Michael John Small

Michael (Mick) John Small (42) had a girlfriend and a child. His family thought he was the happiest he had been in many years. He had been released from prison in 2000, and took a job shark fishing on Mandy J ll.

He was living and working aboard as the leading deckhand, and thought of the crew aboard as family. His sister Debra, later reported to newspapers Michael had been ‘getting his life on track”.

The crew thought well of Mick, and said he spoke to them mainly about his son. On 29 July 2001, he sent a birthday card to his son, and boarded Mandy J ll for another shark fishing trip; the trip that was to be his last.

Mandy J ll had picked up two deckhands in Exmouth, whom the skipper, Gianbattista Tavani, had not met before. One of these men was Gregory Raymond Norman, a deckhand who had worked on Mandy J ll before. His girlfriend at the time was Lisa McDonald, who was living in Port Hedland. He had been dating her for one month.

Gregory and Michael knew each other. A former skipper of the Mandy J ll, John Nelson gave evidence at the inquest that he was aware there was bad blood between Mick and Gregory, although he had never seen them argue or fight. John thought the animosity started when Gregory offered Debra a massage, and Mick was unhappy about it.

Gregory and Mick had previously argued in Port Hedland when Mick had been rude to Lisa. Lisa later said she did not get on well with Mick. On that occasion, Gregory and Mick had a physical fight at the Pier Hotel in Port Hedland, on their last shore leave before boarding Mandy J ll for what would be Mick’s last trip.

Reportedly, Gregory had pushed Mick to the ground and told him that if he didn’t stop arguing with Lisa, he would put him in a body bag.

Mandy J ll is an aluminium mono-hulled shark fishing boat. On 1 August 2001, Mandy J ll was moored 80 kilometres from Port Hedland. Mick was doing crossword puzzles and drinking rum with Gregory. Later they played cards. They were still in the galley when the skipper got up briefly at 1am.

Gregory later stated they had consumed two bottles of rum, some beer and smoked cannabis. They had talked about fishing until finally Gregory went to bed and left Mick on deck by himself. Gregory was the last person to see Mick alive.

At 3am Gregory went to the head. He woke the skipper, shouting that Mick was not aboard the boat. He had thrown a life buoy overboard. The skipper awoke the crew and they searched the boat. They threw life buoys and floating objects into the water, to read the choppy current. A man overboard mayday call was made at 3.56am.

The call prompted an air and sea search, without any sighting of Mick. At 5pm on 2 August, with no sign of Mick’s body, the search was called off. It was assumed Mick had fallen overboard after consuming a considerable amount of rum.

In 2006, Gregory was convicted with the 2005 murder of this girlfriend, Susan Delaporte, in Kalbarri during a camping trip. The murder investigation re-opened the investigation into Mick’s disappearance and also prompted Lisa to speak to Police, saying she had been too afraid before to repeat what Gregory had told her about what happened on Mandy J ll.

At the time Mick went missing from Mandy J ll, Lisa did not tell anyone what she believed had happened.

When Gregory was charged with Susan’s murder, Lisa went to Police and provided a statement. She told them when Mandy J ll docked in Port Hedland after the search for Mick, the crew were distraught. That is, except for Gregory.

Lisa said he laughed and told her he killed Mick with a knife and disposed of the knife using her car: he had done it for her, for her honour. Lisa testified Gregory had told her about an argument he had with Mick, the night Mick went missing.

An inquest into the cause of Mick’s death was held in 2012, and Lisa testified Gregory changed after that trip in 2001. He became violent and made threats to harm her family. She grew frightened for her family.

Within a month, she broke off her relationship with Gregory, left Port Hedland and changed her family name.

There was other evidence which came to light about the night of 1 August 2001, which raised questions about what really happened to Mick.

Gianbattista told the Court when he went aboard a few weeks later, there were knives and some other items missing from the boat. Another deckhand Robert Gregory Caruana, testified at the Inquiry. Robert also said that in the search of the boat after Mick went missing, he noticed a plastic mat and iron ballast used as a sinker were out of place.

Gianbattista reported later he had not been able to continue to skipper Mandy J ll and had sold her.

Robert was aboard Mandy J ll two days after Mick’s disappearance when they went to check the fishing lines. The crew cut open every shark they caught, but did not find any human remains. A deckhand on board Mandy J ll said the boat continued to fish for several weeks after Mick’s disappearance.

Gregory had always denied being involved in Mick’s disappearance. In the 2012 investigation, he maintained that he had not killed Mick. On 17 December 2012, Coroner Peter Collins said there was not enough evidence to corroborate a homicide, although it was a possibility, and there was also a possibility Mick had fallen overboard by accident. He recorded an open verdict.

Mick’s disappearance remains a mystery that is unlikely to be solved.