Mary

The tragic story of the Mary, inspired research into the creation of a Fishers’ Memorial dedicated to the lives of those lost at sea in Western Australia.

Rolando Lo Presti’s father, Stefano Saverio Lo Presti (and his crew), had shared a meal with the perished men the evening prior to the incident. His vessel, the Capo D’Orlando was also involved in the search rescue.

The Mary capsized approximately three miles off Cervantes (approximately 12 miles South of Jurien Bay) at 7:30am on 1 October 1946. The 55-foot lugger fishing boat was unregistered and uninsured and worth about £3000.

The Mary was owned by Gaetano Tomba and his brother, Bartolo Tomba, of 19 Suffolk Street, as well as Luigi Pittorino of 17 Suffolk Steet. They all originated from Filicudi, one of eight islands that make up the Aeolian archipelago, 56 kilometres northeast of the island of Sicily.

In September 1946, the Mary skippered by Domenico Cappellutti and a crew of four, was returning from Shark Bay. In those days, boats would make the long journey to the northern fishing grounds to chase the schools of snapper during the winter period, and head back to Fremantle for the summer. They were in a happy mood, for the season had been good, so good in fact that they were running late.

Heading into a storm they ran for shelter and moored off Cervantes Island, which was very isolated at the time. During a heavy gale on the night of 10 September, the Mary dragged her moorings and went aground at Cervantes Island. It went aground on the same night that the fishing boat, Slavia, at Fremantle was wrecked.

One of the crew of the Mary walked on the beach from Cervantes to Jurien Bay to notify others of their predicament.

At the time, the original news received by Gaetano Tomba was that the Mary had been lost, but this was dispelled with the arrival of the Sea Queen at Fremantle, with Antonio Marino, a member of the crew of the Mary on board who informed Constable Badcock of Fremantle Water Police that the remaining members of the crew were safe.

The Mary had 1.5 tonnes of fish on board at the time it dragged its moorings, and this cargo was loaded onto the Sea Queen to assist in the sale once it reached Fremantle.

On the 17th September at 8:40pm Bartolo Tomba (a part-owner of the vessel and carpenter) left Fremantle in the fishing boat, Stella, for the purpose of repairing and re-floating the Mary. The Stella was a small fishing vessel, part-owned by Giuseppe Pittorino, the brother of Luigi Pittorino. Onboard the Stella were also Luigi Pittorino, Silvio Marchese, Mauro Caputo, Stefano Taranto, Antonio Marino and Leonard James Back - a shipwright.

They arrived at Cervantes Island at about 3pm on 18 September. They were also assisted by the crew of the 45-foot lugger fishing boat, Lapwing, in repairing her. It is unclear if the Lapwing had been at Cervantes island the entire time.

The repair work was completed on 29 September, and she was rigged up the next day. The Stella, with brothers Giuseppe and Umberto Pittorino onboard, made its way back safely to Fremantle. Giuseppe had left Luigi in high spirits expecting to see him a day or so after his return to Fremantle.

The Lapwing and the Mary began their return journey to Fremantle at 6:15am on 1 October with seven persons onboard the Mary. Everybody was anxious to get home to Fremantle, as the crew of the Mary had not been home for 40 days.

During the night a four to six metre swell developed. It had been arranged that the Lapwing would tow the Mary through the passage because, unlike the Mary, she was fitted with an engine. She was also much faster than the Mary and could safely navigate through the passage, which was very treacherous for sailing boats.

The Mary was attached to the Lapwing by about 150 feet of tarred manila rope. After about three miles, the Lapwing had just cleared a sand bar and reef when she encountered a huge wave, about 50 feet high.

At the time, the crew of the Lapwing reported that the water inside the reef was fairly quiet, but heavy waves were breaking outside. This first wave broke over the Mary, which was then crossing the bar and the vessel shipped much water and turned the vessel off to one side towards the south. All of the crew of the Mary were on deck and one member was washed overboard, and the Skipper (Domenico Cappellutti) was hanging onto the bulwark at the stern of the ship.

Another big wave then struck the Mary’s side and overturned her. At the time, the Mary also had full sail on and it is likely the second wave filled her sails with water, forcing her over.

Leonard Back had been clinging to the cabin top at the after end of the boat, he let go as the boat turned and when he broke surface saw the keel of the Mary. The remainder of the crew, including Back, were swept in the sea and the Mary sank.

Under the orders of the Skipper, Antonino La Cava, the prompt cutting of the tow-line by Joe Pittorino when the waves struck the Mary, saved the Lapwing and its crew from also being lost.

Leonard Back described the moment the boat turned over, “I felt her going over, but the sea dragged me clear. As soon as I could I took off my coat. Ten minutes later I noticed an upturned dinghy.

An Italian was not far away and I yelled to him, but he disappeared by the time I reached the dinghy. I never saw any of the Italians again. I then took off my pullover and had a gruelling two hours battle against the seas.

Every time I saw a wave approaching I took a deep breath and clung to the dinghy. The Lapwing made two unsuccessful attempts to get through the passage to rescue me. At the third try she tore through and, skilfully handled by her skipper, Antonino (Tony) La Cava, came right alongside the dinghy. Two other Italians on the Lapwing then dragged me out of the water. “

Back was picked up at about 9:45am. The Mary could be seen lying in about 40 feet of water with her mast still visible. The dinghy was not retrieved as the sea was too rough.

Back was given a change of clothes and a hot drink. Despite not being a strong swimmer, Back was the only person aboard the Mary who was not wearing seaboots, or heavy clothing, to impede him when he was swept in the water, and he credits this with his survival.

The next day, Back and another Italian searched the beach for eight miles north of the scene of the wreck, in the direction of the prevailing current and wind, without any result.

The search party continued until about 7:30am on 5 October 1946 with fishing vessels, Lapwing and Capo D’Orlando involved.

The Capo’ D’Orlando had arrived on the scene by 10am on 1 October to assist. They found no trace of the missing men.

The Lapwing returned to Fremantle at about 7:30pm on 6 October 1946, where she was later put on a slipway to repair some minor damage she sustained in the heavy seas.

Days later, Sgt. R.N. Broun of the Moora Police Department searched the beach north and south of Cervantes Island point and received reports from fishing boats, Ida Lloyd, and Princess Mafalda, returning from Geraldton that they had sighted flotsam drifting northwards.

It was never confirmed if the floating wreckage was part of the Mary. Some wreckage was later found at Middle Head in Jurien Bay, but it was later considered to belong to the missing fishing boat, Peggy.

Sgt. R.N. Broun gave a detailed account of the difficult terrain he encountered during that search; “First proceeded to the coast in vicinity of Wedge Island to where the road is reasonably fair; we then proceeded about 24 miles north to the vicinity of Cervantes Island. This section of the road was terrible on the whole, being an army track linking Wedge Island with Jurien Bay, but now overgrown with bushes and shrubs, and washed out and blown out with wind; in some places the new growth of bushes was higher than the car…On the 9/10/46 we moved off early from camp and proceeded about four miles northly where we were forced to leave the car owning to impassable road… In addition to delays in travel due to the bad state of the tracks, we were also held up through grass seeds blocking the radiator, and some hours were spent in picking out the seeds with a pen-knife to let a bit of wind through, otherwise the water would just boil away.”

Leonard Back, as well as the crew of the Lapwing subsequently gave police statements. A memorial to those that lost their lives on the Mary was commissioned by the Cervantes historical society.

The six men who drowned were;

1. Luigi Pittorino, age 47, married to Emma La Cava with 6 children, of 17 Suffolk Street in Fremantle. He was born 15 March 1898 in Filicudi, Messina, Italy. Luigi was part-owner of the Mary. His Son, Joseph (Joe) Pittorino was onboard the Lapwing at the time of the tragedy. Emma La Cava’s brother, Antonino skippered the Lapwing. Luigi’s brother Giuseppe had also assisted in the repairs onboard the boat Stella.
2. Giovanni Germinario, age 43, married to Maria Samarelli with five children of 16 Nairn Street in Fremantle. He was born 10 January 1902 in Molfetta, Bari, Italy. His parents were Antonio Germinario and Angela Maria Rania. His children were Angela Maria, Francesca (Frances), Antonio (Anthony), Mauro (Maurice) and Michele (Michael).
3. Domenico Cappelluti, age 53, married to Lauretta Bernardi with four children (wife resided in Italy) of 17 High Street in Fremantle. He was born 3 September 1892 in Molfetta, Bari, Italy. He left a brother, Cosmo Cappelluti in Australia. His parents were Felice Cappelluti and Lucrezia Capurso.
4. Antonio Marino, age 31, single of 15 High Street in Fremantle. He was born 15 July 1915 in Molfetta, Bari, Italy. He left behind a brother, Domenico Marino in Australia.
5. Salvatore Anthony (Silvio) Marchese, age 24, single, 31 Howard Street in Fremantle. He was born 28 June 1922 in Geraldton, WA. His parents were Salvatore Marchese and Giuseppina Travia. Salvatore had just seen service for Australia in New Guinea and the Islands and had only just been discharged from the army after receiving various commendations. Salvatore was part of the crew that worked with Umberto Pittorino, but he had volunteered to help his stricken mates to repair the Mary.
6. Mauro Caputo (Caputi), age 21, single of 34 Carnac Street in Fremantle. He was born 21 March 1925 in Molfetta, Bari, Italy. His parents were Domenico Caputo and Pasqua, and his siblings included Maddalena, Angela and Pasqualina.

Members of the crew of the Lapwing were;

1. Antonino La Cava, 17 Suffolk Street in Fremantle (Skipper).He was born on 12 March 1893 in Filicudi, Messina, Italy and died in Fremantle 28 March 1986. He never married and never had children. He had also assisted Salvatore Migliori in 1914 after his brother Francesco was inadvertently shot by a sentry from Rottnest Island, whilst fishing within the prohibited mile limit. Antonino never married, and he helped his sister raise her children until they grew up and led their own lives. He stayed with his sister until he passed away.
2. Francesco La Cava, 17 Suffolk Street in Fremantle. Francesco was brother to Antonino. His family later moved to Sydney where they still reside.
3. Bartolo Tomba, 19 Suffolk Street in Fremantle. When he returned safely to Fremantle he found no one at home. His family and friends were all at Church having a mass for him and the others who had perished. They were all surprised to see him walk into the church alive.
4. Joseph (Joe) Pittorino, 16 years old, of 17 Suffolk Street in Fremantle. Joe was born 8 January 1930 in Fremantle and died 6 December 2011 in Fremantle. Joe was responsible for cutting the tow-line to save the Lapwing. Joe married Molly and gave birth to Emma and Luigi (named after the grandparents).
5. Stefano Taranto, 12 Suffolk Street in Fremantle.

The lone survivor was Leonard James Back (age 24), a shipwright of Swanbourne Street in Fremantle. Leonard (Len) was born on 25 October 1921 to Aubrey Hubert Back and Edith Louisa West. His siblings included Reginald, Walter and Colin Back. He married Florence Rose Della Bosca in 1944 and they had five children together (Pamela, Julie, Kevin, Rodney and Graham). Leonard died on 27 August 1970, in North Fremantle at the age of 48.

Len’s Great-grandfather, the somewhat notorious Captain Edward Back, was Rottnest Island’s first resident marine pilot in 1848. In his spare-time he would catch fish and crayfish for sale in Fremantle. He is perhaps one of the first, albeit unofficial, rock lobster fishers for the colony.

To this day, the loss of the Mary remains one of the largest losses of life in a single day ever recorded in the WA Commercial Fishing Industry. Six families were left without a Husband, Father, Brother and Son. 15 children were left fatherless. It devasted the Fremantle Italian Fishing Families and it is fair to say, the community was never quite the same again.

In 1948, the inaugural Blessing of the Fleet took place in Fremantle.

R.W. Warner from the Western Mail captured the feeling at the time;
“When we see the fisherman rounding the break-water to anchor in the calm waters of the little cove, he may, for all we know, be thanking Our Lady of Martyrs for having brought him safely home. Perhaps this Novena may purify his life and cause him to dedicate it afresh to good citizenship. But however, that may be, his heart will be in the Grande Processione della Statua dalla Chiesa al Mare - the grand procession of the Statue from the church to the sea.”