Pino DeriuPrint Page

A plaque commemorates Pino Deriu for the sharing of his mineral collection with the Maffra community.

This important collection of mineral specimens, gem stones and fossils is the result of a lifetime of collection by Pino. Apart from a wide and fully representative range of Australian specimens the collection also contains extremely rare items from Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and Asia Minor.  Pino's preference was to leave most of the specimens he collected in their natural state rather than have them cut, polished or mounted, which adds to the scientific value of the collection.

Guiseppe ("Pino") Deriu was born in Orotelli, Sardinia (Italy) in 1925. Pino arrived in Australia in 1952, two years after his brother, Mario. Together they established a successful pig stud at Nyora.  Pino later moved to Noojee where he started carting timber and logs, an activity he continued until his retirement in 1982.  He moved to the Gippsland timber town of Heyfield to live in 1958.

Pino's interest in minerals was first aroused when he visited Mario in Coober Pedy, where his brother had moved to search for opals. From then on, in the timber off season, he travelled thousands of kilometres through his beloved outback searching for specimens. Many of these were traded over the years with his world-wide network of fellow collectors. With failing health, Pino moved to Maffra in 1994. In an act of gratitude to the community which had provided him with such a good life, he donated a significant part of his collection to the then Shire of Maffra with the request that it remain in the town and be accessible to the public.  Pino passed away in March 2001.

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