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aby, in 1904. Seven years before the birth of his last child, Pietro had applied for
British citizenship,*' it being a prerequisite for receipt of a govemment pension. At 58
years of age, and after 37 years in the Colony, this might have seemed an unnecessary
declaration of his allegiance; the anglicised names of his younger children alone
reflected the strength of his commitment to Australia.
Despite being two-storey, Gordevio afforded the growing Gaggioni family little
living space or privacy. For people of peasant origin, it was, however, a familiar and
comforting environment in which physical closeness and a sense of sharing everything
they did fostered family bonds. The family worked, ate, slept and relaxed together,
sharing the joys and fhistrations of daily life. As in most such homes, the sleeping
areas were overcrowded with little segregation by age or sex; the overriding need was
for warmth and sufficient space to lay one's weary body. Extra beds placed in the
downstairs area were only separated from the living space by a curtain, giving the
sleepers little peace or privacy. Like most people of their time, the Gaggionis had no
laundry, bathroom, toilet or (separate) kitchen. Some of the cooking was done outside
on a camp-oven similar to the one Pietro had used in his hut (placing coals in a metal
lid) and the washing was boiled in an adapted kerosene tin.^° Though Pietro and
Loretta were far from the poverty of Ticino, hard work and demanding conditions
remained constant in their lives.
Pietro's chief sources of income were his farm, his vineyard and his mine.'^*
The tunnel over which he had built his house was never greatiy productive but was
worked on and off throughout his lifetime. To the rear of their home, the Gaggionis
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