Righetti, Serafino

Serafino Righetti and his brother Battista were born in Someo, Ticino, Switzerland. Serafino arrived in Melbourne in 1854 on the ship Ocean Chief, and Battista followed him in 1855 on the ship Di Luina of Antwerp. In 1870 Battista married Elisabetta Perinoni also from the same town in Ticino, the Italian speaking area of Switzerland and they settled at Yandoit, [Hepburn Springs, Daylesford] where they established a thriving dairy business, Elvezia butter factory. The butter they produced won a series of prizes including First Order of Merit at the Centennial International Exhibition Melbourne [1888]. The couple had fifteen children. [Source: https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/157880637?keyword=serafino%20righetti]. Serafino moved to Heywood where he set up a general store and sawmill. He was a Portland shire councillor for many years and Shire President. In 1862 Serafino Righetti married Lucy McCord (1844-1918) an Irish woman. They had five children. [Source: Alan Righetti, Transcript of Interview, Australians at War Film Archive, 16th September 2003. Available at: https://australiansatwarfilmarchive.unsw.edu.au/archive/htmlTranscript/984?asPdf=y] see Carlson, Bridget Rachel. Immigrant Placemaking in Colonial Australia: The Italian-Speaking Settlers of Daylesford. PhD Victoria University of Technology, 1997.