Vivian Fattorini

Vivian Fattorini played football for Redan.

History
Vivian Eugene Beaufield Fattorini was born on 4 February 1882, the son of Eugene Fattorini and Amy Williams.

Fattorini played football for the Redan Imperial Football Club, c.1904. "A meeting of the Redan Imperial Football Club was held at the Redan Club hotel on Tuesday evening, and the following officers were elected:—President. Mr J. Brady; vice presidents, Mayor Pearce, J. A. Hooley. D. Anderson. J. Stevens. F. Kierce, and O. Heinz: general committee, J. Smith. T. Ellis, V. Fattorini, T. Gitsham, P. Burt. J. Anderson, and A. Robinson; delegates. F. Tucker and J. Anderson; match committee, A. Rahilly, P. Burt. J. Smith. P. Williams and F. Gosden; treasurer, W. Stevens; hon. sec., J. Anderson. It was decided to contest the fourth rate premiership, and a number of valued trophies have been promised."

Vivian Fattorini was a police officer joining the force on 9 October 1906. He had originally started work with the Ballarat Gas Company as a meter reader, and was approached by the police to work as an undercover policeman to help catch some of the people operating illegal street betting in Sturt Street. His appointment was kept secret, even from an old acquaintance, Senior Constable Stallard. Fattorini continued to work as a meter reader, and was able to visit the bookies shops without raising suspicion and gather evidence which would support a proposed raid. Stallard became concerned about Fattorini, whom he had known as a child, being seen in these illegal business and told him not to go near them. Fattorini denied he went to betting shops, and did not reveal his secret, but reported the conversation to his senior officers. The officers believed that Stallard was not acting in his friend's interests, but instead was in league with, or at least sympathetic to the bookmakers. A board of enquiry into Stallard's friendly advice found that this allegation was not sustained by the evidence, but recommended that Stallard be moved to another district because he had been in Ballarat for too long.

In 1907 he was charged with perjury in case involving the prosecution for street betting of Judah Phillips, a bookmaker. The jury found Fattorini not guilty.

In 1908 he married Alice Seccombe. They had several children including:
 * Beatrice Lamonnerie, (born 1909 at Mount Korong) (known as Monnie).
 * Avis Jean Lamonnerie (1913)
 * Doris

In August 1910, Fattorini was stationed at the Wedderburn police station. A carpenter from Swan Hill, Edward John Ledwidge, who was a boarder at the Commercial Hotel, had Fattorini charged with assault and trespass. He said that Fattorini had come into his room at the hotel and shaken him violently. Fattorini claimed that he had seen the man earlier in the street drunk. He demanded a search of the hotel rooms, and on finding Ledwidge lying drunk on bed, claims he was worried that he was lying face down and might choke. Both Ledwidge and the hotel publican claimed that he was not drunk. Fattorini was found guilty and had to pay £1 in compensation.

In 1914 it was reported that Constable Fattorini had been posted to Bendigo. He had been in charge of the Serpentine police station, and the local residents presented his wife with a gift of a silver tea and coffee service.

In April 1918, Fattorini, now a Mounted Police Constable in Bendigo, was charged with trying to extort money with menaces, from people living in the Chinese quarter, along Bridge Street in Bendigo. He accused of having found two people smoking opium, but on the payment of £7 did not arrest them. He denied the charges and was able to producer witnesses to say he was not in Bridge street on the dates in question. At a subsequent hearing by a police board, Sergeant Young testified that Fattorini was on Town Hall duty that night, and therefore could not have been in Bridge Street. Fattorini's lawyers argued that the charges against him were vague, and relied on an anonymous letter. They said the case was unfair and that the superintendent had not shown proper prudence in allowing the case to proceed in the court.

In August 1920, Fattorini was named as the co-respondent in a divorce case between Flora Jane Sims and Thomas Sims. Sims accused his wife frequently of being unfaithful, and he denied being the father of any of their eight children. The judge completely exonerated Fattorini from any involvement in the case.

In June 1924 Fattorini was stationed at Scoresby. He was called in to investigate several young teenagers, runaways from Carlton, who were in the Ferntree Gully area firing guns, and caliming they were shooting rabbits. He confiscated the weapons, which it turns out were stolen, and told the boys they had to go home on the next train. Sadly the boys still had one gun hidden, and after the policeman had left, they got into an argument about it. During a struggle to take control of the gun, it discharged, and one of the boys, Walter Arthur Fellows aged 13, was killed when he was shot in the head. The boys fled. Fattorini was called back by a local farmer who had later found the body. No charges were laid against the boys over the death.

In September 1929, Fattorini is in Cranbourne where he had arrested and charged a man with stealing clothes.

He died in Prahran on 2 April 1930 : "Fattorini - In fond and loving memory of my dearly loved husband, and our dear father, who passed away 2nd April 1930. A beautiful memory is all we have left. Inserted by his loving wife and daughters, Monnie, Avis and Doris."