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Smce Celestino had not leamed Italian, he had never understood the meaning
of the song nor been able to pass it on to his descendants. It may have recalled the
mimigrants' sadness and regret at leaving their homeland, Quon, quill, Quor, for
example, translatmg as con qui il cuore, (with here the heart) referring to Ticino or
Italy. Mai calla lasha ling might translate as mai lasciare (never leave). The song
may even have been sung m dialect and hence part of an oral tradition only.'*' The
National Day celebration was mostly a male affair reflecting the authority stmcture
within the traditional home where, despite the equality of the work-place, men
dominated, at least within the pubUc sphere. Women would appear later in the evening
carrying in plates of food to place on well-laden trestle tables. Catherine Tomasetti,
who was considered a wonderful cook and presumably prepared several Swiss dishes,
would also make her contribution. Some of the local residents claimed that, in regard
to the Swiss eating habits, 'good sausages, wine, cheese and bread were Swiss and
French contributions to the standard Australian tastes for mutton, potatoes, pudding,
tea and beer'.'** Eating and social occasions were, in this way, important in bringing
Austraha's ethnic groups together and, as such, were vehicles for cultural mixing and
cohesion.
While Swiss National Day served to remind Gaetano of his traditional roots, so
too did the death of his travel companion Giovan Tomasetti in 1901.'*' (It is not
known when Battista died.) It may also have caused him to ponder, after nearly 50
years in the Colony, the wisdom of his decision to emigrate all those years ago. His
older children were now grown up and the family had begun to fragment: Antonio (or
Tony as he was then known) was employed as a storeman in Melboume and the boys
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