Astute, intelligent and tireless, Alex Del Porto is one of the most prominent members of the well-known Del Porto family.
Always forward-looking, Alex began his journey in public life in the 1990s, when he first found himself engaging with the rules, responsibilities and duties of institutional life.
In December 1994, following a decision by the Victorian State Government, all municipalities were required to merge with neighbouring councils in order to reduce administrative costs and streamline public administration.
The total number of municipalities was reduced to 79 across the state. Along the coastal strip from Brighton to Sandringham, Moorabbin and Mordialloc, four councils chose to amalgamate, creating the new City of Bayside. On December 30, 2024, the 30th anniversary of that historic merger was celebrated.
Alex was elected councillor to the newly formed Bayside City Council in 1997. From then until last year, the council chambers became a second home to him. On five separate occasions, he stood in the main chamber and declared, “I am honoured to have the opportunity to again serve as the Mayor of Bayside.”
He served as mayor in 1998–99, 2004, 2010–11, 2016–17 and 2021–22, and as deputy mayor in 2023–24. He remains the only councillor from Bayside’s coastal ward in recent times to have been elected mayor five times.
His long administrative career also included the difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was the moment that tested me most, but it also gave me renewed energy,” he recalls.
“Together with my colleagues we faced unpredictable challenges supporting the community—especially the elderly, who were the most vulnerable during that dramatic period.”
When asked how he reacted to the news of receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia, Alex smiles as we sip coffee in an Italian café. “It was a wonderful surprise,” he says, “I don’t even know who nominated me, but I feel deeply honoured.”
The last time we met had been at the Circolo Pensionati Italiani in Malvern, long attended by his mother Liliana and her twin sister Lidia.
Despite the advanced age of many members, the two sisters have always stood out for their intellectual vitality—qualities shaped by their family environment and by the figure of Liliana’s husband, Ugo Del Porto.
The Del Porto story reads like the plot of a film. His mother, née Liliana Marcuzzi, married Ugo Del Porto at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1952. The two had met in 1950 at the Bagnoli refugee camp in Naples, where Ugo was working with refugees from Zara and the Balkans, many of them of Albanian origin—like Alex’s grandparents.
Later, Liliana and her sister embarked for Australia, where there was strong demand for labour in textiles, construction and infrastructure.
A graduate in philosophy and a teacher of languages, culture, history and literature in the religious education sector, Alex is the eldest of four brothers—George, Joe and Carlo. With his wife Donna, he has raised four children in their home in East Brighton.
Following news of the honour, friends and colleagues sent messages of esteem and congratulations. It is a recognition that crowns a life of public service, cultural commitment and a deep bond with the community.
