|
coltelli (knives). I had a list of what to give… by the
company… I had a little Kombi van… We made a couple
of trips… deliver everything there… When they gone…
we go and collect them… If nobody come for two or three
weeks… tidied the house up… and supply again… Had a
couple of cleaners… You bring your own bedding.
Mattress, we supply… When somebody else come, if
mattress shabby… we throw in the tip… and give new
74
It was four walls and a tin roof…in Italy we used to put the chickens and the pig there.
75
Interview with Giacomo Bevacqua, Perth, November 2008.
128
mattresses… Pretty good for that… because I done it
myself, that’s why… know about it… I can’t remember
the man, woman maltreated by the company… The
company alright over there… because they want you to
stay there
.
76
The cost of living was nonetheless high. It meant families took some time to save
money and so they stayed more than two years. Half of the participants with whom I spoke,
or who were mentioned during fieldwork, reflected the median stay of seven months: two
miners stayed between one to three months, nine miners stayed between seven to nine
months, five miners (three with families) stayed between one to four years, and five miners
(all with families) between five to 10 years; one miner remained in the Pilbara at Wittenoom
for nearly 40 years.
Available cost of living statistics during an Australian Workers’ Union
hearing in 1949 gives some idea of the costs in comparison to earnings. In 1949, the basic
wage for a worker (in the mill) in Wittenoom was
₤
6/15/1 [$13.50] plus 30/- [$3] district
allowance totalling
₤
8/5/1 [$16.50]. For a family the costs per week accounted for a
considerable amount of those earnings. The grocery store account was between
₤
5 and
₤
5/10s [$10 and $11] weekly. Rent per week was 30/- [$3]. Added to these expenses were:
the Mineworkers Relief Fund of 1/- [10 cents] per week, the Flying doctor service 9d
[approximately 8 cents] per week and Company bus 6/- [60 cents] per week. A refrigerator
was
₤
120 [$240]. One of the popular forms of entertainment in the town, the open air picture
theatre, had a 3/- [30 cents] entrance fee per person.
77
A one way air fare at that time was
₤
14/10/-, [$29] with an amount taken out of a worker’s weekly earnings by ABA Limited until
it was repaid.
Life in Wittenoom did not consist solely of work; the men found ways to deal with the
isolation and the harsh conditions. In one show of solidarity, and to make light of their
situation, Mario Tamburri, Toni Ranieri and a number of their friends shaved their heads to
keep the fibre from sticking to their hair as they worked in the mine or mill (see figure 49).
78
At the end of their working day, the men climbed back on the bus to town, with most stopping
at the Fortescue Hotel to cool down (see figure 50). In 1946 this had been one of a number
76
Interview with Tony and Gina Martino, Perth, November 2010.
77
Motley Rice Plaintiff’s Exhibit no. 10151: 9 June 1949, Australian Workers Hearing, p.72.
78
Interview with Rosa Tamburri, Perth October 2009. Interview with Sue Ranieri, Perth, December
2010.
129
of amenities and recreation facilities CSR had agreed to provide. If the asbestos industry was
to progress, “proper living accommodation for the men and their families and reasonable
amenities and recreation facilities were essential”. By the 1950s, it was proving difficult to
attract a steady labour force and, therefore, impacting on the mine’s output.
79
The company
established more amenities in order to entice people to stay. These included the General
Store, butcher’s shop, bakery, cafeteria, library, billiard room, café, the [Picture Gardens]
cinema, a tennis court, the race course, cricket and football grounds and the employees’
amenities building.
80
In time these amenities, coupled with the town’s isolation, fostered a
tightly-knit community. Among the Italian men regional loyalties seem to have receded as
they sought connection and solace with others in a similar position. In fact, whatever their
country or Italian region of provenance, firm friendships developed and many of these
continue to this day.
To overcome their isolation and feelings of loneliness the Italian men engaged in a
variety of activities, some of which were reminiscent of their lives back in their home towns.
Their stories and photographs reveal the light-hearted antics, the drinking of Australian beer
to beat the heat, swimming in the gorges, hunting unattended cattle or native animals,
helping each other with their washing, playing soccer and horse shoe throwing, amusing their
landlord’s children, or just lying around in their huts (see figures 51 - 53). In keeping with the
spirit of an American Wild West town, some of the men even dressed the part of the cowboy
(see figure 54). Available photographs also suggest the men’s loneliness and reveal the few
adornments on the walls of their sparsely furnished quarters: the picture of a popular
Hollywood beauty of the time, the odd shotgun and suitcase. The musicians — among them
Toni Ranieri and Romelio Caffieri — entertained with their piano accordion or guitar playing
(see figures 55 & 56). Some of the younger men owned radios, or records and record
players.
79
Motley Rice Plaintiff’s Exhibit no. 10554.0: The A.B.A. Story 1963), see Chapter 1.
80
Motley Rice Plaintiff’s Exhibit no. 10554.0: The A.B.A. Story (1963), see Chapters 1 & 4.
130
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
