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It was their homes which became one of the most important expressions of the
Italian speakers' cultural heritage in Australia. It was here that they lived and raised
their children, exercised inventiveness and fmgality, and performed the many tasks
which enabled them not only to overcome poverty and deprivation but also to retain a
rich social Ufe. MairUy constmcted from local stone or handmade bricks, they usually
comprised two stories and had large stone cellars. They were surrounded by bams
(often of similar proportions to the house), dairies, blacksmith shops and other
shedding which enabled the families to achieve self-sufficiency. Designed and buUt in a
manner which reflected the expertise of their makers, they provided Anglo-Australians
with a positive view of Europe's emigrants. With their particular architectural
features, such as dovecote chinmey-pots (cf figure 12) and exposed rear stonework to
enable future extensions to the home (cf figure 14), they also made fresh contributions
to the Colony's pool of building knowledge. Similarly, the ItaUan speakers leamt to
incorporate new features, more suhed to Australia's climate and geography, into their
constmctions; while some continued to build large dairy bams to house the cattie at
night, even though it was no longer practical, or to erect vertical-style housing, despite
the vast expanses of land, others added verandahs and similar useful features. It was
only after many years in Australia, however, that the ItaUan speakers added any
decorative features to their homes. For example, the Righetti house at Yandoh (cf
figure 12) originally had a wooden balcony on the top floor, which was later replaced
whh a fancy wrought iron verandah on both levels. Such changes might have reflected
the immigrants' new-found prosperity; they may also have symbolised their desire to
exchange alpine decoration for a more 'Australian' expression of culture.
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