Maria Island's unofficial 'king' Diego Bernacchi's portrait donated

Australia Broadcast Center

12-05-2025

An oil painting of the unofficial "king" of Maria Island, off Tasmania's east coast, has been donated to hang in the home he built there more than a century ago.
The 19th-century portraits of Angelo Giulio "Diego" Bernacchi and his wife Barbe were donated by their great-great-granddaughter Clare Bernacchi.
Ms Bernacchi, from Auckland, recently visited Tasmania for the first time to trace her family's history and visit the heritage-listed home on Maria Island (Wukaluwikiwayna).
Diego, an ambitious entrepreneur, was not the only family member to leave a legacy that can still be seen in Tasmania.
His son Louis Bernacchi is known as the first Australian to spend a winter in Antarctica.
He was part of an 1898 expedition and returned with Captain Robert Falcon Scott on his major Antarctic expedition in 1901.
As a child, Ms Bernacchi grew up under a "huge" portrait that hung on her grandparents' wall.
It was of her great-grandfather, acclaimed scientist and Antarctic explorer Louis Bernacchi.
Beside it were two smaller portraits that she eventually learnt were Louis' parents, an enterprising and ambitious couple who moved across the world and made their mark in Tasmania.
"Most of the family history I got told was based around [Louis]," Ms Bernacchi said.
"Because that was exciting and amazing and there are three places in Antarctica named after him.
An Italian-born migrant, Diego Bernacchi moved to Tasmania from England with his family in 1884.
Shortly after arriving, he secured the lease of Maria Island through an act of parliament and quickly set about building his island empire.
Maria Island, home to the Puthikwilayti people for more than 40,000 years, had become a convict station during colonisation.
When the station was abandoned, it was later used for farming.
Under Bernacchi, the island was transformed into a hive of industry built on silk and wine, and later a cement works.
His big ambition for the island and renaming its township Darlington to San Diego saw him teasingly become known as "King Diego".
A sharp financial downturn ended his dream for Maria Island and extended to tourism and other industries.
He left the island for England but returned in 1918 and built the home now known as the heritage-listed Bernacchi House.
In 1924, the entrepreneur fell ill and left for Melbourne, where he died the following year at the age of 72.
Although his vision did not come to full fruition, his impact is still visible on Maria Island.
Many buildings remain, including Bernacchi House, alongside dilapidated remnants of industry and a former family home, and the grave of one of the Bernacchis' sons who died in childhood.
Ms Bernacchi planned a walk on the island and spent two nights in Bernacchi House, where the heirloom portraits now hang.
"The fact that I can go to the island … and walk in their shoes is actually blowing my mind," she said.
"It's quite a special family legacy to have."
Ms Bernacchi felt compelled to donate the portraits to Maria Island after inheriting them from her grandparents, but no longer has space to display them.
The two portraits had been on display in her family home but had been relegated to storage after a downsize.
Ms Bernacchi said her children had refused ownership.
"My children often commented about how creepy [the portraits] were, that the eyes were following them around the room," she said.
"They didn't want the creepy ancestors watching them in the house."
Already planning to visit Tasmania, she contacted The Maria Island Walk, a brand of Experience Co, that hosts walkers and has exclusive access to Bernacchi House through a lease held with Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
Experience Co chief executive John O'Sullivan said he was touched by Ms Bernacchi's donation of the two 19th-century paintings, which now hang in the dining room.
Mr O'Sullivan walked the island with Ms Bernacchi and was with her when she first saw the portraits on the wall of Bernacchi House.
"When Clare saw them, she got quite emotional," Mr O'Sullivan said.
"It gave the group this real feeling of privilege to be walking with her.
"How often do you get to do an experience with a direct blood relative of the man who, in many ways, founded and created the island as we know it today?"
Ms Bernacchi hopes the portraits and history will draw future generations of her family to the island and other locations key to their story.
"It's amazing to have them [the portraits] there for generations to appreciate them and enjoy them," Ms Bernacchi said.