Swiss Italians of Australia are

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-speaking Swiss that settled in Australia during the 1850s and 1860s. The Swiss Italians initially settled in the area around Daylesford, Victoria. The Swiss settlers were from the canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

and the southern part of Graubünden. The influence of Swiss Italians in Australia, Italian-speaking Swiss from the cantons of Ticino and Grison and northern Italians, is still present in the township of

Hepburn Springs The traditional land of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Hepburn Springs is a resort town located in the middle of the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia, situated in Victoria, 48 km northeast of Ballarat. At the , Hepburn had a ...

through the names of its residents, the names of its springs (Locarno) and buildings (Savoia Hotel, Parma House, Perinis, Bellinzona), and the annual Swiss-Italian Festa. The heart of the Italian-speaking community was the area around the Savoia (Spring Creek) Hotel and the Macaroni Factory. The Savoia is named after the royal family of unified Italy. An Italian reading library was located at the hotel and pasta was made opposite in Lucini's Macaroni Factory which was also home to the Democratic Club. Lucini's moved from Lonsdale Street, Melbourne in 1865, where they had set up as the first pasta factory in Australia in 1864. Vanzetta's bakery supplied bread to the community and Crippa, Perini, and the Gervasoni's (Yandoit Creek) produced

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. In 2007, the Melbourne Immigration Museum featured a display entitled Wine Water and Stone reflecting the Swiss and Italian heritage of the area.

Swiss Italian food and culture

The Swiss Italians loved sport, food, and music. Their influence on local culture is celebrated annually during the Swiss Italian Festa. Swiss Italians of Australia have made their mark in spheres of art, music, literature, journalism, sport, education, science, and engineering. A local delicacy is bullboar, which is a sausage made from

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

, garlic, and spices. Local families jealously guard their recipes. In 2005

Daylesford Secondary College Daylesford College is a government secondary school located in Daylesford, Hepburn Shire approximately an hour and a half drive from Melbourne. It is the only secondary college in Shire of Hepburn The Shire of Hepburn is a local government area ...

came in second place in the

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's Young Gourmets by making bullboars from the Gervasoni and Sartori recipes, which gained much media attention over the fate of Charlotte the pig, with little concern for the steer involved. The bullboar has been named an endangered recipe by the

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and re ...

Movement.

Swiss Italian heritage places

*Elvizia Homestead Yandoit *Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve *Former Macaroni Factory Hepburn Springs *Parma House Hepburn Springs *Swimming Pool Hepburn Springs *Former Carlo Gervasoni Homestead Yandoit Creek

Swiss Italian places of significance

Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm located in Shepherds Flat, Victoria (about 10 km north of Daylesford) was originally a dairy farm set up by Aquilino Tinetti (born 1835 d. 1905) in the 1860s. He eventually married Maria Virgilia Martina Capriroli (born 1850 d. 1932) and had 13 children. The dairy farm ran from 1860 until about 1975. The property and its historic buildings was eventually purchased by Carol White in the late 80s. The buildings were restored and the property was given a new lease of life as a lavender farm and European-style gardens. Besides being a working farm, the property now boasts a number of attractions including guided tours of the original stone farmhouse and a history room.

Swiss Italian Festa

The Swiss Italian Festa was first held in 1993. The Festa is an annual event to celebrate the history, culture and lifestyle of its Swiss and Italian settlers.

Notable Swiss Italians of Australia

* Ron Barassi –

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

premiership player in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964;

Captain 1960–64;

All Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led by ...

1956, 1958, 1961; Carlton premiership coach 1968, 1970 North Melbourne premiership coach 1975, 1977; Australian Football Hall of Fame; Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2006);

VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century The Victorian Football League-Australian Football League (VFL/AFL) Italian Team of the Century was announced in June 2007. It recognises the role of Italian Australian players in the sport. Players and/or at least one of the player's parents or ...

(coach) 2007; 2009 Victorian of the Year * Vern Barberis – Olympic Bronze Medalist and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Gold Medalist in

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Mark Beretta Mark Beretta (born 16 June 1966) is an Australian journalist, best known as a sports reporter on Seven Network program ''Sunrise''. In July 2008, Beretta began presenting ''Seven Early News'' sport alongside Natalie Barr at 5.30 am, which le ...

– Ten-time champion water-skier and sportscaster * Nellie Louise Carbasse, better known by her stage name "Louise Lovely", the first Australian actress to find success in Hollywood *

Carlo Catani Carlo Giorgio Domenico Enrico Catani (22 April 1852 – 20 July 1918) was a civil engineer who worked in Australia for the Victorian Government for the majority of his career. He oversaw many projects, including: *the draining of the Koo-W ...

– Civil engineer for Victoria's

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who oversaw the following projects: draining the

Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp The Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp was a large freshwater swamp located to the south east of Melbourne, Victoria. It drained an area of West Gippsland, with several waterways including Cardinia Creek and the Bunyip River. The Koo-Wee-Rup swamp originally ...

, widening and improving the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...

upstream from

Princes Bridge Princes Bridge, originally Prince's Bridge,, ''...he wished that it might be distinguished by the name of "Prince's Bridge," in honour of the Prince of Wales, whom he hoped would yet be the Sovereign of their colonies...'' is a bridge in centra ...

, laying out and planting the Alexandra Gardens, roads to Arthurs Seat and

Mount Donna Buang Mount Donna Buang is a mountain in the southern reaches of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Australian state of Victoria. Approximately from Melbourne with an elevation of , Mount Donna Buang is the closest snowf ...

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

levees in Strathmerton,

Lake Catani Lake Catani is an artificial lake in the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It was constructed in 1910 under the supervision and probably design of the Victorian Public Works engineer, Carlo Catani, to provide recreational facilit ...

Mount Buffalo National Park The Mount Buffalo National Park is a national park in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located approximately northeast of Melbourne in the Australian Alps. Within the national park is Mount Buffalo, a moderate ...

, reclamation of the

foreshore The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

of St Kilda. There is a bronze

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of Catani at the foot of Schefferle's memorial clock tower on the St. Kilda Esplanade. *

Robert de Castella Francois Robert "Rob" de Castella (born 27 February 1957) is an Australian former world champion marathon runner. De Castella is widely known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs an ...

– Long-distance runner, 1983 World Marathon Champion, 1982 and 1986

Marathon Champion *

Jack Gervasoni John Hogan 'Jack' Gervasoni (29 September 1929 – 9 February 1992) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and captain-coached Northcote in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). ...

– Australian Rules Footballer (Fitzroy) Captain Coach (Northcote); educator; Mayor of Kew * Len Incigneri – Australian Rules Footballer (South Melbourne) and Captain Coach (Richmond) * Steve Moneghetti- Olympian and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist * Tony Polinelli – Australian Rules Footballer, Premiership player (Geelong) and runner up in the Stawell Gift *Samuel Victor Alberto Zelman – Musician and conductor, and founder of the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

* Victor Zelman – Artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swiss Italians Of Australia European Australian Swiss diaspora