Attanasio Farinola

Attanasio Farinola was born on 12 September 1886 in Molfetta, Bari, Italy, to Onofrio Farinola and Rosa Sciancalepore. He arrived in Fremantle onboard the Orsova on the 20 January 1931, travelling with his compatriot, Sergio Cappelluti. He later purchased an 8th share in the fishing vessel, Elsie.

On 1 March 1934, the Elsie left Fremantle for Beagle Island, stopping to fish at several fishing grounds along the way.

Onboard were four Italians:

Saverio Mezzina (the skipper), 31 years old, of 17 Nairn Street, Fremantle

Saverio Raguseo, 42 years old

Sergio Giancaspro, 43 years old

and Attanasio Farinola, 47 years old, also of Nairn Street.

The Elsie arrived at an anchorage near Beagle Island on 12 March 1934. On the following day, the vessel and its crew went out to the fishing grounds about 10 miles west of their anchorage, where they fished until about 1pm. There were three other fishing vessels in the vicinity, each fishing about one mile apart.

They returned to the anchorage to clean their catch. On their return, it was necessary to navigate through a passage between two small islands. At about 3pm, whilst they were passing through the passage, a heavy swell broke over the boat and all crew were thrown into the water, with the exception of Sergio Giancaspro, who managed to cling to a small dinghy lashed to the forward part of the deck. Mezzina and Raguseo managed to regain the boat, but Farinola remained in the water.

The vessel fortunately righted itself during this time and his companions searched the vicinity for over an hour without finding any trace of him. The next morning a further search was made, but because of the heavy sea it had to be abandoned and Mezzina decided to return to Fremantle, arriving Friday 16 March shortly after midnight.

According to Severio Mezzina, “there was a fairly strong breeze blowing at the time, and when the boat sank stern first, I lost control of the craft. Sails were flapping about everywhere and everything was in confusion.

“The boat was practically closed in and did not fill with water to any extent. There was only the stern of the boat under water, which was about 18 or 20 feet deep. The forward part was out of the water and after a few minutes the wind appeared to fill the mainsail to lift the boat, so that it struggled free of the water.

“I then looked around to see if all were safe and saw Attanasio Farinola in the water about 30 or 40 feet in the rear. He was swimming after the boat, but could not make any headway on account of the heavy seas. We saw him endeavouring to reach the boat and the crew stood by with life belts, but it was impossible to get to him. After struggling for about 20 minutes, his efforts grew weaker until he sank. We remained in the vicinity for about an hour, but could not find any sign of his body.”

Farinola left behind a widow and two children in Italy.