Menzies wanted to blame” the reds” rather than his own Government’s policies so Mario Abbiezzi became the scapegoat. Abbiezzi received a letter in December 1952, refusing renewal of his visa and giving him two months’ notice of deportation. Because of his defence of workers’ rights and anti-fascist activities Abbiezzi had previously been denied naturalisation. On receiving this notice Abbiezzi fled to Darwin where he was arrested and returned to Sydney to be locked up at Long Bay.
Mario Abbiezzi was born on March 18, 1907 in the Comune (municipality) of Casorate Primo, in the Region of Lombardy, 20 kms southwest of Milan. (1,2) Lombardy borders Switzerland and of the 20 administrative regions of Italy it is the most populous, richest and most productive.
Abbiezzi joined the PCI (Partito Communista Italiano) at age 18 in Milan. (3) In April 1934 Abbiezzi was arrested and in March 1935 sentenced to 8 years in prison. On May 14, 1938 Abbiezzi was released, but arrested again in May 1943. (3) By September 1943 Abbiezzi was released and joined the armed struggle against fascism. According to Abbiezzi he was sentenced to death 4 times by the Mussolini regime for fighting against fascism. (4)
The partisans were united under the banner of the National Liberation Committee (CLN). The CLN was a multi-party entity uniting all anti-fascists. The Communists, Socialists, Action Party and Christian Democrats all had their own units within the overall structure of the CLN. Abbiezzi joined the Garibaldi Brigades which was the military wing of the Communist Party. Over the period that Abbiezzi was involved with the Garibaldi Brigades he took on more responsibilities and on September 9, 1944 he was appointed political commissar of the Garibaldi 1st and 2nd Division brigades. (1) The Alcide De Gasperi post war government of Italy recognised Mario Abbiezzi as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Partisan Army of Liberation – the highest rank accorded for partisan officers.
The partisans helped Allied prisoners of war escape to Switzerland and Abbiezzi himself personally escorted thousands of allied servicemen to the border including 7 Australian and New Zealander airmen. (4)
In July 1943 the Allied invasion of Italy first commenced in Sicily and made its way northwards. As the allies progressively defeated the Fascists, they likewise moved northwards. On July 25, 1943 Benito Mussolini was voted out of power by his own Grand Council with a no confidence motion and put under arrest. On September 12, 1943 the Nazis rescued Mussolini who flew him to Vienna and the onto Munich the next day to meet Hitler. The Nazis then set up a rump, puppet fascist regime called the Italian Social Republic with Mussolini as its head. On September 23, 1943 Mussolini returned to Italy to proclaim his new Northern Italian puppet state with its headquarters in Salo on the shores of Lake Garda.
In April 1945 the CLNAI (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale Alta Italia) declared a general uprising in the main northern Italian cities as the German forces retreated. The CLNAI was the de facto government of northern Italy with the collapse of Mussolini’s fascist Italian Social Republic.
On April 25, 1945 the CLNAI issued a decree:
“The members of the fascist government and those fascist leaders who are guilty of having suppressed constitutional guarantees, destroyed the people's freedoms, created the fascist regime, compromised and betrayed the country, bringing it to the current catastrophe are to be punished with the penalty of death.” (5)
Mussolini decided to make a run for the Swiss border with his Fascist ministers, partner Claretta Petacci together with his SS security detail. This convoy was attacked by partisans of the Garibaldi Brigades and halted on the northern shore of Lake Como on April 27, 1945. The SS was delivered an ultimatum by the partisans – either hand over the Italians and be permitted to head north into Switzerland or be prepared to die. The SS decided to accept their offer of freedom. The Italian Fascists were taken into custody and transported to Dongo. As fighting was continuing around Dongo, Mussolini and Petacci were moved to a nearby farm owned by the De Maria family. There is some conjecture over Mussolini’s death in Italy but what Abbiezzi says is that the execution was carried out by Walter Audisio (partisan name: Colonel Valerio) and his second in command Michele Moretti whom Abbiezzi sent to capture Mussolini. Abbiezzi further states that the partisan troops under his command executed half of Mussolini’s 19 ministers. (4) Interestingly Moretti was a champion footballer and later on became a PCI parliamentarian.
In 1949 Abbiezzi decided to travel to Australia. In Genoa Abbiezzi boarded the Sebastiano Caboto and disembarked in Australia in August 1949. (6) Once in Australia Abbiezzi settled in Sydney becoming the secretary of the Italo-Australian Club at 727 George Street, Sydney as well as contributing to the Italian newspaper Il Risveglio (The Awakening). The Italo-Australian Club provided support, information, food as well as social contact for new Italian migrant workers. In the 1960s Abbiezzi set up the Garibaldi Bar which played a similar role to the Italo-Australian Club. Garibaldi’s was dominated by a huge mural of Abbiezzi’s hero and unifier of modern Italy Giuseppe Garibaldi astride a white horse riding down Riley Street, Darlinghurst. Other achievements include helping found the Sydney branch of the PCI as well as FILEF (Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Emigrati e loro Famiglie) and its newspaper Nuovo Paese.
Abbiezzi work for Italian unemployed migrants in the 1950s bought him to the attention of the Menzies Government. In 1952 Australia was in recession. In mid-1951 the wool price had collapsed and in the 1952/3 financial year real GDP was 5% lower than in the preceding financial year. In addition, wage growth and domestic demand had dropped. (7) Into this situation at the end of WWII some 200,000 to 300,000 Italians migrated to Australia. In normal times most of the migrants could expect to be in camps like Bonegilla, Matraville and Villawood for some one to two weeks before finding work. However, with the economic slowdown Italian and other migrants were spending months in these camps unemployed. This bred discontent and frustration which erupted into demonstrations with the Italians demanding to be either given work or sent home. The Italian Government became involved and the Minister responsible for Immigration Dr Silvio Daneo was dispatched to Australia. Because of this unrest, assisted passage between Italy and Australia was suspended from 1952 to 1954. (8)
Menzies wanted to blame” the reds” rather than his own Government’s policies so Mario Abbiezzi became the scapegoat. Abbiezzi received a letter in December 1952, refusing renewal of his visa and giving him two months’ notice of deportation. Because of his defence of workers’ rights and anti-fascist activities Abbiezzi had previously been denied naturalisation. On receiving this notice Abbiezzi fled to Darwin where he was arrested and returned to Sydney to be locked up at Long Bay.
The news of his arrest spread quickly and soon the Italo-Australian Club where Abbiezzi was secretary had set up a Defence of Mario Abbiezzi Committee and organised a petition which had collected 10,000 signatures. Support also came in from the Queensland Association of Italian Workers, trade unions representing boilermakers, restaurant and club workers, representatives of the Italian Government and an anti-fascist organisation Italia Libera whose patron was the Victorian Senator Donald Cameron. Senator Cameron wrote to the Immigration Minister Harold Holt arguing against this deportation order. The ACTU President Albert Monk, the Trades and Labour Councils of NSW, Victoria and Queensland likewise made representations on Abbiezzi’s account as did 18 Federal parliamentarians. (9) Whilst in Australia Dr Silvio Daneo, representing the Italian Government, requested that the Immigration Department drop the deportation proceedings.
In the face of such widespread opposition Holt ordered a Departmental report and Cabinet met, with the Abbiezzi case being quietly dropped. However, Abbiezzi was denied citizenship for many years afterwards and he had to wait until 1973 when Al Grasby finally granted Abbiezzi citizenship. (3)
With the birth of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978 Abbiezzi became an enthusiastic supporter and in the first few years of the Mardi Gras meetings were held in Garibaldi’s Bar.
Mario Abbiezzi passed away on March 20, 1986 and is greatly missed by all those who knew him. (10)
REFERENCES:
1. http://www.55rosselli.it/protagonisti/mario_abiezzi
2. https://anppia.it/antifascisti/antifascista-abbiezzi-mario/
3. https://www.glebesociety.org.au/street/mario-abiezzi/
4. SMH 16-1-1953 p 2
5. Garibaldi, Luciano (2004). Mussolini: The Secrets of His Death. Enigma
6. The Maritime Worker 17-1-1953
7. https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/confs/1992/stevens.html
8. Battiston, Simone Immigrants Turned Activists. Italians in 1970s Melbourne 9/8/2012
9. Il Risveglio Mario Abbiezzi: Espulso Dall’Australia Per L’opera Di Assistenza Prestata Agli Immigrati Italiani Disoccupati February 1953
10. Tribune Obituary 9-4-1986 p 13
