New Italy

The next place we stopped off at on the road down the coast was New Italy. This is located just off the main highway and is named after all the Italian immigrants that have settled in the area.

Italians were first drawn to this area as part of a scam by a Frenchman called Charles du Breil. He had sounded out Italians to become part of a new "paradise" colony that he was creating off the east coast of Australia. This was to be located on an island in the Pacific which he called La Nouvelle France. In January 1879 he published his plans which included the promise of a home and 20 hectares of land in a climate similar to the French Riviera. Despite repeated warnings from the Italian Government on the 9th of July 1880, 317 desperate Italians fled to Barcelona to set sail for New Ireland.

To the Italians this was a tempting venture as they were over-taxed and poverty stricken and the idea of paradise sounded attractive. However conditions on the ship turned out to be just as bad as what they had left and it took 90 days before they arrived in New Ireland in the Pacific Ocean, many had died on the way. When they got off the boat they were also disappointed to find that the paradise was infact a jungle full of disease. They had no choice but to get straight to work, clearing the land and building bridges over streams. Everyone worked including women and children and they often worked 13 hours per day while continuing to live on the ship. During the first month here many more people died before the Italians petitioned the captain of the ship to take them to Sydney. On the way here the boat suffered serious mechanical failures and had to dock at Noumea, New Caledonia where it was declared unseaworthy. Again more people died on this journey and although in Noumea they received medical care and assistance from the French Colonial Administration people continued to die. Therefore the Italians refused to stay in New Caledonia and were eventually rescued by the Sydney Colonial Secretary after a plea from the Italian Consul. On the 7th of April 1881 only 217 of the original group eventually arrived in Sydney after leaving Barcelona 9 months previously.

This was not to be the end of their problems though as despite initially receiving a warm welcome, the Sydney Secretary felt that they should not be allowed to settle in the one commuity as it would be in their best interest to be dispersed among Australians to better help them learn the language and culture of Australia.

Eventually 12 months later, an exploratory visit by 2 other Italians led them to clear an area of 3000 acres where 40 families from the ill fated voyage congregated and set up a commuity called The Venetian Cell. This was later renamed New Italy when the school was established. For more than half a century over 300 Colonists lived in this area and turned a wild inhospitable land into a thriving agricultural community. However after they had earned their money most people moved on to better locations leaving the community to slowly decrease into nothing.



























If you want to read any more on this you can visit the following website:

http://www.new-italy.com/index.html