Nino Mario 1937 & Dolores Ann 1936 - 2019 (born Russell)

Nino was born in Greenbushes in 1937 the eldest son of Luigi and Aurelia Tuia. The family lived in Balingup until 2 Sep 1939 when they moved to their property in Thomson’s Brook. Nino attended St Philomena School in Donnybrook where he excelled in anything to do with numbers.  At the age of 14 Nino left school to help on the family farm. Life was a lot of hard work and within three months of leaving school he had planted his first crop of potatoes.  He continued to grow potatoes for many years later.   Working alongside his father and brother, they planted an orchard, milked cows and worked on the farm.

In 1958 Nino and Dolores Russell (Dolly) married and were blessed with five children.  Kathleen in 1958, followed by Peter, Russell, Murray and lastly Cheryl, all two years apart.  Two years after the wedding, they purchased a property of their own ‘Oakdale’ . Farm life was busy,  Nino had a dairy to run, calves and pigs to feed, potatoes to plant and dig, as well as land to clear.
 
Unfortunately after only four years the dairy burnt down and he decided to go into beef cattle. Around this time Nino worked as a contractor, falling trees and carting logs to the mill for extra money.  His focus gradually moved to sheep and potatoes. At one stage having over 7000 sheep. They settled onto their farm in Thompson’s Brook with the five children and together worked hard to build a successful farm while supporting community and sporting groups in Donnybrook.
 
Nino was very involved with the Catholic Church.  He helped demolish the old church in Donnybrook and prepare the site for the new one.  At one stage he was on every committee within the church parish of Donnybrook.

In 1980 Nino and Dolly sold the farm  and moved into Bunbury.  Life was still very busy, Nino spent many weekends on the water chasing those Dhu fish and was later  honoured as a Life Member of the Bunbury and Districts Power Boat Club ,  Nino and Dolly were both involved in the palliative care program supporting others through difficult times.  They continued to their work with the Catholic Church and contributed to the Bunbury parish in many ways, such as volunteering at St Vincent’s and participating regularly in church activities. Nino was a special minister and member of the finance committee.  He helped with the renovation of the seating in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Bunbury and made 1500 crucifixes to raise money for the new cathedral.

They moved to Woodstock Retirement Village in Bunbury and quickly became active members of the community.   Dolly passed away in 2019 and Nino continues to live at Woodstock.

Nino's Children

  • Kathleen 1958 – 
  • Peter 1960 – 
  • Russell 1962 – 
  • Murray 1964 – 
  • Cheryl 1966 –

Additional Information