Terra Recognita: Early Italian Farmers in Eastern Australia (1820-1950).

This essay examines the contribution of Italian farmers to land management and optimisation in South-Eastern Australia from the early years of the British colonisation to the aftermath of ww2. Since the 1880s, many Italian intellectuals and businessmen such as Ferdinando Gagliardi, Ettore Cecchi, Carlo Catani and Diego Bernacchi brought their expertise and creativity in canalisation, draining, or the introduction of new produce and techniques. Next to those pioneers, a great number of anonymous farmers have provided workforce and previous experiences creating Italian communities such as New Italy and expanding other settlements in NSW and Victoria. Following the great wars, Italian farmers had the opportunity to acquire land from returning soldiers and create a network of adjoining lots, while most local landowners of British origin were unable to exploit their little plots of land and had to relinquish them. The purpose of this study is then to identify, through a geo-historical lens, the influence of Italian farmers and technicians who settled in the south-eastern States of Australia, and the way their practices affected the farming culture towards a more productive and respectful attitude to the land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]