Australia’s Ticinese have strong ties to a faraway home

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Streets in Hepburn Springs, Victoria Flavia Leuenberger

Eucalyptus plants, Hepburn Springs Flavia Leuenberger

Locarno Spring in Hepburn Springs was a popular spot for enjoying the day out Flavia Leuenberger

Swiss Italian Festa is an annual event in Hepburn Springs and Daylesford that celebrates Ticino history, culture and lifestyle Flavia Leuenberger

Grave of Tinetti's descendants at Daylesford Flavia Leuenberger

Typical Australian letterboxes in the countryside Flavia Leuenberger

Tinetti’s advertising at Hepburn Springs Flavia Leuenberger

Tinetti’s letterbox Flavia Leuenberger

Ian Tinetti, aged 70 Flavia Leuenberger

References to Switzerland at Tinetti’s Cricket Willow Flavia Leuenberger

Ian Tinetti in his workshop at Tinetti’s Cricket Willow Flavia Leuenberger

Magazines about Ticino at Tinetti’s Cricket Willow Flavia Leuenberger

A playing card with an Italian-Swiss name at Tinetti’s Cricket Willow Flavia Leuenberger

Claude Rossi in front of Tinetti’s cricket grounds Flavia Leuenberger

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In the mid-19th century, around 2,000 people left the Swiss canton of Ticino for Australia. More than 150 years later, the legacy of the “Swiss Italians” can still be seen in the state of Victoria. 

In the regions of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, northeast of Melbourne, you will find a hotel Bellinzona, the Locarno thermal springs, the cricket grounds builder Tinetti and the Lavandula farm. They all bear witness to this large wave of emigration from the southern Swiss canton of Ticino to Australia.

During the 1850s, droves of people left behind the poverty of the Ticino valleys and, to a lesser extent, the val Poschiavo in the adjoining canton of Graubünden to seek their fortunes on the other side of the world. Many were lured by the promise of gold in the states of Victoria and New South Wales. But most were bitterly disappointed. By the time they arrived, the gold rush was almost over.

Many returned home empty-handed and with big debts to pay, or left straightaway for the gold deposits and ranches in California. But some stayed in Australia, living modestly and facing hardship. Traces of their lives there can still be seen today.

Having met the descendants of Ticino emigrants in the United States, the Swiss photographer Flavia LeuenbergeExternal linkr, winner of the Swiss Press Photo Award 2015, turned her attention to Australia. Through her photos, she aimed to document the strong ties that link many families to the country of their ancestors.

“In Australia, if you want to know where someone comes from, you often ask ‘where is home for you’? It’s often different to the usual ‘where do you live’ and can be understood in a deeper way. It means the place that is not necessarily characterised by your four walls. This concept refers to the topic of emigration from Ticino towards the end of the 19^th century,” Leuenberger explained.