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companies while others, who had been living for long periods in Ticino, signed their
contracts wdth the Swdss agents.' Many Lombards also became eligible for the same
councU loans as the Ticinese ~ evidence of their close emotional and cultural ties.
Some time in the summer of 1855 Angelo, who was then 27, travelled overiand to the
port of Antwerp where he boarded the Adele for Australia." Departing on July 13, he
arrived in Melboume three months later. FeUow passengers were Alessandro, Lorenzo
and Abbondio Quanchi (introduced eariier) and one of the largest contingents of
Ticinesi ever to emigrate to the Colony. Other vessels carrying both Ticinesi and
ItaUans that year included the Europa, Lucie, August and the infamous H. Ludwina.^^
Together the Italian speakers suffered the misery and ill-treatment of the voyage and
pondered the wisdom of their decision to emigrate.
Since there is little known evidence of Angelo's earliest months in Australia, it
may be assumed that he first looked for work and accommodation in Melboume,
seeking assistance through the informal support networks of the Italian speakers. As
in Europe Italians and Ticinesi worked cooperatively, Giacomo Ceresa from Ticino
writing in 1855:
Trovamme un italiano ed egli ci disse: venite al mie albergo che ho
il libro di tutti Ii nomi dei nostri italiani e dove si trovano.^^
If this statement by Ceresa is accurate, it suggests that the Italian speakers' networks
which greeted the new arrivals were organized to a point which could almost be
described as formal. At some stage Angelo departed from Melboume, with its
apparently well-organised network of Italian speakers, and headed for Jim Crow and
the goldfields of Yandoit where large amounts of gold had recently been found.
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