Francesco Sceusa was educated at the local technical institute in Trapani, Sicily. He then studied marine engineering at the Nautical College, Palermo, as well as architecture and civil engineering at the University of Naples. His socialist activities eventually led to him being forced to leave Sicily.
After traveling in India, Singapore, China and North Queensland, Sceusa arrived in Sydney on 5 December 1877. He worked as a draughtsman for the Department of Lands and was a foundation member of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. During his years in Australia he campaigned vigorously for the rights and welfare of Italian immigrants. He aided the victims of the Marquis de Rays expedition, and wrote about their experiences in La Spedizione del Marchese di Rays e le sue Vittime (1881). On 17 June 1882 he organized a commemoration of Garibaldi's death, attended by over 10,000 people. He founded in 1885 the first Italian newspaper in Australia, the Italo-Australiano, and was a founder of the Australian Socialist League in 1890. He published The Glorious House of Savoy : The Socialists' Tribute to the Memory of Humbert 1 in 1900. Sceusa became an Australian citizen in 1892, but eventually returned to Sicily.
Major source : Australian Dictionary of Biography (Online)
