In the decades following the discovery of gold in Walhalla, Victoria, in 1863, among the thousands who flocked to the district hoping to make their fortune were hundreds of Italians and Swiss-Italians. Many were sojourners, temporary residents, who later moved to other areas in Australia or returned home permanently. Some settled on the goldfield with their families. Drawing from a wide range of sources, this book offers a reconstructed history of goldfield life from the viewpoint of the Italian speakers who were present from the beginning. Instead of adopting a 'big picture' historical approach to Italian settlement in Australia, it examines the finer texture of a small place and seeks to push the boundaries of understanding what nineteenth century Italian-speaking men and women may have made of their lives in a foreign land. Migration patterns, work practices and the evolution of community within settler society are also evaluated. The book also emphasizes the relevance of micro-studies of this nature and their place within the wider national and international study of migration. It also includes a detailed names index of over four hundred individuals found to have lived on the goldfield, which should be of great interest to family researchers.