My literary odyssey began in 2004 when I read a newspaper article about a little known Italian naturalist by the name of Odoardo Beccari who had travelled to Australia in the 1870s.
I was intrigued by the fact that I'd never heard of this person so my curiosity got the better of me and I started out by doing some research on the Internet to see what I could find on Beccari.
After researching Beccari for several months, I ended up with so much material that it crossed my mind that it might be interesting to try my hand at writing an article on Beccari and his trip to Australia.
In the process of researching Beccari at the State Library of Victoria I discovered that Giordano had published a book in 1974 titled Marco Polo... And After and that the book included a chapter on Beccari's exploits in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
It didn't take me long to locate the book and photocopy the relevant chapter (Chapter 8: Beccari and D'Albertis). As well as that, I also photocopied the front cover, the back cover and the index.
"This is all that I can afford, and as it is I have typed every word of it myself."
After reading Chapter 8 of the book which I thoroughly enjoyed, I wondered what the rest was like. After taking a look at the Index and reading the short Introduction I decided that I really must have my own copy of Giordano's book. It was many years since Giordano had published the book. However, I was hopeful that, with the help of the Internet, I might still be able to track down a copy for sale somewhere in the world. As it turned out, luck was on my side and I quickly tracked down a copy of the book with a bookseller in Adelaide. Suffice to say, I wasted no time in making my purchase.
A few days later someone from Australia Post slipped a card under my front door informing me that the book had arrived and was waiting for pickup at the local post office. A day or two later I showed up at the post office and collected my purchase. After arriving home I opened the package and started reading the book.
One of the first things I noticed when I opened the book was that there was a handwritten note at the top of the page. It read, "Best wishes. See page 64." and was signed by the man himself.
To say that Giordano's book is self published is a bit of an understatement. The book was obviously put together on a very tight budget with the text having been typed onto paper in a typewriter possibly by Giordano himself. Giordano then took his typed manuscript to Specialty Printers who printed the manuscript as is. That is to say, they did not use a typesetting machine to typeset the manuscript since Giordano's book was not likely to have mass appeal and would only consist of a small print run of less than 500 copies.
In the Introduction to Marco Polo, Giordano describes himself as "an elderly Italian migrant of pre-war vintage" and states that he has typed the book himself having unsuccessfully applied for financial assistance to enable him to complete his project.
His book piqued my interest in social history.
Moreover, in the "Apologies and Errata" section at the end of the book, Giordano apologies for the "many errors of typing and composition [that] have unfortunately crept into this work". However, this reader is more than happy to overlook these errors as they are simple typing mistakes and in no way detract from the impact of the subject matter. Suffice to say, I found Marco Polo to be an absolute joy to read.
I was enthralled by Marco Polo and read it from cover to cover in a matter of days. I was amazed at the detail provided by Giordano. I found it hard to believe that he could know so much about things that had happened centuries ago. His book piqued my interest in social history such that I could barely put it down. It was at that point that I decided to switch my allegiances and focus my research on Giordano instead of Beccari.
In September 1924, Giordano arrived in Australia as a stowaway onboard the SS Ville de Metz.
For the next few years he lived the life of a vagrant travelling from town to town looking for work. He was a penniless teenage migrant who didn't speak much English. All in all his prospects were looking bleak indeed.
During this period of his life, Giordano pretty much lived by his wits. As a result, he got into trouble with the law on more than one occasion. Just two months after arriving in Australia as a stowaway, Giordano had his first run in with the law.
In November 1924, Giordano showed up in Adelaide, South Australia having found his way from Fremantle in Western Australia.
Within a short period of arriving in Adelaide, Giordano was convicted of "larceny of a bicycle" by the State Children's Court and he was sentenced to serve "3 months Reformatory".
In May 1925, Giordano was convicted of being "idle and disorderly" at Bordertown in South Australia.
In a short piece in the local newspaper, The Border Chronicle, dated 5 June 1925, a reporter described Giordano as “one of the sea gulls of late frequently blown far inland from the shore”.
In August 1927, Giordano was charged with unlawful assault at Perth in Western Australia and sentenced to "one month's imprisonment".
In an article that appeared in The West Australian on 3 September 1927, Giordano is reported to have stated, "I wasn't looking for trouble. Trouble came looking for me."
Giordano had a strong sense of social justice and would often write letters to local newspapers in response to various issues. However, there was one particular issue which would regularly take up his time. In particular, Giordano saw it as unfair that old age pensions which were being paid by the Italian Government to migrants who resided in Australia were being taxed by the Italian Government and again by the Australian Government.
He saw this as being grossly unfair and in the early 1980s wrote several letters to former politicians in the hope that he could convince them to do something. As well as that, there were other issues which caused him to write letters to several prominent former politicians including Andrew Peacock, Bob Hawke and Gareth Evans.
Giordano would do whatever it takes to help improve the life of migrants. Whenever he had an idea he would send a letter to a person in a position of power in the hope that he could convince them to take up the cause. In one such letter dated 4th June 1973, he wrote to David McKee, who was at that time the South Australian Minister of Labour and Industry. In his letter Giordano outlined a proposal for a festival to be held annually at Port Pirie.
Awards
In 1969, Giordano received an award "in recognition of his work on behalf of Sicilian immigrants in Australia" from Il Centro Orientamento Emigrati Siciliani (COES) in Italy.
In 1975, Giordano was awarded an Italian knighthood.
In 1979, Giordano was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his service in the field of migrant welfare.
Credits
Writer, Designer, Developer, Editor: Graham Clark
Voice Talent: Graham Clark & Philippa Sutherland
Published: 12 October 2015
Built with: Shorthand Social, QuickTime Player, iMovie and PowerPoint
Image Credits
Large image on title page: State Library of South Australia (SLSA) [© Estate of Antonio Giordano]
Figure 1: © Graham Clark
Figure 2: © Graham Clark
Figure 3: State Library of Victoria (SLV) [This work is out of copyright]
Figure 4: © Brett Trueman
Figure 5: State Library of Victoria (SLV) [This work is out of copyright]
Figure 6: © Estate of Antonio Giordano
Large image on final page: State Library of South Australia (SLSA) [© Estate of Antonio Giordano]
