Francesco Rotanzi
History
Francesco (Frances) Rotanzi was born in Peccia, Swizterland in 1839. He sailed to Australia on the Agen. Heinrich. Rotanzi lived and worked at Spring Creek (later Hepburn Springs) from 1855 until his death in 1880. He was naturalised in the the Colony of Victoria in 1869 at which time he was a 28 year old commission agent.[1]
Rotanzi had been a trainee teacher in Ticino. Upon arrival at Port Phillip (Melbourne) he was sick and put into quaranteen. Rotanzi was Secretary of the Hepburn Springs Italian Library was located at the Savoia Hotel Hepburn Springs in 1864. He was an early bookkeeper for Hepburn Springs, Battista Borsa. In 1865 Rotanzi applied for a quartz claim at White Hills, Spring Creek. [2]
In 1866, while Rotanzi was living at Hepburn he donated 1 pound to the funds for the relief of the wounded, and the families of the wounded, after Italy’s wars of independence. He was secretary of the Hepburn Mineral Springs Committee in 1868. [3] In the same year he was manager of the Lady Darling Quartz Mining Company, Doctors Gully, Hepburn Springs.[4]
Rotanzi was Shire Engineer for the Mt Franklin Shire Council.
Francesco Rotanzi died at Hepburn Springs on 26 December 1880 aged 42. He is buried in the Daylesford Cemetery (C of E Sect 7 Row D).[5] His marble gravestone attached to a broken column memorial reads: To the memory of Francis Rotanzi for many years secretary of the Shire of Mount Franklin who departed this life December 26th 1880, aged 41 years. Erected by his numerous friends as a token of respect and esteem for his many private virtues and the faithful manner in which he discharged his duties as a public officer.
Legacy
Family
Francesco Rotanzi's father was Luigi Rotanzi.[6]
See also
Notes
References
- ↑ Clare Gervasoni, Directory and Bibliography of Swiss and Italian Speakers in Australasia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
- ↑ Clare Gervasoni, Directory and Bibliography of Swiss and Italian Speakers in Australasia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
- ↑ Clare Gervasoni, Directory and Bibliography of Swiss and Italian Speakers in Australasia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
- ↑ The Age, 19 July 1866.
- ↑ Clare Gervasoni, Directory and Bibliography of Swiss and Italian Speakers in Australasia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
- ↑ Victorian Birth, Death and Marriages, Registration Number 9668
Further Reading
External links
--Clare K.Gervasoni 22:14, 21 October 2016 (AEDT)