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This child survived the birth though he was to suffer ill heaUh in later years. While ~
as with his deceased infant sister Mary Kate ~ James's naming signified his Anglo-
Celtic heritage, m keeping with his dual ethnic origins, the godparents at his christening
were Pietro Cerini from Giumaglio and a family friend Honora Egan.
One year later, on 13 Febmary 1869, on account of his bad health and his
desire to leave the Colony, Giovanni Lafranchi applied to have his seven hectares of
land transferred to Gaetano ~ land which Lafranchi claimed to have improved with
100 pounds worth of fencing, bmlding and clearing. Gaetano was issued with the
licence on 15 June 1869. Two months later, on 24 August, in recognition of the
region's growing Catholic population. Bishop Gould laid the foundation stone for St
Joseph's Church at Blampied. The constmction of the church, to be built on the main
road near the Mt Prospect crossroads, provided Gaetano and many of his countrymen
with the opportunity for extra work (although a number may have donated their
labour). Those who had abandoned the now exhausted mines at Deep Creek resumed
their old trades as stonemasons and stonecutters and Gaetano became part of a
working team which included Celestino and Andrea Lafranchi, brothers about whom
more will be heard later.
Because the foundation stone for the church had been placed on land adjacent
to Gaetano's land, he found that he was able to divide his time between working on the
site and clearing his own land for farming. Under the Land Act of 1869, he was also
able to mine his own property, though it is unlikely he found any sizeable quantities of
gold. This mix of activities reflected his Ticinese background and the tendency to
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