likelihood that the ex-Garibaldino was enjoying the fruits of his savings. His, in any case, was an outstanding presence for the little local Italian community. Immigrants turned to him in search of help and special favours, as in the case of Mr Musico, whom Tessero warmly recommended to the Archbishop:

“I hope you will pardon my boldness, in sending you these few words, but, knowing from experience that Y.G. is always kind and ready to do good, I take the liberty of recommending the bearer Mr Musico, in order to grant his humble plea. The said Mr Musico, an honest, hard-working man and a good Catholic, will explain to Y.G. the favour he wishes to ask of you.”25

From the documents, Tessero’s relationship with Mons. Duhig seems always to have been cordial and affectionate; in the famous farewell at Central Station on 13 September 1927, he is pictured standing obsequiously on the Archbishop’s left.26 The ex-Garibaldino was also the first to sign the telegram of best wishes that the Italian Catholics of the Fascio di Brisbane sent to Mons. Duhig on the

23 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceeding 1927, Brisbane 1928, p. 497. 24 See D. Dignan, Queensland’s Italians, unpublished manuscript, p. 24. 25 G. Tessero, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 4 July 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927. 26 See footnote 17.


occasion of his 59th birthday on 2 September 1930.27 Giovanni Tessero died in Brisbane in August 1931 and Mons. Duhig, unable to conduct the funeral, took the trouble to write a moving letter of condolences to his widow:

“I wish to extend to You and Your family my most heartfelt sympathy for the loss of Your beloved Husband and father. Only on the morning of the funeral was I advised of the death of Mr Tessero, without having heard that he was ill. Because of an engagement which I could not postpone it was not possible for me to attend his funeral at the Church of Our Lady of Victories. My sorrow at the death of the dear “Patriarch” of our “Italic” gatherings, and especially on board Italian ships, is most acute. I cannot imagine not seeing him moving around any more in our midst.”28

Captain Luigi Cervetto, another notable person of the Brisbane community, would also be recognised a “doyen.” Having settled in Brisbane with his wife Rosa in the 20s, Mr Cervetto managed a flourishing fish business, the Cervetto and Company Ltd. (Wholesale Fish, Poultry and Oyster Merchants), at 154 Stanley St, South Brisbane. The company was also engaged in the import-export of olive oil and fish and the wholesale supply of articles of stationery and various provisions for hotels, clubs, hospitals, and ships visiting the port of Brisbane.29 Grateful to Mons. Duhig for the benevolence shown to the Italian community, in September 1927 the generous captain unhesitatingly donated £50 in response to the Archbishop’s appeal on behalf of the fund for the construction of the new cathedral.30 An example of Italian enterprise, Luigi Cervetto decided in 1928 to extend his commercial activity into show business. He 27 See G. Battaglia, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 2 September 1930, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1930. 28 J. Duhig, Letter to Mrs Tessero of 19 August 1931, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. 29 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p.24 and L. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 February 1933, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933. 30 See L. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 September 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927.

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started by asking the Brisbane City Council for a licence to project films, which was promptly granted.31 The following year he decided to open a cinema in Stanley St and obtained the relative authorisation.32 The relationship between Captain Cervetto and the Archbishop friend of Italians was one of cordiality and collaboration, often manifest in the exchange of favours great and small, even personal, as in the case of a request for intervention by the prelate in order to obtain the release of a shop assistant arrested by the police on 12 February 1933. The original text reads:

“My lad, Jack Cichero, was sent this morning in a hurry, from South Brisbane station, to my home to get a flask of filted [sic] water, for medical purposes, for Mrs L. Cervetto, and in the execution of such duty was caught in the Traffic Trap, in Stanley Street. If you could possibly get him off, by a recommendation, or otherwise, I would be grateful, but please do not go out mutch [sic] for it.”33

In 1933 Cervetto and Company Ltd moved to no. 625 of the same street. Because of health problems, Captain Cervetto had to be admitted to the city hospital for a while. The kind attention bestowed on him by the Archbishop on that occasion was worthy of a letter of thanks and a present from the Italian businessman as soon as he was discharged:

“I came out of hospital a little weak, but in reasonable health: many thanks for the trouble you took for me. I’m sending you a little gift which I pray you will accept…”34

31 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceeding 1928, Brisbane 1929, p. 695. 32 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceeding 1929, Brisbane 1930, pp. 82 and 141. 33 L. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 February 1933, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933. 34 L. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 October 1933, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933.


In August of the following year, Luigi Cervetto, in consideration of his status as ‘doyen’ of the Brisbane Italians, was entrusted with making the opening speech at the dinner given for Giovanni Battaglia, newly-elected Cavaliere, which has already been mentioned.35 For the whole decade of the 30s, Captain Cervetto kept on working hard for the Brisbane Italian community, occupying positions of importance and committing himself, together with his family, to many benevolent and charitable activities. His friendship with Archbishop Duhig, solid in earlier years, seems to have declined at the beginning of 1939, because of the delayed restitution of certain loans made to the prelate by the Cervetto couple, for questions regarding the Archdiocese. The affair finished in the hands of lawyers, W.J. Kennedy, McCormack & Company, who, on behalf of the Cervettos, accepted the commission of obtaining the return of the whole amount plus interest.36 Luigi Cervetto died, after a sudden indisposition, on Friday 13 October 1939. Il Giornale Italiano granted him a short paragraph as an obituary:

“Last Friday, struck by a sudden indisposition, Mr Luigi Cervetto passed away. Known throughout the Italian Community for his good heartedness and his honesty, he was one of the prominent figures of local commerce. With Mr Cervetto there departs the doyen of the Italian Community of Brisbane. The funeral, which took place on Saturday, leaving St Stephen’s Cathedral for South Brisbane Cemetery, was a real demonstration of the esteem accorded the deceased and the grief that is felt by all at his passing. Associations and private members of the Government, Education, Commerce and very many Italians accompanied the body to its last resting place.”37

35 “Da Brisbane. Un pranzo al Neo Cav. Dr Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 August 1934, p. 5. 36 See W. J. Kennedy, McCormack & Co., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 June 1939 and W. J. Kennedy, McCormack & Co., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 5 September 1939, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1939. 37 “Decesso del Sig. Luigi Cervetto,” Il Giornale Italiano, 18 October 1939, p. 7.

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The Italian community of Brisbane did not only consist of entrepreneurs and businessmen. Many Italians occupied more lowly social positions, but still characterised by a certain stability, as in the case of the families of Breakfast Creek, to whom reference has already been made. There were many new arrivals in this period, mostly immigrants who, often after other mainly negative migratory experiences, decided to try their luck in the Queensland capital. In case of necessity, appeal to the Italian consulate was frequent, as has been already noted. Even more frequent was an appeal to the Archbishop of Brisbane, who did his best to help everyone within the limits of possibility. The most common request was that relative to a letter of recommendation to find work in the city, as in the case of Ferdinando Baggi and Vincenzo Muratore, two carpenters in difficulty in a Brisbane tormented by strikes (the following language and punctuation reflect the original text):

“I have been here in Brisbane for two months at the beginning of the strike I and a companion who is with me we have not been able to work because of this (because we are carpenters) now the strike is over and we have asked in all the new buildings if there was work for us, nothing; we are not known and this is the worse. We are fathers of families, and so you can imagine that not working, we can’t support our children. A grace we ask of you if you could make us a recommendation, so that we can find work. Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock we will come to hear your reply.”38

In some cases Mons. Duhig himself offered work to unemployed Italians, usually in the shape of temporary jobs meant to help the ill-fated ones to get out of an emergency, pay for lodgings or have a bite to eat. Sometimes such benevolence caused a few problems for the Archbishop with the beneficiaries, who were not always satisfied with the treatment received. That was the case with Stefano Puliserpi and Urbano Gallo, two contadini [farm workers] taken on by Mons. Duhig on 20 April 1927 to do some digging and bush clearance on a hill in 38 F. Baggi, V. Muratore, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 23 March 1927, AAB Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927.


St Lucia, a Brisbane suburb. The work lasted longer than expected for two main reasons: on one hand, the two Italians decided to adopt more complex techniques, on the other, an accident suffered by Mr Puliserpi considerably slowed things down. The letter that Puliserpi and Gallo sent to the Archbishop at the end of their service, while not lacking in courtesy and respect, lists some complaints on the part of the two contadini:

“Now that the work is finished we have the honour to inform you that the recompense afforded us at various intervals for eight weeks of work […] £22 in total for both of us was not sufficient to cover even the expenses of necessary food and the debts owing for our lodgings, and we have not got any money left. We commend ourselves to the bounty of Your Grace that you may wish to examine our case and consider the work we have done and that we have carried out with genuine interest and will to satisfy your desires, sure that this would then be recognised and appreciated. We ask that we be given only what is necessary to be able to pay for the expenses of bed and board for the whole of this period of time.”39

The magnanimity of Mons. Duhig towards Italian immigrants was so well-known that even Australians passing through Brisbane knew they could direct the most needy into the care of the Archbishop. In October 1928, Mr C. A. Stephen visited Brisbane and stayed in the Grand Hotel. One day, walking around the city, he chanced to meet Vittorio Bracale, an ex-sailor who had arrived in Freemantle on 15 January 1925 on the ship Caprera. Having decided to try his luck in Australia, Mr Bracale had wandered around a bit and now he found himself alone and at a loss in Brisbane. Thanks to his knowledge of the Italian language, Mr Stephen managed to dialogue with the ex-sailor and, realising the difficult situation the unfortunate man was in, decided to help him. He did this generously for several days, but when the moment of his departure arrived, the magnanimous traveller, who 39 S. Pulisperi, U. Gallo, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 June 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927.

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wanted to give continuity to his charitable work, saw himself obliged to turn to the local scene. Confident of the fame of philanthropist of Mons. Duhig, Mr Stephen sent the poor immigrant to the Archbishop’s home with a letter of recommendation to the prelate. The original text reads:

“The bearer of this letter is Vittorio Bracale, who until recently was a member of the crew of the “Caprina” [sic]. He left his ship here and is now stranded in Brisbane without friends, money, or knowledge of the English language. I have been doing all I can to help him in the way of food and sleeping quarters, but I will be leaving Brisbane on Sunday next, and I don’t know what will happen to him then. It has been suggested that he should call on you in the hope that you could put him in the right track.”40

Even if in many cases Italians turned to the Archbishop for some kind of material assistance, it seems that for the majority of them the most valuable aid was a short note of recommendation to help them gain employment. At the beginning of 1930, Mr A. De Mattia was an unemployed Italian lodging with the McGrory family at no. 9 Russell St, South Brisbane. He applied to the Archbishop and had a series of personal conversations with Mons. Duhig who seems always to have found time to listen to migrants down on their luck. When, in the end, he was granted monetary aid by the curia, fearing he had been misunderstood he made haste to write a clarifying letter to the Archbishop:

I had the pleasure and the honour to be received several times in regard to the work I am looking for (I am the Italian that Y.G. helped financially) and I do not want to be a nuisance with continual calls. What I was wanting, and may not have been able to explain clearly enough, was a few lines of introduction and recommendation, regarding any kind of job, to any person Y. G. may happen to know. I am grateful for

40 C. A. Stephen, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 4 October 1928, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929.


the concern you have shown me and I will not fail in my duty to return the money granted me as soon as I am given the possibility of working.”41

From the sources consulted it becomes clear that having recourse to the benevolence of Mons. Duhig was not the prerogative of poor contadini or unemployed manual workers. Among the petitioners there were also some Italians who, despite having an excellent education or profession, aspired to a particular position, the obtaining of which could be made much easier by the support of the high-ranking prelate. That is the case of one Italian immigrant whose name is illegible on the original text. In May 1928, with an ease of expression which allows one to suppose a certain familiarity with the Archbishop, he submitted his request to be appointed interpreter at the Brisbane Post Office and asked the prelate to accompany it with a note of recommendation by him. The enterprising author also enclosed a translation (not conserved in the archive) which, to judge by the words of the anonymous author, seems to have been commissioned by the prelate himself:

“I am honoured to submit to your most valuable approval the enclosed instance formulated by me by which to obtain a position of Interpreter at the Post Office of this City. Your most worthy support, Monsignore, influencing the distinguished personage of the General Director of the above-mentioned Hon. Institution will, I am sure, greatly facilitate the acceptance of my application. I further enclose, Monsignore, a copy of my translation of yesterday evening which I judge to be a little more correct.”42

Towards the end of 1930 Dr P. Milazzo, who was staying at the house of Giovanni Battaglia at no. 89 Brunswick St, was extremely interested in obtaining a position as an internal medical officer at the

41 See A. De Mattia, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 15 January 1930, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1930. 42 Anonymous [name illegible], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 9 May 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927.

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Mater Misericordiae Hospital of Brisbane, built in 1906 for the work of the Sisters of Mercy. Through the mediation of his host, he managed to obtain the support of the Archbishop in the affair and decided, then, to make his suit personally by means of a letter. The original uncorrected text reads:

“I need that position indeed not for the salary, but for the knowledge of the English methods. Your Grace realizes the feeling of a stranger in a stranger land with a good education and a professional standard without a kind of support. Being born and bred in a Catholic family (my brother is arch-priest in my home town) I do think that there will not be many difficulties in accepting my application with favourable consideration. […] I hope your kind intercession and recommendation will be fruitful and as an Italian never forgets I will remember always of your help.”43

The testimonials of the magnanimity of Mons. Duhig towards Italians in this period was not limited to the city itself. The documentary sources show how the benevolent action of the prelate extended abundantly throughout the Archdiocese and even beyond its borders. Expressions of gratitude arrived constantly from all sides and were sometimes sent even by those who had not benefited directly from the Archbishop’s charity. This was the case of Anselmo Forni who, at Christmas 1928, felt it his duty to express to Mons. Duhig his admiration for his valued work of assistance:

“It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself to your most Reverend Excellency on the occasion of the Holy Feast of Christmas with the joyous and sincere wish for every felicity. The great good that Y. G. does for all without distinction, and with special patience for the poor Italians, renders Your precious existence deserving of every prosperity.”44

43 P. Milazzo, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 1 December 1930, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1930. 44 A. Forni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 December 1928, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929.


The lack of cohesion of the little Italian community of Brisbane already discussed is further confirmed by the very scarce presence of national associations, both on the level of solidarity (mutual aid societies or similar) and on the recreational level (social clubs, sports clubs or regional associations) which proliferated elsewhere in Australia in the same period. The heading of a letter dated 30 June 1925 confirms the existence of a local branch of the Italo-Australian Association whose offices were in the Maritime Building of Brisbane.45 The Italo-Australian Association was founded in 1924 by Mons. Ernesto Coppo, a Salesian priest and Bishop of Kimberley, Western Australia. An article which appeared in the Bollettino del R. Ministero degli Affari Esteri [Bulletin of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs] of 1928 provides interesting information on the nature and scope of the Association:

“The Association was founded in Australia three years ago by the Salesian Mons. Coppo, Bishop of Kimberly, and in Sydney was supported by the most noted civil and religious personages, such as His Excellency Mons. Cattaneo, Apostolic Delegate; H. E. Mons. Kelly, Archbishop of Sydney; Hon. C. E. Lazzarini M. L. A., the Chief Secretary; Hon. E. A. McTiernan, M. L. A., the Attorney General; Hon. P. F. Longblin, M. L. A., the Minister of Lands; the late Comm. Dr O. Fiaschi; the Editor-in Chief of the Catholic Press; the President of the Catholic Association for aid to emigrants and many others. At the present, the presidency is held by Captain Lubrano, who was also the first president. He recently convened the Executive Committee to trace, on a new basis, a directive able to promote effective practical action, as in its time of greatest efficiency in which, among other things, the unemployed found work and emigrants willing to learn languages had a free school run by Rev. Fr Breen and attended by about fifteen members.”46

45 See V. A. Bosio, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 30 June 1925, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927. 46 “Australia,” Bulletin of the R. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, VI (1928) 3, p. 250.

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Despite its clearly religious mould, it seems that the activities of the Italo-Australian Association were usually run by lay people. The link with the missionaries of Don Bosco is, however, indisputable. After an initial period of missionary activity in the far-off territories of the north-west of Australia, they were invited by the archbishops of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to take care of Italian immigrants in the respective archdioceses.47 It is in this context that, according to the sources consulted, the arrival of the Italo-Australian Association in the Queensland capital on 3 May 1923 under the auspices of Mons. Coppo and Mons. Duhig may be interpreted. The following people were recorded as being its honorary presidents: the two prelates, the Apostolic Delegate Mons. B. Cattaneo, the Prime Minister W.N. Gillies, the Secretary for Public Lands W. McCormack, the Honorary Consul for Italy A.H. Whittingham, and the Italian Consul General A. Grossardi. On 3 June 1925 Mons. Coppo himself came to Brisbane to preach a mission among the Italian immigrants, going on then to Ingham, Innisfail, Halifax and other places in North Queensland.48 In the following years, Mons. Duhig and Mons. Coppo proposed founding an agricultural college, directly involving the Italian settlers.49 In August 1927 Fr Emmanuele Manassero, the retiring inspector of the Salesian province of the United States, arrived in Brisbane.50 His aim was to look into the possibility of a stable Salesian presence which would take care of the project which, for reasons not specified in the documents consulted, never took off. In 1928 Fr. Manassero went back to Italy. Starting from 1930 the documents record the presence of a Fascio in Brisbane, a foreign branch of the well-known Fascist organisation of Italy. The sources consulted do not provide more detailed information about its foundation, but it does not seem, at least at the beginning, to have carried out regular activities or to boast of a large

47 See P. Bosi (1989), p. 126. 48 See T. P. Boland, James Duhig, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1986, pp. 220-221. 49 See T. P. Boland (1986) p. 199. 50 See B. Cattaneo, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 3 August 1927, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927.


number of camerati [companions]. The first document is the aforementioned telegram of best wishes that the Catholics of the Fascio di Brisbane sent to Mons. Duhig for his birthday. As well as the name of Tessero, there are twelve others: Mangione, Grasso, Zagami, Garrasi, Donato, Battaglia, Calcino, Fontanella, Riggi, Castellano, Gattino and Leotta.51 The sources consulted contain little information about Mr Giuseppe Mangione even if his name is always linked to the most important events of the Italian community of Brisbane. In 1934 he gave a speech at the aforementioned dinner for the awarding of an Italian knighthood to Giovanni Battaglia.52 In 1937 with his wife, Giuseppina,53 he attended a Mass organised by the Italian community to honour the memory of Guglielmo Marconi.54 In April 1938 Mr Mangione was appointed treasurer of the Dante Alighieri Society of Brisbane.55 The information regarding Mr Pietro Grasso is even more scarce. He must have died shortly after this time, because in November 1937 his grave was the object of a sympathetic visit on the part of the companions of the Brisbane Fascio.56 Unquestionably more detailed is the biographical information relating to Salvatore Zagami, a flourishing businessman in the Queensland capital:

“[…] Mr Salvatore Zagami of Brisbane, an ex bold Italian sailor, born in the island of Lipari, who, with the courage, initiative and perseverance of a self-taught man, managed to

51 See G. Battaglia, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 2 September 1930, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1930. 52 See “Da Brisbane. Un pranzo al Neo Cav. Dr. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 August 1934, p. 5. 53 See “Plebiscito d’amore e di fede,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 February 1936, p. 6. 54 See “Messa solenne di suffragio celebrata a Brisbane per il Marchese Marconi,” AAB, Box Italians II, undated Folder. 55 See “Società Dante Alighieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 6 April 1938, p. 6. 56 See “Fascio ‘Giuseppe Degol’ – Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 November 1937, p. 7.

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establish himself as a shrewd and fortunate Italian businessman in Brisbane.”57

Mr Salvatore Zagami was an active member of the Fascio di Brisbane, always present at its most important functions. In 1952 he was pictured by Il Giornale Italiano while, as a good propagandist, he was distributing red, white and green cockades to all the Italians who had come on the trip organised by the Fascio di Brisbane to mark the “Giornata dell’Italiano” [Italians’ Day].58 Salvatore’s son, Umberto Zagami, after completing his High School studies, was accepted with honours into the University in Brisbane and, because of his ability and excellence, deserved a special mention in Il Giornale Italiano of 3 June 1933.59 Salvatore Zagami was not present at the dinner in honour of the conferring of the title Cavaliere on Dr Battaglia in August 1934, because he had been in hospital for several weeks.60 The date of Salvatore Zagami’s death is not reported in the documents, but it must have occurred before December 1936.61 He was buried in Toowong Cemetery.62 Rosario V. Garrasi, married to Virginia63, was an Italian living at 219 Brunswick St, Brisbane (at least he was in December 1936). The documents consulted contain very few facts about him directly, generally linked to his participation in the principal Fascist events in the thirties. His son, on the other hand, Giuseppe Garrasi, got into the news; thanks to his most laudable success in his studies he became another example of triumphant Italianness promoted by Il Giornale Italiano: 57 Il Girovago, “Da Brisbane. Un brillante scoraro [sic] italo-australiano. Umberto Zagami,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 June 1933, p. 4. 58 See “Da Brisbane. Il decennale commemorato dal Fascio di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 31 December 1932, p. 10. 59 See Il Girovago, “Da Brisbane. Un brillante scoraro [sic] italo-australiano. Umberto Zagami,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 June 1933, p. 4. 60 See “Da Brisbane. Un pranzo al Neo Cav. Dr. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 August 1934, p. 5. 61 Salvatore Zagami’s wife is referred to as a widow in “Plebescito d’amore e di fede;” see footnote 53. 62 See “Fascio ‘Giuseppe Degol’ – Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 November 1937, p. 7. 63 See “Plebiscito d’amore e di fede,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 February 1936, p. 6.


“Giuseppe Garrasi […] came out absolute first in the final exams at the State School in Leichhardt Street, which, as is well-known, is the most important in Brisbane. Young Garrasi, an Italian, managed to beat all his fellow students in every subject, including English, and that is no mean feat. In his farewell speech to the pupils, the Principal of the School expounded on what we have just mentioned and pointed out young Garrasi to the whole School because of his success.”64

The signatory of the telegram of congratulations to Mons. Duhig could have been either Nunzio Donato or A. (not further specified) Donato, both resident in Brisbane and well-known in the Italian community. Some degree of family relationship is likely between the pair: perhaps father and son, or brothers. Nunzio was considered one of the pioneers of the Italian community of Brisbane,65 “… Known to the whole community as an honest and upright worker, a good friend to all and an excellent Italian.”66 On 25 April 1938, his daughter, Concetta Donato, married Antonio Di Betta, a well-regarded contractor for construction works. The wedding was celebrated by Mons. Duhig in the diocesan Cathedral.67 Even if apparently of minor importance, the presence of Mr A. Donato was recorded on various official occasions. Mr Francesco Calcino was another of the notables. He passed away before 1937 and was buried at Kedron Cemetery.68 In the documents consulted there do not appear to have been any facts further to the previous mention of Mr Fontanella, a Mr Riggi and a Mr Leotta.69 There are, on the other hand, numerous indications

64 “Giovane Italiano che si fa Onore,” Il Giornale Italiano, 23 December 1936, p. 6. 65 See “Da Brisbane. Un pranzo al Neo Cav. Dr. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 August 1934, p. 5. 66 See “Nozze Donato – Di Betta,” Il Giornale Italiano, 27 April 1938, p. 7. 67 As above. 68 See “Fascio ‘Giuseppe Degol’ – Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 November 1937, p. 7. 69 Mr Leotta was the husband of Palma Leotta who lived at 206 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. There is a tender letter (undated) from her to her mother in the Archdiocesan Archives; see P. Leotta, Lettera alla madre, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1 (undated).

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regarding the Turin businessman Carlo Alberto Gattino, a very popular figure in the Brisbane of the thirties. A capable and enterprising Italian, in a short time he managed to take over the running of the wine company Buchanas Ltd, earning for himself the esteem and respect of the Australian community.70 In 1936, Il Giornale Italiano dedicated an article to him entitled “Carlo Gattino Ambassador of Italianness:”

“Born in Turin, although he has lived only a few years in Australia, his industrious and intelligent activity, coupled with a magnetic and affable personality which throws open all doors, have ensured that his name is known from Sydney to Brisbane, surrounded by a halo of general affection, so that one does not know whether to admire most the accomplished gentleman or the capable and active businessman, in recognition of whose acknowledged and uncommon ability one of the biggest local wine companies has granted the high honour of entrusting him with the management of its important business.[…] Carlo Gattino – as far as we know – is the only Italian who, with his professional capability, his “savoir faire” and his dominant and magnetic personality, has been able not only to win for himself a position, but the management itself of a private Australian industry. And he is the supporting column of this company. …The popularity of his name is greater than that of the social name of the great company he directs, whose successes have been reduced to the personal successes of the friendly, affable and indefatigable manager. […] Very well known, very friendly, always affable and smiling, true “sport” in the Australian sense, up to the point of draining, with Spartan stoicism, systematically and with solemn ritual, a vast number of daily glasses in the modern pagan temple: the Bar, in celebration of cordial Italo-Australian relations, he is well-loved by all. Because of him, an Italian is no longer a poor neglected

70 See “Da Brisbane. Il decennale commemorato dal Fascio di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 31 December 1932, p. 10.


“dago” but rises to the splendour of an 18-carat “gentleman.”71

Mr Gattino always took part in the important events of the Italian community of Brisbane, sometimes entrusted with ceremonial speeches,72 sometimes a careful and generous organiser.73 His valuable contribution was unfailing in every community initiative. Giovanni Battista Battaglia was a successful medical doctor who, from the documents consulted, emerges as the true “life and soul” of the Brisbane Fascio, of which he was the first secretary. Unfortunately, the research undertaken has not presented facts about his life before 1930; his presence in occasion of the afore-mentioned photograph at Central Station with Mons. Duhig in 1927 leads one to suppose that he had been living in the Queensland capital for some time74 but it was only in the thirties that his figure imposes itself as one among the most authoritative of the Italian collective of Brisbane. In the capital, Giovanni Battista Battaglia practised the profession of medical doctor with success. In 1934 he had a surgery in the Orient Line building in the heart of the city.75 Despite a certain declared sympathy towards the occult and theosophy, Dr Battaglia always maintained a cordial and friendly relationship with the local Catholic church and, at the same time, with its chief exponent, Mons. Duhig. As “political secretary” of the Fascio, on 7 December 1930 he wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Brisbane to accompany a small gift on the occasion of his episcopal jubilee. In a somewhat inelegant Italian, Dr Battaglia expressed the sincere attachment of the Brisbane Fascists to their pastor:

“… we Fascists of Brisbane beg Y.G. to accept this humble token of affectionate attachment, of sheep to their Pastor; on

71 Quello d’ieri, “Istantanee Di Brisbane. Carlo Gattino Ambasciatore d’Italianità,” Il Giornale Italiano, 11 July 1934, p. 5 [words in inverted commas taken from the original text, tr.]. 72 See “Da Brisbane. Un pranzo al Neo Cav. Dr. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 August 1934, p. 5. 73 See footnote 70. 74 The Brisbane Courier, 14 September 1927. See footnote 17. 75 “Istantanee di Brisbane. Il dottore idealista,” Il Giornale Italiano, 4 July 1934, p. 3.

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Your Episcopal Jubilee, the hearts and souls of this nucleus of Italians.”76

In July 1934 Il Giornale Italiano dedicated a short article to him, which emphasised the great intellectual abilities and vast interdisciplinary knowledge of Dr Battaglia:

“Dr Battaglia is a typical modern scholar par excellence, not fossilised in the mere study and practise of his profession, but a fastidious researcher, an unremitting scholar, interested in every science and human phenomenon physical or psychical. A studious and versatile idealist, if he did not practise medicine he could follow in the footsteps of Edison, giving himself over to the discovery and commercial use of the phenomenon of electricity which interests him so much, or else he could, in the right circumstances, turn himself into an able cultivator, and valued cultivator, of the occult or theosophy.”77

In August of the same year, the order of Cavaliere della Corona d’Italia [Knight of the Crown of Italy] was conferred on Giovanni Battista Battaglia for services rendered to his distant fatherland and to the Fascist regime. The same honour was conferred on Dr Francesco Castellano of Cairns.78 To celebrate the event, the notables of the Italian collective of Brisbane organised a gala dinner at the Bellevue Hotel, where speeches and toasts in honour of the new Cavaliere followed each other.79 Giovanni Battista Battaglia lived in Brisbane with his family, composed of his wife Rosina and daughters Gina Elettra, Gloria Aurora, Angelina and Giuseppina.80 In 1930 the much-awaited son arrived, Fortunato, who, however, died at the tender age

76 G. B. Battaglia, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 December 1930, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1930. 77 See footnote 75. 78 See “Onore il merito. I due nuovi Cavalieri della Corona d’Italia in Australia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 August 1934, p. 5. 79 See footnote 72. 80 See Il Giornale Italiano, 19 February 1936, p. 6. See footnote 63.


of two years because of an incurable disease. The little boy’s body was buried in Lutwych Cemetery on 21 April 1932.81 There is a great deal more information regarding the camerata Franco or Francesco Castellano. Born 22 July 1899 in the province of Bari, south-west Italy, Franco was the son of a medical officer in the Royal Italian Army. After studying medicine at the universities of Rome and Naples, he took part in the First World War, in which he was decorated. For several years he practised as voluntary assistant surgeon in the Faculty of Medicine of the new University of Bari. In 1930 he decided to emigrate to Australia in response to an offer of work at the Italian Hospital of Ingham. He travelled to London to have his qualifications recognised and then set off for Brisbane, where he stayed for some time. During this transition period, Dr Castellano met his colleague Giovanni Battista Battaglia and joined the local Fascio. After this, Franco opened a surgery in Cairns,82 where he also became promoter of the Fascio, together with Dr Angelo Vattuone, for the whole of North Queensland.83 In 1934, as has already been mentioned, Dr Castellano was appointed “Knight of the Crown of Italy.” From what we have seen, we may affirm that in 1930 the Fascio di Brisbane gathered together a select group of Italian notables desirous of keeping alive their ties with their distant fatherland. What united them, more than political affiliation, was a nationalist sentiment further inspired by the successes of Mussolini’s Italy. This appears obvious from a speech given by an unidentified orator at the Brisbane Fascio in 1930, in the presence of a most honoured guest, Mons. Duhig:

“The Italian community of Queensland is, for Italy and the world, an admirable example of tenacity and capacity for fearlessness which brings honour to our race. Friends, I bring

81 See “Da Brisbane. Doloroso lutto in casa Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 7 May 1932, p. 5. 82 See E. Palmieri, “Italians in Queensland,” in Multicultural Queensland ed. M. Brändle and S. Karas, Brisbane 1988, pp.116-135 and G. Rinaudo, “Dr Francesco Castellano, 1899-1976,” in The Queensland Experience, ed. M. Brändle, pp.147-151. 83 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 25.

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you the greetings of the distant Fatherland: she works with ardent faith, with faith she bears the adversities of the moment, she is united in national faith and with faith awaits the day of reckoning.”84

This opinion is also affirmed by a note which appeared in Il Giornale Italiano, on 18 March 1933, by Aldo Signorini, who rushes to the defence of the Brisbane Fascists publicly accused of engaging in political propaganda:

“Fascists are not involved in local politics, but are only involved in keeping alive patriotic sentiments abroad, respecting the laws of the country that hosts them and setting an example in word and deed through good and honest behaviour.”85

It is also true to say, however, that in the heart of the Italian community of Brisbane there were some discordant voices, linked to anti-Fascist tendencies, which have already been mentioned. One finds public proof of this when, on 30 April 1930, the Communist Filippo Bossone gave a speech in the Brisbane Domain inciting the unemployed to raise the red flag and “to Hell with” king and rulers in the struggle for freedom. Mr Bossone was condemned to two years’ imprisonment for contempt.86

84 Discorso al Fascio di Brisbane, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1930. 85 A. Signorini, “Ti conosco mascherina,” Il Giornale Italiano, 18 March 1933, p. 3. 86 See G. Cresciani, “The proletarian migrants: fascism and Italian anarchists in Australia,” Australian Quarterly, 51 (1979) 1, p. 13.


CHAPTER SIX

A Small Though Tenacious Community (1931-1940)

The members of our Society who are Italian by birth, those who, by being born far from the fatherland have foreign citizenship but whose hearts are fully Italian, and, finally those who, though not having Italian blood, still have that spiritual affinity which comes from the recognition of the noble part which Italy played at the dawn of civilisation, a civilisation which still today protects and maintains them, greet you and hope that your stay in this land that is celebrating its 150th anniversary of existence, may be happy, fortunate and productive of every good thing. (Sir Raphael Cilento, Welcome Speech to the Ship ‘Montecuccoli,’ 1930) 1. A growing community The effects of the economic crisis of 1929 slowed down emigration on a world scale. Italian immigration to Australia was affected, but was already recovering in the early years of the new decade. Between 1931 and 1940 the female component of that emigration underwent an unexpected increase: the official estimates calculate 43% of the total influx, compared with 16% recorded in the preceding ten years.1 One may suppose with all likelihood that such a phenomenon reflects the dynamics of family reunion, confirming that stable immigration had already occurred. Queensland, with its fertile soil and sugar cane plantations, continued to be the desired goal of many Italians, so much so that old suspicions and accusations by Australian workers returned to the front pages of local newspapers. In 1930 the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), the powerful Trade Union of the canecutters, sealed a pact, defined as a “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” with the plantation owners, according to which at least 75% of the canecutters taken on for the 1 See G. Cresciani (c.1988), p. 169.

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harvest had to be “British.” Clause no. 8 specified, furthermore, that only those who could claim British origin or who had been born in Australia could claim to be British, excluding therefore all those who had been “naturalised.” The clearly racist attitude of such a pact stirred up protest from the Italian immigrants, especially from those who had already become owners of plantations in North Queensland. At the annual cane growers’ conference, celebrated in Brisbane from 17 to 28 April 1931, two representatives of the Associazione dei Produttori Italiani nella Industria dello Zucchero [Association of Italian Producers in the Sugar Industry] took part, Mr Cantamessa and Mr Lalli. Despite promises of a review, the agreement was, in fact, adopted in its entirety and the protests continued.2 The following year, a veritable journalistic battle was ignited, which saw on one side Australian publications headed by “Truth,” sarcastically denigrating Italian immigration, and on the other side Il Giornale Italiano defending the benefits of such immigration by means of statistics and data.3 After a truce of several months, in May 1933 the conflict flared up again with the persistent request on the Italian side that naturalised Australian immigrants should be included in the agreement. Archbishop Duhig entered the fray in their favour with an article published in “The Daily Standard” of Brisbane and taken up by Il Giornale Italiano.4 Although the Queensland capital was the arena of these diatribes, there does not appear from the sources consulted to have been any collective position on the part of the Italian community of Brisbane. There is news of an initial interest on the part of Mr C. Baucia, who in 1931 was given the task by a well-known anarchist from Innisfail of attempting some sort of mediation with the Australian Trade

2 See S. Cantamessa, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 11 May 1931, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. 3 See “The Song of Hate: From Intimidation to Vituperation and Bombs Against the Italians in North Queensland,” Il Giornale Italiano, 4 June 1932, p. 1; “Reply to ‘Truth:’ Italians Have the Lowest Percentage of Alcoholism, Insanity and Criminality,” Il Giornale Italiano, 16 July 1932, p. 1; “Reply to ‘Truth:’ Italians Are Closer to Civilization Than Any Other White Man,” Il Giornale Italiano, 23 July 1932, pp. 1-2. 4 See “Una risonante eco alla nostra protesta,” Il Giornale Italiano, 27 May 1933, pp. 1-2.


Unionists. The negotiations, however, did not turn out well.5 The name Baucia was linked to a Brisbane Italian publication, L’Italiano,6 no copy of which seems to have been preserved in the local archives. A certain Mr Collins appears as Editor of the newspaper L’Italiano in 1931.7 The scarcity of information about it means that it was in all likelihood a weekly newspaper in Italian published in Brisbane between 1931 and 1934, of probable anti-Fascist tendencies (or anyway not supportive).8 In the light of what has been said, it may be supposed that the notable Italians of Brisbane did not consider opportune a direct involvement in the affairs of their compatriots engaged in cane cutting, which came to a head in the memorable strikes of 1934 and 1935, the “swansong” of the Trade Union activities of Francesco Giuseppe Carmagnola in North Queensland.9 Despite being somewhat extraneous to all these questions, the little Italian community of the capital continued to grow in number and qualitatively. Immigrants both “old” and “new” bought land, built houses and started up commercial enterprises. The “ghetto” of Breakfast Creek (a suburb which in those very years took the name of Albion) extended along Sandgate Road, a street which runs along the bank of Breakfast Creek, a tributary of the Brisbane River. In 1935 the Brisbane City Council gave Mr F. Denaro permission to use a piece of parkland for building purposes.10 Two years later, Mr A. Corazzon founded a construction company, the Terrazzo Making

5 See Relazione della conferenza dei Farmers ASPA-QCGA, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. The text does not specify whether the representative was Luigi or Costante Danesi. Both, however, appear as the founders of an anarchist group in Innisfail which had been animating the Italian struggle against the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” since 1930. See G. Cresciani (1979), pp. 12-13. 6 See Commonwealth of Australia – Department of the Interior, Letter to C. Baucia of 21 November 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 7 See Relazione della conferenza dei Farmers ASPA-QCGA, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. 8 See A. Signorini, “Ti conosco mascherina,” Il Giornale Italiano, 18 March 1933, p. 3. The frequency of publication is deduced from the mention of L’Italiano number 8, published on 22 February 1933, i.e. in the 8th week of the year. 9 See G. Cresciani (1979), p. 14. 10 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1935, Brisbane 1936, p. 38.

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Industry, with headquarters in Sandgate Rd.11 Still in 1937, Mr R.J. De Candia obtained Council authorisation to build a little wharf on the banks of Breakfast Creek.12 At the beginning of 1938, P. Denaro expanded his property, buying a piece of Crown land in Sandgate Rd.13 He is followed by Mr A. S. Di Bella who bought from the Council an allotment at the corner of Sandgate Rd and Carlyle St.14 This was probably Alfio Di Bella, an Italian immigrant who, in 1931, after 20 years in Australia, settled in Brisbane. Not managing to find work, however, in May of the same year he had applied to Mons. Duhig for a recommendation.15 It seems that after a first difficult period, things went well for Mr Di Bella who, in the course of 1938, asked for and obtained permission to open a shop on the property he had just bought.16 At the beginning of 1940 Mr G. De Candia wanted to open a furniture factory at 71 Park St, but the Brisbane City Council refused him the necessary authorisation.17 In the thirties, Italian families began to purchase properties and spread to the adjoining suburb of Bowen Hills. In 1936 Mr S. Zappalà was allowed to put up a two-storey building, for shop and residence, at 182 Abbotsfield Rd, Mayne (Bowen Hills), land sub. 71, parcel 67, North Brisbane. Mr Zappalà wanted to market shrimps.18 In 1938, Mr C. Maggi, who already owned a store in the corner of Brookes St and St Paul’s Tce at Bowen Hills, asked the Council for permission to set up a hand-made ice-cream factory at the back of the same enterprise;

11 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1937-1938, Brisbane 1939, pp. 156-157. 12 As above, p. 595. 13 As above, p. 1020. 14 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1938-1939, Brisbane 1940, p. 436. 15 See G. Luciano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 May 1931, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. 16 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1938-1939, Brisbane 1940, pp. 898-899. 17 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1940-1941, Brisbane 1942, p. 91. 18 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1936-1937, Brisbane 1938, p. 181.


the request, however, was denied.19 A better fate awaited Mr Carmelo Denaro, living at 24 St James St, who managed to obtain from the Brisbane City Council the authorisation to open a Fish and Chips café and a trading post in fishing gear at Zage Farm Rd, in the nearby suburb of Hamilton.20 The growth of the Italian community spread to other suburbs of Brisbane, both inner city and outer. In 1936 Mr G. F. Corradi, living at Eagle Tce, Sandgate, asked for permission to construct a wall along his property. The City Council approved his proposal and allocated finance at 50% of the cost.21 In the same year, Mr D.A. Carnielo, residing at 278 Stanley St, South Brisbane, was permitted to install a hydraulic pump on his land.22 At Fairfield, in 1938, Mr Victor Novello, resident at 4 Cameron St, wanted to make some renovations to his house, but the Council refused him permission.23 Mr A.D. Genese, after buying land at Kedron, on 5th Avenue, could not pay the rates and in 1940 was identified as “in arrears” by the Brisbane City Council.24 The story of Mr R. De Mattia of New Farm is very different. In 1940 he offered the Council £525 in cash for two big properties in the suburb of Enoggera. The offer was obviously accepted.25 From the pages of Il Giornale Italiano of the thirties, other interesting information about the development of Italian enterprise and commerce in the Queensland capital may be gathered. In April 1936 Dr A. J. Costello, homoeopathist and biochemist, was the owner of the Parisian Medical Agency situated at 127 Wickham St. Claiming a good 40 years of experience, Dr Costello offered diagnoses and

19 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1938-1939, Brisbane 1940, p. 123. 20 As above, p. 1073. 21 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1936-1937, Brisbane 1938, p. 39. 22 As above, p. 766. 23 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1938-1939, Brisbane 1940, p. 626. 24 See Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceedings 1940-1941, Brisbane 1942, p. 67. 25 As above, p. 615.

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thorough analyses by correspondence. The expert doctor claimed to have a treatment for every kind of disease:

“If your health is not good, whatever may be the cause of the disease, write to me straight away. I have special treatments for the following disorders: Asthma and Bronchitis, Dyspepsia and Stomach Ulcers, Kidney problems, Eczema, Psoriasis, Dermatitis and any skin disorder. Nerves, Headaches, Loss of Vigour, Catarrh, Anaemia, Varicose Veins, Blood Pressure, Rheumatism, Arthritis, Loss of Memory, Hereditary Illnesses.”26

In 1937 the Catholic Depot, a shop selling religious articles at 370 Queen St in the centre of Brisbane, was owned by Pellegrini and Co. Ltd, a company of obvious Italian origin.27 Mr Bormolini possessed a shop next to his residence at Toombul (Nundah). On 12 September 1938 the shop was seriously damaged by a fire that had started at dawn in the Bormolini kitchen.28 The growth of Italian gastronomic commerce in the Queensland capital merits a special mention. During the fourth decade of the 20th century, many new venues joined those already discussed. The Caffè Astoria was considered the place to be for Brisbane Italians; located at 253 Edward St, it was known for offering succulent meals at affordable prices. In the adjoining Milk Bar were served thirst-quenching milkshakes of every flavour.29 From the district of Lismore in 1936, Mrs S. Frizzo moved to the capital and opened the Ristorante Mossman, with an adjoining boarding-house for families, at 50 Herbert St, Spring Hill, near Central Station. It was promptly publicised by the local correspondent of Il Giornale Italiano, who was always attentive to this kind of news:

26 “Cura personale per corrispondenza,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 aprile 1936, p. 6. 27 See “The Catholic Depot,” Il Giornale Italiano, 24 March 1937, p. 6. 28 See “Incendio in un negozio italiano,” Il Giornale Italiano, 14 September 1938, p. 7. 29 See “Where to shop in Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 9 October 1935, p. 6.


“The rooms are the best, clean and airy. The courtesy and the cuisine of Mrs Frizzo are perfect and reception is first class. Next to the restaurant there are also boccie [sic - Italian bowls] courts, the only ones existing in Brisbane. Italians will do well to visit this new restaurant for their comfort and convenience.”30

The year 1937 probably marked the opening of the Ristorante Alfano of Antonio Alfano, who had been “Head of Crew” at the famous Bellevue Hotel. Having decided to set up a restaurant of his own, he gained notable success in a short time.31 Located in one of the main roads of the city, the Ristorante Alfano was one of the favourite venues of the notables of Brisbane. A good name, however, does not mean one may ignore regulations. In October 1938 Mr Alfano was heavily fined for serving alcoholic drinks in his restaurant and for selling a customer a bottle of beer, in both cases without being licensed.32 Mr L. Ponta, who had originally emigrated to Innisfail, placed himself in the spotlight in Brisbane as a veritable gastronomic impresario. In January 1938 he opened the Roma Restaurant at 376 Queen St, right in the heart of the capital. He did everything in great style, so as to be able to host lunches and dinners for baptisms, weddings and other kinds of celebrations, yet still keeping to reasonable prices. Il Giornale Italiano treated him to almost brazen publicity:

“In this restaurant the honoured customers may find all the comforts of their native land, they can play cards or billiards, listen to good music and above all have at their disposal a long menu of dishes to satisfy any desire and any taste.33

After a little more than a year, the fame of the Roma was so widespread that Mr Ponta, in order to satisfy all his customers, saw

30 “Da Brisbane. Nuova Pensione,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 April 1936, p. 6. 31 See “Brisbane Gastronomica,” Il Giornale Italiano, 12 January 1938, p. 7. 32 See “Proprietario di ristorante multato,” Il Giornale Italiano, 2 November 1938, p. 8. 33 “Nuovo Ristorante,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 January 1938, p. 7.

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himself obliged to open new premises. Thus was born, in April 1939 also in Queen St, the Parigi Restaurant, which soon showed itself to be an excellent investment. Continental cuisine, large and dignified dining rooms, perfect service and typical Italian cordiality were the “ingredients” of Mr Ponta’s success.34 The Italian community of Brisbane was generally very law-abiding; rarely did Italian scandals appear in the local papers. In November 1932 Il Giornale Italiano reported the news of an Italian (who remained anonymous) who, while preparing to return home to Italy, was tricked out of £70, all his savings, by false money-changers.35 In June 1936 a girl of sixteen, Lorna Angelo, disappeared without a trace. The young woman had been staying at the Salvation Army shelter in Toowong.36 The facts concerning Mrs Agnese Carena, wife of Giovanni Carena, an ex-farmer from Ingham who had moved to Brisbane, caused a scandal. In April 1937, Agnese brought to court a certain Luigi Sperotto, an Italian living in Brisbane, accusing him of striking her. Sperotto was found guilty and sentenced to pay a fine.37 A few months later it was Angela’s turn to sit in the dock: her husband accused her of adultery with a certain Umberto Cavalieri and asked for a divorce. The judge, however, absolved the woman, finding that Giovanni had also been unfaithful.38 The final case, dating from July 1938, even had a comic side: Alfio Strano, a 28 year-old Italian immigrant, was arrested and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for having sold ordinary tablets claiming they were cocaine.39

34 See “Nuovo Ristorante a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 April 1939, p. 5. 35 See “Da Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 12 November 1932, p. 2. 36 See “E’ scomparsa,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 July 1936, p. 6. 37 See “Querele tra Italiani,” Il Giornale Italiano, 21 April 1937, p. 7. 38 See “Divorzio Carena,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 November 1937, p. 7. 39 See “Italiano condannato,” Il Giornale Italiano, 20 July 1938, p. 7.


2. An active community life The wealth of the documentary sources for the period 1931-1940 permits the tracing of a fairly detailed picture of the life of the little Italian community of Brisbane. The local historical archives and both old and new publications contain a veritable mine of news about events and their protagonists. For reasons of methodological choice, only the main events which directly involved the Italian community of the capital will be considered in this section. In April 1934 the Italian opera singer Nino Marotta inaugurated a long opera season in Brisbane. Maestro Marotta was a basso with a warm, powerful voice who could boast of a prestigious career in Italy and in the best opera houses of the world. His wife, a soprano of New Zealand origin, also sang in his concerts, which were accompanied by the pianist Freda Cunningham. They stopped in the Queensland capital for some weeks, staying at the Carlton Hotel in Queen St. The art of the trio was offered to the wider public thanks to a series of recitals organised at the studios of the local radio 4QG and broadcast by the same station.40 The Marottas were in friendly contact with Mons. Duhig who tried to involve Nino and his wife in the organisation of a benefit concert, probably to raise money for the new Cathedral. Unfortunately, the idea never came to anything and the Marotta couple left the city in the second week of May.41 On 29 September 1934 the Italian community of Brisbane celebrated what could perhaps be defined as the “wedding of the decade” between Teresa Concetta (Connie) Cervetto, daughter of Luigi Cervetto, and Giovanni Luciano, consular agent in the capital.42 Giovanni Luciano was born 13 April 1900 on the island of Procida (off the coast of Naples). After attending the Royal Nautical Institute of Procida, gaining a qualification as ship’s captain, he decided to emigrate to Australia. He arrived in Sydney with his uncle, Frank Lubrano, on 4 February 1922, on board the ship Ormonde. He spent his first five years in Sydney as a clerk in the commercial firm and

40 See “Long Season Ends,” The Telegraph, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 41 See N. Marotta, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 4 May 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 42 See D. Dignan, Queensland’s Italians, unpublished manuscript, p. 24.

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travel agency belonging to his uncle. In August 1922 he stated to publish an Italian weekly paper, L’Italo-Australiano, of which he was officially the owner, even if the publication really belonged to his uncle, Frank. After a short stay in Melbourne, in about the middle of 1926 he decided to try his luck in Innisfail, in North Queensland. Appointed “Royal Consular Agent” of the district, he busied himself with visiting the Italians in the area.43 In 1930 he was targeted by anti-Fascist protests and was the victim of several small incidents.44 In the same year he went on a trip to Italy and then, in February 1931, decided to relocate to Brisbane. In 1932 he obtained a position as Italian teacher at the Institute of Modern Languages run by the University of Queensland.45 The first course was a great success, attracting about 50 students in the three months it was held (September-November 1932).46 In 1933 he published, in Italian, an Annual Guide for the Italians of Queensland47 and a year later he married Connie. The Franciscan Fr Mambrini from the Friary at Waverley (NSW) was celebrant at the marriage. The friar came from Sydney specifically to celebrate several marriages between immigrants, all on the same day, and to carry out a preaching mission at Breakfast Creek, the Italian “ghetto.”48 From the marriage of Giovanni and Connie Luciano there were three children: Antonio, Michela and Rosa.49 On 26 November 1934 the Italian battle cruiser Diaz reached the port of Brisbane on a special mission: to participate in the celebrations of the first centenary of the foundation of Melbourne. Under the guidance of Captain Angelo Jachino, the imposing warship visited the

43 See G. Luciano, Italians as they are (Gli Italiani: come sono), Sydney 1959, pp. 212-213. 44 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 25. 45 See G. Luciano (1959), p. 216 and “Il Signor Luciano insegnerà l’italiano alla Università di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 10 September 1932, p. 3. 46 See “L’insegnamento della lingua italiana,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 December 1932, p.3. 47 See G. Luciano, Guida Annuale per gli Italiani del Queensland, Brisbane 1933. 48 See C. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 August 1934 and J. Duhig, Telegram to Fr Mambrini of 21 September 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 49 See G. Luciano (1959), p. 216.


principal ports of Australia and New Zealand.50 As in the past, the arrival of this sort of ship represented a real event for the Italian immigrant communities, which became involved in special celebrations of Italianness. In the case of Brisbane, Mons. Duhig was one of the main promoters; on 27 October the Archbishop sent a telegram of welcome to Captain Jachino, saying he was awaiting with trepidation the arrival of the ship in the Queensland capital.51 The captain replied promptly from Sydney, thanking the prelate for his cordial message.52 Having been informed that Prince Giovanni Borghese was a midshipman on the cruiser Diaz, Mons. Duhig quickly sent a second telegram to Sydney offering the young officer hospitality at his residence during his stay in Brisbane.53 The invitation was, however, declined because the aristocratic midshipman was on watch during that particular stretch of time.54 As the days passed, the program of celebrations started filling up. Mons. Duhig organised a Garden Party in honour of the captain and officers of the Diaz at his palace, Wynberg, in New Farm, the evening of Wednesday 28 November. The most distinguished people of the city were invited, and also the Consul General of Italy from Sydney, Marquis A. Ferrante, with his whole family.55 The latter, however, took care to reply immediately to the prelate his inability to participate in the festivities because of previous engagements.56 The cordial Garden Party hosted by the Archbishop was preceded on

50 See A. M. Arpino, “Le navi della Marina Militare Italiana nel Queensland: 1866-1957,” Presenza, (1994) 1, p. 9. 51 See J. Duhig, Telegram to A. Jachino of 27 October 1934 [minute], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 52 See A. Jachino, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 27 October 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 53 See J. Duhig, Telegram to G. Borghese of 27 October 1934 [minute], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 54 See G. Borghese, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 28 October 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 55 See J. Duhig, Letter to A. Ferrante of 15 November 1934 [minute], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 56 See A. Ferrante, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 November 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934.

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Tuesday 27 November by a dance on the Diaz to which were invited the Brisbane Consular Agent Giovanni Luciano, Captain Luigi Buoninsegni Vitali,57 Dr Battaglia, Mons. Duhig and Mons. Maloney, Vicar General.58 In the early afternoon of Wednesday 28 November, Italian citizens resident in Brisbane were invited to visit the ship. To the general surprise of the organisers, a sea of visitors turned up on the wharf, all ready to “invade” the Diaz. The news of the presence on board of Prince Giovanni Borghese had done the rounds of the city, attracting the curiosity of hundreds of young women, many of whom could not claim even the most distant Italian origin. Il Giornale Italiano reported the event in an amusing little article:

“Between 2 and 3 pm a veritable stream of true and pretend Italians had already invaded the ship. A new miracle of multiplication had occurred; substituting people for the loaves and fishes, the scarcely one hundred Italians of Brisbane were present in about two thousand on the deck of the majestic floating fortress from Italy. […] The feminine element, vivacious, gay, enthusiastic, irrepressible, were in the main motivated by a single desire: “Where is the Prince?” was repeated insistently by all those brightly coloured dolls to every sailor or officer they met.”59

In the evening the key social event of all the festivities in honour of the Diaz was celebrated, the Garden Party at the Archbishop’s residence, with the participation of all the “cream” of society. An 57 Captain Luigi Buoninsegni Vitali was the administrative director of the Brisbane branch (in the Empire Chambers, Wharf St) of the Australia-Italia Shipping Company Ltd. During his brief stay in the Queensland capital he was particularly close to Mons. Duhig and attentive to the needs of the local Church. In 1937 he was Vice-Consul in Sydney. See L. B. Vitali, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 23 January 1934; L. B. Vitali, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 31 January 1934; L. B. Vitali, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 19 July 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934, and Presentation to His Grace Mons. Duhig, Comm. Giacomo, Archbishop of Brisbane of Verocchio’s Fountain of Remembrance at the instance of ‘Il Giornale Italiano,’ Brisbane 1937, p. 8. 58 See G. Luciano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 November, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 59 “Brisbane Femminile all’Abbordaggio della Armando Diaz,” Il Giornale Italiano, 12 December 1934, p. 6.


unexpected protagonist of the reception was a child of five, Dante Costa, son of Igino Costa of Stones Corner. The little boy, in a perfect sailor suit and with a “military” haircut, became the mascot of the nationalistic sentiments of the Italian community of Brisbane.60 The cruiser Diaz left port Saturday 1 December headed for Cairns. In May 1935 in the capital of Queensland, a Casa Mostra [Exhibition House] was organised, which a good number of Italians participated in. Some of these are immortalised in a photograph published in Il Giornale Italiano. Little Dante Costa is there with Enzo Costa; Peter Cantamessa, the son of Joe Cantamessa of Ingham, is shown beside Rino Zonta, an ex-correspondent of the same newspaper who had left Babinda a short time before to move to Brisbane.61 The little group of women consists of Mrs Gatti, Miss Giovanna Gatti, Miss Giuseppina Gatti and Mrs Costa. There are, finally, Mr Franco Battistessa, Mr and Mrs Fraire, Mr G. D. Betta, Mr Gatti and Mr D. Zalatel.62 In the same month, Dr and Mrs Battaglia launched an interesting project in an attempt to address, at least partially, the much-felt lack of a school of Italian in Brisbane. Concerned about the possible loss of the national language in the second generation, the generous doctor and his wife offered free Italian lessons, once a week, for all the children of immigrants:

“Through the initiative of Dr Battaglia and with the kind co-operation of his wife, a school of Italian will be opened in Brisbane for the children of Italians between 6 and 14 years, starting in the first ten days of next month, June. The school is completely free, lessons will be once a week at the beginning, from 2 to 3 pm every Saturday. The room will be kindly made available at that time by Dr and Mrs Battaglia in their own residence at 89 Brunswick St, in the Valley. Enrolments will be taken by Mrs Battaglia every day until 31 May.”63

60 See “Il Marinaretto Italiano di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 8 May 1935, p. 6. 61 See “Notarelle sociali di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 May 1935, p. 6. 62 See “Un Gruppo di Italiani a Casa Mostra a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 May 1935, p. 6. 63 “Una Nobile Iniziativa del Dott. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 May 1935, p. 6.

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In July 1935 a long season of concerts by two Italian musicians, Domenico Caruso and Waldo Aldovrandi, opened in Queensland. In reality, this was due to the rapid transformation of a pleasure trip into a concert tour for the Italian communities of the north, something that was not originally part of the plans of the two artists. Domenico Caruso was a brilliant tenor, with a timbre of voice very similar to that of Enrico Caruso, his second cousin. Maestro Waldo Aldovrandi was a famous conductor who had enjoyed success at theatres such as the Scala of Milan, the Fenice of Venice, the Municipale of Piacenza and the Colón of Buenos Aires. The two musicians had made Brisbane their first stage and here they soon became the object of popular admiration and numerous invitations. Mons. Duhig also wanted them as guests and organised a dinner for them at his residence of Wynberg on Thursday 8 August.64 The triumphal saga of the two musicians continued in Mackay, Bundaberg, Innisfail, Maryborough, Ingham, Townsville, Rockhampton and Cairns.65 Towards the end of 1935, to remedy the economic restrictions caused by the war in Ethiopia, the Fascist regime promoted a campaign of voluntary donations of gold for the Fatherland among Italian citizens. Distinguished persons raced to give a good example so that objects of great value ended up in the “offerings basket:” from the wedding ring of Queen Elena of Savoy to the Nobel Prize medal of Luigi Pirandello; from the pectoral cross of the Archbishop of Bologna, Mons. Nasalli Rocca, to the Collare dell’Annunziata, a decoration of the heir to the throne, Prince Umberto. 18 December was declared “Wedding Ring Day” and all married couples were asked to donate their gold wedding rings in exchange for an iron one. At the beginning of 1936 the Italian communities of Australia also put themselves out to respond to the appeal of the Fatherland. In Brisbane, Mrs Rosina Battaglia organised a collection of gold and money among all the Italians for what was defined by Il Giornale

64 See J. Duhig, Letter to W. Aldovrandi of 7 August 1935, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 65 See “Aldovrandi e Caruso nel Queensland,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 July 1935, p. 6; “Caruso e Aldovrandi alla Hibernian Hall,” Il Giornale Italiano, 11 September 1935, p. 6.


Italiano as a “vow of love and faith.”66 The initiative had immediate success and many of the Italian families living in the capital took part with generosity, each according to his or her own resources. Thanks to the new finances, the war in Ethiopia was resolved in a few months, and in May 1936 Italian troops entered Addis Ababa. On 9 May Vittorio Emanuele III was proclaimed Emperor of Ethiopia. Shortly afterwards the problem arose of economic sanctions which were imposed on Italy by the international community for a colonial venture that did not enjoy its consent. To celebrate the “Victories of the Fatherland” on 8 July 1936 the Italian community of Brisbane was invited to a special dinner aboard the motor-ship Romolo, moored in the port of the capital:

“The program of the gathering has been thus established. First part: ship’s rations, rations that will be a veritable feast: Antipasto, Pastasciutta, Cotolette alla Milanese with potatoes, Cheese, Fruit, Coffee and a bottle of wine a head. These rations will be distributed at 7:15 pm. […] Second part: Arranged to compensate whoever did not manage to purchase a ration ticket in time but who still wants to participate as a good Italian in the patriotic gathering. So at 8:30 pm all Italians who come to the gathering will be allowed on board free, the only requirement being that they present themselves first at the staff stairway of the local Agency of the Australian Shipping Co.”67

In March 1937 an exhibition of Italian Renaissance art was organised in Brisbane. Two hundred reproductions of architectural, sculptural and pictorial works were shown at the Art Reference Library in George St.68 Towards the end of the same month, Il

66 See “Plebiscito d’amore e fede,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 February 1936, p. 6. 67 “Rancio degli Italiani a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 July 1936, p. 6. 68 See “Esposizione di Arte Italiana,” Il Giornale Italiano, 24 March 1937, p. 6 .

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Giornale Italiano announced the imminent arrival in the city of the Apostolic Delegate, Mons. Giovanni Panico, on a visit to the state of Queensland.69 On that occasion there was a dinner with Mons. Duhig and Italian families of the capital at the Bellevue Hotel, organised by Giovanni Luciano and Luigi Cervetto.70 And so Sunday 11 April, at 8 pm, in the presence of numerous representatives of the Italian community, there were speeches from Mr L. Cervetto, the Italian Vice-Consul of Townsville; Dr Leonardo Chieffi; Captain F. Quaglia and other orators, ecclesiastic and lay. Finally Mons. Panico took the floor to express his gratitude to the gathering:

“H. E. Panico, thanking everyone for this warm manifestation of homage, assured them that in his report to the Holy Pontiff he would pass on the sentiments of devotion of the Italians of Queensland, so spontaneously expressed on this memorable occasion. He warmly praised the work of spiritual support and comfort – often manifested in material aid – so abundantly extended to Italians by Archbishop Duhig and the Catholic Church in its various centres in Queensland, manifesting his great personal joy at finding himself among his fellow-countrymen.”71

Important visits followed each other. Monday 24 May 1938, Cap. Prof. Vittorio Beonio Brocchieri arrived in Brisbane, a correspondent

69 Giovanni Panico, born in Tricase in 1895, was ordained priest in 1919 and Archbishop of Giustiniana in 1935. The same year he was appointed Apostolic Delegate for Australia. In 1948 he was Nuncio in Peru and in 1953 Apostolic Delegate in Canada. In 1959 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal, where he remained until he was elevated to the cardinalate in 1962. He died in Rome in July of the same year. See http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bpanicog.html (visited 1 November 2004). 70 See “Onoranze a S. E. Dr. Panico, Delegato Apostolico,” Il Giornale Italiano, 24 March 1937, p. 6. 71 “La Visita del Delegato Apostolico S. E. Panico, allo Stato del Queensland,” Il Giornale Italiano, 28 April 1937, p. 6.


on the important Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.72 The eclectic luminary was coming from Sydney and wanted to meet the Italian communities of the north. In his honour light refreshments were organised at the Carlton Hotel where he was staying. The same evening, in the rooms of the Australia-Italia Shipping Co., and in the presence of Mons. Duhig and other distinguished representatives of the community, Prof. Beonio Brocchieri gave a lecture on the Italian conquest of Abyssinia. The day after, the Professor had lunch with a select group of Italians and then, in the evening, continued his journey to North Queensland.73 On 20 July 1937 Marquis Guglielmo Marconi died in Rome and the whole of Italy dressed in mourning. The sad news was rapidly diffused and reached the little Italian community of Brisbane, which united in a heartfelt prayer of suffrage for one of the Italian “champions” of the world. On 27 July there was a special Mass at the Cathedral about which an anonymous author gave an ample description preserved in the Archdiocesan archives of the city:

“With the participation of representatives of the Senate of the University and members of the consular body, a solemn Mass of suffrage was celebrated in St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane Tuesday morning 27 July at 10 am. Present in the Sanctuary was H. E. Mons. G. Duhig, the Archbishop, assisted by Rev. Fidelis Griffin, O.F.M. and Rev. F. X. O’Brien, S. J. The Celebrant of the Mass was Rev. Monsignor T. Molony, V. G., assisted by Rev. A. G. Tynan, Deacon, and Rev. D. S. O’Rourke, Subdeacon. The Masters of Ceremonies were Rev. J. English, D. D. and Rev. T. O’Connor. Among the numerous members of the Italian community attending the Mass were Dr L. Chieffi, Acting Consul of North

72 Vittorio Beonio Brocchieri was born in 1902 in Lodi. Having graduated in Jurisprudence, Philosophy and Political Sciences, at only 24 years of age he was already a University lecturer. He then became Professor of History of Political Doctrines at the University of Pavia. He was a columnist for a long time with the Corriere della Sera and wrote numerous books. He died in 1979. See http://www.lodionline.it/personaggi /scheda-boenio.asp (visited 1 November 2004). 73 See “La Visita del Cap. Beonio-Brocchieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 May 1937, p. 7.

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Queensland, Mr and Mrs L. Cervetto, Cav. Dr G. Battaglia and Mrs Battaglia, Captain and Mrs Guaglia [sic], Dr A. B. Vattuone, Mr and Mrs G. Luciano, Mr and Mrs Mangione, Mr G. Baucia, Mr A. Donato and Mr C. Gattino.”74

Even though he was not the principal celebrant, Mons. Duhig took care of the funeral exequies and addressed the participants with a panegyric in English and Italian, defining the deceased as a great scientist and benefactor of humanity.75 From 21 to 23 January 1938 the battle cruiser Montecuccoli was in port, under the command of Captain Alberto Da Zara. The Italian warship was on a special mission for the 150th anniversary of the first British settlement in the Newest Continent.76 In the days immediately preceding, Dr Chieffi, the Vice-Consul at Townsville, organised a meeting with all the notables of Brisbane in order to draw up a calendar of celebrations. Two official receptions were organised for the evening of Friday 21 January: the first at the Bellevue Hotel with the captain, officers, city authorities and notable Italians; the second at Ozanam House for the junior officers, crew and anyone else who wanted to attend.77 Both celebrations earned great public approval. The following morning, the captain and senior officers of the Montecuccoli were the guests of the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, while in the afternoon of the same Saturday Australian authorities, both lay and religious, and distinguished Italians, were again together with the welcome guests at the Garden Party hosted by Mons. Duhig at his residence in New Farm.78 On Sunday morning, officers and crew of the Italian cruiser took part in a solemn parade through the city streets from Petrie Bight to St Stephen’s Cathedral, where they attended the Eucharistic celebration at 9 am, presided over by their ship’s chaplain, Fr Di Giuseppi. At 11 am the Archbishop went on board the 74 Messa Solenne di Suffragio celebrata a Brisbane per il Marchese Marconi, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 2 (undated). 75 As above. 76 See A. M. Arpino (1994), p. 9. 77 See “I Festeggiamenti in Onore dell’Incrociatore ‘Montecuccoli’ a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 January 1938, p. 7. 78 See “Brisbane Accoglie Festosamente l’Arrivo della R. N. ‘Montecuccoli’,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 January 1938, p. 7.


Montecuccoli to celebrate a special Mass for the Italian residents visiting the ship.79 A copy of the homily delivered by Mons. Duhig for the occasion, all in Italian, is preserved in the Archdiocesan archives.

“To you, Italians of Queensland, gathered here on this unforgettable occasion, I wish to say – Be proud of your race and of your Fatherland, a small part (but a glorious part) of which you see here on this ship, in its Commander, in its officials and in its young sailors. All of them speak to you eloquently of the new greatness of the nation from which you draw your origins. While you are all good citizens of Australia, you have a debt to settle with your Fatherland, and that gratitude cannot express itself in a better way than by praying for the wellbeing of the Fatherland, its August Sovereign and for that great figure, that Man of Providence, the Duce – Head of Government who guides its destiny.”80

On 25 January 1938 the streets of Brisbane were “invaded” by another group of Italian sailors: the crew of the motor-ship Remo which, at the felicitous initiative of the local branch of the Australia-Italia Shipping Co., and by kind permission of their commander, were making the best of a brief gita dopolavoristica, or after work trip, in and around the capital. Two roomy coaches were put at the disposal of the sailors, while the officers of the Remo travelled in three cars courteously offered by Mons. Duhig.81 On Tuesday 15 March 1938 in the Brisbane City Hall the only concert of the Florentine tenor Dino Borgioli was held.82 The famous opera singer, who in those years used to alternate between the great

79 See “Visit of Italian Cruiser,” The Catholic Leader, 27 January 1938. 80 Speech of His Excellency Commendatore Monsignor James Duhig, AAB, Box Italians, Folder 1938. 81 See “Riuscitissima Gita Dopolavoristica,” Il Giornale Italiano, 9 February 1938, p. 7. 82 Dino Borgioli was born in Florence in 1891 and in 1917 made his debut as a tenor in Donizetti’s La Favorita in Milan. After singing in the main theatres of the world, he died in 1960. See http://www.operaitaliana.com/autori/interprete.asp?ID=166 (visited 1 November 2004).

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theatres of Milan and London, was in Australia for a special concert tour of 11 performances in 16 weeks. Il Giornale Italiano warmly invited the Italian community of the city to take advantage of this truly unique occasion.83 For the commemoration of 28 October at the dawn of the 17th year of the Fascist Era, the Italian community of Brisbane was invited on board the motor-ship Esquilino belonging to Lloyd Triestino. The celebrations began the evening of 27 October with the projection of the film Scipione l’Africano [Scipio Africanus, the Roman hero who defeated Hannibal in 202 B.C.; tr.] and the newsreel Luce [Light]. At the end of the show, which was attended by about 120 Italians resident in the capital, refreshments were provided. The next morning, in an appropriately prepared room on the Esquilino, Mons. Duhig celebrated Mass for the officers and crew. Then, while the Archbishop had lunch on board with the senior officers, the sailors were offered a trip to Mt Coot-tha, 35 kilometres from the city centre. Finally the evening was enlivened by a series of social events organised by the Brisbane Fascists.84 The motor-ship Esquilino returned in June of 1939 with two exceptional guests: the Royal Consul General, Hon. Amadeo Mammalella, and the Inspector of the Fascio for Australia, Mr F. Rando. On the evening of Thursday 29 June the Italian community of the city organised a social dinner in honour of the new arrivals, at the Ristorante Alfano. On that occasion there were several official speeches, among which that of Mons. Duhig excelled. Amid much applause he reminded the Italians present of the inseparability of the two words “faith and fatherland:”

“I feel not only glad but very honoured to have been invited to speak at this banquet held for the highest representative of your Dear Fatherland and of the Fascist Government in this country. […] Italians, I urge you to be proud of your race, to be faithful to the fine and sacred traditions of your great

83 See “Dino Borgioli,” Il Giornale Italiano, 9 May 1938, p. 7. 84 See “La Colonia Italiani di Brisbane Adunata a Bordo dell’Esquilino,” Il Giornale Italiano, 9 November 1938, p. 7.


people and to hold high and spotless the Cross of Jesus Christ and the Flag of the Fatherland.”85

Next day, Mr Chieffi, having come on purpose from Townsville, held a farewell lunch for Hon. Mammalella and a few distinguished Italians at the Ristorante Roma. The much appreciated visit of the Consul General to the Italian community of Brisbane concluded with a dance on board the Esquilino that evening.86

85 J. Duhig, Mi sento non solamente… [untitled minute], AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 2 (undated) [capital letters as in the original text, tr.]. 86 See “Il Regio Console Generale On. Mammalella a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 5 July 1939, p. 7.

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3. The omnipresent Mons. James Duhig Practically every important event in the little Italian community of Brisbane was marked by the presence of Mons. James Duhig, who was always pleased to be there. His vast and varied work in favour of Italians in the thirties deserves a sub-chapter to itself. The magnanimity of the Archbishop towards immigrants, already abundantly pointed out in precedence, expressed itself in this period in the most disparate ways: from material assistance to public defence, from diligent exhortations to participation in every good initiative on the part of the settlers, from the preservation of their national cultural patrimony to the organisation of charitable events. As he had already done before, Mons. Duhig took the trouble to reply promptly to requests regarding the search for immigrants whose families had lost track of them. That was the case of Mario Chiaruttini, a medical doctor from Portogruaro (province of Venice), who seemed particularly dear to the Consul General of Italy at the time, Mr Grossardi. The pair had met in Sydney and Mr Chiaruttini had said he intended to emigrate to New Zealand. For reasons not specified in the documents, he turned up in Brisbane instead. His mother in Italy, left in the dark about the affairs of her son, wrote to Consul Grossardi in the desperate search for news. In June 1931, the Consul General sent a missive to the Archbishop asking him to collaborate in the search. From the last information received at the consulate, Mr Chiaruttini appeared to be working at St Joseph’s College at Nudgee, Brisbane.87 With a rapid check, Mons. Duhig was able to verify the information, and from that time an extremely cordial relationship began between the prelate and the young doctor. In the following September Mario Chiaruttini delivered to Mons. Duhig a long manuscript about Fascism in English so that the prelate could correct eventual mistakes in his grammar and syntax. The original, preserved in the Archdiocesan archives, contains marginal notes in the Archbishop’s handwriting.88 In February 1932, consolidating the

87 See Consul General Grossardi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 June 1931, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. 88 See M. Chiaruttini, Fascismo (manuscript of September 1931), AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931.


friendship with Mr Chiaruttini, the Archbishop received a letter from the Apostolic Delegate to China, Mons. Serse Costantini who, a friend of the widowed mother of Chiaruttini, personally testified to the young man’s good character. From that missive it is clear that he was still teaching at the same school.89 An anonymous and undated note preserved in the Archdiocesan archives is witness to another request for news addressed to Mons. Duhig, concerning Mr Libero Avogadri, presumed working for the Bloomer Chaen Ltd company of Brisbane. After leaving Cremona in 1922, Mr Avogadri had left his wife and children in the care of his brother-in-law, with the promise that he would send money for them to join him as soon as possible.

“At first he used to write often, then much more rarely, every six or eight months, making the same old promises, which were to send money and tickets to bring his family to Australia. It would be good to know now if he really has a good job as he says, and if he earns well, with which company, his habits, his morals, what sort of a life he is leading and what his intentions are regarding his family.”90

Mons. Duhig always showed himself to be very attentive to problems connected with family reunion, a quite complicated process because of legal channels, and generally expensive. In May 1933 the Archbishop tried to obtain special discounts on behalf of Mario Gotti, an immigrant who wanted to bring his whole family to Australia: his wife, Giuseppina Azzola, 43 years old, and his children Maria (20 years old), Agnese (18), Alfredo (11), Guido (9) and Gina (8). Unfortunately, Mr L.B. Vitalia of the Australia-Italia Shipping Co. could not manage to get any special discount on the total price of £225, a huge sum for any dependent worker in Queensland.91

89 See S. Costantini, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 1 February 1932, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1932. 90 Avogadri Libero [undated anonymous note], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder I (undated). 91 See L. B. Vitali, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 15 May 1933 and Prepaid Passage-Nomination Form [undated], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933.

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Sometimes the prelate took the money needed to assist immigrants in their journeys from his own pocket. This was the case of Provedo Zuppi who, needing to travel from Brisbane to Melbourne for reasons not clarified in the documents, turned to Mons. Duhig who, in reply, sent him a cheque to cover the entire cost of the railway ticket.92 As has been previously discussed, the Archbishop of Brisbane was always ready to write letters of recommendation for Italians looking for work in Brisbane or any other Australian city. In October 1934 Mr E.L. Molachino, invited to make an application for the position of Italian lecturer at Sydney University, turned to Mons. Duhig for formal, written support.93 The prelate already knew about the “good name” of young Molachino thanks to a letter sent to him by Mr Vittorio Uccelli some weeks before, in which Mr Molachino was described thus:

“…a young man, from Piedmont, who loves his neighbour and in a special way his compatriots; this is Mr Monachino. He is also a devoted Catholic and a defender of the Church; we have heard him many times trying to convince those obstinate people who would like to make a nest of Communists out of the Church and her priests.94

Despite the letters of recommendation from Mons. Duhig, Dr F. Piscitelli95 and the Italian Vice-Consul of Townsville, things did not seem to turn out well for the young Piedmontese, who confessed to the prelate that he had not managed to secure the support of the Italian Consul General in Sydney, perhaps because of a rival closer to the

92 See J. Duhig, Letter to the Railway Booking Office of 28 June 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 93 See E. L. Molachino, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 22 October 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 94 V. Uccelli, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 29 September 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 95 Dr F. Piscitelli was working as a doctor at the Italian Hospital of Ingham; see Presentation to His Grace Mons. Duhig, Comm. Giacomo, Archbishop of Brisbane of Verocchio’s Fountain of Remembrance at the instance of ‘Il Giornale Italiano,’ Brisbane 1937, p. 16.


diplomat.96 The relationship between the Archbishop and Molachino became closer with time, to the extent that the latter became a kind of official “spokesman” for the prelate with the Italian community, as in the case of the invitation to attend a Mass organised in the Cathedral on Tuesday 12 May 1936 to commemorate the Italians fallen in the Abyssinian War:

“I passed on to the Italian gathering of Saturday evening your best wishes, and I made an announcement and invited all the Italians present and not present, if possible, to be good enough to attend the Mass for the fallen at the Cathedral next Tuesday at 6.30 am. I am pleased to tell Y.E. that, although I only had the limited time of 48 hours, I was able to call together about 80 people among whom I was able to reconcile – for the first time – people diametrically opposed in ideas and character.”97

In those years Mr Molachino was self-employed in Brisbane as an interpreter and businessman. On some occasions Mons. Duhig took advantage of the young man’s expertise for the translation of his own official speeches into Italian.98 Aware of the fame of the good Archbishop of Brisbane, friend of Italians, some migrants scattered throughout Australia wrote to him even from very far away in the hope of obtaining a job in Queensland. In May 1934, the farm worker L. Gigliotti sent his request from Tallangatta, in the state of Victoria. As bad weather had irreparably damaged the tobacco harvest, his only means of support, the farmer found himself obliged to look for work elsewhere.99 A year later, from Mossman in the far north of Queensland, there arrived at the

96 See E. L. Molachino, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 9 October [more probably, November] 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 97 E. L. Molachino, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 11 May 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936. 98 See J. Duhig, Speech on the motor-ship Romolo of 8 July 1936 [summary], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935; the heading of the summary bears the name of E. Molachino, “Italian Interpreter & Pract. Accountant.” 99 L. Gigliotti, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 26 May 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934.

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Archbishop’s curia a letter from a W. Tilocca, an unemployed Italian labourer who would be glad of a job for two or three months in Brisbane.100 All situations of need on the part of Italians concerned Mons. Duhig, who was always ready to collaborate with the Italian consulate for the most urgent cases. In March 1937 two notes were prepared: the first was about the sad situation of Mr Lino Agostinelli del Dosso who, staying in a Catholic refuge and without financial means, needed the money he had in the Banca Commerciale of Lecco to be sent to him.101 The second note related to the case of Mrs Amelia Truda to which ample reference has already been made.102 The benevolent attitude of the Archbishop of Brisbane towards Italians was also revealed in small gestures, such as the hospitality offered to Colonel Giovanni Masturzi of Sorrento on the occasion of his visit to Queensland in May 1931. Some months later the Colonel published a book entitled Un giro intorno al mondo [A Trip around the World], in which his travel memories were gathered. In that publication he rendered special tribute to Mons. Duhig and for this reason sent him a copy in July 1937.103 Even when it was necessary to defend the good name of Italy and the Italians, the Archbishop of Brisbane never drew back. Following certain criminal activities in the district of Innisfail imputed to Italian workers, in January 1934 a new “anti-Italian” campaign began, which was reported in the national press.104 The Consul General in Sydney decided to respond to the accusations and asked for the explicit support of Mons. Duhig:

“Your Excellency who, so many times, has demonstrated Your great benevolence towards the Italian worker, and who

100 See W. Tilocca, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 21 October 1935, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 101 See J. Duhig, Letter to an anonymous recipient of 5 March 1937 [summary], AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937. 102 See J. Duhig, Letter to an anonymous recipient of 16 March 1937 [summary], AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937. 103 See G. Masturzi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 July 1933, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933. 104 See “Armed Foreigners,” Sydney Morning Herald, 14 January 1934.


has such a clear vision of the state of things, could yet again with a word spoken on the subject, in a way that would be reported by the Press, express Your opinion on the matter. I have no doubt that even those who pretend to be deaf could not do less than reflect and be very cautious when Your Excellency has once more clarified Your thinking in this regard.”105

The prelate replied promptly to the appeal, which in the meantime became even more urgent because of the dramatic incidents in the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia, where a crowd of drunken miners attacked the local foreign community, burning down their houses and shops, not without bloodshed.106 Mons. Duhig’s heartfelt defence yet again managed to reduce tensions and pacify spirits.107 The following year, Mussolini’s Italy openly showed its intention to invade Abyssinia, despite the continued opposition of the international community which accused the Fascist regime of being imperialist and warmongering. The question reached very shrill tones, the echo of which reverberated as far as Australia, becoming yet another of an infinite number of attacks against Italian workers. Mons. Duhig, who had never hidden his sympathy towards a government that had achieved the solution of the difficult “Roman question,” entered the field openly in favour of the Italian war initiative. An article on the subject by him, published in “The Brisbane Courier” of 12 August 1935, unleashed the anonymous reactions of some Australian Catholics opposed to the conflict. The Archbishop in his support for Mussolini was charged with being diabolic and antichristian,108 the sympathiser of a traitor to the international

105 A. Ferrante, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 January 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 106 See T. Cecilia (1985), pp. 228-229. 107 See A. Ferrante, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 February 1934 and Il Giornale Italiano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 February 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 108 See Anonymous, Letter to Mons. Duhig [undated], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935.

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alliance109 and supporter of a homicidal war.110 In fact, between Mons. Duhig and the Duce there did exist a certain bond of friendship, consolidated through several personal meetings. The first came about in 1927 at Palazzo Chigi.111 In 1932 the Archbishop was once more Mussolini’s guest at Palazzo Venezia, his official residence, in the famous Sala del Mappamondo [Hall of the Globe], for a courtesy call. On 29 October 1935 there was another private meeting in Rome. The prelate and the statesman were together again two days later for the inauguration of the “University City” of the Italian capital.112 The esteem Mons. Duhig fostered for Mussolini, the “Saviour” of Italy, was unquestionably great. The original text reads:

“Rome, the Mistress of the world in culture and religion, is in our time once more setting an example to all civilized countries in the art of government, and Italy’s ancient glory is being revived under two great leaders of our time, Pope Pius XI and the great Duce, Mr Mussolini, who may well be called the Saviour of his country.”113

In February 1937 the Archbishop of Brisbane decided to send the Duce a tangible sign of his admiration. Availing himself of the kindness of the commander of the motor-ship Romolo, Mons. Duhig sent two objects typical of the local craftsmanship: a maplewood tray and a walnut walking stick.114 An expert connoisseur and sincere admirer of the Italian language, the Archbishop often used it in his speeches and sermons

109 See Anonymous [from Brisbane], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 August 1935, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 110 See Anonymous [from Ipswich], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 August 1935, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 111 See J. Duhig, Letter to B. Mussolini of 18 February 1937, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937. 112 See J. Duhig, The Italian Viewpoint – and a plea [manuscript of 9 November 1935], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 113 J. Duhig [author nor explicit], Message [summary], AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1939. 114 See J. Duhig, Letter to B. Mussolini of 18 February 1937, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937.


addressed to the Italian community. Convinced of the value of the linguistic component in the pastoral care of migrants, in October 1935 Mons. Duhig initially seemed favourable towards the proposal of Mr C. Albanese to insert a supplement in Italian into the Catholic Leader, the Catholic paper of Brisbane.115 For reasons not recorded in the documents, the initiative did not take off. At any rate, on 19 March 1937, at the wish of the prelate, an Italian version of the encyclical Divini Redentoris of Pius XI was published in the Catholic Leader.116 The teaching of the Italian language in Catholic schools was one of the desires of Mons. Duhig, as he himself revealed in January 1936 to the Mother Superior of All Hallows College in Brisbane, recommending Mr Luciano as an expert teacher in the subject. The original text reads:

“I need scarcely add that I am anxious to see the language taught in our secondary school, and I was very pleased to find that Nudgee College had already taken it up with success.”117

The benevolence of the Archbishop towards Italian settlers was also witnessed by the numerous letters of thanks which reached him from every region of Australia. Sometimes the gratitude of the beneficiaries was made tangible by some small tokens. This was the case of Guido V. (the rest of the surname is illegible) from Florence who, during his voyage home on the motor-ship Esquilino, sent the prelate a note with an offering for the construction of the new Cathedral in Brisbane.118 Michele Cannavò also, a farmer of Fortitude Valley, wanted to demonstrate his gratitude to Mons. Duhig and sent him a little gift for a favour received.119 But the proverbial generosity of the Archbishop of Brisbane deserved a collective recognition and

115 See C. Albanese, Letter to mons. Duhig of 29 October 1935, AAB, Box Italians I. Folder 1935. 116 See Pio XI, “Divino Redentoris,” Catholic Leader, 19 March 1937. 117 J. Duhig, Letter to the Mother Superior of All Hallows College of 24 January 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936. 118 See Guido V., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 14 November [no year specified], AAB, Italians II, Folder 2 (undated). 119 See M. Cannavò, Letter to Mons. Duhig [undated], AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 2 (undated).

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so in late 1934 the idea was raised of a “presentation to the great and noble defender of Italians,” which would express the gratitude of all the Italian communities of Australia.120 The initiative took shape in the Club Concordia of Sydney thanks to Mr Franco Battistessa, editor of Il Giornale Italiano.121 At the beginning it was all about a collection of money for a parchment certificate and a photograph album,122 but the offerings were so generous that the organisers were forced to reconsider the original plans. In about the middle of 1935 the idea of a typically Italian work of art began to develop, and in July of the same year the design of a fountain, a replica of the famous masterpiece of Andrea del Verrocchio in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, was officially displayed.123 The precious gift of the whole Italian community of Australia to the Archbishop of Brisbane was only ready at the beginning of 1937 and the presentation ceremony was set for Sunday 4 April:

“From early in the afternoon a large Italo-Australian crowd was gathering at the Archbishop’s residence to await the arrival of consular, civic and ecclesiastical Authorities and Representatives and other invited guests, many of whom coming from far off places in the interior. […] Mr Bianchi then invited the Royal Vice Consul of Italy, Dr Chieffi, to proceed with the unveiling of the Fountain of Remembrance and the presentation of the same to Mons. Duhig, a duty which Dr Chieffi performed with grave simplicity after having expressed his own appreciation and admiration to the distinguished Prelate for the valiant work of Italianness untiringly undertaken by Him.”124

120 See “Per un Omaggio al Grande e Nobile Difensore Degli Italiani,” Il Giornale Italiano, 7 November 1934, p. 4. 121 See Presentation to His Grace Mons. Duhig, Comm. Giacomo, Archbishop of Brisbane of Verocchio’s Fountain of Remembrance at the instance of ‘Il Giornale Italiano,’ Brisbane 1937, p. 6. 122 See note 120. 123 See “Una replica della Famosa Fontana del Verrocchio,” Il Giornale Italiano, 31 July 1935, p. 6. 124 “Solenne Cerimonia della Consegna della ‘Fontana della Ricordanza’ a Monsignor Duhig, Arcivescovo di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 7 April 1937, p. 3.


As it seems from the brochure printed to commemorate the event, almost all the diverse Italian community of Brisbane was involved in the tribute to Mons. Duhig, a testimony of a sincere appreciation beyond political or confessional affiliation.125 It is anyway needful to recall that the Archbishop of Brisbane had already received, as early as April 1935, a tangible token of gratitude on the part of the Italian government, when His Majesty the King of Italy, following a proposal by Benito Mussolini, conferred on him the rank of Commendatore del Suo Ordine della Corona d’Italia [Commander of His Order of the Crown of Italy].126 The glad tidings were quickly diffused by Il Giornale Italiano, which explained the reasons:

“H.E. Archbishop Duhig is the only Australian on whom such a high honour has been conferred; in truth he is the only person in Australia with this decoration. The constant defence of the good name of Italy that Mons. Duhig has always upheld in Australia, the great value he has placed on the Italian worker whom he has always championed, could not but earn the high recognition of the Fascist Government and the high appreciation of His Majesty the King of Italy.”127

The official presentation of the certificate of Commendatore della Corona d’Italia took place only on 8 July 1936, at the hand of the Consul General Paolo Vita-Finzi who came especially from Sydney on the motor-ship Romolo.128 The official ceremony took place on the same embarkation, with the participation of over 150 representatives of the local Italian community.129 The speech by Mons. Duhig on that

125 See note 121. 126 See Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 26 April 1935, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 127 “S. E. l’Arcivescovo Duhig Commendatore della Corona d’Italia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 May 1935, p. 6. 128 See P. Vita-Finzi, Letter to Mons. Duhug of 27 June 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936. 129 See J. Duhig, Letter to the Ministerial Secretary of State of 18 July 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936.

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occasion, translated by E. Molachino,130 expresses the prelate’s sincere thanks:

“I most profoundly thank the Eminent Royal Consul for the high honour conferred on me this evening, in granting me the Order of Knighthood which the August Majesty of Victor Emanuel III of Savoy, King of Italy and Emperor of Abyssinia, has generously willed to confer on me and which I will cherish as a pledge of gratitude and affection from and for your people with whom I have had the pleasure to live in contact since the years of my youth. With the most distinguished Mr Consul, I extend my cordial greeting to your noble Wife, and may my sincere expression be graciously accepted by her in the name of all good Italian mothers.”131

130 See J. Duhig, Signor console … [summary of translation], AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1935. 131 J. Duhig, Discorso a bordo della Romolo dell’8 luglio 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936.


4. Italian associations in Brisbane The vivacity of the little Italian community of Brisbane in this period found expression in the demonstrated trend towards the formation of associations. The most visible reality was the Fascio di Brisbane which, as has been previously seen, began operations in 1930. From 1937 onwards it bore the name of Giuseppe Degol, an “Italo-Australian” hero of the First World War.132 It enjoyed obvious support on the part of the Italian consular authorities, who for a decade had been engaged in promoting the development of similar associations in the principal cities of Australia. The provisory base of the Fascio di Brisbane was established at number 89 Brunswick St, which turns out to be the home of Dr G. Battaglia, the secretary of the association.133 In 1931 a limited group of camerati organised what was eventually defined as the “anniversaries of the Fatherland,” a tradition which was then perpetuated in following years. They consisted of three festivals brought together in a single celebration: 28 October (March on Rome), 4 November (Armistice Day) and 11 November (Birthday of King Vittorio Emanuele III). The appointment was for Sunday evening, 8 November, and Mons. Duhig was one of the guests of honour.134 This celebration was repeated the following year on 20 November, in an event of decidedly greater proportions, defined by the organisers as La Giornata dell’Italiano [Italian Day]:

“On 20 November Italian Day was celebrated, with the aim of pairing the historic dates with a jolly and most successful picnic in which all the Italians of Brisbane participated and

132 Giuseppe Degol was born in Strigno (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Vicenza) in 1882. In his youth he left Italy to seek his fortune in Australia. An Italian patriot, he answered the call to arms for the First World War and returned to the Peninsula. As a second lieutenant in the Alpini regiment he was awarded the military gold medal for acts of heroism at Albaredo d’Adige (Verona) on 14 November 1915. See “Degol Giuseppe,” in A. Zanetel, Dizionario biografico di uomini del Trentino sud-orientale, Alcione - Trento 1978. 133 See G. Battaglia, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 6 November 1931, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1931. 134 As above.

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numerous Australian guests, in the enchanting destination of ‘Bishop Island.’”135

On 28 October the Fascio also decided to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the March on Rome with a special toast rendered more pleasurable by the speeches of G. Battaglia, Mr Tom MacWilliam, the consular agent, and G. Luciano.136 At the beginning of 1933, with a religious ceremony, the pennant of the Fascio di Brisbane was inaugurated. The event raised some criticism from within the Italian community, motivated by the fear that such a nationalistic demonstration could have a negative influence on the already complicated relations between Australian authorities and Italian workers.137 Actually, there is no record of a negative response. In the following May the “Directory” of the Fascio had already been formed, which immediately asked for an appointment with Mons. Duhig for a special colloquium, the subject of which is not further specified in the documents.138 At the beginning of November, with a celebration of a more intimate character, the homeland anniversaries of 28 October and 4 November were celebrated:

“In a private room, “The Golden Room” of the Carlton Hotel, splendidly lit and brightly decorated with vines, branches and tricolour ribbons to recall the distant Fatherland, through the initiative of the Fascio, there took place the solemn commemoration of the fateful dates of the Victory and the March on Rome which gave Italy a new and more luminous countenance, and Italians greater pride, engendered by awareness of their might.”139

135 “Da Brisbane: Il Decennale commemorato dal Fascio di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 31 December 1932, p. 10. 136 As above. 137 See Aldo Signorini, “Ti conosco mascherina,” Il Giornale Italiano, 18 March 1933, p. 3. 138 See G. Battaglia, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 22 May 1933, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1933. 139 “Brisbane. La piccola ma tenace colonia italiana commemora solennamente le storiche ricorrenze,” Il Giornale Italiano, 22 November 1933, p. 4.


As a corollary to the commemorations, on Sunday 19 November the Fascio di Brisbane organised a Holy Mass for the souls of all the Italian war dead, presided over by Mons. Duhig in the city Cathedral.140 The cordial relations between the Archbishop of Brisbane and the camerati of the Fascio could have been unexpectedly threatened in September 1934 by a series of accusations against Dr G. Battaglia and his “satellites” by about thirty Italian Catholics living in the Queensland capital. The spokesman regarding these complaints was Mr Vittorio Uccelli, living at number 107 Leichhardt St, Spring Hill, who wrote Mons. Duhig an explicit missive on the subject:

“I am speaking especially of “cav. Battaglia” who knows how to play the part of a good Catholic in front of Your Excellency; with his satellites, Luciano and others, behind the scenes are giving nocturnal banquets to celebrate the date of 20 September. [...] The goodness of Y.E. will pardon me if I am bold to tell you that I have a letter underway, of five pages, against Battaglia, to send to the R. Italian Consul in Sydney. The said letter bears the signatures of 30 Italians in Brisbane protesting against his haughtiness, and against his boastful claims of being a ‘benefactor.’”141

The documents consulted, however, do not mention any kind of negative repercussion, either at the level of the episcopal curia or at the level of the consular authorities. Moreover, the following November the Consul General, Mons. Duhig and Dr Battaglia collaborated with alacrity in the organisation of the celebrations for the arrival of the battle cruiser Diaz at the port of Brisbane. The

140 See “S. E. l’Arcivescovo Duhig celebra una Messa per i caduti italiani,” Il Giornale Italiano, 22 November 1933, p. 4. 141 V. Uccelli, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 29 September 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934.

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commemoration of the patriotic festivities for 1934 was carried out by the Fascio Sunday 28 October without too much pomp.142 The sources consulted contain fairly scarce news about the Fascio di Brisbane in the years 1935 and 1936, even if the names of the Fascist camerati are often linked to the main events in the Italian community of the capital of Queensland. One may plausibly suppose that such “silence” reflects the climate generated in Australia at this time which was not very favourable towards the Fascist regime, because of the Italian expansionist goals in Abyssinia. It seems, moreover, that towards the middle of 1935 some “internal problems” arose following the arrival in Brisbane of Dr Angelo Vattuone.143 The latter, having already been an active propagandist for Fascism in North Queensland, decided to move to the capital, despite being advised to the contrary by his friend G. Battaglia. Between the two doctors an inevitable rivalry was soon created, not so much at the professional level as at the level of leadership and authority within the little Italian community of Brisbane. That situation could hardly enhance the image of local Fascism.144 The news resumed in November 1937 when Il Giornale Italiano carried a brief paragraph on the activities of the Fascio, already honoured by the name of Giuseppe Degol: on Sunday 7 November two delegations of camerati made a solemn visit to the graves of deceased Fascists in the two city cemeteries.145 On 16 January 1938 the Befana Fascista was celebrated. Even though the date cannot be confirmed in the sources consulted, it seems that it was an event that was already part of local Fascist tradition. More than 40 girls and boys from the Italian community were involved and they all received

142 See “Da Brisbane: Il XXVIII Ottobre commemorato dai Fasci del Queensland,” Il Giornale Italiano, 14 November 1934, p. 5. 143 In the September of 1935, Dr Vattuone, originally from Genoa, was running a clinic at number 113 Wickham Terrace, next door to his apartment. There is no evidence regarding his marital status; see “Cronachetta di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 11 September 1935, p. 6, “I Bagordi Conviviali di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 11 settembre 1935, p. 6. 144 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 25. 145 See “Fascio ‘Giuseppe Degol’ – Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 November 1937, p. 7.


a lovely Christmas present.146 The name of G. Battaglia does not appear among the notable participants, so at this point in time he seems to have already distanced himself from the Fascio. The name of Captain F. Quaglia147 appears, together with those of Mons. Duhig, the engineer Leonardo Chieffi and Cap. L. Cervetto. It was Cap. Quaglia himself, director of the local branch of the Australia-Italia Shipping Company, who became the new guide of the Fascio Giuseppe Degol, as is demonstrated by the fact that he was the one called upon to present the annual balance of the association on the occasion of the celebration of 28 October 1938.148 On 7 January 1939 the secretary of the Fascio, F. Quaglia, invited the Archbishop of Brisbane to the Befana Fascista organised for the following day at 3.30 pm at the premises of the Cathedral School put at their disposal by Mons. Duhig himself.149 A few days later the prelate and Cap. Quaglia were together again on the motor-ship Remo for the solemn benediction of the pennant of the After Work Section:

“The Secretary of the Fascio di Brisbane thanks the captain for the beautiful hour of Italianità which with ceremony was brought alive for the Fascists and Italians of Brisbane and extended good wishes for the fortune of the new Pennant and all the glorious flags of Italy. He outlined the noble figure of the officiating High Prelate and the modest and most Italian [italianissima] figure of the Godmother [Mrs Rosa

146 See “La Befana Fascista a Brisbane Festeggiata con fitto Concorso di Connazionali,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 January 1938, p. 7. 147 Captain Quaglia arrived in Brisbane in 1935 to direct the local branch of the Australia-Italia Shipping Company. Thanks to his good character and intelligence, recorded by E. Molachino, Cap. Quaglia rapidly reached the top of the Italian community in the capital and replaced G. Battaglia as secretary of the Fascio Giuseppe Degol. See “Noterelle Sociali di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 May 1935, p. 6; E. Molachino, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 11 May 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936 and F. Quaglia, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 January 1939, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1939. 148 See “La Colonia Italiana di Brisbane Adunata a Bordo dell’Esquilino,” Il Giornale Italiano, 9 November 1938, p. 7. 149 See F. Quaglia, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 January 1939, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1939.

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Agostinelli] and concluded by saying that the Pennant was starting its life under the best possible auspices.”150

This is the last piece of news regarding the Fascio Giuseppe Degol reported in the sources consulted. In 1936, under pressure from the Consul-General of Italy, Paolo Vita-Finzi, Dr Angelo Vattuone took the first steps towards the creation of a local branch of the Società Nazionale Dante Alighieri [National Dante Alighieri Society]. The idea was to entrust all the administrative positions to committed Fascists, except the presidency, which was offered to Dr Raphael Cilento,151 so as to avoid an overly “political” image of the Society. For the same reason, Mons. Duhig was asked to be its patron.152 In February 1937 the Society already numbered nineteen members, both Italian and Australian, of whom three were life members and sixteen annual. Cap. Luigi Cervetto was the treasurer and the Archbishop of Brisbane figured as a life member, having paid the relative subscription of £5.153 In May 1937 the program of the activities of the Dante Alighieri Society was drawn up, which provided a series of lectures to be held the last Friday of the month at 8 pm at the premises of the Lyceum Club in Queen Street. Those lectures were open to an interested public. On 28 May it was Mons. Duhig’s turn, with a talk in English on Dante Alighieri, and of Cap. F. Quaglia with a lecture in Italian entitled L’Italia nel Mare di Levante [Italy in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea]. Mr G. Luciano was the secretary of the Society, charged with the official

150 “La Benedizione del Gagliardetto della Sezione del Dopolavoro della M/N Remo.” Il Giornale Italiano, 8 February 1939, p. 7. 151Raphael West Cilento was born in 1893 in Jamestown, South Australia. The son of an Italian immigrant, he gained a degree in medicine at the University of Adelaide and specialised in tropical medicine in London. After moving to Queensland, he performed various public offices, finally becoming the director general of the Health and Medical Services Office in 1934. He died in 1985; see F. G. Fisher, Raphael Cilento, a Biography, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1994. 152 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript p. 24. 153 See L. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 25 February 1937, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937.


communications.154 As per program, the second meeting took place on 25 June; the lecturers were Dr G. B. Battaglia with the subject Visione storica della lingua italiana [Historical Overview of the Italian Language] and Mrs Fison who undertook to present “A Modern Miracle.”155 On Sunday 19 September 1937 the president, Dr Sir Raphael Cilento, invited all the members to a reception at his mansion, for the ceremony of delivering the membership cards.

“Last Sunday on the 19th of the month, in the luxurious mansion of Sir Raphael Cilento, president of the local branch of the Dante Alighieri, a goodly number of members gathered, invited by Sir Raphael, for a lavish reception on the occasion of the delivery of the official membership cards to all the members of the worthy institution. [...] In a few well-spoken words Sir Raphael illustrated the aims of this important cultural Association and reminded all present of how much the whole world owes to Italy and its civilising work which proceeds always and everywhere despite the deliberate attempts sometimes to weaken its importance by people in whose interest it is to do so.”156

On Friday 24 September the normal cycle of lectures resumed and it was the turn of Mrs Quaglia who presented the poem Affetti d’una madre [The Affections of a Mother] by Giuseppe Giusti, and of Mrs Stephens with a prolusion entitled “A Beautiful Part of Italy Unknown to Many Travelers.”157 1938 was a year full of activity for the Dante Alighieri of Brisbane. On 20 January Dr Cilento, on behalf of the Society, addressed a heartfelt speech of welcome to the senior officers and crew of the battle cruiser Montecuccoli. The speech, delivered by the 154 See G. Luciano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 15 May 1937, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1937; “Società Naz. Dante Alighieri. Sezione di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 May 1937, p. 7. 155 See “Società Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 23 June 1937, p. 7. 156 “Festa alla Dante Alighieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 29 September 1937, p. 7. 157 See “Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 22 September 1937, p. 7.

176 Chapter Six

vice-president Quaglia (Sir Raphael was absent on official duty), was reported in its entirety in the Il Giornale Italiano of 2 February.158 On Friday 1 April the annual meeting of the branch committee was held and the election of office-bearers was completed: Mons. Duhig was patron, the Consul General A. Mammalella was honorary president, Dr Cilento executive president, with vice-presidents Mr D. Fison and Cap. Quaglia. The secretary was still Mr G. Luciano and the treasurer Mr G. Mangione, with lesser roles taken by R. Peet Turker, J.H. Harris, E. Messervy, E. Peters, Dr Vattuone, C. Gattino, A. Donato, Harser and Newson.159 Three days later, thirty members of the Dante Alighieri met at the Ristorante Alfano to farewell Cap. and Mrs Quaglia who were leaving for Sydney, where Cap. F. Quaglia had been called to temporarily replace the director general of the Australia-Italia Shipping Company, who was making a voyage to Italy.160 On Friday 29 April the president invited all the new members of the Dante to a reception in his mansion at 683 Ipswich Rd, Annerley. The occasion was once again the official delivery of membership cards, on payment of the annual fee now set at £10.161 Mons. Duhig also participated in the highly successful event, which was made most enjoyable by the excellent recitals of singing, music, prose and poetry in Italian.162 Profiting from the presence in the port of Brisbane on the motor-ship Remo, the Society organised the first “annual ball” on Thursday 28 May at 8.30 pm. The participants, in full evening dress, were required to pay an entry charge to the value of £5.163 The outcome of the event, notwithstanding climatic adversities, seems substantially positive:

“Despite the fact that the weather was anything but ideal, the evening aboard the Remo brought together a fair number of

158 See “Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Il Messaggio di Benvenuto di Sir R.W. Cilento alla ‘Montecuccoli,’” Il Giornale Italiano, 2 February 1938, p. 7. 159 See “Società Dante Alighieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 6 April 1938, p. 7. 160 See “Trattenimento ai Sigg. Quaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 13 April 1938, p. 7. 161 See “Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 27 April 1938, p. 7. 162 See “Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. L’Inizio dell’Anno Sociale,” Il Giornale Italiano, 11 May 1938, p. 7. 163 See “Ballo della Dante Alighieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 25 May 1938, p. 7.


participants. H.E. Comm. Duhig, the Patron, was present and, as everyone knows, His presence is sought after and esteemed because there is nobody who is more Italian than H.E., especially when he is among Italians. Sir Raphael and Lady Cilento received the guests; the other members collaborated with various chores and the evening, as we have said, turned out to be a real success.”164

In September 1938 the idea arose from within the Dante Alighieri of founding a language school for children living in Brisbane. A public announcement to this effect was placed in Il Giornale Italiano of 14 September; Mr G. Luciano, the secretary, was in charge of collecting the subscriptions of all those interested.165 The cycle of lectures resumed on 30 September with “The Romance of the British Press” by Mr R. Peet Turker, and Dolori e gioie dall’Italia dai versi del Benelli [Sorrows and Joys from Italy in the Verses of Benelli] presented by Cap. F. Quaglia who had just returned from Sydney.166 The sources consulted do not carry further news regarding the Society. In September 1939, when Germany declared war on Poland, President Cilento decided to temporally suspend the activities of the Brisbane Dante Alighieri Society. Its activities were resumed after the end of the world conflict.167 It is needful to add that at the level of Italian associations in Brisbane between 1931 and 1939 other interesting ventures arose which do not subsequently appear to have survived. The first we have information about is the Circolo di Cultura Italiana, formed 21 March 1934. Its statutes, approved 17 April of the same year, establish the promotion of interest in the study of Italian language and literature as the only scope of the association. The steering committee consisted of

164 “Ballo della Dante Alighieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 June 1938, p.7. 165 See “Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 14 September 1938, p. 7. 166 See “Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 28 September 1938, p. 7 and “Benvenuto al cap. Quaglia e Signora,” Il Giornale Italiano, 28 September 1938, p. 7. 167 See D. Dignan, unpublished manuscript, p. 24. Don Dignan is currently involved in the publication of a study on the Brisbane Dante Alighieri Society to which we refer readers for more detailed information.

178 Chapter Six

a vice-patron, a president, two vice-presidents, a secretary, a treasurer and six other members. Its activities were organised in weekly meetings (exclusively in Italian) for everyone, and monthly for the committee. The subscription fee was set at £1. The secretary, Mr Elio Gensen, offered the office of patron to Mons. Duhig in June 1934.168 Unfortunately, the sources consulted do not carry any further information. The praiseworthy venture of Mr Rino Zonta did not even appear to have seen the light of day. In August 1935 he announced in Il Giornale Italiano the imminent creation of a Circolo Italiano in Brisbane.169 It is unfortunately not possible to clarify its aims and intentions, seeing that the promise to furnish the readers with a copy of its statutes and report of the activities of the new association is not fulfilled in subsequent editions. The idea of building a Casa d’Italia, an Italian House or Italian Club in Brisbane in 1936 seems much more concrete. In the draft of the project, conserved in the Diocesan archives, a very wide-ranging project with a notable support structure is evident. The original text reads:

“The Italian Comunity [sic] of Queensland taking example from all other comunities [sic] (even small) wishes to form a Club, or Italian House in Brisbane completely apolitical under every aspects [sic]. The scopes are. Reunions now and again with dances or parties for the enjoyment and better brotherhood and understanding between the Italians themselves and between Italians and Australians. Benefit for the poor, Hospitals, Ambulance and funds of the New Holy Name Cathedral with the nett [sic] profits of such reunions. Offices of business where Italians coming from Italy and North Q. can find help for the language and for their business passing through Brisbane, while now nobody knows where to go and what to do. (Italian Newspaper, Italian Shipping Line,

168 See E. Gensen, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 19 June 1934, AAB, Box Italians I, Folder 1934. 169 See “Circolo Italiano da Formarsi a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 14 August 1935, p. 5.


Italian Agents, Italian Doctors, etc.). Writing and reading room separate and room for ladies. Barber Shop and Tobacconist. Italian Goods shop (olive oil, antipasti, spaghetti, etc.). Italian Restaurant and diners with dining saloon and private dining room for private parties. Express coffee room and smoking. Dancing Saloon, if possible with a little stage. Billiard tables, cards tables [sic], indoor sports, for the funds of the New Holy Name Cathedral.”170

The Archbishop of Brisbane was personally involved in the collection of funds and organised a “Garden Party pro Casa d’Italia” at his residence in New Farm for 3 October 1936. For the realisation of the project a special committee was formed under the guidance of Cap. Luigi Cervetto and a programme was drawn up with numerous activities which included, besides the already mentioned Garden Party, a gathering on 22 September at the offices of the Australia-Italia Shipping Company, for the drawing of a raffle, and on 24 September a dance on board the motor-ship Viminale. The final reckoning, thanks also to conspicuous individual contributions, amounted to a net gain of £50.171 Once again, the sources consulted do not record further developments of this valuable initiative.

170 The Italian Comunity [sic] of Queensland, (no date), AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 2 (undated). 171 See L. Cervetto, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 October 1936, AAB, Box Italians II, Folder 1936.

180 Chapter Six


CONCLUSION

The small but tenacious Italian community of Brisbane … that definition, taken from Il Giornale Italiano of 22 November 1933, is perhaps the one which best clarifies the identity of Italians living in Brisbane between 1870 and 1940. Although that community cannot in any way compare with those of Melbourne and Sydney in size, for tenacity it is second to none. From the beginning, in fact, it consisted of courageous and enterprising people who left a profound mark on the history of the Queensland capital. Priests and artists, Mons. Quinn’s valuable “recruits”, scientists and lone adventurers populate the scenes of daily life in 19th century Brisbane, spreading worthy testimony to “Italianness”. But the early community was also composed of more anonymous families of fishermen and shopkeepers, whose sacrificial hard work has been shown, with the passage of time, to be the true key to their success. Swelling the ranks were the disconsolate refugees from badly-planned immigration schemes and dissatisfied emigrants from other Australian colonies when, towards the end of the 1800s, sugar seemed to glitter more than gold in everyone’s eyes. Fused with these were the dynamics of family reunions and chain migration, tragically blocked by the First World War. In the 1920s “mass” Italian migration took place and with it Brisbane was enriched with new tangible signs of Italian enterprise, of which the “factotum” Joe Deambrosi may be cited as the emblem. But it was only in the last decade before the Second World War that the Italian community of Brisbane enjoyed a certain profile, also thanks to the “injections” of nationalism of a clearly Fascist stamp. In the seventy years considered in this study, the Italians of the Queensland capital generally related to the “British” Australian world with a certain timidity, symptom of a painful integration process perhaps never clearly resolved. The “ghetto” of Breakfast Creek and the constant tendency to marry within the Italian community were probably the most obvious effects of this phenomenon. Not that exceptions are lacking: various people like Sir Raphael Cilento,

182 Conclusion

Andrea Stombuco, Francesco Castellano, Fernando Papi and Carlo Gattino demonstrate that obtaining full recognition in the local society was anything but impossible. A different interpretation, however, belongs to the continued disappearance of so many surnames from the scene of Italian community events, which appears to be the result of a process of complete assimilation into Australian society. The tenacity of the Italian community of Brisbane is evident above all in the hard work of its members. Not in the least discouraged by a possible initial failure, the Italians of the capital demonstrated a special capacity of adaptability to every kind of work and an excellent creativity in every field. They were farm workers and labourers, fishermen and carpenters, brick-layers and civil engineers, musicians and teachers, doctors and pharmacists; there was practically no occupational sector in which at least one Italian was not recorded, even if they clearly had a particular preference for the retail and restaurant trades. Since Archbishop Quinn’s time, the Brisbane Italian community can claim an average cultural level, generally gained before its arrival in Australia. Despite that, the possibility of a truly Italian school was not, according to the research, even discussed. The reason is perhaps linked to the likely number of enrolments. At any rate, other initiatives along this line seemed to have had reasonable success, like the Italian courses organised in private homes, Catholic schools and the Institute of Modern Languages, a commercial operation of the University of Queensland. The important contribution to the diffusion of Italian Language and Culture brought by the local branch of the Dante Alighieri Society in the 1930s must also be acknowledged. The role that religion played in the formation and consolidation of the Brisbane Italian community is indisputable. The figure of Bishop Quinn stands as the absolute promoter in the early years. By means of “troops” recruited individually and big migratory schemes, the prelate tried to populate his vast diocese with Catholics, trusting the centuries-old Italian artistic and scientific tradition to yield a “surplus”. Certainly the ecclesiastical architecture of the capital benefited from this; perhaps not equally the Faith, despite the merits of two “champions” of the Faith like Mons. Giovanni Cani and Don Giuseppe Canali and so many other less well-known Italian


missionaries. The Roman Catholic Church remained, however, an important point of self-identification for the little Italian community and certainly influenced the aforementioned tendency to marry within the ethnic group. The approach of Mons. James Duhig appears, instead, much more pastoral. He devoted himself to accompanying every little step of the community, both in the city and scattered over the archdiocesan territory. His earlier experience as a student in Rome and his precise understanding of the Italian language enabled him to weave sincere and jovial relationships with all Italians, from the Consular authorities to distinguished personages, from captains of industry to simple workers. The Archbishop, furthermore, was open to a more specialised kind of spiritual assistance, in aid of which he took the trouble to contact the Salesian missionaries. During his time as Archbishop, the Italian community was often the focus of missions preached to the people by Italian priests, who were also officially given the responsibility of celebrating Italian weddings. On special anniversaries, Mons. Duhig was always available to preside at religious ceremonies and address words of comfort, encouragement or thanks in the language of the immigrants. In the hearts of the first immigrants, leaving shortly after the Unity of Italy, patriotic sentiment was often confused with the sense of belonging to a specific region or province of Italy. That made it difficult, at least in the beginning, for Italian immigrants to gather round a common flag. During the 1870s, national sentiment grew notably to the point of being strong enough to front up to the host society when the time came to negotiate more favourable conditions for new settlers coming from Italy. In the years following 1920, the Italian community of Brisbane, in this regard, seemed to pass through a period of lethargy. But then, on the wings of Fascist enthusiasm, back came the flags and patriotic songs. Beyond political adherence, there may be seen the recovery of a healthy nationalism that re-established a lost sense of balance. Italian Brisbane, in any case, did not only wear black shirts. The diplomatic service of the Kingdom of Italy did not keep a stable presence in Brisbane, alternating between consular agents and honorary consuls. What must be recognised, however, is the constant attention on the part of the royal representatives towards the little community of the Queensland

184 Conclusion

capital. First from Melbourne and then from Sydney, communications from the Consul General arrived frequently, and he did not disdain to visit Italians to the north every time an opportunity came up. The tendency to form associations, a constant in Italian communities abroad, also asserted itself early on in the little Brisbane community, but faded away in a few years, returning impetuously in the thirties of the new century under the Fascist aegis. The Giuseppe Degol Fascio and the National Dante Alighieri Society were two excellent bodies of the little community which managed to exercise a notable influence throughout the whole state of Queensland. The obvious support of the apparatus of Mussolini’s regime does not detract from the laudable undertaking of a group of prominent Italians of Brisbane, whose commitment to the national cause went far beyond membership of a political party. Like the other Italian communities, the little Brisbane one faced up to its problems great and small with courage and dignity. Disagreements were not lacking, but there is no record of clamorous cases of public conflict. Not much news about Italian residents appeared in the scandal pages of local newspapers. What must be emphasised, however, is a sincere attitude of solidarity towards the less fortunate; from the doctor to the building contractor, from the bishop to the farm worker, there were many who put themselves out to help those left unemployed, or those who simply wanted to bring their families out from Italy. After 1940 the Italian history of Brisbane is filled with sad pages telling of deportations and internment camps. A long list of accusations and betrayals, of trials and condemnations, joins in one unjust sentence Italian citizens and naturalised Australians, political activists (right or left wing) and poor illiterate peasants [contadini]. Such happenings remind us that the tragedies of the Second World War, like those of every war, do not occur only at the front. On a more general level, Italian immigration unarguably represented one of the major contributions to the economic and social growth of Queensland between 1870 and 1940 and even more so in the period straight after the second World War. The capital, Brisbane, was particularly advantaged by the multiple processes of development that accompanied the settlement of thousands of migrants. As the


heart of the economic and political life, firstly of the colony and then of the state, Brisbane saw the destinies of so many intrepid emigrants play themselves out. People who left their Italian hills and plains in search of a better life in the southern tropics: fishermen and capable businessmen, artists and doctors, workmen and architects, settled there and freely gave the inestimable experience acquired in their distant fatherland to make it even more beautiful. From a terrible penal colony for criminals of the worst kind, Brisbane thus became a fascinating cosmopolitan city of a thousand faces and a thousand languages, a mirror of the reality that characterises, in varying proportions, the whole of Queensland. Unfortunately, the peaceful cohabitation between substantially different ethnic groups was often disturbed by the spectres of racism and discrimination, the tragic creation of an “isolationist” mentality never fully overcome. Italian immigrants were often the innocent victims, the scape-goats, when needed, in a swinging “love-hate” relationship which smacked of deliberate opportunism. Over the course of two centuries, the same sterile disquisitions about the benefits or otherwise of Italian immigration were repeated. The flames of anti-Italian hostility were rekindled as soon as threatening clouds of economic recession and unemployment appeared over the horizon. Then the accusations of lack of hygiene, crass ignorance and more or less organised criminality were renewed against the poor settlers … accusations which modern societies tediously repeat against the immigrants of today. The cane cutters of North Queensland, tireless workers, were treated like strike-breakers and maliciously excluded from the plantations by a discriminatory measure ironically defined as “a gentlemen’s agreement”. The interminable parliamentary discussions, the bitter sarcasm in the pages of Truth and the ambiguity of the Ferry Commission cannot, however, cancel all that is good and beautiful that Italians have done in Brisbane, in Queensland and in Australia.

186 Conclusion


REFERENCES

LIST OF DOCUMENTS

Unpublished Documents

Brisbane

Archives of the Archdiocese of Brisbane (AAB)

Albanese C., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 29 October 1935, Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Anonymous [name illegible], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 9 May 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

Anonymous, Letter to Mons. Duhig [without date], Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Anonymous [from Brisbane], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 August 1935, Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Anonymous [from Ipswich], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 August 1935, Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Avogadri Libero [anonymous note without date], Box Italians I, Folder 1 (without date)

Baggi Ferdinando - Muratore Vincenzo, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 23 March 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

Battaglia Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 December 1930, Box Italians I, Folder 1930

Battaglia Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 6 November 1931, Box Italians I, Folder 1931

188 References

Battaglia Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 22 May 1933, Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Battaglia Giovanni, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 2 September 1930, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1930

Borghese Giovanni, Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 28 October 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Bosio V. A. [name difficult to read], Letter to Mons. Duhig of 30 June 1925, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

Cannavò Michele, Letter to Mons. Duhig [without date], Box Italians II, Folder 2 (without date)

Cantamessa S., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 11 May 1931, Box Italians I, Folder 1931

Cattaneo B., Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 3 August 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

Cervetto Connie, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 August 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Cervetto Luigi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 September 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

Cervetto Luigi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 12 February 1933, Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Cervetto Luigi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 October 1933, Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Cervetto Luigi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 25 February 1937, Box Italians II, Folder 1937

Cervetto Luigi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 October 1936, Box Italians II, Folder 1936

Chiaruttini Mario, Fascismo (manuscript of September 1931), Box Italians I, Folder 1931

Commonwealth of Australia - Department of Interior, Letter to C. Baucia of 21 November 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934


Console Generale Grossardi, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 June 1931, Box Italians I, Folder 1931

Costantini Serse, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 1 February 1932, Box Italians I, Folder 1932

D’Alfonso Artiaco, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 8 April 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

De Mattia A., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 15 January 1930, Italians I, Folder 1930

Discorso al Fascio di Brisbane, Box Italians I, Folder 1930

Duhig James, Discorso a bordo della Romolo of 8 July 1936, Box Italians II, Folder 1936

Duhig James, Discorso sulla Motonave ‘Romolo’ dell’8 July 1936 [minute], Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Duhig James, Letter to B. Mussolini of 18 February 1937, Box Italians II, Folder 1937

Duhig James, Letter to A. Ferrante of 15 November 1934 [minute], Box Italians I. Folder 1934

Duhig James, Letter to anonymous of 5 March 1937 [minute], Box Italians II, Folder 1937

Duhig James, Letter to anonymous of 16 March 1937 [minute], Box Italians II, Folder 1937

Duhig James, Letter to J. Birch of 19 May 1928 [minute], Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

Duhig James, Letter to the Mother Superior of All Hallows College of 24 January 1936, Box Italians II, Folder 1936

Duhig James, Letter to Mrs Tessero of 19 August 1931, Box Italians I, Folder 1931

Duhig James, Letter to the Editor of the Beaudesert Times of 5 December 1928, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

190 References

Duhig James, Letter to the Ministro Segretario di Stato of 18 July 1936, Box Italians II, Folder 1936

Duhig James, Letter to the Raiway Booking Office of 28 June 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Duhig James, Letter to W. Aldovrandi of 7 August 1935, Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Duhig James, Mi sento non solamente … [minute without title], Box Italians II, Folder 2 (without date)

Duhig James [author not explicit], Message [minute], Box Italians II, Folder 1939

Duhig James, Signor console … [minute of translation], Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Duhig James, Telegram to A. Jachino of 27 October 1934 [minute], Box Italians I. Folder 1934

Duhig James, Telegram to G. Borghese of 27 October 1934 [minute], Box Italians I. Folder 1934

Duhig James, Telegram to P. Mambrini of 21 September 1934, Box Italians I. Folder 1934

Duhig James, The Italian Viewpoint – and a plea [manuscript of 9 November 1935], Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Ferrante A., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 January 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Ferrante A., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 February 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Ferrante A, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 November 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Forni Anselmo, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 December 1928, Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

Gensen Elio, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 19 June 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934


Gigliotti L., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 26 May 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Guido V., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 14 November [no year], Box Italians II, Folder 2 (without date)

Il Giornale Italiano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 February 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Jachino A., Telegram to Mons. Duhig of 27 October 1934, Box Italians I. Folder 1934

Leotta Palma, Letter to her Mother [without date], Box Italians II, Folder 1 (without date)

“Long Season Ends,” The Telegraph, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Luciano Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 May 1931, Box Italians I, Folder 1931

Luciano Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 20 November 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Luciano Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 15 May 1937, Box Italians II, Folder 1937

Marotta Nino, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 4 May 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Masturzi Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 July 1933, Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Messa Solenne di Suffragio celebrata a Brisbane per il Marchese Marconi, Box Italians II, Folder 2 (without date)

Milazzo P., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 1 December 1930, Italians I, Folder 1930

Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 26 April 1935, Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Molachino E. L., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 22 October 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

192 References

Molachino E. L., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 9 October [but probably November] 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Molachino E. L., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 11 May 1936, Box Italians II, Folder 1936

Montesu Francesco, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 June 1933, Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Pilati Alessandro, Letter to Mons. Duhig dell’8 October 1929, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

Prepaid Passage - Nomination Form [without date], Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Puliserpi Stefano - Gallo Urbano, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 June 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

Quaglia F., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 7 January 1939, Box Italians II, Folder 1939

Relazione della conferenza dei Farmers ASPA - QCGA, Box Italians I, Folder 1931

San Marzano G., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 5 May 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

San Marzano G., Letter to Mons. Duhig dell’8 June 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927

San Marzano G., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 14 March 1928, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

San Marzano G., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 24 March 1928, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

San Marzano G., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 10 May 1929, Box Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

tephen C. A., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 4 October 1928, Italians I, Folder 1928-1929

Tessero Giovanni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 4 July 1927, Box Italians I, Folder 1918-1927


The Italian Comunity [sic] of Queensland [without date], Box Italians II, Folder 2 (without date)

Tilocca W., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 21 October 1935, Box Italians I, Folder 1935

Uccelli Vittorio, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 29 September 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

W. J. Kennedy, McCormack & Co., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 16 June 1939

W. J. Kennedy, McCormack & Co., Letter to Mons. Duhig of 5 September 1939, Box Italians II, Folder 1939

Vita-Finzi Paolo, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 27 June 1936, Box Italians II, Folder 1936

Vitali Luigi Buoninsegni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 15 May 1933, Box Italians I, Folder 1933

Vitali Luigi Buoninsegni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 23 January 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Vitali Luigi Buoninsegni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 31 January 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

Vitali Luigi Buoninsegni, Letter to Mons. Duhig of 19 July 1934, Box Italians I, Folder 1934

John Oxley Library (JOL)

Queensland Post Office Directory. Trade and Professional Directory, Fiche 1, Year 1874

Queensland State Archives (QSA)

Baroni Fortunato, Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens

Benvenuti Antonio, Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens

194 References

Duke of Norfolk List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p. 361, Microfilm Z1968

“Franchi Carlo,” Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens

“Franchi Raffaello,” Alphabetic List of Naturalized Aliens

India. List of Immigrants, Imm. 124, p. 392, Microfilm Z1965

Jumna. List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p. 27, Microfilm Z1968

Mazzaglia Concetta, Imm. 63, Microfilm Z4260

Oroya List of Immigrants, Imm. 131, p. 51, Microfilm Z1167

Prinz Regent Luitpold List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p. 305, Microfilm Z1968

R. M .S. Ompah List of Immigrants, Imm. 128, p. 31, Microfilm Z1968

S. S. Orient List of Immigrants, Imm. 131, p. 22, Microfilm Z1167

S. S. Orontis List of Immigrants, Imm. 127, p. 494, Microfilm Z1968

S. S. Osterley List of Immigrants, Imm. 128, p. 162, Microfilm Z1968

Supreme Court, Register of Aliens 1882-1892, Microfilm Z 2286

Supreme Court, Register of Aliens 1893-1901, Microfilm Z 2287

Published Documents

Aldo Signorini, “Ti conosco mascherina,” Il Giornale Italiano, 18 March 1833, p. 3

“Aldovrandi e Caruso nel Queensland,” Il Giornale Italiano, 17 July 1935, p. 6

“Armed Foreigners,” Sydney Morning Herald, 14 January 1934


“Australia,” Bollettino del R. Ministero degli Affari Esteri, VI (1928) 3, p. 250

Balangero Giovanni Battista, Australia e Ceylon. Studi e Ricordi di tredici anni di missione, Torino 1885

“Ballo della Dante Alighieri,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 June 1938, p. 7

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C. Bertola, Notizie circa le condizioni degl’immigranti in Australia, in Emigrazione e Colonie. Raccolta di Rapporti dei RR. Agenti Diplomatici e Consolari, vol. II (Asia - Africa - Oceania), Roma 1906

“Brisbane Accoglie Festosamente l’Arrivo della R. N. ‘Montecuccoli,’” Il Giornale Italiano, 26 January 1938, p. 7

Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceeding 1912, Brisbane 1913




Brisbane City Council, Minutes of Proceeding 1921-1922, Brisbane 1923









196 References





“Brisbane Femminile all’Abbordaggio della Armando Diaz,” Il Giornale Italiano, 12 December 1934, p. 6

Brisbane Gastronomica, Il Giornale Italiano, 12 January 1938, p. 7

“Brisbane. La piccola ma tenace colonia italiana commemora solennemente le storiche ricorrenze,” Il Giornale Italiano, 22 November 1933, p. 4

“Brisbane. Nuova Pensione,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 April 1936, p. 6

Capra Giuseppe, “Gli Italiani in Australia,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione, (1911) 2

“Caruso e Aldovrandi alla Hibernian Hall,” Il Giornale Italiano, 11 September 1935, p. 6

Census of Queensland, 1871, Government Printer, Brisbane 1872.

Census of Queensland, 1881, Government Printer, Brisbane 1882



Census of the Commonwealth of Australia taken for the night between the 2nd and 3rd April, 1911, 3 vols., Dept. of State for Home and Territories, Melbourne 1914-1917

Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 4th April 1921, Census Bulletin No. 14


Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June 1933: population and occupied dwellings in localities, Commonwealth Govt. Printer, Canberra 1936

Census of the Commonwealth of Australia 1947, vol. I, Canberra 1950

Census of the Commonwealth of Australia 1947, Census Bulletin No. 11 (Summary for the State of Queensland), Canberra 1950

“Circolo Italiano da Formarsi a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 14 August 1935, p. 5

Clifford Frederick Chudleigh, New Italy: a brief sketch of a new and thriving colony founded and established by the Italian immigrants who were sufferers by the Marquis DeRay's New Ireland colonization scheme, Charles Potter, Sydney 1889

Commonwealth Immigration Office, Hints for New Settlers Coming to Australia, Melbourne 1925

Corte Pasquale, Continente nuovissimo ossia l’Australasia Britannica, Torino 1898

Corte Pasquale, “Gli Italiani nell’Australia e nella Nuova Zelanda,” Bollettino dell’Emigrazione (1906) 2-3, vol. II, pp. 513-561

“Cronachetta di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 4 September 1935, p. 6

“Cura personale per corrispondenza,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 April 1936, p. 6

“Da Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 12 November 1932, p. 2

“Da Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 13 June 1934, p. 5

“Da Brisbane. Doloroso lutto in casa Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 7 May 1932, p. 5

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198 References

“Decesso del Sig. Luigi Cervetto,” Il Giornale Italiano, 18 October 1939, p. 7

“Dino Borgioli,” Il Giornale Italiano, 9 March 1938, p. 7

“Divorzio Carena,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 November 1937, p. 7

Emigrazione e Colonie. Rapporti di RR. Agenti Diplomatici e Consolari pubblicati da R. Ministero degli Esteri, Roma 1893

“È scomparsa,” Il Giornale Italiano, 1 July 1936, p. 6

“Esposizione di Arte Italiana,” Il Giornale Italiano, 24 March 1937, p. 6

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“Il Regio Console Generale On. Mammalella a Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 5 July 1939, p. 7

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200 References

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Masturzi Giovanni, Un giro intorno al mondo, Napoli 1933

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Nibbi Gino, Volto degli emigranti: scene di vita in Australia, Firenze 1937

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Pio XI, “Divini Redentoris,” Catholic Leader, 19 March 1937

“Plebiscito d’amore e di fede,” Il Giornale Italiano, 19 February 1936, p. 6

Presentation to His Grace Mons. Duhig, Comm. Giacomo, Archbishop of Brisbane of Verocchio’s Fountain of Remembrance at the instance of “Il Giornale Italiano”, Brisbane 1937

202 References

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Rossi Luigi, Relazione sui servizi dell’emigrazione per l’anno 1909-1910, Roma 1910, pp. 202-214

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“S. E. l’Arcivescovo Duhig Commendatore della Corona d’Italia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 3 May 1935, p. 6


“Soc. Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 22 September 1937, p. 7

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“Società Nazionale Dante Alighieri. Comitato di Brisbane,” Il Giornale Italiano, 23 June 1937, p. 7

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“The Catholic Depot,” Il Giornale Italiano, 24 March 1937, p. 6

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“The Song of Hate: From Intimidation to Vituperation and Bombs Against the Italians in North Queensland,” Il Giornale Italiano, 4 June 1932, p. 1

204 References

“Trattenimento ai Sigg. Quaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 13 April 1938, p. 7

“Una Nobile Iniziativa del Dott. Battaglia,” Il Giornale Italiano, 15 May 1935, p. 6

“Una replica della Famosa Fontana del Verocchio,” Il Giornale Italiano, 31 July 1935, p. 6

“Una risonante eco alla nostra protesta,” Il Giornale Italiano, 27 May 1933, pp. 1-2

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“Virgulti della razza. Lawrence Deambrosi promettente pianista,” Il Giornale Italiano, 10 June 1935, p. 6

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INDEX OF NAMES

Abigail Norris Frances: 76

Agostinelli del Dosso Lino: 162

Agostinelli Rosa: 173, 174

Albanese C.: 165

Albanese Salvatore: 87

Aldovrandi Waldo: 150

Alfano Antonio: 143

Angelo Lorna: 144

Anivitti Giulio: 34, 77, 78

Antico Giovanni Terribile: 27

Antonini Michele: 68, 78, 83

Antonini A.: 86

Armati Pio Vico: 76, 77, 78

Asselin Giancarlo: 32

Avogadri Libero: 159

Azzola Giuseppina: 159

Baggi Ferdinando: 122

Baroni Fortunato: 84

Barza Laurena: 87

Battaglia Angelina: 134

Battaglia Giuseppina: 134

216 Index of Names

Battaglia Fortunato: 134

Battaglia Gina Elettra: 134

Battaglia Giovanni Battista: 101, 114, 121, 125, 129, 130, 133, 134, 135, 149, 150, 154, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 175

Battaglia Gloria Aurora: 134

Battaglia Rosina: 133, 149, 150, 154

Battistessa Franco: 149, 166

Baucia C.: 138, 139, 154

Belangero Giovanni Battista: 34, 69

Benvenuti Antonio: 74, 77

Benvenuti Catherine: 72

Benvenuti Italo: 74

Benvenuti Luigi: 74

Benvenuti Victor: 74

Benvenuti Angelo: 74

Beonio Brocchieri Vittorio: 152, 153

Bertazzon Isidoro: 30

Bertola Camillo: 37, 95

Biagi Giuseppe: 12

Bishop Peter: 47

Bonacini Pietro: 90, 91

Borghero (family): 33

Borghese Giovanni: 147, 148

Borgioli Dino: 155

Bormolini (family): 142

Borrie W. D.: 42


Bosio V. A.: 117

Bossone Filippo: 136

Bowen George Ferguson: 31, 55

Bracale Vittorio: 123, 124

Brady Charles: 32

Brady Thomas: 110

Briganti (o Brigante) Francesco Larosa: 85, 86

Briganti Mariano: 85

Brisbane Thomas: 45, 47

Brown Samuel: 65

Calcino Francesco: 102, 129, 131

Canale Andrea: 95

Canali Giuseppe: 72, 73, 84, 86, 105, 182

Caneva Germano: 115

Cani Giovanni: 63, 64, 66, 68, 71, 72, 182

Cantamessa Joe: 149

Cantamessa Peter: 149

Cantamessa S.: 138

Capra Giuseppe: 1, 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 38

Capra Pietro: 69, 73

Cardillo Francesco: 103

Carena Agnese: 144

Carena Giovanni: 144

Carmusci Domenico: 34, 76

218 Index of Names

Carnielo D. A.: 141

Caruso Domenico: 150

Caruso Enrico: 150

Castagnola Fiorenza: 84

Castagnola Giuseppina: 106

Castagnola Pasquale: 84, 106

Castagnola Sebastiana: 106

Castellano Franco (o Francesco): 129, 134, 135, 182

Cavalieri Umberto: 144

Cavaliero (o Cavallero) Giovanni: 88

Ceccolini (o Ugolini) Nicola: 87

Cervetto Luigi: 119, 120, 121, 145, 152, 154, 173, 174, 179

Cervetto Teresa Concetta (Connie): 145, 146

Chiaruttini Mario: 158, 159

Chieffi Leonardo: 152, 153, 154, 157, 166, 173

Cichero Jack: 120

Cilento Rapahel West: 137, 174, 175, 176, 177, 181

Clementoni Nazareno: 65

Clunie James Oliphant: 48, 49

Conradi Elisa: 88

Conradi Gesualdo: 88

Coppo Ernesto: 26, 127, 128

Corazzon A.: 139

Corradi G. F.: 141

Corte Pasquale: 18, 24, 36, 63, 93, 94


Cossu Pietro: 114, 115

Costa Dante: 149

Costa Enzo: 149

Costa Igino: 149

Costantini Serse: 159

Costello A. J.: 141

Cresciani Gianfranco: 25

Cunningham Freda: 145

D’Alfonso Artiaco: 109

Davadi Girolamo: 66

Da Zara Alberto: 154

De Ambrogi Battista: 88, 97

De Ambrogi (De Ambrosi, Deambrosi, Deambrose) Cesarina: 98, 99

De Ambrogi Giovanni: 96, 97, 98, 99, 100

De Ambrogi Lawrence: 99

De Ambrogi Luigia: 97

De Candia Cosimo: 85

De Candia G.: 140

De Candia R. J.: 140

De Mattia A.: 124

De Mattia R.: 141

Degol Giuseppe: 169, 172

Denaro Angelina: 100

Denaro Antonio: 103

220 Index of Names

Denaro Carmelo: 103, 141

Denaro F.: 139

Denaro Filippo: 85, 103

Denaro Francesco: 85, 103

Denaro Francisco: 85

Denaro Giuseppe: 103

Denaro Gregorio: 85, 103

Denaro Maria: 103

Denaro Nunzia: 103

Denaro Orazio: 103

Denaro Philipe: 85

Denaro Rosa: 85, 106

Denaro Sebastiana: 85

Denaro Vinera: 85

Denaro Vintiro: 85

Di Bella Alfio S.: 140

Di Betta Antonio: 131

Donato A.: 129, 129, 154, 176

Donato Concetta: 131

Donato Nunzio: 129, 131

Duhig James: 73, 102, 103, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 131, 133, 135, 138, 140, 145, 147, 148, 150, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 173, 174, 176, 177, 178, 183

Elena of Savoy: 150


Faiella (family): 86

Faiella Antonio: 106

Fasone Natale: 100, 101

Ferrante A.: 147

Finnegan John: 46

Fiorentini Cipriano: 115

Fison D.: 175

Forni Anselmo: 126

Fraire Chiaffredo Venerano: 34, 35, 36, 77, 78, 79, 88, 90, 92, 149

Franceschi Giuseppe: 81, 82, 83, 89

Francesco Giuseppe Carmagnola: 27, 30, 130

Franchi Carlo: 84

Franchi Raffaello: 83, 84, 86

Frizzo S.: 142

Fyans Foster: 49

Gagliardi F.: 82

Gallo Urbano: 122

Garrasi Rosario V.: 129, 130

Garrasi Virginia: 130

Gatti Angela: 103

Gatti Angelo: 88, 103

Gatti Carolina: 103

Gatti Francesco: 103

Gatti Giovanna: 103

222 Index of Names

Gatti Giuseppina: 149

Gatti Maria: 103

Gattino Carlo Alberto: 129, 132, 133, 154, 176, 182

Genese A. D.: 141

Gensen Elio: 178

Gigliotti L.: 161

Gorman Owen: 49

Gotti Agnese: 159

Gotti Alfredo: 159

Gotti Gina: 159

Gotti Giuseppina: 159

Gotti Guido: 159

Gotti Maria: 159

Gotti Mario: 159

Grasso Giovanni (1): 88

Grasso Giovanni (2): 103

Grasso Pietro: 101, 129

Gray John: 47

Griffith Samuel: 35, 75

Grossardi Antonio: 107, 128

Guerrini G.: 70

Harris J. H.: 176

Herbert Robert: 32

Hughes Thomas: 37


Lang John Dunmore: 51, 52, 53

Lazzaroni Giovanni Battista: 87

Logan Patrick: 48

Loretucci Augusto: 70

Lubrano Francesco (Frank): 29, 127, 145

Luciano Antonio: 146

Luciano Giovanni: 29, 145, 148, 152, 154, 165, 170, 174, 176, 177

Luciano Michela: 146

Luciano Rosa: 146

Luigi of Savoy: 95

Lutwyche Alfred James Peter: 53, 55

Maccheroni Amelia: 83

Maccheroni Giovacchino: 83, 84

Maccheroni Natalina: 83

MacWilliam Tom: 170

Maggi C.: 140

Mambrini Severino: 39, 146

Mammalella Amedeo: 156, 157, 176

Manassero Emmanuele: 128

Mangione Giuseppe: 129, 154, 176

Maplestone L. T.: 108

Marconi Guglielmo: 129, 153

Marenco di Moriondo Enrico: 95

224 Index of Names

Marletta Cesare: 84

Marotta Nino: 145

Masturzi Giovanni: 162

Mazzaglia Concetta: 104

Mazzaglia Concettina (o Concetta), 104

Mazzaglia Giuseppina (o Giuseppa), 104

Mazzaglia Sebastiano: 104

Mazzaglia Tina (o Agata): 104

McFarlane Sarah: 81

Messervy E.: 176

Melita (family): 86

Milazzo P.: 125

Miles Jane Frances: 79

Miller Henry: 46

Mindham Mary Ann Elizabeth: 85

Molachino E. L.: 160, 161, 168

Molony T.: 109, 153

Montesu Francesco: 113

Morfea (family): 86

Muratore Vincenzo: 122

Murray J. A.: 116

Mussolini Benito (Duce): 26, 42, 113, 135, 155, 163, 164, 167, 184

Natali Giacomo: 67

Novello Victor: 139


Ordo Giacomo: 87

Oxley John: 45, 46

Pamphlet Thomas: 46

Panico Giovanni: 152

Papi Fernando Cantù: 34, 75, 182

Papi Josephine Cantù: 73

Patergnani Carmelo: 65

Pauls H. J.: 82

Peters E.: 176

Petrie Andrew: 50, 53

Petrie John: 53

Pieranto Girolamo: 67

Pilati Alessandro: 110, 111

Pirandello Luigi: 150

Piscitelli F.: 160

Polding John B.: 31

Polistina Maria: 100

Pompei Giuseppe: 69, 72

Ponta L.: 143, 144

Prampolini Giuseppe: 29

Puliserpi Stefano: 122, 123

Pullè Giovanni Battista Attanasio: 81, 89

226 Index of Names

Quaglia F.: 152, 153, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177

Quinn James: 32, 34, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 86, 109, 181

Rando F.: 156

Regazzoli (family): 32

Regazzoli Felice: 37

Reggiardo Antonio: 87

Reller Willielm Johan Theodor: 87

Ricci Eugenio: 68

Roma Diamantina: 55

Romani Giuseppe: 66

Romano Cesare: 90

Rosetta E. B.: 106

Rosetto John: 87

Rosoli Gianfausto: 13

Rossetto Francesco: 87

Rossi Giovanni: 67

Rossi Luigi: 19

Rossolini Costantino: 66

Salotti (family): 86

San Marzano G. conte: 114, 115

Scordo (family): 86

Scortechini Benedetto: 67, 73

Sessarago E. R.: 106


Shekelton Sarah Ann: 78

Signorini Aldo: 136

Simonelli Achille: 102

Simonetti Achille: 34, 77, 78

Spellini Gaspare: 87

Sperotto Luigi: 144

Squitti Nicola: 16, 91

Stanislao (family): 86

Stanislao Peppino: 106

Stephen C. A.: 123

Stombuco Andrea: 79, 80, 182

Strano Alfio: 144

Tardozzi Oreste: 69

Tessero Giovanni: 102, 114, 118, 119, 129

Testa (family): 86

Tilocca W.: 162

Truda Amelia: 102, 162

Truda Gilda: 102

Truda Giuseppe: 87, 102

Turker R. Peet: 176

Turzigli Ernesto: 107

Uccelli Vittorio: 160, 171

Umberto of Savoy: 150

228 Index of Names

Vattuone Angelo B.: 135, 154, 172, 174

Vaughan Roger William Bede: 71

Vita-Finzi Paolo: 167, 174

Vitali Luigi Buoninsegni: 148

Vittorio Emanuele II: 1

Vittorio Emanuele III: 151

Williams Francis: 87

Williams John: 30

Zagami Salvatore: 101, 129, 130

Zagami Umberto: 130

Zalatel D.: 149

Zappalà S.: 140

Zocchi Joseph: 87

Zonta Rino: 149, 178

Italians of Brisbane

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