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Gaggioni as a carpenter in his hotel. The Gaggionis' kinship links were extensive, the
chUdren reportedly having at one time up to 47 cousins (including the Morgantis at
Eganstown) Uving in the district,"**
A love of music and shared Catholic faith also continued to tie the Gaggionis to
their ethnic community. The children were all musical, Leila often being asked to play
the piano-accordion along with Mrs Scheggia or Mrs Tinetti at the Hepbum Springs
pavilion;"*' popular with the public, these performances helped educate the general
community about the Italian speakers' musical heritage. Leila, as well as being able to
play the mouth-organ and the tin-whistle, could sing well and both she and Clara were
members of their church choir trained by Ella Bravo (who later married Jim Vanina).
On Saturday afternoons and Sundays, the two sisters attended Mrs Lucini's Sunday
school classes in a room at the back of the macaroni factory,"** The factory itself was a
focal point for the Italian-speaking community, Giacomo and Pietro Lucini being active
promoters of their culture. On the ceilings of the single-storey wings of his factory,
Pietro, who was artistic, had painted scenes reminiscent of his homeland. His bedroom
depicted the last act of Verdi's // Trovatore surrounded by flags of Italy, France,
Switzerland and possibly his version of the Union Jack. On the ceiling of his lounge
were scenes of his village Intra, including again the Italian flag,'*' Having completed
the paintings by 1864, the inclusion of the tricolour ItaUan flag revealed an acceptance
of the political changes then taking place in his homeland and the stmggle for
unification. So too did the depiction of a Verdi opera, many of the composer's works,
such as Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Otello, then being thought to convey the
spirit of the Risorgimento. In Australia, the Lucinis had also taken an active interest
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