Minuta and Cuocci Families

They are often mentioned and credited as starting the Rockingham Fishing Company, later taken over or joined by Cono Glorioso (see Glorioso Family story).

Stefano and Antonino had ventured to Sydney for a year but soon returned and joined the others at Point Peron. However, the Minuta family did not stay long in the Rockingham area, and soon left for fertile fishing grounds at the Abrolhos, but there are records of Minuta’s involvement in the Rockingham Fishing Company up until at least 1907. It is believed some of the brothers returned to Sicily or left for the Americas, but Stefano took his nephew, Francesco Miragliotta (see Miragliotta Family story) and moved to Geraldton.

Stefano was married to Felicia Sicari and they went on to have Calogero (b. 1888), Antonino (b. 1891), Vittoria (b. 1898) and Domenico (b. 1901). The family were all involved in Fishing. Vittoria married into another fishing family, marrying Vincenzo Cuocci in 1923 in Geraldton.

In 1935, licensed fishermen in the Geraldton District included Stefano’s sons, Antonino and Calogero Minuta. At that time, the cost of a fisherman’s licence was 10/- per year.

Domenico spent time working in Fremantle, he later worked in Mornington Mills and fished with Nick Soulos in Bunbury.

Antonino died in 1952.

Another cousin of the family, Tony Minuta, owned the Geraldton Hairdressing Salon (next to Victoria Hall) as early as 1933 and until the 1950s. He later returned to Italy with his wife Carolina.

Calogero married Giuseppina Carrello in Sicily, and they went on to have Stefano Jnr (b. 1921 d. 1978) and Felicia (b. 1930 d. 1942) moving the family to WA in the 1930s. Calogero died in 1965.

Stefano Jnr would later marry his first cousin, Felicia (Phyllis) Cuocci, daughter of Vincenzo. They went on to have 5 boys, including two twin boys lost in infancy. Stefano also followed in his families footsteps and became a Fishermen. He fished from Fremantle, Hillary’s and Lancelin, and was one of the first Fishermen in Cervantes. He owned the Vespucci in partnership with his first cousin, Terry Carrello. He later built the Oriana with his brother-in-law Phil Miragliotta. For 6 seasons, a young Joao (John) Fernandes earnt his stripes learning the trade with Stefano. Stefano introduced John to Aussie Rules Football and the East Fremantle Football Club (see story – John Fernandes). Stefano operated the Oriana until his passing in March 1977. Phil’s son Frank, then worked the boat until 1987/88, and later purchased the remaining shares until his own retirement.

The Cuocci family were also heavily involved in fishing and had first arrived from Molfetta in the 1900s. Corrado Cuocci was the first to arrive in 1905 onboard the Karlsruhe from Molfetta. His nephews Vincenzo (b. 1893, arrived 1911) and Ignazio (b. 1907, arrived 1925) later joined him. All 3 were listed as licenced Fishermen in the Geraldton District for the 1935 season. Vincenzo and Ignazio also had a brother Saverio (b. 1902), who arrived in 1915 but died tragically in 1919.

Vincenzo was the owner and skipper of the large 65-foot, two masted, gaff rigged ketch Wanderer. He held equal shares with Vincenzo Basile, Frank Vinci and Frank Pensabene. The Wanderer was an ex-Sydney racing yacht originally bought over by the Winter, Brandt and Company. Other ex-racing yachts of the fleet included Era, Iduna and Magnolia.

Basile and Cuocci also owned a half share each in the 56-foot, two masted ketch Kia-Ora. The Kia-Ora was originally built at Fremantle as a sealer to fish the islands around Esperance for seals, but the sealing venture failed, and Cuocci and Basile purchased her in 1919 from the original owners. Basile skippered the Kia-Ora and Cuocci skippered the Wanderer as line fishing boats from Geraldton to the Abrolhos Islands and Shark Bay. Sadly, the Kia-Ora struck a reef 30 miles north of Geraldton in 1939 and was a total wreck. The loss almost bankrupted Basile, but he was able to recover and purchased a smaller fishing vessel. The Basile-Cuocci partnership lasted until about 1940.

In 1928, a hermit was living on Middle island at the Abrolhos. He had been living there for some years, fishing and crayfishing, and occasionally had been seen in Geraldton to sell produce and purchase supplies. He also held a flock of sheep, but as time went by, feed for the sheep was running out, so he moved his camp and sheep to Rat Island with the help of Vincenzo Cuocci, onboard the Wanderer. In 1932, Ignazio Cuocci and Calogero Minuta were working the Wanderer, when their dinghy was swamped and were left for an hour surrounded by sharks, before the crew of the Petrel rescued them. In 1942 the Wanderer was sold to Mick (Mad Mick) Nicolakis who changed her name to Stella. He employed Bill Raftos as one of his crew. In July 1944, the Stella was taken to Fremantle where she dragged her anchor in a wild storm and was wrecked on the foreshore at the foot of Grey Street, Fremantle. Mick Nicolakis and Tom Rollands were on board at the time. Mad Mick is believed to have tied a mattress to himself and jumped overboard to save himself. He safely swam ashore. The Stella broke up in the rough seas and was a total loss.

After the War, Vincenzo Cuocci purchased the 52-foot, two masted ketch Flavio, which he operated from Fremantle, and from where he continued line fishing in the Geraldton and Shark Bay areas until he began crayfishing from Fremantle in the 1950s. The Flavio had a light blue coloured hull as did all Cuocci’s boats. Vincenzo made early maps of the Shark Bay area and after retiring, skippered a Freezer boat for the Co-op and was considered highly for his navigational knowledge of the South Passage.

He had no sons, but 3 of his 4 daughters married Fishermen. Pasqualina Cuocci married Felice Alfred (Phil) Miragliotta, (Felicia) Phyllis Cuocci married Stefano Minuta, both in 1948, and Vera Cuocci married Frank Rotondella – another prominent fishing family. The other daughter, Violet Maria married Giuseppe Merendino – a highly regarded Tailor who would procure suits for the likes of Alan Bond, Laurie Connell and the Police Commissioners.

Vincenzo died in 1964 and the Flavio was later owned by Luigi Camporeale.