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Gioachimo Respini from Cevio, writing of his experiences during the joumey (which
also included the sea voyage), claimed:
Con piacere debbiamo dirvi che il nostre viaggio fu felice, sebbene
abbiame avuto il mare ... in furiesa procella ... Vi parera eroneo il
chiamare il nostro viaggio felice, ma pure lo e giustamente, e
perche? perche, prime abbiame un'imagine della burrasca marina,
secende abbiame gia provato il vemite, e terzo, cio che melto
imperta, abbiame trovate sempre buena gente che ci aiutarone.^^
In a changing pattem of social relationships, Respini, and others like him, grew to rely
more on the help of fiiends and travel companions than on the traditional support of
family. In their new predominantly male world, the emigrants formed new bonds of
dependency which would remain strong in the goldfields. Later, when family units
were reunited or new famiUes formed, the old social order would re-emerge, though
(as documented throughout this thesis) never in precisely the same form.
It was not, however, during the joumey to the European ports that the
emigrants met with the greatest hardship. The travel agencies, in order to prevent the
travellers from changing their minds and returning home to their villages, made sure
that everyone had enough food and water and was reasonably comfortable. The Italian
speakers were also, as first time 'tourists', absorbed by the many new sights which
greeted them, writing home often about the things they saw: E chi non vede al di la
del S. Gotardo non vede nulla e coloro che mojono senza vedere questi paesi e come
nascere e morire'.^^ Emerging from the sheltered village community, many travellers
were surprised by the vastness of the countryside and the varied life-styles of its
inhabitants: the joumey thus became a preparation for the multicultural world of the
Australian goldfields. It was only after the ships had departed from England and
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