Glorioso Family

Somewhere between 1881 and 1890 12 to 40 Fishermen arrived From San Gregorio (a small fishing village near Capo D’Orlando in Sicily) and settled at Point (Cape) Peron near Rockingham. The initiating factor was an Austrian ship called the Honor, which called at Rockingham for Timber. The Crew were Genovese, and some of these men may have also stopped off at San Gregorio as part of the Cargo trade happening around Italy. They would have spread word of the fertile fishing grounds they had seen during their stay around Cockburn Sound. So, by 1885 when the ship called again, the first of the “Orlandini” from San Gregorio had likely landed.

Cono Glorioso – named after San Cono Navacita, patron of Naso and Capo D’Orlando was likely one of the first arrivals in or around 1885, together with a small number of friends. Cono was born in 1858 in San Gregorio to Matteo Glorioso and Basilia Lazzaro. If you were born in San Gregorio, almost undoubtedly you were born to a family of “Marinari” or “Seafarers”. Legend has it, a Spanish Admiral named “Glorioso” had deserted his ship in the 1700’s and landed at San Gregorio, where the present Glorioso family stems. Cono Glorioso married Rosaria Corrao in 1879 and they went on to have their only Son – Matteo – in 1880, and daughters Calogera, Maria, Grazia and Giuseppina. All sisters later married men from San Gregorio (Calogera married a Collica, Maria married a Salvo, Grazia married a Tripi and Giuseppina married a Santaromita).

By 1891, the WA Census recorded a total of 39 fishermen and 14 fish dealers. Italian-born fishermen numbered 36 – 6 were in the Fremantle-Rockingham-Spearwood area – Among these were the first Sicilian Fishermen of Point Peron, and likely another 10 to 12 avoided the count, or arrived a short while later. Names synonymous with the San Gregorio fishermen and the first settlers in Point Peron include Basile, Camarda, Cappadona, Cicirello, Collica, Glorioso, Iannello, La Rosa, Lo Presti, Minuta, Miragliotta, Paparone, Raffa, Raffaele, Santaromita, Travia, Tripi and Vinci.

There is good evidence that by the end of the century, Cono Glorioso had organised the Point Peron Italians as a registered company – The Rockingham Fishing Company (“La Compagnia” in Sicilian). Glorioso was elected its manager. The WA Joint Select Committee appointed in 1906 to report on the fishing industry named “Calorius” as the main organiser of the Rockingham Fishing Company – likely referring to Glorioso. It states that all the fish caught was bought by him wholesale and resold in his shop in Perth (situated in the old Perth Market). There is evidence that Glorioso attempted to sell the fish retail on behalf of the Company, but was unable to compete with the “Ring” of wholesalers. After a short while, the Company was forced to revert to wholesale selling to members of the “Ring”.

The Company functioned as an informal Co-operative (likely the first of its kind in Western Australia) and the boats and gear belonged to it. Fishermen were its members, but no shares were issued. They pooled their capital and sold their catch in one block. Fish caught by the Point Peron Italians were sold by them in Fremantle and sometimes in Rockingham. A Fisherman named Santaromita (likely Antonio or Vincenzo, father of Lou Santaromita) would be responsible for carting the fish from Rockingham to Fremantle onboard his boat, the “Capo D’Orlando”. The Fishermen would place their baskets on the sands of the beach situated on the site of Present day Marine Terrace (previously Fitzgerald Terrace). Later they also sold wholesale on the newly formed Victoria Quay.

There is evidence these first fishermen would travel back home to their families and return. Glorioso had likely made numerous voyages back home. Immigration records prior to the 1900s have been lost or destroyed, but his name appears on the voyage departing Naples onboard the “Karlsruhe” and returning to Fremantle in May 1900. By February 1903 he left on the “Omrah” bound for Naples to return home.

In 1906, the first Italian resident vice-consul in WA, Leonardo Zunini, quoted that the “Societa’ Siciliana” (representing the collection of Sicilian fishermen) had 65 odd members. The Association owned 25 odd boats and had a capital of 1200 pounds. It pulled some 250,000 pounds of fish each year while each fisherman earned some 40 to 50 pounds per annum.

Eventually, some of the early migrants moved from Point Peron to Fremantle, joined by later arrivals – a process which propagated by chain migration. By 1916-17, when many Italians had returned to Italy to serve in World War I, the “Compagnia” still had 25 to 30 fishermen and included 3 Australian members as well. Until 1933 no Italian women lived at Rockingham.

Cono Glorioso Junior was born in San Gregorio on the 28 December in 1913 to Matteo Glorioso and Rosa Damiano. His birth was registered 4 days later on the first day in 1914. Matteo and Rosa operated a “Putia” – a small shop that sold food and wine and other household items from their home. They had 3 other children – Giuseppe, Sarina and Benito. Giuseppe briefly visited Australia and fished here, but would later settle back in San Gregorio. To this day, his Son Matteo Junior operates a small Restaurant 50 metres away from the original “Putia”. It overlooks San Gregorio and serves local seafood. Matteo and his Uncle Benito are the last of the male Glorioso’s, and the remaining connection with the Fremantle Glorioso families.

Cono Junior arrived in Fremantle on the 11 March 1931 on the ship “Oxford” at the age of 17. His Father had travelled to Fremantle in 1920 and later joined him in 1938. Matteo also fished at times in WA but after his interment in World War II would return home to San Gregorio. Cono Junior initially lived at 17 Arundel Street with Carmelo and Teresa Miragliotta. They were both later to become his Uncle and Aunty by marriage. He commenced fishing with the Merendino family and Carmelo Miragliotta. He also fished with the Raffa family and he maintained a strong friendship with them his whole life. On the 11 July 1940 he was captured in Geraldton and interned as an enemy alien. At the time he was fishing on the sailing boat “Sidney” with Carmelo Miragliotta. The “Sidney” was fully equipped with a petrol engine, barometer and electric torch, and valued at 600 Pounds. The boat was seized as were many others, and many were never returned to their owners on release. Glorioso was marched off to Rottnest Island, then Harvey and finally ended up in Loveday Internment camp in South Australia. During his time in internment, he showed his sporting skills and won a Tennis Cup. He was released on the 19 August 1944. In 1946 he married Concetta Camarda and moved to a rented house in Suffolk Street.

That same year, he purchased and skippered the fishing boat Hood – A 37-ft boat built in 1925 – together with Carmelo Miragliotta and Francesco Camarda. Glorioso skippered and part-owned the Hood from 1946 until 1962. In 1951 Glorioso and his wife purchased 15 Manning Street where they would live their entire lives. They had three daughters – Rosa, Phillipa and Lynette Glorioso.

In 1953 Cono Snr died in Italy. He lived to the ripe old age of 95. That same year, the Hood sunk at her moorings near Fremantle Fish Market’s Jetty. The “Code of the sea” was exemplified when many colleagues came to help. It took seven boats and 100 men to re-float her and within the month the Hood was fishing again. Glorioso fished from Geraldton, Jurien Bay, Mandurah, Bunbury, and up and down the coast his entire life. In 1956 Cono Jnr’s Father Matteo died in Italy and by 1959, Glorioso returned to Italy for the first time in 29 years. He met his youngest brother Benito for the first time during that trip. In 1962 the same owners, including Glorioso, purchased the 50-foot Elizabeth from Tony Greco. Greco had named the boat after his wife, Elizabeth Troy, who happened to be the sister of Paddy Troy. Glorioso skippered the Elizabeth LFBF35 from 1962 until 1980. He retired at the age of 70 and sold his share of the “Elizabeth” for the 1984/85 season – almost exactly 100 years after his Grandfather – Cono Snr – had arrived at Point Peron.

Cono Glorioso Jnr was affectionally referred to as “Zio Cono” from friends and “Cugino Cono” from family members. He would always help other fishermen friends, and his spirit of co-operation was strong, just like his Grandfather all those years earlier. He would help others when making pots - many were made in the backyard in Manning Street. In the off-season resources were pooled with other boats to catch bait – He would often work with the crew of the Sacro Cuore (Barbera), the Mayflower (Collica) and the MareeLou (Santaromita).

Large amounts of fishermen and non-fishermen friends respected his humble way of life and attended his funeral in 2008. He always enjoyed socialising and was always surrounded by family and friends – we couldn’t find a photo of him on his own!

To think of Fremantle without the influence of the Sicilian fishermen, their cascading contributions to fishing, food, dining, arts and culture and the built environment is just too difficult to comprehend. "La Compagnia" functioned for over a quarter of a century and it is hard to imagine a Fremantle as we know it today, without the influence of these initial migrants from San Gregorio, under the stewardship of Cono Glorioso Senior, and the legacy left by his Grandson 100 years later.