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Al memento non posso spedirti denari, ma spero che presto di fare
qual cosa essendo in un lavoro che si puo fare dell'oro allora ti
spediro qualche cosa, e spero di pagare i miei debiti, fatto cio spero
di venire a casa/
Even with work, Pasqualini's debts had proved impossible to repay. For many of the
ItaUan speakers entering AustraUa, the burden of debt was to remain for decades,
denying them the opportunity to retum to their homelands. Besides the lack of money
for the fare, there was the shame of being unable to repay friends, family or the village
comune. For this reason, Pasqualini's letter evokes all the more pity, for his one wish
was to retum home quickly.
The prospect of leaving friends and family to go to a distant country also
weighed heavily upon the traveUers who, despite their hopes for adventure and a desire
for wealth in the Colony, harboured underlying sadness and fear; the excitement of
seeing the world also meant departing from all that was familiar. The viUagers were,
however, encouraged by the bold advertising campaigns of the travel agents, who were
eagerly selling large numbers of tickets to Australia: their propaganda, besides
promising the possibility of untold riches, suggested the men would be able to find
work in their own trades eaming 25 to 30 francs a day.* Reports were made of the
comfort with which each passenger would be transported, creating in the traveller's
mind the idea that, with only minor inconvenience, he would soon be in the Colony
making enough money to retum home wealthy to his family. In Locamo, the Swiss
travel agents set up their agencies on the beautiful Promenade on the shores of Lake
Maggiore. In northem Italy, British and German shipping companies worked to take
advantage of the new and burgeoning market.^
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