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In their five-roomed cellar ~ a familiar feature in most of the peasant homes of
Europe ~ the Pozzi family stored its home-made wine and food products. This may
also have been the site of a second drinking establishment named the Vines Hotel
which came into operation when Stefano was older. His neighbour. Christian
Fumberger, also ran a hotel on his property which he aptly named The Long Tunnel.
Under the 1864 Licensing of Public Houses Act, people were able to obtain a colonial
wine licence which allowed them to sell up to 'two gallons' of wine or cider between
the hours of 6.00am and 11.30pm if consumed on the premises. With their home,
mining and business interests, the Pozzis had attained a near self-sufficient life-style
and one which combined the beauty of a garden with sweeping views of the undulating
countryside. The scenic views would have reminded the Ticinesi of their homeland
and this feature perhaps influenced their decision to settle in the hills around Jim Crow.
In 1888, Stefano and Mary Anne produced their last child, a daughter named Riva.
Throughout the 1880 to 1900 period, the Long Tunnel miners tmcked out over
1,000 tonnes per quarter, the depth below the basalt reaching down about 45 metres.
By the 1890s the mine had become less productive and, in the eighteen months prior to
1893, Stefano lost around 1,600 pounds.^^ Two years previously, the family had been
saddened by the death of the second eldest child, Ida, at seventeen years of age. A
young neighbour who was present at the funeral made the following comments:
We always thought Mr. Pozzi a bit strange. He had a beautiful house
with fine wooden furniture and carved tables, but refused to have
curtains at the window. Being a Mason, he was against the Church ...
and when his little girl died he would not let the priest come and bury
her. He carried her in the coffin on his shoulders all the way to the
cemetery himself ^^
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