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of a broader process of change occurring wdthin AustraUan colonial society ~ a
process whereby people were being challenged in their beliefs and values and, in many
cases, developing the tolerance which would underpin the nation's multicultural future.
The gradual integration of Italian speakers into a broader Anglo-Australian
society ~ through shared religious beliefs, inter-marriage, trade and personal
relationships ~ was accompanied by an increase in their financial security and, hence,
status. Added to this, greater leisure time enabled participation in the public life of their
communities, many becoming interested in fund-raising activities or (as in the case of
Serafino and GUuseppe Righetti) in standing for their local shire councils. This active
involvement in political affairs symbolised a distancing from small village values and
was partly attributable to a sense of empowerment through increased wealth. (Recall
also the formation of the Committee Established for the Mineral Springs of Hepbum
which aimed to influence govemment policy in the 1860s, cf above p. 186.) Some
Italian speakers became members of Anglo-Australian, non-Catholic organisations like
the I.O.O.F, or joined the Daylesford Hosphal Board, the volunteer fire-brigade or the
local brass band, all of which attracted a diverse ethnic membership. A number
distinguished themselves through their charitable deeds, Severino Guscetti donating
wdne each year to the Daylesford Benevolent Society (cf above p, 271), and other
families giving land for the erection of churches and schools. The raised public profile
of the Italian speakers increased community awareness of the positive contribution
they were making to the developing Victorian colony. A strong community
consciousness also persisted into the second generation, Leonard Righetti becoming
mayor of the Malvem Shire Council in 1934 (cf above p. 222), While famUy
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