Fisherman with a head for business
Tony Muollo fisherman/businessman b May 18, 1943 d November 12, 2020
Antonio Muollowas proud of his roots. A lifelong fisherman, Tony was known in Island Bay and among Wellington’s Italian community as having a head for business, a strong commitment to family, and a contagious laugh.
He taught his sons the rules of business; how to ride awave and how to swim against the tide.
He was born to an Italian migrant family, the youngest of four children, and times were tough. The Muollo kids were brought up knowing the importance of hard work and family.
Tonywas absent from school often, usually at one of his many jobs instead. He would go door-to-door, selling fish, crayfish, and bags of cooked crayfish legs. He was amilk boy, a paperboy, a picture theatre icecream seller, and often helped his father on the boat.
His mother didn’t care much for the idea of education, preferring her boys to earn a few shillings instead of sitting in class, and it was always put aside for their futures.
The brotherswould roll down their Marist Newtown socks, and take off in the dinghy to fish.
Tony always had the gift of the gab. He could trade fish for almost anything; meat pies from the school tuck shop, evenmeat from the butcher.
This landed him a job at a butcher’s in Courtenay Pl, where at the age of 12 he could be seen standing on a box, not yet tall enough to reach the counter.
By 14, he had left St Patrick’s College, and was working fulltime on his father’s boat in Cook Strait – in those days, full of fish.
At 15, he walked into the Bank of New Zealand in Courtenay Pl with a deposit for a block of flats he’d been eyeing in Island Bay, and the bank lent him the rest.
But it wasn’t all work and no play. He loved an all-night poker game at the Garibaldi Club, and his passion for horses began through a bookmaker friend.
Soon hewas not only backing the horses, but owning them.
Success came at the very highest level in Australia with Lord Revenir, and then with Kingston Bay, which went on to represent New Zealand inhong Kong.
He was a natural risk-taker in his betting, which carried over into business. For Tony, it was no risk, no reward. He was also an avid property investor. ‘‘He knew how to buy right, and he knew location was paramount,’’ son Luigi says.
Fishing was a huge part of his life. His early memories were with his brother Carl, and Johnny Cataldo, and on one occasion they caught 467 groper between them.
At 25, it was decided it was time for young Tony to settle down.
According to his parents, he deserved only the best. A trip to his father’s fishing village of Marina di Puolo in Sorrento was booked, and the search for the perfect wife began.
A local restaurant owner spoke of a sweet, young local girl, and as soon as Tony met Anna Maria, he was hooked. Within four months there was an engagement, a marriage, and a honeymoon around Italy, followed by a 41-day ship voyage back tonew Zealand aboard the Angelina Laura.
Within four years, three children were born: Tony, Luigi, and Lisa, followed after a short break by the birth of Linda. Anna Maria was his rock. ‘‘Dad used to say, ‘What makes a goodman is a good woman,’ ’’ Luigi says.
Tony and brother Ruff owned a fish factory called Southern Cross Fisheries, and while groper fishing was doing well, therewas moremoney to bemade from crayfish.
It was time for Tony to get his own boat. Over the years hemaintained a hard-working and loyal crew; Anna Maria’s brother Joe Di Leva, the late Ferdi Petagna, and Ruffy Volpicelli.
In 1982 the brothers sold Southern Cross Fisheries and Tony continued life as a crayfisherman, becoming involved with his sons’ own seafood business in the late 80s.
In 1990, Southern Cross Fisheries came up for sale again, the brothers bought the business back into the family, and the two were amalgamated and renamed Cook Strait Seafoods.
Luigi says: ‘‘Dad became a big part of the business. Hemade sure fish would be coming in, he secured the best skippers for the boats we purchased, and looked at every opportunity to expand.’’
The successful business was sold in 2003, but fishing remained a huge part of his life. ‘‘Retirement meant Dad could take it easy, but he loved nothing more than to go pleasure fishing. This time it was about catching fish and giving it away to friends and family.’’
Tony was a family man, close with brothers Ruff and Carl and his sister Martina. ‘‘Dad loved nothing more than watching the family tree grow.’’
He was part of Air-sea Rescue for nearly 50 years, and saved a few lives. He would get a phone call on board the boat at night from the police, asking, ‘‘Where would he be, with the tides and the currents?’’
He became known for assisting swimmers crossing Cook Strait, and was awarded the Cavaliere Order of Merit by the Italian government for services to the community.
The last three years were difficult for all the family, after Tony’s diagnosis with cancer. Luigi remembers his father as a hugely social person, with many friends, but an operation and four months in hospital took away a lot of his energy.
He sought strength from his Catholic faith, and his character was unchanged.
‘‘The beauty about Dad was that no amount of business success was ever going to change him,’’ Luigi said. ‘‘He went to the school of hard knocks and the university of life. He always said that hardwork never killed anyone, and that you can achieve anything you dream of.’’
His family, including 12 grandchildren, remember him for his generous heart, bubbly spirit and cheeky, infectious laugh.
‘‘Mention my dad’s name to family, friends or anyone who knew him and you would get a smile,’’ Luigi said. ‘‘He was our hero and our champion.
‘‘Dad, thank you for showing my brother and I how to be the perfect father.’’