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GERVASONI It is surprising that as late as seven years after the first gold discoveries in the Colony of <strong>Victoria</strong>, ItaUan speakers continued to arrive at the mines seeking their fortunes. As least 258 Swiss emigrated from Ticino in 1858 along with smaller but still substantial numbers of northem ItaUans.* Poorly informed by their compatriots of the gold finds at Jim Crow, or intending to exploit the goldfields as store owners and tradespeople, the Italian speakers still hoped for salvation in the Colony. On 30 March 1858, Carlo Gervasoni and his brother Giuseppe emigrated to Australia from San Gallo in the northem Italian province of Bergamo (ref figure 2), a village five kilometres from the home of Angelo and Battista Milesi, who had also emigrated to the Colony (see Chapter Six). Their parents Nicola and Giovanna Gervasoni had produced ten children: Carlo bom in 1828, Giuseppe Maria in 1830, Maria Annunciata in 1832, Giovanini Silvestro in 1834, Giovanni Evaristo in 1836, Maria Pasqua in 1838, Giorgio Maria in 1840, Luigi Paolo in 1842, Giovanna Maria in 1843, Maria Cattarina in 1845 and an infant who died in 1848.^ A farming family with a herd of around 40 cattle and its own dairying business, the Gervasonis were apparently more financially secure than many of the other small-scale farmers: certainly their children had received more education than most Lombarus about this time.' Despite this, they were adversely affected by the economic and political turmoil of the 1850s and when squabbles over property resulted in a family rift ~ and Evaristo was accused of swindling his brothers out of their share of the land holdings ~ Carlo and Giuseppe (and later Luigi) decided to seek a better future in the Colony.'* 315
By the time of their departure in 1858, Carlo at 30 and his brother at around 32 were older than the majority of Italian speakers then emigrating to the Colony* This fact, together with the news coming back from compatriots who had preceded them to the goldfields, should have ensured they were well informed of their prospects. Certainly the decision to emigrate was not a frivolous nor impulsive one, for it meant Carlo leaving behind his wife. He appears to have arranged his own, as weU as his brother's, passage to Australia from Maggia in Ticino,* this fact alone suggesting that, Uke the many impoverished Ticinesi who supplemented their farming incomes with labouring jobs in Italy, the Gervasoni had spent long periods working in Ticino in order to meet their financial commitments. Since Carlo arrived in Australia with sufficient money to join a mining venture, the brothers may have become eligible for the same council loans as the Maggesi, although it is more likely that these loans had ceased by 1858.' Travelling to Melboume aboard the Harmonides,^ which departed Liverpool with sixteen Ticinesi and a number of northem Italians as passengers, the Gervasonis shared a cabin with fellow villagers A. and G. Milesi, who may later have opened a hotel in Yandoit Creek. Like the Gervasonis, the Milesis joined many Lombards settling in the region, their business and social interactions revealing the durability of kinship and village ties. Though the skills of Cario and Giuseppe Gervasoni lay chiefly in dairy farming, it was to gold mining that they initially tumed. After making their way first to Hepburn, Carlo purchased shares in a mining tunnel at Italian Flat, an area named for its high per centage of ItaUan-speaking residents (later renamed Yandoit Creek). While underground mining was still popular in the Colony, the Gervasonis, Uke most 316
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VICTORIA UNIVERSITY IMMIGRANT PLACE
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Declaration Except where otherwise
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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Abstract iv
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Vanzetta 392 Rodoni 409 CHAPTER ELE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people assist
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Fig. 5 Charlwood, Don, The Long Far
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IMPERIAL MEASURES TECHNICAL NOTES I
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SUMMARY In this dissertation I argu
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to Australia. It examines their att
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LIST OF FIGURES PAGE FIG. 1. THE IT
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Fig 2 Switzerland and Northern Ital
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^ ^ vii/^-^v c^^r^ I ' sl/ ^ I' rfu
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xx/i
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^^Lauezzolo's Hotel 1860 (Alesscmdw
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XXVII
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^ ':^&-|W^ •( ' , I ;•"!' Jrl'i
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increasingly focuses on the questio
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study. Time and again in the interv
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connected to people that they have
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In terms of horizontal consciousnes
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family bonds. In their telling, and
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which features so prominently in th
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In order to explore these forces, t
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(1988; 1989). Others are from areas
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CHAPTER ONE : THE EMIGRANTS 18
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from the title of an old sailor's s
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From Eganstown and Deep Creek in th
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the separate states combined to for
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under the heading of 'other Europea
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The peasant family, vdth his house
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At the conclusion of the Napoleonic
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usiness practice was tolerated by p
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women and children, the old and the
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POZZI When up to 40 Valmaggesi (peo
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Ticino, many of those working in Lo
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the peak period, only the H. Ludwin
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Pozzis wrote less optimistically to
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that Stefano constmcted a jeweller'
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confession, Alessandro replied that
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clemo.^^ Stefano leamed to use capi
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at 250 pounds. Later, when gold was
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Leonardo received the sad news of h
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and was happy in her new home. She
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16 December 1886. The Star Hotel, a
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In their five-roomed cellar ~ a fam
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Q Q Q :§ xxv I
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Stefano died at 89 years of age on
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The home on Italian Hill was sold m
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possibly as labourers. The closure
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Arriving only a few years after the
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Maurizio Morganti, sought self-empl
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world, the Tognazzini and Morganti
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stage in the 1860s they also decide
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As evidence of the masterful buildi
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their purchases reflectmg a beUef i
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It was, for the Morgantis, a small
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withdrawal of her children from the
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groups together, providing both the
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specialisation of roles, each famil
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given the opportunity to work throu
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Someo and another had gone on to Ca
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THE JOURNEY The Itahan-speaking imm
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Al memento non posso spedirti denar
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Many of the contracts were also mis
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un poco amalati, e il motive e stat
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Gioachimo Respini from Cevio, writi
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home, a home that would seldom be s
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For the majority of the time, howev
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egarded as one of the richest place
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more readily accepted into Anglo-Ce
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on traditional ways but, rather, fo
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QUANCHI Among the ItaUan-speaking s
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language difficulties), eventually
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and an urgency to find employment.
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By 1862, Alessandro was mining at L
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and only permitted the men to buy i
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describing each of them as general
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child James was bom in 1878, in the
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As the business grew and it became
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esponsibilities of one another, how
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difficulties, but rather pride in t
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partners and in the naming of child
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advertising campaigns of the travel
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had an association with a Mr Tunzi
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the Irish and Italian speakers, the
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This child survived the birth thoug
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established a small dairy farm on h
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1874, his salary was stopped. Fathe
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however, the first of several bad s
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ackground and the practices which h
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employment. Within most households
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Smce Celestino had not leamed Itali
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would labour on the farm, his pants
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LAFRANCHI The Lafranchis were anoth
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where he began dairy farming. The m
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Proud of the wealth he had accumula
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family needs ~ with an economy and
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Melboume and Sydney through a netwo
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Food nevertheless continued to serv
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providing a Unk between the immigra
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status and wealth he had eamed as a
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on deck from the book, drapery, sta
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When she was fifteen years old and
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In a similar way, family anecdotes
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In 1929 Anchigi, the much loved son
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PERINI Like most of the ItaUan-spea
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Fuhvood, it represented a movement
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eaders, carrying messages from comp
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Many ItaUan speakers eamed the resp
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On 14 March 1865 Vincenzo purchased
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usmess. Mrs Laughnan, a local schoo
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was bom two years later on 26 Octob
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elated to this problem. The Swiss S
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gold watch and chain from the peopl
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Spring Creek assumed after 1906) ha
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Australia, where he found employmen
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the guest-house was again damaged b
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RIGHETTI Four brothers of the Righe
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equipment and began their search. N
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While the food rations initially ha
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Despite the conflicts with competit
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years later he purchased the land o
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Unlike most Irish girls who married
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children (see previous sections) Lu
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for your future welfare will accomp
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- before shifting to Daylesford and
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knife and eaten on toast or bread,
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place among Australia's noteworthy
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CHAPTER FTVE : SCOUTING 225
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cane cutters and railway navvies, w
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earUest years of the 1850s, there w
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numbered ten out of a possible 60 w
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peasant farmers. Along with those u
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Racemande alia meglie e sorelle di
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Operating larger mines which employ
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theu actions through their letters
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The antagonism showm towards the Ch
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The greatest hardship, however, cam
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Many immigrants would also have bee
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usage, they also reflected a phonet
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MILESI By 1855, emigration to Austr
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ought social unrest and uncertainty
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The lack of documentary evidence fo
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Having remained in Hepbum as a mine
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Shepherds Flat the couple had buUt
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GUSCETTI Not all the Italian speake
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one Dr Marini of Besans, a nobleman
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fiiend in Milan a few days later. R
Page 300 and 301: 'dottor dei pomi di terra' (doctor
Page 302 and 303: In 1857, Severino and Giuditta prod
Page 304 and 305: Severino may have selected his frie
Page 306 and 307: honorary medical officer receiving
Page 308 and 309: disease of the liver'"**). Despite
Page 310 and 311: VANINA Unlike the Guscettis, who ar
Page 312 and 313: Australia, Carlo had decided to set
Page 314 and 315: Another traditional feature of the
Page 316 and 317: household where, at the end of the
Page 318 and 319: Giuseppa, with a farm to manage and
Page 320 and 321: (ref figure 9).'" Luigia had given
Page 322 and 323: its lovely big kitchen, and the sto
Page 324 and 325: known as) Alzheimer's Disease. Nurs
Page 326 and 327: transferred."** Hs daughter Mary be
Page 328 and 329: the Vanina family remained in Hepbu
Page 330 and 331: SETTLING While some of the Italian
Page 332 and 333: emained beyond the means of many It
Page 334 and 335: [the] expertise of the Italians was
Page 336 and 337: While the Swiss read with sadness t
Page 338 and 339: Filippini. In 1859 three applicatio
Page 340 and 341: planting vegetables, fi-uit trees,
Page 342 and 343: despite his lack of British citizen
Page 344 and 345: as well as the many Italian-speakin
Page 346 and 347: compatriots' legal matters provided
Page 348 and 349: community'.'* While never achieving
Page 352 and 353: Italian speakers, strengthened thei
Page 354 and 355: wife Maria to join him in the Colon
Page 356 and 357: eplacing the more common si sottosc
Page 358 and 359: workrooms for carrying out domestic
Page 360 and 361: contact wdth the Anglo-Celtic popul
Page 362 and 363: Giuseppe always wrote in Italian, h
Page 364 and 365: from the purely practical features
Page 366 and 367: With its increasing number of ItaUa
Page 368 and 369: Much of the fi^it for their wdne an
Page 370 and 371: family's crops were destroyed. Late
Page 372 and 373: audiences over the next 40 years. J
Page 374 and 375: was with a group of eight fellow vi
Page 376 and 377: for, the peoples of Europe. During
Page 378 and 379: Maria Celestina Elvezia in recognit
Page 380 and 381: identification with a new 'home' ou
Page 382 and 383: Eastem HiU. His children and grandc
Page 384 and 385: GAGGIONI The story of the Gaggioni
Page 386 and 387: Despite his many years in Australia
Page 388 and 389: In the dovmstairs living area was a
Page 390 and 391: farmed land extending back to Sprin
Page 392 and 393: constmcted from creek stones from n
Page 394 and 395: taught more about the countries to
Page 396 and 397: ushfires which raged through Hepbum
Page 398 and 399: other Italian speakers against the
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in political affairs, at one time h
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CHAPTER NINE : HOME AND FAMILY 367
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Gossip concerning bigamous relation
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sin. Along with a common faith, the
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houses in Ticino and northern Italy
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The preparation of the land before
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used in the constmction process wer
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esembled similar architectural feat
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Fmgality and an ingenious use of re
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When the daily work was done, the f
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As vital participants in their fami
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language which the children brought
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games were usually a male-dominated
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CHAPTER TEN : FAMILIES 1888 - 1889
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(peasant fanner) married to Maria M
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As expected, the Vanzettas were abl
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area. Leading from the bakery, with
Page 434 and 435:
By 1898, the profits of the bakery
Page 436 and 437:
Added to this, one of his children
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of the alpine farmer. Opposite thei
Page 440 and 441:
As the century progressed and the V
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forgetfiil at times, he was still a
Page 444 and 445:
RODONI Isidoro Rodoni, like his cou
Page 446 and 447:
Aquilino Tinetti had arrived in Aus
Page 448 and 449:
Italian speakers providing unusual
Page 450 and 451:
the younger children,^'* Like the V
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weighed 140 to 180 kilogrammes, a s
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social bonds. A small proportion of
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'farming' years and the establishme
Page 458 and 459:
LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD Th
Page 460 and 461:
Alessandro Brocchi's defence of his
Page 462 and 463:
habhs in that period on the goldfie
Page 464 and 465:
Working on the goldfields as miners
Page 466 and 467:
family, many women had become physi
Page 468 and 469:
Italian speakers, thus, had the pow
Page 470 and 471:
Around their homes the Italian spea
Page 472 and 473:
in his native language, cf above pp
Page 474 and 475:
playmates; Lucinis' pasta factory i
Page 476 and 477:
other ItaUan-speaking families dona
Page 478 and 479:
cooperativeness had formed the basi
Page 480 and 481:
stmggled to preserve important aspe
Page 482 and 483:
Following the influx of Ticinesi an
Page 484 and 485:
Skin colour had (as many years befo
Page 486 and 487:
self-sufficient. Post-war ItaUans w
Page 488 and 489:
ethnic culture,'" While a shortage
Page 490 and 491:
about using their mother-tongue in
Page 492 and 493:
It insists on specificity, on conju
Page 494 and 495:
INTRODUCTION 1, Sandro Bianconi, /
Page 496 and 497:
25. Denis Mack Smith, Italy: A Mode
Page 498 and 499:
THE EMIGRANTS 1. Henry T. Maddicks,
Page 500 and 501:
27. May N. Diaz and Jack M. Potter,
Page 502 and 503:
POZZI 1. GentiUi (1988) p. 3. 2. ib
Page 504 and 505:
28. Leonardo Pozzi, letter 7 Septem
Page 506 and 507:
is attended by members of the South
Page 508 and 509:
17, Lazzaro's name has not been loc
Page 510 and 511:
49, Refer to above comment p, 5. 50
Page 512 and 513:
15. 'Our short trip has up to now b
Page 514 and 515:
34. 'hnmediately we made an appeal
Page 516 and 517:
QUANCHI 1. Maggia Municipal Records
Page 518 and 519:
31, Much of the information regardi
Page 520 and 521:
TOMASETTI 1. Cheda (1979) Vol 1, p.
Page 522 and 523:
35. ibid. 36. ibid. 37. ibid. 3 8.
Page 524 and 525:
LAFRANCHI 1. GentiUi (1988) pp. 59-
Page 526 and 527:
32, The tricolour flag It always wa
Page 528 and 529:
PERINI 1. Cheda (1979) Vol 1, p. 12
Page 530 and 531:
28. Vincenzo Perini, business ledge
Page 532 and 533:
RIGHETTI 1. Cheda (1979) Vol. 1, p.
Page 534 and 535:
have sold us their oven for 30 poun
Page 536 and 537:
48, ibid. 49, Sidney Righetti, inte
Page 538 and 539:
SCOUTING 1. Robert Pascoe, 'Place a
Page 540 and 541:
25. Maddicks (1981) p. 21 26. ibid.
Page 542 and 543:
45. 'to eam bread it was necessary
Page 544 and 545:
MILESI 1. CjentilU(1988)p, 3, 2. Re
Page 546 and 547:
GUSCETTI 1. Cheda (1979) Vol 1, p.
Page 548 and 549:
24. 'Most of the Swiss are here, a
Page 550 and 551:
VANINA 1. Cheda (1979) Vol 1, p. 13
Page 552 and 553:
30. The small weatherboard house re
Page 554 and 555:
11. 'Scarce was the number of labou
Page 556 and 557:
GERVASONI 1. GentUU (1988) p. 3. 2.
Page 558 and 559:
30. Vision and Realisation, Vol 2,
Page 560 and 561:
19. CaUgari (1972) p. 3. 20. Inform
Page 562 and 563:
constmction of the home was provide
Page 564 and 565:
48, ibid, 49, Information derived f
Page 566 and 567:
16, Bart)ara Walsh, 'Bergamo', Ital
Page 568 and 569:
VANZETTA 1. GentiUi (1988) p. 3. 2.
Page 570 and 571:
25. Shire of Mount Franklin rate bo
Page 572 and 573:
RODONI 1. GentiUi (1988) p. 93. 2.
Page 574 and 575:
34. ibid. 35. ibid. 36. ibid. 37. I
Page 576 and 577:
described by Pascoe and Bertola in
Page 578 and 579:
39. Victoria Directorate of School
Page 580 and 581:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Alcorso, Caroline et a
Page 582 and 583:
Bianconi, Sandro, / due linguaggi:
Page 584 and 585:
Castles, S., et al, eds, Australia'
Page 586 and 587:
Daylesford Mercury and Express, 24
Page 588 and 589:
FumagaUi, Alberto, 'Architettura co
Page 590 and 591:
Hibbins, G. M., Fahey, C. and Askew
Page 592 and 593:
Lewds (Lafranchi), Marie, interview
Page 594 and 595:
Minutes, Proceedings and Correspond
Page 596 and 597:
Pascoe, Robert and Bertola, Patrick
Page 598 and 599:
Sagazio, Celestina, Italian Craftsm
Page 600 and 601:
Tomasetti, G. The Swiss at Blampied
Page 602:
Year Book Australia 1996, No, 78, C
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