Joe Rotondella
His Story...
About Joe
Growing up during the mid1900s in Fremantle, Western Australia the town where I still live today, my youth was simple but good. Still, it was popular opinion, especially among the local Italian community that I would get nowhere in life. “That bloody Joe Rotondella, he’s a real no-hoper.” I have to admit the odds certainly were stacked against me; I was born into a poor Italian immigrant family and early on we faced numerous hardships and at least one tragedy. All things considered, it’s not surprising that I started out as a cheeky kid who got kicked out of school in the 1940s and moved onto becoming one of Fremantle’s infamous teenage reprobates in the 1950s. To the outside world, my life appeared to be heading down the tube. So it probably came as a surprise to many that I grew into a successful person both personally and professionally and somehow managed to navigate my way into success, and by success, I don’t just mean into financial success but more so into becoming a fairly decent person.
On Board Sputnick 1957/58
On Board the Lakanuki 1966
My philosophy in life was that if
somebody could ride a bicycle, so could I. In life; If somebody could do
something, so could I. But, you can’t do it alone!