In Search Of Kings
Tony De Bolfo
- the
- classic
- Australian
- migrant
- story
- from
- acclaimed
- writer
- and
- journalist
- tony
- de
- Bolfo.
- In
- 1994,
- Melbourne
- journalist
- tony
- De
- Bolfo
- developed
- a
- burning
- need
- to
- discover
- what
- prompted
- his
- grandfather
- and
- two
- brothers
- to
- leave
- their
- homeland
- in
- northern
- Italy
- for
- a
- new
- life
- in
- Australia.
- He
- turned
- to
- his
- great-uncle
- Igino
- De
- Bolfo,
- the
- only
- surviving
- member
- of
- the
- original
- trio
- who
- undertook
- that
- arduous
- 46-day
- voyage
- aboard
- the
- steamship
- Re
- d'Italia
- (King
- of
- Italy)
- 75
- years
- ago.
- But
- what
- began
- as
- simple
- curiosity
- became
- an
- overwhelming
- obsession
- for
- tony,
- which
- led
- him
- on
- his
- own
- unbelievable
- voyage
- of
- discovery.
- Working
- from
- the
- original
- passenger
- list,
- he
- set
- out
- to
- uncover
- the
- life
- stories
- of
- the
- 105
- men,
- women
- and
- children
- who
- accompanied
- his
- forebears
- down
- the
- gangway,
- into
- the
- unknown.
- tony's
- search
- involved
- regular
- correspondence,
- countless
- phone
- calls
- and
- thousands
- of
- kilometres.
- It
- took
- him
- interstate
- and
- overseas
- and
- brought
- him
- in
- contact
- with
- many
- descendants,
- and
- in
- some
- cases
- the
- passengers
- themselves.
- Many
- years
- later
- after
- that
- voyage,
- tony
- uncovered
- extraordinary
- tales
- of
- love
- and
- friendship,
- suicide
- and
- murder,
- tragedy
- and
- success.
- And
- along
- the
- way
- he
- has
- even
- discovered
- something
- about himself.
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