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the younger children,^'* Like the Vanzetta offspring, the Rodonis grew up against a
familiar, but often incomprehensible, background of Italian words. Within their home,
the Rodonis maintained a traditional peasant labour stmcture, encouraging the children
from an early age to be involved in the mnning of the farm. The Rodonis' land
holdings were eventually increased to around 80 hectares, Isidoro, following his
naturalisation in 1908,^* buying up allotments of Crovm or cheaply priced land
whenever they came on the market.^* Like many of his compatriots, he consoUdated
his economic future in land.
Some of the Rodoni land holdings were planted with grape-vines to provide the
family's wine supply. An anecdote, which has been passed down through each
generation of the Rodoni family, recalls how the younger sons Plinny and Frank were
once found lying dmnk in the sun after having 'sampled' the home brew in the cellar.
Such an enormous row is meant to have empted that no more wine was produced by
the family after this date.^' While the boys' action had certainly offended the moral
propriety of the family, it might also have threatened its economic survival; theft from
the cellar, the traditional subsistence life-support, was considered by the family a
serious and punishable offence.^*
Food or other hems which the Rodoni property could not supply from their
farm were sometimes acquired from Perinis' store and bakery in Spring Creek (see
Perini section). Desphe their apparent financial security, goods, such as wine,
sausages anf' hay, were paid for partly in labour, Isidoro spending a day or a half day
carting wood for Perini or in performing some other useful task; one day's labour
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