FROM THE DEPOSITSJOSEPH ATBEZZINA THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ● 1 GOZO ANNIVERSARIES FROM THE DEPOSITS AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES EXHIBITION CATALOGUE Sponsored by 2 ● GOZO ANNIVERSARIES The exhibition is divided into two sections – each of which is made up of 25 items commemorating the 25 years of the NAG. The first consists of documents related to the various anniversaries being commemorated, a number of which have been brought from the National Archives, Malta. All of them are being exhibited for the first time. The second compliments the written sources by a number of illustrations related to the same. © Text • Joseph Bezzina • 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, known or yet to be invented, for any purpose whatsoever, without the written permission of the National Archives (Gozo Section) and the author, which permission must be obtained beforehand. Acknowledgements • DR JOSEPH BEZZINA, Assistant National Archivist, wishes to express his special thanks to Charles J. Farrugia, the National Archivist; to Francesco Pio Attard, Paul Falzon, and MaryAnn Curmi, Archives Assistants at the National Archives (Gozo); to John Cremona, Ministry for Gozo; Anthony Zammit, Director EcoGozo; Oliver Saliba, EcoGozo; for their dedication and help. • Most of the photographs in the exhibition were shot and edited by PAUL FALZON, the Archives Assistant. The others were kindly provided by DANIEL CILIA. Their indispensable collaboration is acknowledged with sincere appreciation and thanks. • Thanks are also due to George Cassar, Officer-in-Charge, and to all the staff at the National Library, Gozo – with which the National Archives shares the premises – for their collaboration throughout the whole year. • A word of appreciation is due above all to Mr Patrick Fenech, Branch Manager HSBC ▪ Gozo, whose support and sponsorship made possible the publication of this catalogue. Printed and bound in Malta GOZO PRESS, Triq l-Imġarr, Għajnsielem-Gozo. GSM 9016 (+356) 2155-1534 FROM THE DEPOSITS AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ● 3 JOSEPH BEZZINA GOZO ANNIVERSARIES ON THE OCCASION OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR FROM THE INAUGURATION OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES GOZO ▪▪▪ ANNIVERSARJI GĦAWDXIN FL-OKKAŻJONI TAL-ĦAMSA U GĦOXRIN SENA MILL-INAWGURAZZJONI TAL-ARKIVJU NAZZJONALI TA’ GĦAWDEX CATALOGUE OF AN EXHIBITION HELD ON THE OCCASION OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES GOZO SECTION (1989-2014) OPENED BY DR ANTON REFALO MINISTER FOR GOZO 24 NOVEMBER 2014 4 ● GOZO ANNIVERSARIES NATIONAL ARCHIVES (GOZO) EXHIBITION CATALOGUE • 14 1 • A sample of documents of the history of Gozo from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, Gozo 1989. 2 • A sample of documents of the history of Gozo from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, Gozo 1994. 3 • The Region of Gozo – Ir-Reġjonalità ta’ Għawdex, Gozo 2004. 4 • Gozo, a historical glimpse, Gozo 2005. 5 • Saverio Cassar (1805–2005), Gozo 2005. 6 • Religious aspects of life in Gozo, Gozo 2006. 7 • The Citadel – the crown of Gozo, Gozo 2007. 8 • The coastal defences of Gozo, Gozo 2008. 9 • Herbs, health, and hospitals of Gozo past, Gozo 2009. 10 • Gozo domestic architecture – a dwindling heritage, Gozo 2010. 11 • Fiftieth anniversary from the foundation of the Gozo Civic Council, Gozo 2011. 12 • Città Victoria – one hundred twenty five years a city, Gozo 2012. 13 • Engagements and Weddings in Gozo past, Gozo 2013. 14 • Gozo Anniversaries, Gozo 2014. Some of the above catalogues are still available at the NAG•National Archives (Gozo) • tel: 2155-8833. A souvenir postcard (No 8) – available at the NAG•National Archives (Gozo) – has been issued for the occasion. Abbreviations ACG ARCHIVUM CATHEDRALE GAUDISIENSE CG CURIA GUBERNATORIALI [COURTS OF GOZO] CSG CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT GOV DESPATCHES TO/FROM GOVERNMENT NAG NATIONAL ARCHIVES GOZO SECTION NAM NATIONAL ARCHIVES MALTA NAR NOTARIAL ARCHIVES, RABAT/VICTORIA-GOZO OPM OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER PA PHOTOGRAPHS AND ALBUMS FROM THE DEPOSITS AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ● 5 NAG • The National Archives (Gozo Section) The NAG – the National Archives (Gozo Section) – serves as the deposit for the records produced or received by Government entities in Gozo in the transaction of their affairs. It is housed in a purposely built hall adjacent to the Public Library of Gozo. The ball was set rolling on 1 August 1989, when the Ministry for Gozo engaged Joseph Bezzina, an archivist by profession, to set up the archives. The first documents to be moved in were the registers of the former Universitas Gaudisii – a regional government founded around 1350 to manage the island and promote local interests. Only about 300 registers, dating from 1560 to its suppression in 1818, are preserved. The NAG was officially inaugurated on 24 November 1989 – twenty five years ago – by Anton Tabone, then Minister for Gozo, and Dr Ugo Mifsud-Bonnici, then Minister of Education. This was over two months before the Malta Parliament enacted the Act to regulate the National Archives on 30 January 1990. The NAG was conceived as the public record office for the documentation produced and received by past and present Government departments and establishments in the islands of Gozo and Comino. In 1991, the Staff Development Organisation of the Office of the Prime Minister clearly laid down that: Records originated by the Ministry for Gozo, Gozo sections of government departments, and by public bodies established for Gozo should be deposited at the Gozo Section of the National Archives which has been set up adjoining the Gozo Public Library (Circular OPM/E/82/83 [July 1991]). The NAG has twenty-seven different FONDS, deposits coming from an equal number of entities. Each fond is divided into as many SECTIONS as is deemed necessary to reflect the various responsibilities or activities of the entity. It is possible 6 ● GOZO ANNIVERSARIES that a particular single office produced records related to various activities. In that case each activity is considered a separate section and numbered accordingly to avoid the splitting of sections into sub-sections. Every single ITEM in each section is given a consecutive number. The fonds in the alphabetical order of the cataloguing code with the period covered are the following: AG National Archives (Gozo Section) 1989+ CA Civil Abattoir 1891 – 1986 CC Civic Council 1959 – 1973 CG Curia Gubernatorali (Courts of Law) 1609+ CI Charitable Institutions 1859 – 1947 CP Circulars and Posters 1814+ DF Documentaries and Films 1988+ GB Malta Government Savings Bank 1853 – 1978 GL Ġurdan Lighthouse 1877 – 1981 GM Ġuljana Masini 1554 – 1930 HI Hospitals and other Institutions 1841+ IR Inland Revenue 1903+ LC Local Councils 1993+ MG Ministry for Gozo 1987+ MH Medical and Health Department 1875 – 1970 MP Monte di Pietà 1817 – 1979 PA Photographs. Albums 1945+ PD Police Departments 1889+ PM Plans and maps 1860+ PO Passport Office 1988+ PW Public Works 1840+ SG Secretariat to the Government 1803+ SN Street naming 1987+ SS State Schools 1845+ ST Statistics 1667+ UG Universitas Gaudisii 1560 – 1819 ZM Miscellanea 1575+ Records are catalogued in a four-level system – a system that most clearly reflects the workings of each entity. Level 1 is the depository (NAG); level 2, the fond or entity (UG); level 3, the section (section 1 in this fond or entity, being Acta et Negotia); and level 4, the single item (for example, volume 1). FROM THE DEPOSITS AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES ● 7 GOZO ANNIVERSARIES Twenty-four November one thousand and eighty-nine was a memorable day for Gozo. That morning, Anton Tabone, Minister for Gozo, with Dr Ugo Mifsud-Bonnici, Minister for Education, inaugurated the NAG – the Gozo Section of the National Archives. The idea of a National Archives for Gozo was of the former, the latter concurred with the plan. At that time, the majority, to be frank, were unaware of the happening notwithstanding that it was publicized as one of the official events commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Malta Independent. The number of those who understood the necessity of an archive was negligible. By the passage of years, the institution has tried with success to make itself more present in the community. As a matter of fact, a steadily increasing number of people began to visit and make use of the fonds at the archives. The number of researchers at the NAG during 2013 was 449, a significant increase of more than 53% on the previous year. The number of research hours amounted to 392, the number of items consulted to 768. The annual exhibition at the NAG will this year commemorate, first of all, this twenty-five year-long achievement. The Archives started with one fond, that of the Universitas Gaudisii with about 300 volumes, and twenty-five years later it has been enriched by a total of twenty-seven fonds and around 16,000 volumes and items. The year 2014 marks a number of other important anniversaries in Gozo and it was decided to commemorate all of them with twenty-five documents and twenty-five illustrations. ▪ 400 years ago, on 21 October 1614, Eugenio-Romirez Maldonado, a former Governor of Gozo from Salamanca, donated a statue of Saint Ursula with a relic of her arm-bone to the Matrice, the present Cathedral Church. 8 ● GOZO ANNIVERSARIES ▪ 200 years ago, on 18 February 1814, the dreaded bubonic plague that had raged in Malta the previous year, broke out in Xagħra-Gozo leaving some 104 victims. ▪ 150 years ago, on 16 September 1864, Blessed Pope Pius IX conceded to the requests and wishes of the priests and people of Gozo and established Gozo and Comino into an autonomous diocese through the Bull Singulari Amore – With remarkable love. ▪ 100 years ago, on 29 July 1914, His Grace Monsignor Pietro Pace, former bishop of Gozo (1877-1889) and archbishop of Malta, one of the most eminent Gozitans of all time, died in Victoria-Gozo.