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SCOUTING
Many Italian-speaking emigrants had left Europe in a state of euphoria,
thmking that in AustraUa they would be released from the prison of poverty. Though
fearful and sad about leaving famiUes, and often weighed down with a burden of debt,
they were hopeful of a successful future on the goldfields and a quick retum to their
families. During the various stages of the joumey ~ from the village to the ports, the
sea voyage and from the Australian ports to Jim Crow ~ they encountered much which
would characterise their lives in Australia: the language difficulties, the mistreatment
by others, the appalling living conditions and the debUitating sense of disillusionment.
At the same time, they drew upon resources of courage and comradeship and extended
'traditional' ties and networks which would serve them well in Australia. This chapter
describes the early experiences of the Italian speakers at Jim Crow — the 'scouts' as
social historian Robert Pascoe^ has labelled the first influx of immigrants to Australia:
their attempts to find gold, their adaptation to what was often a harsh and alienating
environment and theu" physical and emotional support of one another. It will reveal that
only a minority fulfiUed their financial ambitions, wdth the remainder left destitute and
destined to building new lives in Australia ~ a fate which hardly any would have
imagined when they had set off from their home viUages.
Italian settiement in Australia, suggests Pascoe, may be understood in three
overlapping stages: the scouts, the farmers and the builders. The 'scouts', who
comprised mainly labourers, timber cutters, fossickers, charcoal burners, farm hands.
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