Francesco "Frank" Calabro, AM (3 January 1925 – 13 January 2011) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

from 1970 to 1988. He was the first Italian-born person of Italian descent elected to any Australian parliament. Calabro was born in

Sant'Alessio in Aspromonte Sant'Alessio may refer to: Places * Sant'Alessio (Lucca), a List of parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lucca, parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lucca * Sant'Alessio in Aspromonte, a municipality in Reggio Calabria, Calabria, It ...

near

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, to Antonio, a master bootmaker, and Maria Romeo. He arrived in Australia in 1934, having attended school in Italy; he then attended St Mary's Basilica Christian Brothers' at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In 1948, the family purchased a bus run at

Bonnyrigg Bonnyrigg is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, which is southeast of Edinburgh city centre, between the Rivers North and South Esk. The town had a population of 14,663 in the 2001 census which rose to 15,677 in the 2011 census, both figures b ...

. In 1959, he was elected to Fairfield Councill, in which year he also became President of the

Cabramatta Cabramatta, also abbreviated as Cabra, is a suburb in South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local gove ...

Chamber of Commerce. He married Rosa Polimeni on 20 November 1963; they would have six children. In 1966, Calabro was briefly Mayor of Fairfield (he served another term in 1969), and in that year was made a Commander of the

Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( ) was founded as a national order by the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola, in 1947, to recognise civilian and military expatriates or foreigners who made an outstanding co ...

by the Italian Government. He also became active in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, having formed the Cabramatta branch in 1965. He left Fairfield Council in 1971, but returned in 1974, serving until 1977. In 1970, Calabro was appointed to the

as a Liberal member. He served on the Council until 1988. After leaving the Council, he continued to be active in the community; on 1 January 2001 he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

for services to migrant welfare, and on 9 June 2003 he was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for service to the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

and the Fairfield community. In May 2013,Frank was added to the New South Wales Government Multicultural Honour Roll for his role in assisting new migrants settle in Australia.

References

External links

Sydney Morning Herald obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calabro, Frank 1925 births 2011 deaths Italian emigrants to Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council People of Calabrian descent Members of the Order of Australia