A charming 1988 film clip in the National Film and Sound Archive captures Tiny the Terrier, a clever dog from Tuncurry who greeted the postman each day and proudly carried the mail to his owners, Tony and Rose Amato.1
The scene unfolds at 12 Bent Street, Tuncurry, the Amato family home since 1953.2 Purchased two years after their marriage, it became the heart of family life where Tony and Rose raised their children.3 Though modernised, the house remains in the family.
Tony’s own story began far from Tuncurry. Born in 1922 in Molfetta, Bari, Italy, he migrated to Australia in 1938 with his brother and sister after their mother’s death. Their father, Pietro, already working as a fisherman for Leo Amato in Tuncurry, brought them to join him. Sadly, Pietro died just six weeks later, leaving the children to build a new life in Australia.4
During World War II, Tony, like many Italian immigrants, was interned in camps across the country including Orange (NSW), Loveday (SA), and Katherine (NT).5 After the war, he returned to Tuncurry to continue the family’s fishing tradition.
This brief film of Tiny the Terrier is more than a novelty — it offers a warm glimpse into the enduring spirit of the Amato family, reflecting the rich migrant stories that helped shape the NSW MidCoast.
Author: Janine Roberts with thanks to Jan and John Amato.
Watch the clip at the National Film and Sound Archive: Tiny the Terrier Collects Mail (Taree, 1988)
References:
1 Prime Media, Tiny the Terrier collects the mail in Taree, 1988. National Film and Sound Archive ID 48548.
2 NSW Land Registry Services, Vol-Fol: 5876-236.
3 NSW BDM, Marriage Index for Antonio Amato and Rose Palise No. 9294/1951.
4 Manning River Times, 23 August 1939, 2.
5 NAA: D4880, AMATO Antonio.
