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language and customs were held up for ridicule and some felt themselves ostracised
from mainstream society.
Due to the number of family reunions in Australia, the Italian immigrant
population was by this time large and organised into well established communities in
many parts of the continent,^ Seeking to defend themselves from the racist atthudes
of Anglo-Australians, many Italians had withdrawn into the strength and security of
their ethnic communities ~ a response not unlike that of the Italian-speaking settiers m
colonial Daylesford. Like the Daylesford community, the post-war Italians clustered in
groups seeking physical and emotional support through the familiar sound of their
language, the cultural traditions which recalled their homeland and the informal
support networks which served their needs. However, unlike their predecessors, the
post-war ItaUans were unable to make the same rapid accommodation wdth Anglo-
Cehic Australia ~ possibly because settling in a large industrial city like Melboume
encouraged ghettoisation as well as negative reactions based on their larger numbers.
Like the Ticinesi and northem Italians, who had transferred whole family
communities to the goldfield townships, later generations of Italians formed
settlements like New Italy in New South Wales; chain migration, which united families
after the war, resulted in entire village communities relocating to an industrial town or
a farming district in Australia.^" There, links with the homeland, regional dialects and
cultural practices were maintained. In the inner-city areas, immigrants created their
own ethnic enclaves wdth shops, cafes, churches and social and welfare associations
catering to their needs ~ similar to the eariier Daylesford pattem but larger and more
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