From the National Archives of Australia website – Destination Australia
The story of Ester and Aldo Bongiorno who were on the same ship and voyage as Nazzareno Bonaretti as told by Aldo. The following is cut-and-pasted from these websites:
https://www.destinationaustralia.gov.au/stories/journey/esther-and-aldo-bongiorno-after-one-year-he-had-enough-money-send-us
https://www.destinationaustralia.gov.au/stories/journey/esther-and-aldo-bongiorno-familys-future-laid-new-land
https://www.destinationaustralia.gov.au/stories/journey/esther-and-aldo-bongiorno-ship-cant-burn-visits-us
With sincere thanks to Aldo Bongiorno and the National Archives of Australia and with no intention to plagiarise…
Esther and Aldo Bongiorno - 'After one year he had enough money to send for us'
Dad got work on a market garden in St Ives owned by fellow Aeolian migrants, Sam and Fay Fraumeni. After one year he had enough money to send for us, and in August 1951 Mum and I boarded the Flotta-Lauro MV Roma, a 14,000 ton, 18 knot, converted US aircraft carrier on its maiden voyage to Sydney. According to newspaper reports, the conversion had cost 2 million pounds and the ship was “lined throughout with a new American-invented fire-resisting material”.
Dad had sent us a total of ten pounds as spending money on the trip. Mum husbanded this, despite the pleas of her four-year-old son, me, who wanted an ice cream to relieve the heat in Port Said, Egypt, where we had stopped. The maiden voyage was eventful. The MV Roma lost a propeller in the Mediterranean and we limped into Port Said and waited there for 2 weeks while another arrived and was installed. The 4-week journey now dragged on for 6 weeks; the weather was stiflingly hot (no air-conditioning). Two children died on the voyage, and when we finally landed in Fremantle, Mum thought it was so wonderful that she just wanted to get off there and then. I have often wondered what it must have been like for the families of those dead children. The Mothers, already traumatized by their deaths, now had to face their husbands in Australia and tell them the horrible news.
Esther and Aldo Bongiorno - 'the family's future laid in this new land'
The MV Roma went on to Melbourne and then arrived in Sydney at 2.35pm on Thursday 11 October 1951. As at Melbourne, the wharf was crowded with husbands and loved ones waiting for the women and children that they had not seen for years. Again it was very late in the day after the ship tied up - too late for the Customs Officers to process the new arrivals. However, unlike Melbourne, in Sydney the Customs Officers allowed everyone off, just asking them to return the next day for processing and to get their bags. Imagine this happening today with our obsession with security and illegal migration. This simple piece of human compassion resonated very strongly with Mum and became the foundation for her firm belief that the family’s future laid in this new land.
Esther and Aldo Bongiorno - 'The ship that can't burn visits us'
The local newspapers in Melbourne and Sydney carried articles on the arrival of the MV Roma with its migrants. The Melbourne Argus, on Monday 8 October 1951, had one headed "THE SHIP THAT CAN’T BURN VISITS US" which included a picture of three young children seated at a child’s table being served drinks by a waiter. I am the four year old seated on the right. [See http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/1749187]
A similar, but more extensive article, with a variation of the photo, ran in another newspaper – see attached article. This clipping was given to my mother soon after we arrived in Sydney and she kept it as a cherished memento. An interesting coincidence occurred at this time. Berthing in Sydney on October 7th was the Orient Line ship, "Orontes". It had sailed from the UK and, like the MV Roma, had stopped in Melbourne before coming to Sydney. Dennis Gibbings, my future father-in-law, disembarked in Melbourne and flew to Hobart to marry his fiancé, Ruth Brown. Dennis had obtained a CSIRO scholarship to study electronic engineering at the University of Manchester, achieving his Ph.D. in just two years. Now he had to marry Ruth, have a four-day honeymoon, and hurriedly travel to Sydney in time to commence his new job with CSIRO a week later. In 1954 Ruth gave birth to their second daughter, Justine, whom I went on to marry in 1979.
The story of Ester and Aldo Bongiorno who were on the same ship and voyage as Nazzareno Bonaretti as told by Aldo. The following is cut-and-pasted from these websites:
https://www.destinationaustralia.gov.au/stories/journey/esther-and-aldo-bongiorno-after-one-year-he-had-enough-money-send-us
https://www.destinationaustralia.gov.au/stories/journey/esther-and-aldo-bongiorno-familys-future-laid-new-land
https://www.destinationaustralia.gov.au/stories/journey/esther-and-aldo-bongiorno-ship-cant-burn-visits-us
With sincere thanks to Aldo Bongiorno and the National Archives of Australia and with no intention to plagiarise…
Esther and Aldo Bongiorno - 'After one year he had enough money to send for us'
Dad got work on a market garden in St Ives owned by fellow Aeolian migrants, Sam and Fay Fraumeni. After one year he had enough money to send for us, and in August 1951 Mum and I boarded the Flotta-Lauro MV Roma, a 14,000 ton, 18 knot, converted US aircraft carrier on its maiden voyage to Sydney. According to newspaper reports, the conversion had cost 2 million pounds and the ship was “lined throughout with a new American-invented fire-resisting material”.
Dad had sent us a total of ten pounds as spending money on the trip. Mum husbanded this, despite the pleas of her four-year-old son, me, who wanted an ice cream to relieve the heat in Port Said, Egypt, where we had stopped. The maiden voyage was eventful. The MV Roma lost a propeller in the Mediterranean and we limped into Port Said and waited there for 2 weeks while another arrived and was installed. The 4-week journey now dragged on for 6 weeks; the weather was stiflingly hot (no air-conditioning). Two children died on the voyage, and when we finally landed in Fremantle, Mum thought it was so wonderful that she just wanted to get off there and then. I have often wondered what it must have been like for the families of those dead children. The Mothers, already traumatized by their deaths, now had to face their husbands in Australia and tell them the horrible news.
Esther and Aldo Bongiorno - 'the family's future laid in this new land'
The MV Roma went on to Melbourne and then arrived in Sydney at 2.35pm on Thursday 11 October 1951. As at Melbourne, the wharf was crowded with husbands and loved ones waiting for the women and children that they had not seen for years. Again it was very late in the day after the ship tied up - too late for the Customs Officers to process the new arrivals. However, unlike Melbourne, in Sydney the Customs Officers allowed everyone off, just asking them to return the next day for processing and to get their bags. Imagine this happening today with our obsession with security and illegal migration. This simple piece of human compassion resonated very strongly with Mum and became the foundation for her firm belief that the family’s future laid in this new land.
Esther and Aldo Bongiorno - 'The ship that can't burn visits us'
The local newspapers in Melbourne and Sydney carried articles on the arrival of the MV Roma with its migrants. The Melbourne Argus, on Monday 8 October 1951, had one headed "THE SHIP THAT CAN’T BURN VISITS US" which included a picture of three young children seated at a child’s table being served drinks by a waiter. I am the four year old seated on the right. [See http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/1749187]
A similar, but more extensive article, with a variation of the photo, ran in another newspaper – see attached article. This clipping was given to my mother soon after we arrived in Sydney and she kept it as a cherished memento. An interesting coincidence occurred at this time. Berthing in Sydney on October 7th was the Orient Line ship, "Orontes". It had sailed from the UK and, like the MV Roma, had stopped in Melbourne before coming to Sydney. Dennis Gibbings, my future father-in-law, disembarked in Melbourne and flew to Hobart to marry his fiancé, Ruth Brown. Dennis had obtained a CSIRO scholarship to study electronic engineering at the University of Manchester, achieving his Ph.D. in just two years. Now he had to marry Ruth, have a four-day honeymoon, and hurriedly travel to Sydney in time to commence his new job with CSIRO a week later. In 1954 Ruth gave birth to their second daughter, Justine, whom I went on to marry in 1979.
Also from the National Archives of Australia is the passenger list of that sailing. This page lists both the Bongiorno Mother and Son (137 and 138) and Nazzareno Bonaretti (118):
The full passenger list can be found in this document. |
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Further research at from the National Archives of Australia shows that two other Bonaretti men were listed as arriving in Australia by ship. Neither was likely to have been a close relative of Nazzareno.
One was a "Mr. Bonaretti", listed as a 28-year-old single Italian male arriving in Fremantle on 30th April, 1904 on the Coolgardie, mastered by Mr. Alex Boyd. Thirty-eight passengers were "Saloon" class, the remaining passengers were "Steerage". All were English except for 2 Italians and 1 Chinese. In Geraldton, the Coolgardie took onboard another 9 passengers, all British.
About the Coolgardie here: https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/coolgardie.309877/ The full passenger list can be found in this document:
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The other was Giovanni Bonaretti bound for Fremantle aboard the Orient Steam Navigation Co.'s RMS Orontes in June 1910. He embarked in Naples and was listed as a labourer, Italian and "white". The ship's master was JF Healey from London. This Giovanni Bonaretti was not the eldest brother of Nazzareno.
About the Orontes here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Orontes The full passenger list can be found in this document:
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Both of these lists give a fascinating insight into the "classification" of prospective immigrants - race and mental capacity in particular.
Another very informative website that deals with Flotta Lauro's TN Roma and her sister ship TN Sydney is http://ssmaritime.com/roma-sydney.htm by Reuben Goossens - with sincere thanks to him.
Here are several screen grabs to pique your interest...
Here are several screen grabs to pique your interest...
... and there are many, many more on his website.