Joe Zekulich​
Author: Michael Zekulich

Joe Zekulich was 16 when he arrived in Australia with little money
and speaking no English. His mission was to find work and send
money back to his family in Dalmatia to assist with their living and pay off the money borrowed at 40% interest for his fare.

After jobs in the Goldfields and as a sleeper cutter in the South West he gravitated to the vineyards of the Swan Valley, most of them run by his countrymen and Italians.

This simply told tale by his son, renowned journalist Michael, is far
more that a biography of one man. Without intending to, it paints a
stark picture of the incredibly hard-working lives of the pioneers of the Swan Valley and a somewhat shameful picture of the treatment and exploitation of them by the Australians of the day.

Joe himself never became a millionaire. Now in his 100th year he lives in retirement in Midland. The ‘so much’ he finished up with is the fame and respect he achieved for scientific work in the discovery of diseases of vines and the love of his family. And, perhaps, the knowledge that his countrymen are no longer treated as second class citizens but are among the leaders in the community in Western Australia.