THE MALTESE BULLETIN

April — July 2017 MALTESE ASSCOCIATION OF WA INCORPORATED Phone: 9377 2902 retains top spot as EU’s most gay friendly nation

Malta has been named ’s most LGBTQ- friendly travel destination for the second year in Inside this issue: a row. The island came top of 49 destinations on the Your Committee 2 Rainbow Europe Index, which examines issues such as family rights and gender recognition Club President’s Report 3 among gay, lesbian and transgender groups. Malta was awarded a score of 88 per cent, ahead Alb’s Report 5 of Norway on 78 per cent, with the UK third on 76 per cent. Volunteer recognition 6 Peter Vella from the Malta Tourism Authority said: ‘We are delighted that Malta has been rec- Consul on the move 7 ognised once more as the number one destination for LGBTQ travellers in Europe. Birthdays/Anniversaries 10/11 ‘As a modern and forward-thinking country, the Social Calendar 12 continue to warmly welcome the LGBTQ community and to set an example to the High Commissioner’s Visit 12 rest of Europe.’ The annual Malta Pride Week will take place Jokes 19 between September 4 -10.

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Your Committee Members and Club Patron For 2017/2018

CLUB PATRON PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT CLUB SECRETARY ASSISTANT CLUB Tony Zammit Stephen Cauchi Greg Sultana Albert Morris SECRETARY 0408958517 0411511802 Area of responsibility: 0424336978 Lucy Vella ajpazammit@ Stephen.cauchi@ Building and Grounds [email protected] 0423653040 virginbroad- gmail.com (08) 94730383 [email protected] band.com.au

TREASURER ASSISTANT COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE TREASURER MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER Charles Sultana Frank Calleja Zaffer Soemya Rodney Farrugia Paul Calleja 0402 844 258 0432604051 0419304000 0409706599 0408812946 charles.sultana@ frank.calleja2711@ zsoemya@westerfeld rodneyfarrugia1@ Area of .com.au hotmail.com icloud.com gmail.com responsibility:

Function Catering

If you have an issue or suggestion you are encouraged to contact the committee member who is looking after that area of responsibility. If you are unsure who to speak to please contact the President Steve Cau- chi.

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President’s Report

I have recently returned from a visit to Malta and more specifically Gozo. My father was born in the village of and my Mother in Mgarr harbour. My wife Kerrie and I had the most relaxing time and began preparing for 2018 when we intend to live in Gozo for four months.

The summer lifestyle on Gozo is friendly and family orientated. It was a pleasure to see fami- lies at the festas and out for dinner together late into the night with no bad language or bad behaviour to dampen the evenings.

Whilst in Gozo Kerrie and I attended a fundraising event in aid of the Gozo hospital – The organiser Dame Carmen Bellamy was the most gracious host and Kerrie and I had a wonderful evening. The charity is the Gozo CCU Foundation http://www.gozoccufoundation.com

The Foundation was started in the latter part of 2006 as a result of the current Chairperson, Dame Carmen Bella- my, (a Gozitan married to an Englishman), discovering that, after her husband suffered a major heart attack, the monitors currently in use at the local General Hospital were either nonexistent or not totally functioning. This situation so shocked her that she created this foundation

After meeting Dame Carmen I offered my services to the foundation whilst I am living there for the 4 months a year – I have also sort and received approval from our committee to hold a fundraising event at the Club in Octo- ber for the foundation – I hope you can all support this worthy cause as we give back a little to the country of our origins.

During my visit I also went on a tour of the Magro Brother factory to see where the Three Hills Kunserva (That we sell at the Club) is made. All of the tomatoes are grown on Gozo or in Malta and they are processed in less than 24 hours from when they are picked.

Here I am at the Magro Brothers Factory Above: With Dame Carmen at the CCU Fundraiser The Azure window is really gone so sad Below: Kerrie and I enjoying Gozo life 3 NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE MALTESE COMMUNITY OF WA

9% FEWER MALTESE IN AUSTRALIA reported in the 2016 Census The release of 2016 Census statistics started recently. The initial release includes some data relating to the Maltese population in Australia. First generation Maltese: The total number of first generation Maltese (persons born in Malta) at 2016 Census time stood at 37,613. The largest number, just under half, were living in Victoria (47.5%), followed by NSW (38.5%), South Australia (6.6%), Western Australia (3.8%), and the Australian Capital Territory (2.4%). Compared to the figure from the 2011 Census, where there were 41,270 Malta-born people in Aus- tralia, this represents a drop of 3,657 persons (8.9%) over a five-year interval or an average of 1.8% per year.

Maltese language spoken at home The number of those who stated that they spoke Maltese at home was 31,987. In the 2011 Census the cor- responding figure was 34,396. This represents a reduction of 2,409 persons or 8.5% over the five-year pe- riod, an average loss of 1.7% per annum. The number of speakers of Maltese was largest in Victoria (52.8%), followed by NSW (38.5%), SA, (4.2%), WA (2.6%) and ACT (1.2%). More information relating to Maltese in Australia will be released in due course.

The first Maltese to come to Australia arrived as convicts around 1810. The first Maltese immigrant (as opposed to convict or bonded servant) is thought to have been Antonio Azzopardi who arrived in 1838.Many attempts were made at organised mass migration throughout the 19th century but it was only in 1883 the first group of 70 labourers (and nine stowaways) arrived. Group and mass migration gradually picked up, first, to Queensland and, after World War I, to Sydney whose automobile industry drew many. Immigration was not without difficulty as Maltese work- ers tended to be looked down upon and restrictions and quotas were applied. A significant percentage of the Maltese immigrants had intended to stay only temporarily for work but many settled in Australia per- manently. Maltese immigration to Australia reached its peak during the 1960s. The majority of Maltese immigrants reside in Melbourne's western suburbs of Sunshine (especially on Glengala Rd) and St Albans, and in Sydney's western suburbs of Greystanes and Horsley Park. The Maltese, as in their home country, are predominantly Roman Catholic. One of the first women to migrate from Malta to Australia was Carmela Sant in 1915. The move was prompted by her husband Giuseppe Ellul, who had migrated in 1913. Giuseppe Ellul was a stonemason in Mosta before moving to Australia to commence a successful career in sugar cane and dairy farming in 4 NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE MALTESE COMMUNITY OF WA

Alb’s Megaphone

Hello Members, It was great to see a good number of people at our recent AGM on the 11th June. It was again another full on year with many good things going on around the club. The next twelve months are perhaps going to be the most exciting with new goals to be achieved by our new committee. In fact, the new committee, as far as I am aware, is the youngest for a very long time. It still has a good mix of the more experienced, who will carry a good knowledge base, and those with a younger mindset that will deliver fresher and more contemporary ideas to help the club continue on into the future. Even though our membership decreased in 2016-17 when compared to the year before (2015-16), 2017-18 has started off very strongly with twelve new members already since mid-May, which is almost a new member to the club every week, a trend that I hope will continue. To the new members of our club, I thank you for joining us and we hope you will feel at home whenever you visit. Also to our loyal members, thank you for being very prompt with renewing your membership subscription. It not only makes my job easier, but more importantly, it shows the members love and commitment to our club. The table below displays a breakdown of our club membership over the last three years. It has declined over the last twelve months, which can be a worry- ing sign. So in saying that, I hope that you will continue to support our club again next year. Year Family Family Single Single Pen Life Honorary Member- Mem- Pen ships bers 51 28 19 19 9/15* 8 134 219 2014-15 64 30 23 18 10/17* 9/10* 154 256 2015-16 51 28 20 15 10/17* 11/12* 135 222 2016-17

Over the last twelve months, I have kept hearing some grumblings from a certain section of the club concerning the names on our ‘Life Members’ honour board. Some have complained about the authenticity of several of our life members. If I can set the record straight, every single name on that honour board, were in their year of induc- tion presented at the AGM and duly accepted by the members of the day. The complainers were either not a member at the time and thus ignorantly never knew the heart and soul that the particular Life Member had poured into the Maltese Association, or perhaps the complainers are just too pusillanimous to stand up and make an official protest at an AGM. As far as I am concerned, and I am sure I speak on behalf of the current commit- tee, every name on the honour board has gone beyond the call of duty of our club and deserves that respect.

Kind Regards

Albert

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Volunteers recognised

At the Maltese Association’s recent AGM held on the 11th June, the club’s hard working Volunteers were honoured with a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’. This award was presented to 34 volunteers for their services in 2016-17 by the Club’s president, Mr Stephen Cauchi. If you are one of the club’s hard working volunteers but were not at the presentation, your certificate awaits you at the club office. Below are pictures of just some of our fantastic volunteers receiving their certificates

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Consul on the Move Two successful visits to Perth

Perth enjoyed two highly successful COTM visits in 2017 by Victoria’s Consul General, Victor Grech. Mr. Grech paid a scheduled visit in January and an unscheduled one in March to complete an earlier application and to deal with other applicants who missed out in January. During the two visits applicants frequently ex- pressed their appreciation of avoiding the need of visiting the east to have their biometrics captured. Mr. Grech interviewed and captured biometrics for up to 70 applicants during his two visits. He also visited a number of businesses including Transcontinental Group, Austal Ship and Cordina Marine to present them with possibilities to increase their commercial activity with Malta. Mr. Grech’s visits were significantly assisted by the Maltese Association of Western Australia (MAWA) who provided administrative facilities for the interviews.

Capturing biometrics photo Signing Finger printing

With Simon Trevisan - Managing Director With Joseph Cordina With Paul Sparke and Fleur Hudson – Director Manager Director Marketing Manager

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Father Marcellino Meilak (OFM)

Father Marcellino Meilak (OFM) was born in Libya of Maltese parentage, where he was orig- inally taught by the Franciscan brothers and then later ordained as a Franciscan Priest in Mal- ta. In the late 1960’s, Father migrated to Australia where he continued his ministry, firstly in Melbourne, then Adelaide and finally settling in Perth where he was involved at the Midland Parish. In March 2017 Father Marcellino celebrated 50 years in the ministry. The Maltese Association honoured Father with a special presentation on the 10th March at our club premises in Bassendean,

Gato Zammit was a life - long member of the Maltese Association since the club’s birth in 1959. In the early years of the club, Gato enjoyed helping in the kitchen during social events and was naturally gifted in making great food. In recent years, ill health restricted him from visiting the club regularly, but he still donated Maltese dishes for our Food Feasts. Gato sad- ly passed away on the 3rs May. The President, Committee and Members of the Maltese As- sociation pass on their deepest condolences to his family.

The Maltese Association wishes to convey their commiseration to Carmen Bonavia and Family following the death of Carmen’s father, Paul Grech , who passed away in Malta on Saturday 22nd July 2017.

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Text (SMS) Message Updates Be kept up to date with what is happening at the club by receiving week- ly updates on your mobile phone. To register your phone, text your name and the words “add me” to 0477751378.

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Birthdays Birthdays: April Ju;y cont. Jim Vella Mary Calleja Frank Saliba May cont. Carolyn Cuschieri Judy Pavia Angelika Fawcett Michael Spear Henry Wettinger Lisa Borg Dolores Lilleyman Paul Peter Calleja Cathie Plowman Frank Nagy Joe Pace Birthdays: June Stephanie Moore Mary Lou Ruhen Savanna Micallef Natalie Borg Tony Mamara Brad Matson Nazie Grima Arthur Vella-Zarb Alex Camilleri Graeme Eddington Sam Attard Marilyn Chircop Luke Pace Godfrey Bonavia Sandra Soemya Birthdays: May Lynn Borg Evelyn Feltoe Maria Agius Chantel Smith Carmen Pace Anthony Agius Betty Wettinger John Camilleri Judy Baldacchino Joe Jones Barbara Pisani John Calleja Peter Lenehan David Borg Rose Xuereb Charlie Xuereb Mary Camilleri Paul Calleja Lauri Camilleri Maurice Pace (Jnr) Joe Agius John Zahra John Enriquez Lucy Vella Birthdays: July Kerry Doust Stephanie Jacobs Jennifer Debono Kym Jacobs Trish Webster Carmen Mifsud Pauline Nagy Carmen Bonavia

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Celebrations & Welcomes

Anniversaries: April Welcome New Members Tony & Debbie Caruana Martin & Marilyn Chircop Alex Camilleri

Charles Sultana Anniversaries: May Adam Matson Simon & Savanna Micallef Kylee Matson Anniversaries: June Mary Matson none Charlie Saliba Anniversaries: July Graeme Palmer John & Connie Borg Trevor & Connie Holmes Stacey Gray

Eddie & Carmen Pace Steve Gray

Michael Smith

Chantel Smith

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Social Calendar

 Wreath Laying Ceremony Kings Park - Sunday 10th Sept. 9 to 11am

 Maltese Food Feast Friday 22nd Sept. 6 to 11pm (Pre ordered food only)

 Charity Dinner Dance Saturday 21st October 6:30 pm to 11:00pm

 Melbourne Cup Luncheon Tuesday 7th November 10:00am to 2:00pm

 Children’s Christmas Party Sunday 10th December 10:00am to 2:00pm

 Club Christmas Dinner Dance Friday 15th December 5:30pm to 10:00pm

We would like to thank Lucy Vella, Rodney Farrugia, Paul Calleja and Frank Calleja for their great work at the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle at Malaga Bunnings on Sunday 13th August as they raised over $600 for the Club. Our thanks also go to the management committee of the Perth Strikers who al- lowed us to share their fund raising event, particularly Strikers Club President Zaffer Soemya who also serves on our committee.

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Maltese Passport

Maltese citizenship gives you the right to live and work anywhere in the . It also allows you to travel visa-free to the United States. Malta and the US have a Visa Waiver program, which operates a bit differently from other systems.

A also gives you access to Switzerland and visa-free travel to 166 countries. A passport from Malta is the 8th most valuable travel document in the world.

The cost of a Maltese passport is $1.57 million dollars plus fees. Expect it to cost around $1.85 million “all in.”

This program is capped at 1,800 passports and there’s a requirement to “reside” in Malta. The number of days you are to be present on the island are not stated and it’s understood you won’t be a full time resident (someone who spends more than 6 months in country). But you should plan to spend “a reasonable amount of time” in Malta, whatever that means.

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Anzac Day March

As we do each year the Maltese Association of WA marches in the ANZAC Day march in Bassendean.

This year it was a particularly hot day and our thanks go to our flag bearer Skye Cauchi for not only march with the flag but also sitting in the hot sun with no shade for the duration of the ceremony.

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New Helicopter Service Takes Flight from

Malta to Gozo

Malta to Gozo by helicopter is a dream come true. In the first week of August, HeliFly Limited will launch a transport service between the two islands. But not only – during this summer, there will also be a helicop- ter transport service for tourists visiting the three islands. The innovative service has been conceived by Italian lawyer Elio Blasio, CEO of HeliFly. Together with his family, Dr Blasio has been living in Malta for over a year. Before becoming a lawyer, Dr Blasio was the commander of the flight department of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome, at the important military airport of Pratica di Mare. “There are four activities that HeliFly will hold in Malta. These include Malta to Gozo transport, touristic tours around Malta, Gozo and Comino, trips to and from such as Taormina, Panarea and North Afri- ca, and a flight training school,” Dr Blasio said. HeliFly will operate in Malta in partnership with two business groups: Eurotech-Ariane, one of the most important Italian and international companies specialising in aerial works, and the Maltese Falcon Alliance and European Pilot Academy. With these two partnerships, HeliFly will provide the first helicopter training school in Malta. “When you fly by plane over Malta you can admire its beauty,” Dr Blasio said. “On board a helicopter, you can take your time and enjoy the spectacle of the Dingli Cliffs, the old and new capital of Mdina and Vallet- ta, Gozo and Comino.” There will be space for all types of customers such as tourists, VIPs and business people. “Our idea is to provide an exclusive service that will allow customers to reach quickly every point of the island and get to Gozo in just 10 minutes. Customers who want to go to Gozo only need to book online, giv- ing us details about the time and day they would like to fly.” HeliFly will work with different types of helicopters, including a Robinson R 22 and Agusta A 109.

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Creating a new generation of role models, focused on Jesus in an indifferent society

By Josh Low

Known worldwide as the singing priest on reality music competition, The X Factor, Fr Rob Galea was recently in Perth as the opening keynote speaker at this year’s Veritas Youth Festival that ran from 30 June to 2 July.

In an interview with The eRecord, Fr Rob spoke of his address to the youth for the opening night of Veritas and of the relationship between young people and the Catholic faith.

Held at the University of Notre Dame’s Freman- tle Campus, Fr Rob’s speech was based on a frag- ment of the overall theme of the festival, “The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His Name.” (Luke 1:49).

He spoke about recognising the small ways that God seeks to enter our everyday lives, the importance of developing a relationship with God and followed by leading the congregation present in praise and worship, together with the Ignite Live band.

Fr Rob believes that there are generally two ways in which young people tend to view God.

“I think we either see God as too distant and far away, not understanding who He is, or there’s a tendency to see Him as a familiar God, like how some of our young people call Jesus ‘Big J’.

“The latter has a beautiful sense of familiarity but at the same time, a tendency to forget the transcendence; the greatness of God,” Fr Rob said.

“This is our struggle; always trying to figure out who He is; trying to figure out an infinite God in the context of our lim- ited and finite minds,” he said.

Fr Rob added that the culture we live in contributes to the increase in young people finding it difficult to believe in a God that seeks to be involved in their lives.

“Culture determines our search for God. Our culture is a secular culture, so there are many things that fulfil that immedi- ate need of God, like sports and friends, which are good things along with other things such as acquiring goods.

“These fill the temporary need of God, but I think we will all be in for a shock when it’s all been said and done and we realise that we’ve spent our whole life turning away from a God who we were made to serve,” he said.

Fr Rob believes it is important for the Church to learn how to communicate God to a ‘generation that is indifferent’.

“I think one of the things we have to do is to go where young people are, understanding that the first thing young people will connect with may not be the transcendence of God, but the humanity of the person communicating the message.

“So I think what the Church needs to become is a role model. In many ways it has lost its credibility as a role model and that’s why the next generation – our generation, needs to rise up and create a new generation of role models who young- er people want to be like, with Jesus as the focus,” he said.

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Operation Pedestal -Santa Marija Convoy

Operation Pedestal - "Battle of mid-August"), known in Malta as the Santa Marija Convoy), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island Malta in August 1942, during the WWII - Malta was a base from which British ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys to the Axis forces in Libya and Egypt, during the North African Campaign (1940–1943). From 1940 to 1942, the Axis conducted the , with air and naval forces. Despite many losses, enough supplies were delivered by the British for the population and military forces on Malta to resist, although it ceased to be an offensive base for much of 1942. The most crucial supply item in Operation Pedestal was fuel, carried by SS Ohio, an American tank- er with a British crew. The convoy sailed from Britain on 3 August 1942 and passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean on the night of 9/10 August.

The Axis attempt to prevent the fifty ships of the convoy reaching Malta, using bombers, German E-boats, Italian MAS and MS boats, minefields and submarine ambushes, was the last Axis Mediterranean victory. While a costly tactical defeat for the Allies, it was also one of the greatest British strategic victories of the war. More than 500 Merchant and Royal Navy sailors and airmen were killed and only five of the 14 mer- chant ships reached Grand Harbour. The arrival of Ohio justified the decision to hazard so many warships; its cargo of aviation fuel revitalised the Maltese air offensive against Axis shipping. Submarines returned to Malta and Supermarine Spitfires flown from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious enabled a maximum effort to be made against Axis ships. Italian convoys had to detour further away from the island, lengthening the journey and increasing the time during which air and naval attacks could be mounted. The Siege of Malta was broken by the Allied reconquest of Egypt and Libya after the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November) and by Operation Torch (8–16 November) in the western Mediterranean, which enabled land-based aircraft to escort merchant ships to the island.

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Win a Free Meal

Our free meal give away has been extended until the end of the year. Just write your name and phone num- ber on the back of a meal purchase docket. When you hand the docket to the kitchen to collect your meal/s, the kitchen staff will place it into the draw for that evening. The draw will take place at 7:45pm each Friday Night.

Malta High Commissioner for Australia, Mr Charles Muscat to visit Perth.

The High Commissioner will be at the Club at 6:30pm on Friday 8th September to meet the Maltese community of WA Mr Muscat will also be attending the wealth laying ceremony at Kings Park at 9:00am on Sunday 10th September. After the wreath laying Mr Muscat will visit the Child Migrant Statute in Fremantle. The High Commissioner will travel to Fremantle from Kings Park and will arrive at the Child Migrant Statue at 11.00 am. He is keen to meet and speak to former Maltese Child Migrants there. The rest of his stay will involve meetings with the Premier, Leader of the Opposition, Governor, Mayor of Perth, State Government officials and businesses representatives.

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Jokes Jokes Jokes

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