Sofilas Family

In his book, George Sortras writes his firsthand description of Manolas - Emmanuel Sofilas.

Manolas was a sponge diver from Kalymnos, which is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Sponge diving from here was world famous.

George writes the following:

"At Bunbury, once you passed the big meandering Moreton Bay fig opposite the Parade Hotel, you were in a unique village - Rathmines. There the fishing nets hung to dry on rails, boats were moored at the water's edge near humpies and part built houses on the river's foreshore. These were the homes of the fishermen who made a living from the then bountiful Bunbury estuary. They were of Greek origin, and my father was one.

Most of these families migrated in their early teens. They were unable to speak, read or write English. The names were Soulos, Sofilas, Kongras, Perides, Douglas, Kongaratos and many more with names like Captain Peter. There were the Fradelos, Barboutis, Athens, Michelis, and Manolas families who lived in the village and operated businesses in Bunbury.

The Sofilas family were reliant on the river. Manolas, the breadwinner, cared for a family of seven children and his wife. The children were Stella, Connie, Louie, Maia, Micky, Cleo and Peter. He came here in 1913.

Manolas made a living from fish and swam like one. You all have remembrance of seeing something special that sticks in your mind as a kid, especially when you're older.

I watched with admiration, on many occasions, Manolas Sofilas, an upstanding male of Greek origin. He would walk along the fisherman's jetty at the Rathmines landing (one that once was along near the Parade Hotel) and stand at it's end, inflate air into his lungs, poise, then dive into the water.

The river was beautiful in those days, both in colour and depth. With others, I would watch as he swam underwater from jetty's end across to the bank opposite, some sixty meters away. As he reached the shallow water near the bank, you would see him turn to head back. After what seemed an eternity, he would surface at the jetty's end, smiling.

On occasions, he would go in a different direction, sticking to the deep where you couldn't see him. It created suspense, then humour, as he surfaced somewhere else."

Source: Quoted directly from George Sortras's book "A village on the River. Early Times in Rathmines and Augusta".

Emmanuel came to Australia in 1913 when he was 20. He arrived here alone, leaving his wife Athina to wait at home. This was the norm for many migrants who arrived here first to do the hard work in setting up for their families to come later. Emmanuel first worked at sawmills near Greenbushes. Eventually he arrived in Bunbury, where some Greek migrants were also based, fishing with nets. These families centered their homes around the Rathmines area. They caught mainly mullet, flathead and herring here. Emmanuel came to love Bunbury and made it his home. His family arrived in 1920. The family struggled financially, but Emmanuel became known for his honesty and was a very trusted community member.

Emmanuel Sofilas is credited with paving the way for commercial fishing in Bunbury. His sons also became fishermen. Known as Papou, he was known to always wear a carnation flower on his shirt.

My most favourite story to tell of Emmanuel, related to me by one of his granddaughters, is his reputation for having the most amazing ability to swim at length underwater for minutes at a time. His trained lung capacity to hold his breath to dive for sponges meant he could swim from the little jetties at the end the Inlet to way up past the Parade Hotel underwater.

A painting of Emmanuel now sits proudly at the Bunbury Museum created by his grandson Mark. It is a fitting testimony to the contribution many migrants made to our beautiful country.