MUOLLO - Key Persons

Cataldo Muollo (Grandson of Cataldo & Maddalena Muollo) was onboard when the sabotage occurred, He escaped the firestorm by miracle or by the by intercession of Saint Anthony patron of Sorrento as he always claimed.

Maddelena Muollo came from Puolo to the U. S. about 1914. Her father, Pasquali, was a fisherman as were his 2 sons, Genaro and I think also a Pasquali. Those 2 boys immigrated to Argentina a few years before she left Italy. She also had a brother Cataldo and a sister Rosalie who remained in Italy until they died. Maddalena married Francesco Ferraioli, whom she met in Puolo but came to the U. S. a few years after he did and married him here. Both my parents died several years ago. I am the youngest and only survivor of their 7 children.

Raffaele Muollo was an extraordinary man who devoted his life to driving highly successful businesses and to seeing his family follow closely in his big footsteps. This larger-than-life character was the epitome of the saying "hard work never killed anyone", and his drive, entrepreneurship and ambition could be seen in everything he did. Raffaele Mario Muollo was born in Island Bay to migrant Italian parents Antonino and Ida, from the tiny fishing village of Puolo near Sorrento, south of Naples. He learned from a very young age that making sacrifices usually delivered positive results. The family was steeped in the fishing industry. His father, who arrived in New Zealand in 1925, was the first of four brothers to emigrate. Two became fishermen and two grew tomatoes commercially in Nelson. Two of Raffaele's brothers, Carlo and Tony, also owned and piloted fishing boats out of Island Bay, across the road from the family home. While he enjoyed getting on the water, Muollo concentrated on the wholesale, retail and distribution side of the seafood game. It started when he was just 10, selling groper throats door to door around Island Bay. His parents bought him a bike, but it was for selling fish, not for fun and games. Schooling tended to take second place as he pursued his interests, working after school and on Friday nights at the Lambton Quay fish shop run by the Barnao family. When he gave up schooling, he worked fulltime for Croatian migrants at Jurie Fisheries. At the age of 19 he bought the Dominion Fisheries shop in Courtenay Place, and it was hugely successful at a time when seafood retailers thrived long before the one-stop shop supermarkets swept most of them away. He sold the business and, at the age of 26, established Southern Cross Fisheries on a big site in Hansen St, Newtown, now the home of Southern Cross Hospital. He also bought New Zealand Fisheries in Lorne St. His drive and determination to succeed saw the businesses grow enormously, and he ensured a steady supply of fresh fish by purchasing a number of fishing boats, including Sea Harvester, the Southern Cross, Sea Reaper and the Lady Kay. Muollo worked long hours. The fishing boats would arrive at all hours of the night, and he was always there to unload and transport the catches to his plant. As he worked through the night, wife Josephine would bring him a fresh set of clothes so that he could continue at the job. He saw the opportunities in exporting crayfish and wet fish to Asia and the United States, and recognised he needed to have a better export-standard facility to operate from. In 1978, the old Southern Cross building was replaced by a new, purpose-built factory to process fish for exports, and it was officially opened by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon. Muollo had a hand in designing his office, which The Dominion described as like a "Hollywood suite". In 1983 he sold the Southern Cross business to Dunedin-based fishing company Skeggs, but maintained his interest and investment in the fishing industry and later in commercial property. However, a new interest was born. For several years he had admired the location and outlook of the old Park Royal Hotel in Oriental Bay, and told his family that one day he wanted to own it. The hotel was on the site of the Oriental Bay tearoom and kiosk, and then an old hotel and a hostel. The Park Royal was a victim of the 1987 sharemarket crash and closed for a period. In 1991 Raffaele made his dream come true by buying it. It was to bear his name, Hotel Raffaele, and in many ways the boutique hotel's design, refurbishment and menu reflected both his temperament and his spiritual homeland of Italy. He and Josephine oversaw the management of the hotel, and their adult children became involved in the business in some form or the other. They ran the hotel for 13 years, finally selling the building in 2004 for conversion to apartments. Muollo's work ethic, attitude and determination to succeed was evident to all those many people who counted him as a friend and confidant. Behind the cheeky smile and hearty handshake was a passion for new ideas, a sense of creativity and style and picking investment winners. He would say to his children: "Work for yourself in life - be the captain of your own ship and no-one can tell you what to do." The Muollo family lived just 100 metres from where Josephine Basile grew up with her family, another Italian family heavily involved in the fishing industry. When the time came to pluck up the courage to ask her for a date, and she accepted, Muollo celebrated with the purchase of a Chevrolet Bel Air to take her to town in style. His generosity was well known, and he enjoyed a wide circle of friends. He loved big family gatherings, which were marked by his infectious laugh, and enhanced with many of his favourite Italian dishes. For the last two years, he suffered ill health and, during that period, lost both his sister and youngest brother. He is survived by Josephine, five children and seven grandchildren.