Maltese Historical Association www.mha.org.au

Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 425 708 830

November 2018

Dear Members and Friends of the MHA, This is our last newsletter for the year. It will be very brief as we prepare for the AGM. Last month on Tuesday 16th October, Mario Bonnici, our treasurer, spoke about the Monuments and Memorials around Melbourne. A summary follows on page 2. Joe Borg, our very own President and Founding Member of MHA the MHA 30 years ago, was interviewed by Mark Avellino on Maltese DownUnder TV. See page 2. Annual General Meeting The MHA Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday th 20th November. The Notice of AGM, a Proxy form, and a 7:30 pm Tuesday 20 Nomination Form for election to the committee can be November found in last month’s newsletter. The newsletter, the at the minutes of the 2017 AGM, the Annual Financial Statement for the 2017-2018 financial year, and the 2018 AGM MCCV Parkville Agenda can all be found here. Some hardcopies will be 477 Royal Pde provided at the meeting Parkville Please consider nominating for election to the committee, (Enter from Ievers St) especially for the positions of president and secretary. We would love someone with computer experience to help maintain the MHA website. We encourage young people to join the committee and bring your fresh ideas to our group. There’s plenty of support and experience from the older members should it be required. Ciao for now. I hope you can make it to the AGM on Tuesday 20th November. Charlie Gatt MHA Secretary

New Executive Committee Elected at MCCV AGM The MCCV Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 24th October 2018. The MHA was represented by George Portelli. This meeting marked the beginning of a new era, where a number of long- serving members stood down and handed over the reins to younger people. Victor Borg retired as President, after many years of outstanding contribution, and took up the role of Vice-President. Marlene Ebejer, a family lawyer, was elected as the new MCCV President. Paul Borg, who has served the MCCV for the past 54 years, ended his term as Treasurer by providing a Financial Report for the year 2017-2018, indicating the MCCV is travelling well. Edwidge Borg is the new Treasurer, and Andrew Gatt (no relation) is Secretary. The newly elected members of the MCCV Executive Committee are: President Marlene Ebejer Vice President Victor Borg Vice President Nicole Oborne ( Nicole is yet to confirm her acceptance) Secretary Andrew Gatt Treasurer Edwidge Borg Assistant Secretary Antonia Camilleri Public Relations Officer Joseph Stafrace Welfare Director Rosemary Attard Social Secretary Rita Pullicino The new executive looks forward to working with the Maltese Community. More details can be found on the MCCV website here

Charles Gatt 181108_mha_notification.docx Page 1 of 3 Previous Lecture: Monuments and Memorials around Melbourne MHA Presentation – 16 October 2018 Mario Bonnici

Summary by Charles Gatt

On 16th October 2018 Mario Bonnici gave us a lecture with a difference. Rather than focussing on Maltese history, he took us on a virtual guided tour around many of the monuments in Melbourne, our home away from home. He opened our eyes to things that we may have seen in the past and enlightened us on the story behind each one.

Basing his talk on a book by Ronald T. Ridley called A Walking Guide to Melbourne’s Monuments, Mario started by explaining the process of making a sculpture, from clay to bronze, a process essentially the same since 2,000 B.C. Monuments around Melbourne commemorate many events and famous people, worldwide and local. Some of the monuments and statues mentioned were:

Captain Matthew Flinders RN (1774-1814), Robert Burns (1759-1796), Daniel O`Connell, The Liberator, (1775-1847), John Pascoe Fawkner (1792-1869), John Batman (1801-1839), Sir Redmond Barry (1813- 1880), The Burke and Wills Monument - corner Collins and Swanston Streets, Adam Lindsay Gordon, Poet and Sportsman, Baron Sir Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller (1825-1896), George Hawkins Ievers (1845-1921), Lady Janet Clarke Rotunda, Herbert Black – designer, Nurse Edith Louisa Cavell (1865-1915), Margaret Frances Baskerville (1861-1930), General Sir John Monash (1865-1931), Saint George Preca (1880 – 1962), Archbishop Daniel Mannix 1864-1963, Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop (1907-1993), St George and the Dragon, Joan of Arc 1431, Australian Hellenic Memorial (2001), Maltese Shelter of Peace, Birdwood Avenue, Kings Domain (1994), Maltese Ex-Servicemen Association Monument, Parkville, The Shrine of Remembrance, The Driver and Wipers Memorial, and The Maltese Community Council Centre in Parkville.

The lives of the creators were just as fascinating!

For more details, Mario’s PowerPoint and Lecture Recording can be found here.

Maltese DownUnder TV Highlights

The 8th episode of season 5 that went to air on the 21st of October 2018 featured Joseph Borg, President of the Maltese Historical Association of Australia in an interview with Mark Avellino about the founding of the association and how it evolved into one of the active Maltese associations in Melbourne. (Introduction in Maltese, interview in English). (10:23) https://youtu.be/dMJKpBuJaZ0 For a list of all the episodes click here and select “VIDEOS”s

Interesting Links: Classic Pathé - on the British newsreel. British Pathé has uploaded its entire collection of 85,000 historic films, in high resolution, to its YouTube channel. Here are some of the Malta highlights. Looking for a Christmas present? Maltese Humour - but seriously - a native's views of the lighter moods of the Maltese by Martin Morana 10 AMAZING IMAGES show Malta then and now. From 89.7 Bay

Charles Gatt 181108_mha_notification.docx Page 2 of 3 220 years ago today, seized independence from the French Island set to relive occasion 220 years ago, on October 28, 1798, the French garrison in the Gozo Citadel capitulated to an Anglo- Maltese force and surrendered Gozo to Captain . The island was handed over to the Gozitans and was governed independently until Malta became a British Protectorate two years later. The Historical Re-Enactment Group of Malta (HRGM) celebrated with a re-enactment, described in the Times of Malta .

Note: In Malta itself, the French did not surrender until 2 years later. A bit of background: ’s French fleet arrived at on 9 June 1798. Grandmaster Hompesch refused to allow the entire fleet to enter the harbour, insisting that only two ships could enter at a time. Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and on 11 June 1798, several thousand French soldiers landed at seven strategic sites around the island. As they were bound by oath not to fight fellow Christians, the Knights did not resist. Approximately 2,000 Maltese militia resisted for 24 hours, retreating to Valletta once the city of fell. Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, Hompesch surrendered to Bonaparte. Napoleon established a French garrison on the islands, leaving 4,000 men under Vaubois, while he and the rest of the expeditionary force sailed eastwards for Alexandria. Inspired by the principles of the French Revolution, the French abolished nobility, slavery, the feudal system, and the inquisition. They intended to set up primary schools in the main villages. However, they also defaced most coat-of-arms of the knights on the façades of buildings, and looted banks, palaces and churches. On 2 September 1798, an auction of church property caused thousands of Maltese irregulars to rebel. Led by , , and Canon Francesco Saverio Caruana, they drove the French garrison into Valletta and the Grand Harbour fortifications, where they were besieged for more than two years. The starving French eventually surrendered to the British on 5 September 1800. Malta would go on to become a British protectorate. Further reading from MHA lectures: Ambivalence - Malta And The French Revolution byJonathan Hili, George Portelli on Grandmaster Hompesch, Robert Blythe on Alexander Ball, and Joseph Borg on The Demise of the French and the Arrival of the British

Sat. 1 December 2018 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm At the MCCV 477 Royal Pde Parkville Phone 9387 8922 $27.46

Book the babysitter and come along to Trivia Night with a Maltese twist! Organised by the social group Maltese Singles in Melbourne 40+ and supported by the Maltese Community Council of Victoria in Parkville, this event is open to all but you must be 40+ Get a team together and book a table for a fun filled night of games, great food and great company. Come along and enjoy some pastizzi and other traditional Maltese finger food while your table tries to win the major prize!! BYO Alcohol !! All you trivia buffs out there get ready for some healthy competition! There will also be games and raffles on the night so be sure to bring your wallets and good cheer!! Information and bookings

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