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With its increasing number of ItaUan speakers, the Yandoit Creek school
quickly established itself and was attended by all the Gervasoni children. Armie gave
birth to three more children between 1891 and 1897, the last bom when Cario was 71
years old: two giris and a boy, they were named Julia Agnes, George Louis and
Theresa. The Gervasoni home was further extended in 1893 " with the addition of
new stone horse stables comprising six horse stalls and a large hay loft, most of the
constmction work being done by Carlo. Also erected were a fruit house and wagon
and machinery sheds, a horse-worked chaff" cutter suggesting the family had gone some
way towards mechanising its farming procedures. At some stage, other features
making for a more comfortable life were also added, including an outdoor toilet
comprising male and female sections and a smaller room for children. Carlo reportedly
took great pride in having the latest in modem comforts'* ~ a view which contrasted
with the frugality and simplicity of his Lombard past and reflected the length of time he
had spent in Australia.
Despite subtle changes to Carlo's outlook and values, it was his upbringing and
experience which enabled him to achieve prosperity. Ihe patriarchal stmcture of the
traditional family, and the consequent way in which it could be used in production,
ensured he had a ready and willing work-force. Passing the farming skills of his
ancestors on to his children. Carlo had taught them simple methods of husbandry: of
planting crops to wdthin the last inch of soU, of crops feeding animals and of manure
feeding the land. Planting the same crops that grow well in Lombardy, such as maize,
wheat, barley and oats, he would have gone ahead of the children, scattering seed with
a practiced gesture while they came raking and hoeing lightly behind. Like Maria,
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