Interview with Mick Lombardo regarding the history of the Australian fishing industry
Date29 November 1989
Object numberANMS0871[127]
NameInterview
MediumCompact disk and tape
Copyright© Murdoch University
ClassificationsBorn digital media
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Murdoch University
DescriptionA recorded interview with Mick Lombardo in Fremantle, Western Australia, as part of a series titled 'History of the Australian Fishing Industry'. It contains information on the Lombardo family background, boat building, Ocean Shipyards Pty. Ltd., offshore oil exploration, entry into the fishing industry, career in fishing, prawning exploration, proccessing and exporting expertise, reduction in product, north west fishing, pollution, diversifying markets and price variations, labour relationships, the future of the fishing industry, the need for more research, early days on the west coast. post war efforts, Shark Bay lobster, prominent fishermen, overseas capital, markets, need for controls, labour employed, Lombardo family entrprises, pilchards, employment of women, stability of labour, the need for training, aids and facilities and new projects.HistoryMr Lombardo is a member of a very prominent Fremantle family. He was born and educated in Western Australia and entered the fishing industry when as a boy of thirteen years, he joined his fisherman father, Vincento Lombardo, with whom he served a long apprenticeship, and gained much hands-on experience in many facets of the industry on the west coast. More recently he and his family have diversified their business interests into many other endeavours.
This recorded interview with Mick Lombardo is part of a larger series produced as result of an oral history research project conducted by the Economics Department of Murdoch University and coordinated by Malcolm Tull. The project commissioned researchers in every Australian state to interview fishermen and others involved in catching, processing and marketing fish. Their research involved questions about daily work, personal memories of life in the Australian fishing industry as well as questions about the economics of the industry.SignificanceThis collection of recorded interviews is significant in providing a comprehensive record of commercial fishing from the 1950s to the 1990s across Australia.
In many ways the Lombardo story is also the story of the fishing industry on this west coast. The family members have prospered as has the industry, but not without a great deal of hard and sustained effort. This is evident in the account recorded on this tape. It is a story of outstanding achievement and a very significant contribution to the history of
the Australian fishing industry.