By C Bishop, 2025.
The swings and roundabouts of life impacted Pasquale Mandolfino. Pasquale arrived at the Port of Fremantle alone on 15 April 1930. The passenger list described him as a married ‘farm labourer’. He had come from Scido, Calabria, Italy. This is a small village in the mountains of the ‘boot of Italy’. Son Antonio arrived in late 1949, with his status given as ‘alien’, and destination given as ‘P Mandolfino- Brunswick Junction’. His wife Rosa Maria and married daughter Giusepp(in)a appeared to follow a long 12 years later, although it is likely that Pasquale had been back to Italy in the interim. [This information is derived from ancestry.com genealogical research in July 2025]
The Harvey-Waroona Mail of Thursday 25 Nov 1943 recorded:
Aliens Fined
Three aliens appeared before Mr K. Dougall S.M. in the Harvey Police Court on Tuesday last to answer various charges under the National Security (Aliens Registration Act). The charges were made by Plain Clothes Constable Niven of the Security Branch and Constable W. Aylmore.
Pasquale Mandolfino and Alphonso Pozzimeritey of Harvey were
charged with having failed to produce their Alien Registration Certificate when called upon and were fined 10 and 3/- costs in default 30 days imprisonment and £5 with 3/- costs in default 15 days respectively.
Charged by Constable Aylmore with having failed to register as an alien Guiseppi Papalia, of Wokalup, was fined £5 with 6./- costs in default 15 days jail.
The National Security (Aliens Control) Regulations were introduced in 1939.
Ten years later and in his 61 st year, the following was recorded (Fri 19 Mar 1954, Harvey Murray Times):
The first naturalisation ceremony to be held in Harvey took place last Tuesday—in an interval during the road board meeting, when the acting chairman, Mr. J. Lowe, administered the oath of allegiance to Mr. Pasquale Mandolfino, of Brunswick.
At the outset Mr. Lowe explained to Mr. Mandolfino the importance of the step in renouncing allegiance to his own country and swearing allegiance to the country of his adoption.
He said he realised it was a big thing for anybody to do, but he had been long enough in Australia to know something about this country and now he had to swear that he would up-hold its laws and, if necessary, even fight in its defence. Mr. Lowe said that as acting chairman of the board he was pleased to welcome Mr. Mandolfino as an Australian citizen and told him that the people of Australia would welcome him and do their best to help him as long as he tried to assimilate the ways of this country.
Also present at the ceremony were Mr. Ivan Manning, M.L.A., and Mr. F. Hulm, the local representative of the Good Neighbour Council, who both spoke briefly, welcoming Mr. Mandolfino and conveying to him some idea of his obligations as a new citizen. Mr. Manning impressed on Mr. Mandolfino his desire to help in every way possible…
…Mr. Hulm presented Mr. Mandolfino with a small folder from the Good Neighbour Council which told him something of the work of the council and its efforts to make new citizens feel at home. After the ceremony, Mr. Mandolfino was presented by Mr. Lowe with his naturalisation certificate and accepted an invitation to join members of the board at morning tea. The good wishes of all members of the board accompanied him when he left.
There is no mention of the rest of his family being present at the ceremony. Pasquale and his family lived in Hopkins Road Brunswick Junction for the last decades of his life. He passed in 1972, and has many descendants.