Felice Piagno and Gino Piagno interviewed by Gregg Borschmann in Australian tobacco industry collection [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 3099495
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Piagno, Felice, 1918-, interviewee
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2004
- 3 digital audio tapes (ca. 190 min.)
- Series:
- Australian tobacco industry collection.
- Summary:
-
Felice and Gino Piagno, retired tobacco farmers, describe arriving in Cairns from Bando, Northern Italy by boat on 15 February, 1934; their father's small tobacco farm; the small acreage, manual work, the use of horses; their brothers Bruno and Johnny; describe planting by hand; dry cropping and relying on the wet season rains; the planting cycle; the introduction of an irrigation system in 1938; talk about clearing new country, using a pick and shovel and axe to clear the land; the use of bull dozers after World War II (WW2); cutting timber in the winter; the curing temperatures and processes in the barn; the 26 grades of tobacco graded by hand; sorting tobacco at night; the drying process; transplanting and working in the fields until 4 am on nights with a full moon; talk about their father's death; tobacco being a difficult crop to grow; the system of setting a reserve price; the multinationals being smarter than the government; discuss the use of chemicals after WW2.
The Piagno brothers talk about the days before quotas; the effects of machinery; the damming of the Barron River and the creation of Lake Tinaroo in 1958; the start of flood irrigation, sprinklers; quotas; the quality of the crops; the children not farming tobacco but avocadoes; talk about staying in Australia, not being Australians nor Italians; the difficulties experienced at dances; Saturday nights being for the pictures and the pub; discuss the illegal growing and sale of tobacco, "chop chop"; the reasons behind the black market; the government increasing excises; mention how some appraisers and buyers showed favouritism to certain growers and the inequity of the situation; the domination by multinational companies; being easier in the beginning, farms today needing to be big and it being risky business.
- Notes:
-
- Recorded on Mar. 25, 2004, Apr.1- 2, 2004 at Mareeba, Qld.
- Digital master available National Library of Australia
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (4 p.)
- Subject:
- Occupation:
- Farmers
- Other authors/contributors:
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
Contact us for information about copying. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2074 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2004
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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