Download (14Mb) - VUIR - Victoria University

employment. Within most households boys who brought money into the home gained
prestige within the family and were placed on a more equal footing with their fathers:
within the Tomasetti home, however, the eaming of wage labour, which took the sons
outside the home and gave them the possibility of financial independence, represented
a departure from earUer cultural pattems. Celestino secured a six-day working week at
Hannagan's Store in Vincent Street, Daylesford and resided in the town. Presumably
with little of his income going towards the support of his family, this arrangement
represented a transition towards the more individualistic capitalist work pattem.
After years as a stonemason and miner Gaetano began to concentrate solely on
his farm which provided most of the family's needs. His land incorporated a large
vegetable patch on one side of the house - Tomasettis' onions being renowned for their
wonderful taste ~ and on the other side Catherine grew flowers. The garden,
therefore, was a reflection of both Gaetano's peasant roots and the family's increased
leisure time and financial security. Around the property were milking sheds, a pigsty
and a small orchard with pear trees. Towards the end of the 1880s better machinery
and fertiUsers had made it easier for farmers to manage their land, although the
increased reUance on technological and scientific knowledge characterised a move
away from traditional peasant farming methods. To boost their income ~ necessitated
by the family's expansion ~ the Tomasettis sold wine, eggs and butter to the local
community. On 26 March 1888, Catherine gave birth to a second child, named
Bertram Gaetano in recognition of his dual ethnic origins. Twin boys named William
Thomas and Emest Henry arrived in March 1893 and, on 11 March 1901, the last of
the Tomasetti children was bom. Bringing Gaetano's total offspring to eleven, she
149