Miragliotta Family of Geraldton

Born 1890 in Capo D’Orlando, Sicily, to Parents Felice and Rosaria Minuta, Francesco migrated to Western Australia in 1902 at the age of 13. Frank’s Father, Felice, was an engineer on a small ship that operated between Sicily and the mainland of Italy, but his Uncles had been fishing for generations. At that time many Sicilian fishermen worked along the coast of Western Australia, and they often brought sons and nephews with them as soon as the boys were old enough to be useful. Frank arrived in WA with his uncle, Steve Minuta, and together with others, started the Safety Bay Fishing Company (The Rockingham Company) in Rockingham. The competition for fishing grounds was fierce and after three years Frank and his uncle decided to try their luck in Geraldton. These Fishermen were likely the first Italians to fish the Geraldton and Abrolhos Island areas. Most of the fishing grounds between Geraldton and Sharks Bay had been found by old Norwegians. Miragliotta and Minuta began fishing at the Abrolhos with five other Italian fishermen using one mother boat, the Niobe, and two sixteen-foot sailing dorys (dinghies). The fishing was done, under sail, from the dinghies and the mother boat was used to transport their catch to Geraldton. Based on Rat Island in a primitive hut constructed of corrugated iron and stone dug up by the guano diggers, Frank spent a period of two continuous years out at the Abrolhos without returning to the mainland at all in that time. Initially, crayfish were only a sideline catch and Frank and his companions mostly line fished for schnapper, dhufish and cod. At that time, the Burton family was also fishing the area. It was the Burton family that helped Frank learn English and they became good friends for life.

Frank initially worked with the Minuta family and Sidoti and others on a share basis. The boat received 1/4 share, and the remaining 3/4 was equally distributed amongst the workers – this was likely one of the first share fishing arrangements and co-operatives at sea. In 1909, aged twenty, Frank bought his first boat, a thirty-foot plank sailing boat called the Swansea. The fish Frank and his crew caught were railed to Perth to market as there was only a small local market, including the Winterbrand and Geraldton Iceworks who often bought a load to freeze in their ice works. The frozen fish was then transported to Perth and the Goldfields. Once the fish was packed in big boxes full of broken ice it was put onto the train on a Tuesday or Friday evening, arriving in Perth the following morning for sale at the metropolitan fish markets. In 1917 Frank married Lauretta Amanda Johnson of Geraldton and they had four children, Nita Glady May (1918), Felice (Phil) Alfred (1920), Orazio (Rincie) (1921) and Joseph Francis (1924). Lauretta’s brother, Hiriam “Dick” G. Johnson, was also a Fisherman and went on to work at times with the Miragliotta family on various boats. All four children were educated at the Geraldton State School.

Frank’s Brother, Felice Rinaldi Miragliotta (b. 1892) was also a Fishermen and had arrived in Australia around 1914. He began fishing the Abrolhos Islands with his 32-foot cutter, Columbia. The Columbia sank in 1921 off Rat Island during a fierce storm, resulting in the death of his crew, Guiseppe Benvenuto (Refer to https://www.flatsea.org/fishing-lives-lost/stories/columbia). The Columbia was later salvaged, and Felice continued fishing with her at Fremantle and the Abrolhos for many years. Felice based himself at Fremantle, and usually lined fished at the Islands and Geraldton during the winter months, and from Fremantle in the summer, as did many other Fremantle fishermen. Felice married Eveline Maud Criddle and they had 3 children – Ron, Eva and Nita. Eveline tragically died in 1937 at age 40. Felice remarried Rosalia Giardiniere and had 2 more children – Mary and Carolina.

As his family grew, Frank Miragliotta gave up fishing the Abrolhos, instead working local waters. In around 1935 Frank gave away wet-lining and, in his new boat the Thelma, together with his Brother Felice Rinaldi (who owned the Eva), began catching crayfish to supply passing passenger ships of the Blue Funnel Line and Western Australia’s State Ships on their way to Darwin. These boats often bought fifty to sixty dozen crays per boat at three shillings a dozen. Their place of business was the nearby reefs where crayfish abounded and their “live holding tanks” were wooden crates which were moored underneath the seaward end of the Esplanade Jetty (this jetty ran out from the Town Beach end of Gregory street). This later led to an export opportunity when the two brothers were approached by Singapore Cold Stores, via the Blue Funnel Line, to supply cooked crayfish to Singapore. It is likely, their lobsters had found their way to the Raffles Hotel, one of the most famous culinary locations in the world. The family had a one-hundred-gallon tank in their backyard, and they’d fill it up with the day’s catch and cook them. This arrangement continued from 1937/38 through to the fall of Singapore during the Second World War.

The Second World War put an end to this market as the Miragliotta brothers’ nationality meant they were not permitted to put out to sea. Frank made sails, mended nets, did odd jobs and spent part of the war helping his brother-in-law in his boot making shop. Plagued by rheumatics for years, back trouble prevented him from returning to fishing after the war. He may have briefly skippered the 52-foot ketch Geraldton, a Fremantle boat, as a wet liner and carrier boat. When his wife Lauretta died in 1945, Frank continued to live in his Holland Street home cared for by his widowed sister Maria. Franks brother, Felice, died suddenly in 1953, leaving behind his wife Rosalea and children. When Frank died on 22 May 1983, aged 93, he was grandfather to twelve, and great-grandfather to eighteen.

Following in their Father’s footsteps, brothers Rincie and Felice (Phil) were crayfishing and wetlining around Geraldton as early as the 1930s. At age 12, Phil began crayfishing on weekends and during school holidays. By age 14, he left school to work on his Father’s boat, the Thelma full-time. Phil later worked with Mauro Valenti on the Essie for a brief period. Rincie began fishing at age 13 and successfully crewed aboard the Fremantle boat Progress, Wild Rose (skippered by Felice “King Phillip” Travia), Hood (with son Tani Travia) and Essie with Mauro Valenti.

Phil and Rincie purchased their first boat together, the Dove from Roy (Biddy) Carwardine in or around 1938. The Dove was confiscated during the War and was used to train troops. During the War, the creation of a new market with Red Tail Cannery supplying canned crayfish to troops locally and overseas, meant many Fishermen were “Manpowered” to supply the cannery. The two brothers were dissatisfied with the price being paid by the cannery and threatened to sell their crayfish to other sources at a better price. The canning company was paying the Fishermen 3 shillings a dozen for crays and selling them to the American Forces based in WA for 15 shillings a dozen. On hearing this, the authorities reacted very quickly on the outspoken upstarts. Before they could sell their next catch, the Dove was commandeered and on 12 May 1942 the two men were drafted in the army. Phil served 12 months in WA, he was then subsequently posted to Bougainville in Papua and New Guinea working in water transport until his eventual discharge, on his Birthday in 1945. Rincie served as a Gunner in the 29th Anti-Aircraft Battery.

After the war Phil and Rincie returned to fishing the Geraldton waters in their boat the Dove for 12 months, then began fishing at the Southern Group of the Abrolhos Islands. Once a week, the Miragliotta’s would feed and entertain the other Fishermen from the Islands on their boat in what became known as “Spaghetti night”.

In 1948 Phil purchased his own boat, the Carmen Marie, and Rincie took over Phil’s share of the Dove. He was joined by Milo Sorensen as crew. That same year, Phil married Pasqualina (Pas) Cuocci, and they had four children, daughters Anita and Vicky and sons Frank and Phillip. Pasqualina’s Father was also involved in Fishing. Pas lived in Geraldton as a child until about 1936, when her family moved to Fremantle to live. Her Father, Vincenzo Cuocci, continued to fish from Fremantle to Geraldton, Shark Bay and the Abrolhos Islands, with the Wanderer. Vincenzo Cuocci and Vincenzo Basile owned a quarter share each of the 65-foot, two masted, gaff-rigged ketch. The other two shares were held by Frank Vinci and Frank Pensabene of Fremantle. The Wanderer was an ex-Sydney racing yacht. Basile and Cuocci also owned a half share each in the 56-foot, two masted ketch Kia-Ora. In 1942, the Wanderer was sold to Mick Nicolakis. He changed her name to Stella, employing Bill Raftos as crew. In July 1944, the Stella was wrecked on the foreshore at the foot of Russell Street in South Fremantle. Later, Cuocci purchased the 52-foot, two masted ketch, Flavio which he operated from Fremantle. Three of Cuocci’s four daughters married Fishermen.

Rincie married Freda Valenti in 1946 and they also had four children; Frank, Lorrinia, Tony and Maria. One of the boats the Miragliotta’s briefly utilised was named Lorrinia (or Lorrina), named after Rincie’s daughter.

The markets for crayfish continued to expand and the burgeoning American Market saw a big increase in demand for crayfish. American servicemen who had spent time in Western Australia on the Catalina’s said the local crayfish (rock lobster) was the best they'd ever eaten. They told the locals that if they exported them to the United States, they'd take as much as the fishermen could catch. The first order for samples were requested by the Russel brothers via the owners of the Eureka II (William Burton and co.). As the Eureka II was line fishing, the order was passed to Francesco Miragliotta, whose sons Phil and Rincie caught the two bags of crayfish using the Dove for the samples required.

The first WA rock lobsters were sent in a jarrah apple case, and within a few years the industry was exporting most of the catch to the United States. Crayfish were now fetching ten pence a pound. In the late 1940s, three processing factories dominated the Geraldton-based industry - Geraldton Iceworks, Golden Gleam and Pattersons.When a request by the Geraldton fishermen for an extra twopence per pound was rejected by their buyers, the fishermen decided to take matters into their own hands. As Phil recalls, “One morning arguing down the wharf, one blowy morning they said, ‘Well why don’t we start out own company?’ Jokingly it started and then it got serious and that night we held a meeting at one of the fishermen’s houses, a chap by the name of Bob Carlberg, and we started to form the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-op”.

The Geraldton Fishermens Co-operative (GFC) was officially born on December 1950. Phil and Rincie were founding members and later Directors of the Co-operative.

Setting up the Co-op was not easy. The three factories opposed it, fishermen were sceptical, and the local Shell fuel company refused to supply it with fuel. Still, more than eighty men decided to join. After returning home from Fishing each morning, the Fishermen built the Co-op premises with bricks they madethemselves. They built a snap freezer, two bait rooms, a holding room, office space and alarge factory area and the Co-operative processed, snap-froze and exported the local catchto America. To maintain their supply, the existing processing companies were forced tomatch the Co-op’s prices. In the second year of its operation Phil was elected a director, a position he held for over 30 years.Supported by about seventy percent of the local fishermen, the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative went from strength to strength and over the years has improved its processing and marketing techniques and diversified into engineering, boat building and prawning andprovides a helicopter service to the Abrolhos Islands for fishermen and their families.

In 1958 Rincie sold the Dove and purchased the 48-foot, two masted gaff-rigged ketch RoseF from Sam (Steak and Eggs) Raftos and George Kailis. Rincie bought the vessel for £2500. She was then given a major refit. He operated the RoseF with line fishing and crayfishing until he purchased the 42-foot, single masted, motorised Margaretta, which he operated as a crayfishing boat until he retired in the 1980s. Rincie’s son, Tony, began working with his Father as a crayfisherman when he left school, and after learning the business at the Geraldton Fish Market, later became a seafood dealer in Perth.

In 1960 Phil contracted Back Brothers in Fremantle to build him a 38-foot plank vessel. The new boat was powered by a 72 hp diesel engine. When completed, Phil, accompanied by his crewman Bert Boschetti and friends N. Cobley and V. Cuocci, sailed the new boat named Vicki Marie from Fremantle to Geraldton.

In 1970, Phil became Chairman of GFC and continued in that role until his retirement at the end of 1982. During his time as Chairman, together with Fred Connell, a dynamic General Manager, GFC changed dramatically. After several delegations, the first lobsters were sold to Japan, and the very significant decision was made to break away from the Craig Mostyn Group and market Brolos lobsters directly.

The Co-op’s infrastructure was expanded, firstly with the purchase of the Dillingham Shipyards business, giving engineering and new boat fit out capability. This led to the eventual hardstand and travelift facility, towards the end of Phil’s term in office. The Inshore Electronics business was also started along with Brolos Boat Sales. GFC was also a significant player in the establishment of the airstrips on the Abrolhos Islands.

Phil’s period on the Board saw a tenfold increase in the net assets of the co-operative, from around $400k to $4m. It was also the time when the purchasing of lobsters for cash came to an end. On Phil’s retirement, his place on the Board was taken by his son Frank, who served on the Board through until the end of 2001, with a short break when the Co-operative Board was restructured and reduced from ten member Directors to six fishermen and two independent Directors. Frank was Deputy Chairman for four years between 1987 and 1991. Surprisingly, when Frank retired in 2001, his place on the Board was filled by younger brother Phil, who served for a further 11 years.

In 2011, the Co-op celebrated 60 years receiving its first consignment of rock lobster for processing. An original gaff-rigged fishing boat, the Mafalda, re-enacted the first landing of the lobster bags. Skippered by John Fitzhardinge junior and accompanied by Leith Pritchard, Basil Lenzo and Phil Miragliotta, the Mafalda arrived with seven pots on board and delivered four bags. Receiving the catch were Nat Gedero, the son of Johnny Gedero who is believed to be the first to deliver lobsters to the cooperative and Duck Pascoe, its longest serving employee. The bags were then passed along a line of fisherman from up and down the coast including Ric Dipane, Carl Dipane, Mark Bonser, Clinton Moss, Peter Cousemacker, Bruce Wann, Terry Parish, Tim Teakle, Jerome Teakle, Wayne Bailey, Butch Maddren, Steve Sipila and Kent Stanton. On hand to receive the bags at the weighing station was the Co-op’s first chairman, Bill Newbold and its current chairman at the time, John Ritchie.

When Phil Miragliotta retired in 2012, there had been a Miragliotta on the GFC board for 60 of its 62 years, an amazing achievement. Phil’s son Kim is now operating the family vessel supplying GFC, including fishing Uncle Frank’s pots, the third generation to do so. It will come as no surprise to again see the Miragliotta family represented on the Board one day by a fourth member. We all owe a great deal to these pioneering families, and the role they played in forming one of the most formidable co-operatives in Australia.