Download (14Mb) - VUIR - Victoria University

children (see previous sections) Lucy Righetti's offspring only heard the old Irish or
Scots songs and poetry which she loved. Other Italian-speaking friends or relatives
who called to the Righetti house included Serafino's cousin Battista (now resident at
Yandoit), Stefano Pozzi (their old business rivalry apparently forgotten), the Lucinis
from Spring Creek and the Rotanzis. Some of them might have been delighted to see
upon the waU of Serafino's house a beautifully decorated wooden clock which had
been unported from Switzerland:"*^ not merely a reminder of home, it was tangible
evidence to the rest of the community of Swiss technical skill and artistic ability. It
was also suggestive of the increased purchasing power of the Italian-speaking
immigrants.
Being more financially secure with increased leisure time, Serafino, like many
of his compatriots, offered his services to the community. In 1875, he became a
member of Daylesford's Swiss and Italian Association, of which his friend Francesco
Rotanzi had once been secretary. Later, he was elected to the Mount Franklin Shire
Council"*^ (along wdth his brother Giuseppe and cousin Battista), the desire for a
greater say in local politics revealing a less suspicious attitude towards authority than
that which would have typified a peasant outlook. Conscious of the advantages to a
businessman of a greater community involvement (like Vincenzo Perini in the previous
section), he had broadened the circle of his responsibilities beyond the family.
Becoming at one time a member, correspondent and chairman of a Board of Advice
for Education,"** Stefano also revealed a high regard for institutionalised leaming which
again placed him at variance with typically peasant values. Though some of his
215