MHA Newsletter MAY 2014
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No. 4/2014 MHA Newsletter MAY 2014 Merħba! Welcome to all the members and friends SBS RADIO: Maltese in Australia of the Maltese Historical Association. commemorate ANZAC day – interviews with In this newsletter you will find: ex-servicemen in VIC, NSW, SA and QLD who took part in the ANZAC march. a number of links to interesting websites http://tunein.com/topic/?TopicId=71652815 a summary of our last talk by Professor Maurice Cauchi. A longer version will be posted to the Youtube Videos: MHA website Valletta during the Blitz - 1941 to 1942 (4:43min) an introduction to our presentation evening on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axori42SMnc 20 May with guest speakers Lou Drofenik and Joe Flores The Siege of Malta: Knights of St John vs Ottoman Empire (45 mins) looks at the armour, weapons and strategies used in the Great Siege. MHA in MAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_e A special double feature! mbedded&v=D2nRJWTdpXQ The website of the Maltese Consulate of South Lou Drofenik will describe her latest novel, Australia, www.ozmalta.page4.me, contains a short Bushfire Summer, which will be available for sale front page article on the most common surnames afterwards. and their ties to certain localities. There also can be Joe Flores will present a slideshow of photographs found a touching article about the contribution of from the mid 1800s to mid 1900s, during the days the South Australian Maltese Community (20 of British Rule. Help us identify them! families) to help alleviate the sufferings of their compatriots back home in the thick of World War 2 7.30 pm start. Tuesday 20th May in 1942. Enjoy “10 interesting facts about Malta”, Maltese Community Centre and a number of other links. Ievers St., Parkville The Latest All welcome Maltese E-Newsletter #40 http://users.onvol.net/114653/pubs/SouthAustraliaNew sLetter.pdf from South Australia contains many articles of historical interest, including: Interesting links: MALTA DURING WORLD WAR 1 - ANZAC - 1914- 2014 on page 5 is a “must read”. From the MCCV website: Malta’s George Cross Award commemorated in Melbourne: http://www.mccv.org.au/maltas-george-cross- award-commemorated-in-melbourne/ MCCV second generation Maltese survey report published 12 Apr 2014: http://www.mccv.org.au/mccv-second- generation-maltese-survey-report-published/ 140502_MHA_Newsletter_May_2014 Page 1 of 6 Malta was justly described as the Nurse of the served as Parish priest in Warrawong, Dingley, and Mediterranean during WW1. In 1914, there were Springvale. He died aged 91. four military hospitals in Malta, a small military GREYSTANES - OUR LADY QUEEN OF hospital on Gozo and a large Royal Naval Hospital at PEACE PARISH p9 Bighi. For the first nine months of the war, the military hospitals of Malta were limited to the needs of the garrison and, excluding the Naval Hospital, consisted of 300 beds. The first batch of 600 casualties from the Gallipoli landings arrived on 4th May 1915. By adding tents and huts there was accommodation for about 7,000 patients by August 1915. More patients arrived from the campaign in Salonika and a malaria outbreak in Macedonia in 1916. The hospital beds and convalescent depot accommodation were increased to over Known as Little Malta, Greystanes has a long 25,000. association with Maltese. This is the history of the parish. Another article about the locality can be After the influenza epidemic of 1918, it was all over. found in Issue 39. (See summary below) Fewer than 500 equipped hospital beds remained on the island by February 1919. An Exhibition in the Palace – Maltese in Corfu p10 The total number of men treated in Malta over the National Library in Valletta - "Lest We Forget" 4 years was about 125,000. Many doctors, including exhibition on World War II p12 80 women, and hundreds of nurses assisted the sick and wounded. Some died in Malta from diseases while caring for their patients. Most are buried in the Pieta Military Cemetery. (For further reading also see: Malta: The nurse of the Mediterranean below) Also from the Maltese e-newletter #40 we have: Consul-General in Victoria retired in 2006 p7: A tribute to Dr Clemente Zammit on the occasion of his retirement. MALTESE PIONEER IN AUSTRALIA: The Late Father Victor Bonello OFM Conv 1920 – 2012. Born in Xagħra, Gozo and ordained in 1947, Father Victor worked in Malta and Africa before coming to HMCS ONTARIO (CANADA) - The Second Australia in 1956. He designed and built the first World War p 13 and a tribute to Royal Canadian underground church in Coober Pedy, ministered to mining communities, opened two colleges and Air Force Sergeant Lucien “Shadow” Brooks, shot down over Malta in the spring of 1942. 140502_MHA_Newsletter_May_2014 Page 2 of 6 The Maltese Connection: The R.C.E.L. Meets On A Anniversary of the blessing and official opening of Symbolic WWII Island p 14 - their mandate is to the Rosary Home Aged Care Facility in Keilor Downs. provide a meal a day to the thousands of elderly From the Maltese Community Council of Victoria veterans who go hungry across the commonwealth. 2012: Six prominent Maltese community members The Club Run p 15 – aircraft supply operations to were honoured in 2012, namely Dr Joe Abela, the besieged island of Malta during WWII, told Manuel Casha, Frank Calleja, George Cini, Joseph through the eyes of Flight Sergeant Calvin Taylor, a Montebello, and Benny Soler. Canadian who was one of the 32 Spitfire pilots on 2012 Bishop Joseph Grech HMS Eagle who made it to Malta on June 9th, 1942. Memorial Scholarship: awarded to Rita Catania. 60 AD - THE SHIPWRECK OF ST. PAUL ON MALTA p16-17 Maltese migrants settling in Australia: 1963-69: a number of annotated archival photographs. Tribute to the late Daniel Caruana of Adelaide, South Australia and the Queen of Victories band, Il Cantilena: the oldest known literary text in the Zurrieq p17 Maltese language, probably from the 1470s, and attributed to Pietru Caxaro. The article contains a The full articles on these and many other topics can copy of the original text and an English translation. be read at: St Helena Maltese-Australian Social Club – http://users.onvol.net/114653/pubs/SouthAustraliaNew Melbourne: Founded in 1980 by Reno Grima in sLetter.pdf honour of St Helena, the patron saint of Birkirkara, The previous e-newsletter #39 also contained many Malta, the club has organised many celebrations interesting articles: and functions. Illustrating our heritage: a book review of Doris Maltese Migrants bound for Melbourne Victoria Micallef’s Paintings of Malta and Gozo, with 1958: a Maltese priest used to depart with every delightful illustrations by the author. I have ordered ship of emigrants leaving the island. Many priests a copy. stayed on and would read letters and write them on Special feature: 3 Maltese-Australian professors: behalf of the less literate Maltese migrants. Professor John Mamo, currently at Curtin University, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Western Australia; Professor Stephen Gatt, currently at the University of New South Wales and Malta: The nurse of the Mediterranean by our very own Professor Maurice Cauchi. the Reverend Albert MacKinnon was originally published in 1916. This illustrated account by a Precious History of Greystanes New South Wales: Presbyterian army chaplain who served in Malta Sometimes known as “Little Malta”, the area was during WW1 is full of interesting detail and personal the site of the first land grants to emancipated anecdotes which make it a worthwhile and convicts in 1791, despite conflicts with the original informative read. An online copy of the original inhabitants, the Darug people, led by Pemulwuy. In book can be seen at: the early 20th Century, many of the residents of the https://archive.org/details/maltanurseofmedi00ma area were from Malta and some operated poultry ckuoft farms which became household names, such as Cordina Chickens, Baiada Chickens and Pace Farm Eggs. In the 1950s and 1960s Greystanes was developed as a residential suburb. Frank Cefai, a Maltese migrant, built thousands of residential homes, Our Lady Queen of Victories Catholic Church in 1975 (later renamed Our Lady Queen of Peace), and the surrounding primary and secondary schools. Dominican Sisters celebrate Rosary Home’s 25th Anniversary: On Sunday 30 October 2011 the Dominican Sisters of Malta celebrated the 25th 140502_MHA_Newsletter_May_2014 Page 3 of 6 April Talk: Maltese Surnames and their Significance given by Professor Maurice Cauchi Professor Maurice Cauchi gave an interesting talk to One explanation for these variations is that the the MHA on Tuesday 15th April, highlighting a older the surname in the Maltese population, the number of interesting aspects relating to Maltese more likely it is to be found in large numbers. For surnames. His interest in surnames started some 20 example, all of the top 10 surnames have existed in odd years ago when he began investigating Malta since 1400 AD. This means that these families surnames as bearers of genetic traits – surnames have had a large number of generations over which are also inherited from the father! to multiply and reach their current prevalence. Arabic (semitic) surnames are the relic of Arabic (and more likely Siculo/Arabic) influence. Following these, there was an influx of Europeans starting with Frederick II in 1220, and the various European rulers that controlled Malta. Many more modern surnames have arrived in Malta as a result of influx at various times. These included Greek names from Rhodes coming in with the Knights, following their expulsion from Rhodes; workers from Sicily for the extensive building initiated by the Knights; the Italian Risorgimento in 1830-70; and the latest being the building of the breakwater (1903-1906), with several workers It is striking that in Malta and Gozo a few surnames coming from Italy and Spain.