Abi-lingual (in English and Maltese) fortnightly online publication specifically targeting all Maltese living abroad with emphasis on the Australian scene
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Issue 104 online magazine ( driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readers of its readers ) June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese online magazine Europe starts in Malta Europe starts in Malta Some fantastic views over Wied iz-Zurrieq in the south of Malta, includ- ing part of the Blue Grotto, one of the most visited and photographed views in the Maltese is- lands, and the land- scapes of the surrounding area. The natural beauty of the place is a great pull for visitors attracting some 100,000 tourists per year, and locals who are able to enjoy boat trips to the Grotto, do scuba diving, or just enjoy a swim in the clear blue waters. Inside the Blue Grotto caves re- flecting the phosphorescent colours of the submerged flora Panoramic view of Wied iz- Zurrieq with its restaurants and boathouses Another view of the landscape from the sea On a boat trip to the Blue Grotto Entrance to one of the caves at the Blue Grotto The Blue Grotto from above
Transcript
Issue104
online magazine
(driven by the voice driven by the voice of its readersof its readers)
June 23, 2015
The Voice of the Malteseonline magazine
Europe starts in Malta Europe starts in Malta Some fantastic viewsover Wied iz-Zurrieq inthe south of Malta, includ-ing part of the BlueGrotto, one of the mostvisited and photographedviews in the Maltese is-lands, and the land-scapes of thesurrounding area. Thenatural beauty of theplace is a great pull forvisitors attracting some100,000 tourists per year,and locals who are ableto enjoy boat trips to theGrotto, do scuba diving,or just enjoy a swim inthe clear blue waters.
Inside the BlueGrotto caves re-flecting thephosphorescentcolours of thesubmerged flora
Panoramic view of Wied iz-Zurrieq with its restaurantsand boathouses
Another view of thelandscape from the sea
On a boat trip tothe Blue Grotto
Entrance to one of thecaves at the Blue Grotto
The Blue Grotto from above
2 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
The Order of Australia is the princi-pal and most prestigious means ofrecognising outstanding members
of the community at a national level. Thepurpose of the Order of Australia is torecognise, by national honour, thosewho have made outstanding contribu-tions that benefit their communities, andultimately Australia.
Prior to 1975 Australians were recog-nised under the British honours system,also known as Imperial awards, but thatyear, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II es-tablished the Australian system of hon-ours and awards.
The second purpose of the Order ofAustralia is that it serves to define, en-courage and reinforce community stan-dards, national aspirations and ideals byacknowledging actions and achievementand thereby identifying role models atall levels and in all spheres of the com-munity. While endeavour may havebeen sustained over many years, inessence, membership of the Order ofAustralia is not an award for long servicebut for outstanding service.
The awards are announced twice year-ly, during Australia Day and on theQueen’s Birthday. Among this year’s re-cipients were, three persons of Maltesedescent.
JOHN CAUCHI, a lawyer from Long-ford Tasmania, a former Attorney Gen-eral of Tonga. He received the AM(Member) in the general division for sig-nificant service to the law, and to inter-national relations, through leadingpublic administration and legal roles inthe South Pacific.
He also served as Crown Law Depart-ment of the Government of the Kingdomof Tonga, 2009-2010; (first non-Tongan tohold the office); Senior Crown Counsel,1996-2001. Director of Public Prosecu-tions, Office of the Director of PublicProsecutions, Solomon Islands, 2004-2006; Principal Crown Prosecutor, 2004,and Senior Advisor, Public ProsecutorsOffice Vanuatu, 2001-2003.
Australian roles include: PrincipalCrown Counsel (Criminal Prosecutions),Office of the Director of Public Prosecu-tions, Tasmania, 2009, and Senior Prose-cutor, Office of the Director of PublicProsecutions, Australian Capital Terri-tory, 2007.Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia
in the general division was awarded toDR. JOHN FALZON, Canberra ACT forservice to the community through socialwelfare organisations. Dr John Falzon isthe author of The language of the Un-heard (2012). He is a political sociologist,poet and advocate for a more equitablesociety.He has worked in academia, in commu-
nity development in large public hous-ing estates and in research and advocacyin NGOs. Dr Falzon has been the ChiefExecutive of the St Vincent Paul SocietyNational Council of Australia since 2006.He has written and spoken widely on thestructural causes of marginalisation andinequality in Australia and has long beenan advocate for a fairer and more equi-table society.
Dr Falzon is currently a member of theACOSS Board, was a participant in the2020 Summit and has also served onGovernment advisory committees suchas the Australian Social Inclusion Board,the Community Response Task Forceduring the Global Financial Crisis and
the Energy White Paper High Level Con-sultative Committee.He has given evidence to countless par-
liamentary inquiries on issues rangingfrom the inadequacy of the Newstart Al-lowance to the Stronger Futures Legisla-tion. He is also a regular media commentator
on matters of social equity and injusticeand a frequent speaker at conferencesand public rallies.Dr Falzon’s work has appeared in pub-
lications such as The Australian, Arena,Eureka Street, The Drum, Parity, HumanRights Defender, The Guardian, TheAge, The Sydney Morning Herald andThe Canberra Times.
He was born in East End London, buthis parents were born in Malta. His fa-ther, Emanuel comes from Mosta and hismother, Lena from Marsa. They came toAustralia in 1968.
Another awardee as OAM is KEITHMATTHEW GRIMA, of Botany NSWfor service to surf lifesaving, particularlythrough training and administrationroles.
Keith Grima joined the Maroubra SurfLife Saving Club as a wayward teen tojoin his mates on a surfing trip up thecoast but ended up staying for 40 years.
He is a life member at Maroubra andhas held a plethora of positions includ-ing club captain, president and secretarysince joining the club in 1971. He wasawarded a Medal of the Order of Aus-tralia for surf lifesaving service. He isalso a life member at Surf LifesavingSydney.He was also part of the 1995 Australian
Lifesaving Education Team, and receiv-ed the Volunteer of the Year Award, for2011, the Award for 30 years of patrolservicei 2001, and the Award for 30 yearsof training and assessment in 2007.
2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours2015 Queen’s Birthday HonoursThree Persons of Maltese descent among recipients ofThree Persons of Maltese descent among recipients of
Dr. John Falzon Keith Matthew GrimaDr. John Cauchi
The Order of Australia
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 3
A proud sponsor of A proud sponsor of The Voice of theThe Voice of the
MalteseMaltese
Breakaway Travel 94 corner of Main & CampbellStreets, Blacktown NSW
mandu, nationalcapital of Nepal,set aside it’s mo-urning momentar-ily for a ceremonyto enable sevendesignated amb-assadors to pres-ent their creden-tials to the Presi-dent of Nepal, Dr.Ram Baran Yadav.Malta’s High Com-missioner to India,Mr John AquilinaUOM, was one ofthe seven ambas-sadors. The others werefrom Belgium, Bot-swana, Bulgaria,Chile, Croatia andMexico.Mr Aquilina was
accompanied byhis wife Ann andHonorary Con-sul for Malta inKathmandu, MrDinesh Shrestha.
The large number of ambassadorspresenting their credentials at the oneceremony occurred because of thetragic earthquakes that struck Nepalon April 25, and May 12, that claimedthe lives of around 8000, destroyedhomes and public buildings, and dis-placed more than 400,000 citizens.
Mr Aquilina told The Voice of theMaltese that as Nepal is still in a stateof shock, and undergoing mourning,unlike other Ambassadorial Creden-tial ceremonies, “this one was swift,solemn and subdued.”
He added, “Given that the celebra-tions for Nepal’s Annual NationalDay, which fell on the day after theCredential Ceremony, had been can-
Malta’s HC to India PresentsCredentials to Nepal President
celled, I was surprised that the Gov-ernment of Nepal chose to organise aCredential Ceremony at all.
“However, as explained by Nepal’sChief of Protocol, the Govt. was keen toassure the rest of the world that, despitethe tragedy experienced, the country isstill mindful of its responsibilities, andthat it was fully functional.”Following the ceremony Mr Aquilina
had an extensive discussion with H.E.President Ram Baran Yadav, duringwhich he expressed the sincere condo-lences of the Government and Peopleof Malta on the death and destructionthat Nepal had experienced. He alsopersonally handed to His Excellency,a Letter of Condolence from the PrimeMinister of Malta, Dr. Joseph Muscat.
Mr Aquilina saidthat the Presidentexpressed his sin-cere appreciationconveyed, and inhis questions toMr Aquilina re-vealed intense cu-riosity about Mal-ta, as well as whato p p o r t u n i t i e smay exist for im-proving upon thealready firm andcordial friendshipexisting betweenthe two nations.Mr Aquilina was
also granted inter-views subsequen-tly with a numberof ministers andalso presented tothe Minister forForeign AffairsMahendra Baha-dur Pandey, a let-ter of Condolenceon behalf of Mal-ta’s Foreign Min-ister, Dr. GeorgeVella.
During his discussions with theNepalese Minister for Education, MsChitralekha Yadav, Mr Aquilina out-lined the significant number ofNepalese students who are currentlyundertaking Higher Education cour-ses at Maltese institutions. The Minis-ter expressed some surprise, but alsoher satisfaction at this recent develop-ment. Malta’s HC also raised the possibility
of establishing a formal link betweena Higher Education institution inMalta, and one in Nepal.
“I am confident that although wehave had humble beginnings, the mo-mentum for bilateral relations andtrade will substantially accelerate,” MrAquilina said.
Malta’s HC to India Mr JohnAquilina presenting his Credentialsto the President of Nepal, with hiswife Ann watching proceedings.
il-monument b˙ala turija ta’ rispett u apprezzament g˙al dawkkollha li mis-sena 1919 ‘l hawn ˙admu biex Malta issir nazzjon. L-g˙aqdiet kienu: il-Maltese RSL Sub Branch, G˙aqda Kul-
tural u Teatrali Çittadini, l-G˙aqda Kultural Maltija, Maltese
Past Pupils & Friends ta’ Don Bosco, il-Grupp Soçjali MalteseBowlers, l-iSkola Maltija ta’ NSW, il-Maltese Welfare, il-Ku-mitat Festa San Nikola, l-G˙aqda Xg˙ara, l-G˙aqda Óamrun,il-Kappillani Maltin, il- Maltese Elderly Thankgiving Day, l-G˙aqda San Bert, iç-Çentru LaValette, Sutherland & StGeorge Maltese Group, il-Banda Our Lady Queen of Peace,il-Óbieb tad-Dar tal-Providenza u l-MAYÇ.
In 2016 we are having a TOUR and CRUISE to CANADAand ALASKA! Monica Ledger will lead the group. Then weare having another special tour from PERTH to BROOMEthrough the coast. I and my wife will be with you. Be quickand book your place! - Charlie Felice
The young lady in the scouts’ uni-form escorting all those present-ing roses on the occasion of the
96 anniversary of the Sette Giugno atCivic Park Pendle Hill about twoweeks ago was Rose Mercieca from the1st Blaxland scout group.
The Voice of the Maltese caught upwith this smart lady who has been inthe scout movement for 13 years now:“I started in Cubs and earning my greywolf award. I then moved up to scouts.I received my Queen Scout award. Iam now a rover which is the highestlevel in scouting”Rose Mercieca was born in Coffs Har-
bour, NSW. Her dad Joe was born inÓal G˙arg˙ur, Malta and her mum,Merylese is Sydney-born. Her grand-parents on dad’s side where born inÓal G˙arg˙ur. They moved over toAustralia with her dad who was stillonly four at the time.Rose originally attended the Saturday
Maltese Language School at HorsleyPark. She said that when she was inyear 4, “the reasoning I gave everyonewas so that I can translate what Nannusays to everyone when he gets old andforgets English".
She did the priedka tal-Milied (thechild’s midnight sermon at Christmas)when she was 10. She attended the Sat-
urday School of Com-munity Languages atSeven Hills in year 7, tocomplete the HSC inMaltese.
“In year 12 last year, Iwas one of three peoplein Australia to sit theHSC with Maltese asone of the subjects. Re-sulting in a band 4 andan overall mark of75/100, I was veryhappy with myself and Icommend all of my pastteachers; Maria DeCarlo, Marthese Caru-ana, Anna Chetcuti andCharles Galea”
She added that she isnot part of a class any-more, but keeps in con-tact with MAYC and isstill extremely interestedin the Maltese language.As for her being part of
the scouts movement,Rose Mercieca conclud-ed, “I enjoy being inscouts as it gives me the chance to ex-plore, learn new things and gain lifeskills and life friends that I know I willhave till I'm old. Scouting promotes ac-
ceptance of every-one and scouts is abig part of bothmine and mywhole family’s li-fe. I guess the que-stion would be,why wouldn't Ienjoy scouts?
Rose Merciecastood out at theceremony by es-corting and salut-ing all those layingred and white ros-es, a symbol of re-membrance asso-ciated with theSette Giugno an-nual ceremony atthe Pendle Hill’sCivic Park mon-ument in Sydney
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 5
Yet another Rose for Sette Giugno
Rose Mercieca giving her salute at the ceremony
Rose Mercieca
In response to a number of in-quiries, The Voice of the Maltesewishes to advice that we can nowsupply hard copies in colour ofour magazine to our readers at acost. Anybody interested in acquiringcopies of the magazine can com-municate with us personally or byemail to:[email protected]
The magazine can also be deliv-ered by post. As the cost ofpostage varies one is kindly re-quested to get in touch with us inorder to work out the details.
Readers can now request a printedcopy of The Voice
6 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
Malta has just been named oneof the world’s top 10 retire-ment destinations in 2015. It is
placed seventh in International Liv-ing.com‘s Annual Global RetirementIndex due to its warm weather and lowcrime rate. Last year it placed eighth.
The other Europeancountry in the top 10list is Spain, threeplaces above Malta.
International Living(IL), have been in thebusiness of scouringthe globe for the bestretirement destina-tions around theglobe for over 30years, therefore theytalk from experience.“We know a good re-tirement locationwhen we see one”.
In this report IL notjust gives its top 10Retirement Havens,but also the reasons why they thinkthese are the best places to consider ifone is planning a retirement overseas.
International Living determines itsrankings through its editors who com-pile, weigh, rank, and rate a series ofcriteria including cost of living, infra-structure, health care, ease of integra-tion, real estate, special benefits,
climate, etc. It is a qualitative assessment based on
real-world data gathered on theground.
In its Special Report, InternationalLiving explains Malta’s position on themap and tells the readers “not to be
embarrassed” if they cannot pinpointthe island on a map.
It goes on to say: “It’s not on every-one’s radar, and mostly unheard of byAmericans. Malta is anchored almostin the centre of the Mediterranean Sea,60 miles from the Italian island ofSicily, which is linked to Malta by aregular 90-minute ferry service. There
is a modern air-port at Luqa (onMalta) withflights to numer-ous other Euro-pean countries.Rome is just onehour away byplane.“The Republic of
Malta isn’t a soli-tary island, but anarchipelago ofthree islands andthree islets. Notsurprisingly, thenames of the islets
mean nothing to most people, as theyare little more than rocks in the ocean.(In case you’re wondering, they’recalled Filfla, St. Paul’s Island, andCominotto.) Explaining the “three islets” the report
points out that Filfla was used for tar-get practice by theBritish navy, so it isprobably evensmaller than it usedto be. While Cominois classified as one ofthe three islands inthe Maltese archipel-ago proper, it is alsominuscule: just a fewsquare miles in sizeand home to just onesummer-season hoteland five farmingfamilies.
When it mentionsGozo the reports de-scribes it as “a greenand rural island”
with a population of 31,000 people. Itadds that the island of Gozo “is one ofthe best-kept secrets in the Mediter-ranean, a place where time really doesseem to have stood still.”
The report gives a very brief historyof Malta saying that until independ-ence in 1964, it had been a Britishcolony for 150 years. “Many trappingsof the Empire remain: scarlet phone-boxes, blue-lamp police stations, pillar-boxes bearing Queen Victoria’sinsignia, cricket and bowling clubs,cafes serving warm beer and roast beefdinners, troops of neatly dressed boyscouts, driving on the left-hand side ofthe road... ” An important fact is, according to the
report, that in Malta there’s no lan-guage barrier. “Just about everybodyon Malta speaks English as well asMalti. Both are official languages. Sim-ilar to Arabic, but written in the Latinscript, Malti is a Semitic language. Italso embraces bits of French and Ital-ian.”
Malta ranks 7th in world’s top 10 retirement Havens
Malta ranks 7th in world’s top 10 retirement Havens
The islet of Filfla ...used for tar-get practice by the British navy
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 7
On November 27-29 Malta hoststhe Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment Meeting (CHOGM)
for a second time, having successfullydone so in 2005. As an island state inthe Mediterranean Sea, Malta hasserved throughout history as a bridgebetween North Africa and Europe. Now, as the CHOGM host for 2015,
Malta provides a platform for Com-monwealth countries to come togetherto build bridges of cooperation.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary
association of 53 independent stateswith a combine population of 2.2 bil-lion. The association came together in1949, after the decolonisation of theBritish Empire. Symbolically headedby HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Com-monwealth includes some of theworld’s largest, smallest, richest andpoorest nationsCountries have no legal obligation to
each other yet they are guided by theprinciples contained in The Charter ofthe Commonwealth: democracy,human rights and the rule of law.They are also united through lan-guage, history and culture.
The biggest representation is fromAfrica with 18 Commonwealth Coun-tries, namely, Botswana, Cameroon,Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauri-tius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria,Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, SouthAfrica, Swaziland, Uganda, United Re-public of Tanzania, and Zambia
From Asia there are eight:Bangladesh, Brunei Darus-salam, India, Malaysia,Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore and SriLanka
The Caribbean & Americas have 13:Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas,Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica,Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia,St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and theGrenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago
Three countries are on the Europeancontinent. They are, Cyprus, Malta
and Uni-ted King-dom
Elevencountriesc o m efrom theP a c i f i c .They are:Australia,Fiji, Kiri-b a t i ,N a u r u ,N e wZealand,P a p u aN e wG u i n e a ,
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tu-valu, Vanuatu
Theme: Adding Global ValueAdding Global Value is about usingthe Commonwealth’s strengths in in-ternational politics to influence andeventually effect change on importantglobal issues. It is also about making apositive difference to the lives of Com-monwealth citizens.
Adding Global Value seeks to unifythe Commonwealth behind an ambi-tious policy agenda that bequeaths toour young a life of liberty, dignity andprosperity. Besides, considering its ge-ographical extent around the globe,actions and initiatives taken at Com-monwealth level will undoubtedlyadd to global values.
Commonwealth countries are al-ready pro-active on the internationalstage. As one example Common-wealth countries, which represent one
fourth of the countries of the UN, pro-vide 47 percent of UN peacekeepers(early 2015 figures). The Common-wealth can therefore bring together acommunity of countries with the en-ergy and drive to develop fair, re-silient and universally acceptablesolutions to global problems.
The Commonwealth is well repre-sented in most global institutions. It makes up a quarter of the member-
ship in the United Nations; at the mo-ment - has three Members on the UNSecurity Council (Malaysia, NewZealand, UK); - Has a strong representation in theCaribbean Community; - Has three Members in the EuropeanUnion (Cyprus, Malta, UK); - Has two Members in the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (Malaysia,Singapore) and four countries repre-sented in the G20 (Australia, Canada,India, UK). The Commonwealth is therefore well
placed to influence the policy agendaof some of the most influential institu-tions in global politics.The Commonwealth is recognised as
a leader in developing education pro-grammes around the world. It alsoprovides legal and operational sup-port to Member States on a myriad ofissues ranging from InternationalMaritime Law to Election Observance.
Adding Global Value is about en-couraging Commonwealth govern-ments and civil society to think aboutwhat unities the Commonwealth andwhat it can achieve together.
Malta is asking fellow Common-wealth Members to consider whichimportant issues have been missed byother global institutions, and to usethe Commonwealth to provide leader-ship in those areas. This involves taking advantage of the
inherent strengths of the Common-wealth and developing strategies thatwill make a substantive and demon-strable difference to the lives of peoplearound the world.
CHOGM Malta 2015Historically, Malta isa bridge betweenNorth Africa, Europe
Member for Riverstone in the NSW StateParliament, Kevin Conolly MP has backedtraditional marriage as both the best en-vironment for raising children, and the or-dinary expression of complementaryhuman nature in a letter/article he sent to The Voice of the Maltese:
Marriage existed before parlia-ments and governments. It is arelationship that reflects the law
of nature and does not depend on the lawsof governments for its meaning. In everyculture and every corner of the globe it hasalways been a complementary relationshipbetween male and female and has alwaysbeen understood as directly linked to thebirth and raising of children.
The best evidence available is that chil-dren thrive and prosper best when raisedby both their biological parents. To pointthis out is not having a shot at single par-ents or blended families, but a matter ofbeing honest about the research data.If governments have any business at all in
being involved in personal relationships, itsurely would be to protect the interests ofchildren involved, not make their positionworse. We all know that human beings arenot perfect, and we don’t live in a perfectworld. Nevertheless we would all agreethat we want the best for our children.
Adult relationships can break down de-spite good intentions, and tragedies canbefall parents, leaving children without in-tact families. These situations are unin-tended and warrant community andgovernment support.
But why would governments deliberatelylegislate to bring about social structureswhich would deny children the opportu-nity for the best chance in life?
The MP also took issue with claims bysome that defending traditional marriagecould be seen as discriminatory.
Even the loudest advocates for definingsame sex relationships as marriage do notsupport extending the same treatment topolygamy, or to incestuous relationships.That is, even the advocates of change wantto continue to discriminate between rela-tionships. There are good reasons why the Marriage
Act contains restrictions in these respectsas well as in relation to age and to the abil-ity to consent. So discrimination betweenwhat is marriage and what is not marriagewill remain regardless of the outcome ofthe current debate.In the end, it is not discriminatory to call
a spade a spade, and to call a shovel some-thing else. There are many forms of lovingrelationship. Some are between familymembers, others are between life-longfriends. They are not marriage any moreor less than a same sex relationship is notmarriage.
Many constituents have contacted meabout this issue as there are proposals be-fore the federal parliament to change thedefinition of marriage in Australian law. “
I urge my federal counterparts to protectchildren by acknowledging the truth ofwhat marriage is and ensuring that theMarriage Act continues to reflect that re-ality.
Have your say/Xi trid tghid?Your letters/ L-ittri tag˙kom ...
onl ine magazineonl ine magaz ine
The Voice of the Maltese
is is a bi-lingual (inEnglish and Maltese) fort-nightly online publication
specifically targeting allMaltese living abroad with emphasis on the
Australian scene. is online magazine is
sent via email by request.Subscription is free.
Editors: Malta: Joseph CutajarAustralia:Lawrence Dimech: MOM,
For the first time, I finally managed tomake it to the celebration marking the
96th Anniversary of the 7th June uprisingin Malta at Pendle Hill, an event that wasfittingly themed: A Rose for Sette Giugno.
I was so glad to have been part of it as Icould witness, not only the unity betweenthe Maltese on such an occasion, but alsothe respect the Australian authorities havefor the Maltese-Australia community.Seeing so many high-ranking politicians
paying their respects at an event that per-haps they did not know much about wasan eye-opener.
Thanks most heartily to the organisers,the MCCof NSW for a very successfulday. Well done indeed!
Paul Debono from Fairfield NSW writes:
A. Schembri mill-Mosta, Malta, jikteb:
Qed nikteb minn Malta g˙ax g˙adnikemm esperjenzajt kaΩ ta’ interess.
Qaluli li l-Gvern ne˙˙a d-diskriminaz-zjonij li kien hemm dwar in-nollijiet tal-karozzi tal-linja f’Malta jew meta tirkebil-vapur t’G˙awdex u lura.
Dan ried biss l-ID Card li jien sintendim’g˙andiex, l-istess meta mort Ghawdex.Jew il-kartanzjan jew l-ID Card Maltijankella xejn, m’hemmx argumenti! Urejtul-passaport Malti iΩda qalli li f’Malta l-aqwa li jkollok ID Card.
lil min jipprova jimxi, kif jg˙idu l-IngliΩi“to the letter”, imma na˙seb li jkun fermaktar ta’ siewi li wie˙ed juza s-sens komung˙ax dik li ΩΩomm lill- prijorita` l-aktarfejn l-affarijiet ikunu çari.
Il-post xieraq g˙all-Monument tas-Sette Giugno qrib il-Parlament
G˙aliex bit-Taljan?
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 9
Tallinja card - skoss ie˙or?
Adrian Camilleri from Willoughby, NSW writes:
Thank you for emailing me Issue No. 103 ofThe Voice of the Maltese. It is my first time
and I really regret not knowing about it before.It makes for very entertaining reading not onlythe features all very interesting, but also for the
unbiased coverage of news about Malta. By the way, I am Australian born. My par-
ents come from Msida. Thanks to them I man-age to speak Maltese and also read, thoughwith some difficulty the Maltese language. Sothe publication also helps me to practice read-ing the Maltese language.
J. J. Borg mill-Furjana, Malta, jikteb:
Kif se taraw jien ili ftit ma nΩur Malta,imma din id-darba mort u b˙alissa
qieghed ingawdi dan il-pajjiΩ sabi˙.Hekk kif mort il-belt kapitali Maltija, u
Ftit tal-jiem ilu smajna b'allegazzjoni straordinarja mill-awtoritajiet IndoneΩjani li uffiçjali Awstraljani ˙allsu l-flus lit-traffikanti tan-nies li joperaw fil-ba˙ar fit-tramun-
Kien hemm tnejn li ça˙du din l-a˙bar minnufi˙, imma l-PrimMinistru Liberali Tony Abbott ma kienx daqshekk kategoriku,u qal li dak li qed jag˙mlu hu li jwaqqfu dawn id-dg˙ajjes 'bis-sewwa jew bid-dnewwa' (by hook or by crook).3
The Llandilo Maltese Seniors,once again held their Annual “ADay at the Buskett”, where they
gather to celebrate their Maltese her-itage with an Exhibition of MalteseArts & Crafts, including some nostal-gic hand-made toys, some wonderfulold tools, lanterns, and cooking itemssuch as the old “Spiritiera”, just tomention a few.
The group was then given a “VirtualTour” of Malta with Augustine Borgand Emmanuel Camilleri as theirguides, finally ending up at “the Bus-kett”!
To add to the spirit of a picnic at theBuskett, they shared lots of differenttraditional Maltese food. Joe Xuereband Ronnie Borg came along and pro-vided the music and sang some verypopular traditional Maltese songs in-cluding “Ghana”. Joe and Ronnie had
the group up on their feet dancing andsinging right along with them!
It was wonderful to see and hear thelaughter and friendship that is so ob-vious in this group and the great effortthat group leaders Helen Azzopardiand Vicky Scicluna and all their mem-bers make to keep their Maltese Her-itage alive. The group enjoyed asing-a-long and finished the day with“Tieni Jdejk” a great song of friend-ship.
If anyone is interested to join thisgroup, (they meet on the first Wednes-day of every month in the LlandiloCommunity Hall, Llandilo), and allMaltese seniors from surroundingareas and their friends are most wel-come to join.For more information about how one
can join this group, one is advised toget in touch with Marisa Previtera,Welfare Worker for the Maltese Com-munity Council of NSW on 0414 863123.
Marisa Previtera
The Australian High Commis-sioner in Malta, HE Jane Lambert,recently presided over the investi-ture in the Order of Australia ofMr Virgil Bugeja who wasawarded the honour last January.At the occasion the HC conferredthe order on Mr. Bugeja, pre-sented him with a certificate, andalong with a number of guestscongratulated him on the Awardby the Australian government.
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 11
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The Spirit of L’Imnarja Lives on in LlandiloThe Llandilo Maltese Seniors, during lunch at this year’s “ADay at the Buskett” On Left: Joe Xuereb and Ronnie Borg play-ing traditional Maltese songs and keeping the crowd happy
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, theCHOGM Taskforce, and Arts CouncilMalta, have together organised an
event to launch the Commonwealth Headsof Government Meeting (CHOGM) ExternalCulture Programme. It will also involve Aus-tralia.The arts play an important part in bringing
Commonwealth countries together andCHOGM that takes place in Malta in No-vember with 53 leaders attending, is the rightplace for that.
Among the artists lined up for the CultureProgramme are Malta’s national dance com-pany, Zfin Malta, who will perform to audi-ences in India and Malaysia.Maltesefolktales will be set to contemporary musicto enthral young people in South Africa.
Cosmos Wind Ensemble will play in Aus-tralia while jazz musicians will travel toCanada. Isle Landers photographic art proj-ect will be held in Australia, while the Val-letta International Baroque Ensemble willperform in London.At the launch, Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Dr. George W. Vella said that the Common-wealth was a multi-national realty compris-ing of 53 countries from all over the world. “ Maybe this explains why this organisation
emphasises multiculturalism as an excellenttool which enhances wealth, and safeguardspeace amongst nations,” he said. He went on to say that economic globalisa-
tion has brought all nations working together“on a competitive level determining ourquality of life, however there is another formof globalisation, which has and is still leav-ing its mark on how we perceive ourselves
and others.”He said this is the cultural globalisation that
paved the way so all nations can understandeach other in ways that are not insular, but aspart of an enhanced and wider experience.The head of the CHOGM Malta 2015 Task-
force, Phyllis Muscat said that the Commonwealth was a fantastic organisation– bringing together 53 countries to speakwith one voice, “but it celebrates diversitytoo, and nowhere better can this be seen thanin the arts”, she said.
The Deputy Prime Minister Mr LouisGrech described as a strong vote ofconfidence from the European Uni-
on the Economic and Financial AffairsCouncil (Ecofin) ratification of the Com-mission’s recommendation that the Exces-sive Deficit Procedure opened againstMalta is lifted.He said explained that this means that the
current Government’s policies are drivingMalta and the Maltese economy to yieldpositive results, saying that these resultswere achieved without taking any austeritymeasures whilst incentivising economicgrowth.
The government said that the deficit isexpected to continue declining in 2015 andthe following years because of prudent fis-cal management, as well as of higher GDPgrowth. Malta reduced its deficit to 2.1% of GDP
in 2014. According to statistics from theNSO, GDP grew by 4% in the first quarterof this year. Furthermore the Central Bankof Malta sees the Maltese economy grow-ing by 3.6% this year.
The Excessive Deficit procedure comesafter good news from Eurostat statisticsthat shows Malta had the second highestvacancy rate in the first quarter of the yearamongst the EU-28, second to Germany,
as well as the second highest increase invacancies after the Czech Republic.
The Government said it is committed toseeking more investment to Malta fromforeign-based investors and creating newmarkets that benefit the Maltese economyand contributes to the creation of newjobs.Meanwhile, official statistics from the Eu-
rostat database quoted by the Ministry ofFinance indicate that, while at the end ofMarch 2013 Malta’s national debt stood at€5,172.2 million or 71% of GDP, at the endof December 2014 it stood at €5,417.5 mil-lion or 68% of GDP. This means that, interms of the share of GDP, the burden of thenational debt has fallen by 3% of GDP.The MOF explained that typically, econ-
omists measure the national debt as a pro-portion of the nation’s output rather thanfocusing on the absolute amount of debt. While the national debt stood at €4,551.9
million at the end of March 2011, by theend of March 2013, it had risen to€5,172.2 million. This implies an increaseof €620.3 million.
Eurostat is the statistical office of the Eu-ropean Union situated in Luxembourg. Itis tasked with providing the EU with sta-tistics at European level that enable com-parisons between countries and regions.
12 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
Roundup of News About Malta
EU gives Malta strongvote of confidence
AEFDD honours President
A Celebration ofCommonwealthCulture
Launch of CHOGM External Culture Programme
Foreign Minister Dr. George Vella (second left) at the launch of the CHOGM External Cul-ture Programme together with Phyllis Muscat, and other members of the culture committee
In recognition of her constant commitmentto initiatives conducive to mutual respect,
dialogue between different cultures andpeaceful coexistence among nations, MaltaPresident Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca hasbeen granted honorary life presidency ofArab European Forum for Development andDialogue (AEFDD).
In appreciation of the efforts made by thefounding members of the forum, and in viewof her belief in its goals the President ac-cepted the honour from the organisation thatis a locally registered non-governmental or-ganisation that provides a platform for dia-logue between Arab and European scholars,religious persons, professionals from varioussectors and public figures.
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 13
Roundup of News About Malta
Maltese governmentpleased with demand for IIP programme
Malta’s individual investor citizenship programme (IIP)has received hundreds of applications from more than40 nations and demand is set to remain strong in 2015,
according to advisors and agents, expatforum.com, the largestcommunity of expatriates on the internet with over 175,000 mem-bers has reported.Since its launch in early 2014 the IIP citizenship programme has
already attracted more than €450 million in Foreign Direct Invest-ment and Malta is now starting to see added benefits.The site goes on to explain about the programme, and that appli-
cants applying for citizenship have to invest at least €350,000 ona property for at least five years or rent an immovable propertyfor a minimum of €16,000 a year. They also have to contribute€650,000 to Malta’s National Development and Social Fund andfulfil other investments and obligations.Andrew J. Taylor (pictured below), a leading authority in strate-
gic international real estate advisoryfor private clients and developers, andalso vice chairman of Henley & Part-ners, which markets the programmeon behalf of the Maltese government,has been quoted saying that the levelof interest remains strong and many ofthe early applicants are now starting tomake ancillary investments outside ofthe Individual Investor Programmewithin the country.
He said” ‘this will lead to further in-creased inward investment and the fu-
ture creation of employment in Malta,” adding that demand isexpected to continue to be strong this year.
The largest number of applicants is from Russia, China and
South East Asia, and the first letters of citizenship approval inprinciple have been issued. The first applicants will be issued withtheir certificates of naturalisation soon after their contribution; in-vestment and residency requirements are fulfilled.Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has also been reported describing
the programme as innovative on a recent visit to London. “Theconcept of citizenship is fast evolving, and we want to be at theforefront of this innovation. The Individual Investor Programmeis the only citizenship-by-investment programme which is sanc-tioned by the European Commission,” he said.“It can be explained in one word: talent. We want to enhance our
competitiveness by increasing our talentpool and by increasing our global net-work. We believe that these are the newborders of a brave new world,” he added.
The IIP is aimed at ultra-high net-worth individuals and families world-wide and is marketed internationally byHenley & Partners for the Governmentof Malta.
In its report, expatforum.com alsoquoted the comments of property agentFrank Salt Real Estate agent (picturedabove) who said it has seen growing demand from overseas in-vestors to purchase property for permanent residency or citizenship. Meanwhile, marketing manager Nick Bilocca, has said that some
46% of clients in 2014 were from overseas, of which a third werelooking for property connected with the IIP and other schemes.The IIP grants citizenship to qualified, reputable foreign individ-
uals and families who make a significant contribution to the eco-nomic development of Malta. The programme intake is limited to1,800 main applicants, after which it will close.
Asurvey by the popular Sunday newspaperMaltaToday, indicates that Prime Minister
Joseph Muscat enjoys a significant strong 13-point lead over Opposition leader Simon Busuttil,which is only two points down from the last trustbarometer in March. The survey also registers thenarrowest trust gap between the two leaders sinceJune 2013, but Busuttil has not made any gainssince March of this year. It is also the narrowesttrust gap between the two leaders since June 2013
In the survey, the 500 respondents were askedwhom they trusted more between Joseph Muscatand Simon Busuttil. It also shows that people arehighly satisfied with Labour in office when itcomes to its economic performance but there’swidespread dissatisfaction with government onenvironmental and transparency issues.
PM Muscat enjoys13-point lead overOpposition Leader
Hundreds of people took part in aprotest in Valletta organised by
Front Harsien ODZ (FHO) against theproposed development of a private uni-versity in land outside developmentzones at Zonqor Point, Marsaskala.FHO spokesperson Michael Briguglio,
said the protest, that was backed by theAlternattiva Demokratika, the National-
ist Party, and several environmental andhuman rights NGOs, it was the greatestever protest to be held in Malta.
Urging the government to change itsposition on development on land at Zon-qor, he said that the environment belongsto all and that it has no political colour."It should not be taken away from pres-ent and future generations,” he said.
Issa donna li morna fl-es-trem l-ie˙or u donnu likul˙add jivvinta l-ismijietb’kultant it-tfal jing˙atawismijiet li attwalment humaismijiet strambi u redikoli limbag˙ad jikkawΩalhom˙afna mist˙ija u nkwietmeta jikbru.
Attwalment matul is-senali g˙addiet l-aktar ismijiet
popolari g˙at-trabi li twiel-du fl-2014 kienu: Luke(Luca), Matthew u Jake jewJacob g˙as-subien. G˙all-bniet, l-ismijiet l-aktarpopolari jibqg˙u Elena, Jul-ia u Emma.
Dan sa˙ansitra qal: “Football in Malta isdying a slow death. Players go to Malta tolearn how to fix a game.”Sintendi, meta qal dan ma naqasx li jsemmi Ω-
operaturi tal-log˙ob (gaming sector operators).Min˙abba f’hekk ne˙˙iet il-log˙ob (betting)fuq timijiet Maltin. S&D Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, li huwa l-
Sintendi dan l-ammont ta’ turiΩmu was-sal ukoll g˙al rata ta’ mpjieg g˙oli f’danis-settur. Fil-fatt matul l-2014 fl-industrijatat-turiΩmu, fejn g˙andha x’taqsam l-akkomodazzjoni kien hemm 5,476 per-
suna ja˙dmu full time u 3,528 part time,filwaqt li 4,488 u 6,464 ja˙dmu full timeu part time fis-settur tas-servizz, ikel uxorb.
Dan minbarra g˙add kbir ta’ impjegatio˙ra – xufiera, gwidi, bdiewa, eçç li indi-rettament ukoll gawdew minn dan l-influskbir ta’ turisti.Is-suççess f’dan is-settur qed anke jidher
mill-fatt li g˙add ta’ sidien ta’ lukandi,kemm Maltin u wkoll barranin, qed jin-vestu f’aktar sodod.
Fost dawn insibulil Spanja (tnaqqiskonsiderevoli ta’20.6%), ir-Russja,il-Libja u l-Ìer-manja. U˙ud mill-pajjiΩi msemmijajinsabu f’qag˙daekonomika pre-karja g˙all-a˙˙ar.
lokali kwaΩi ma jsib xejn li b’ximod jew ie˙or m’g˙andux x’jaq-sam mal-politika.
Tant qed jissemmew allegatiskandli, polemiçi dwar l-ambjent,impjiegi ta’ nies, allegat abbuΩieçç, li bilkemm ma ta˙sibx lininabu fl-aqwa tal-kampanja elet-torali.
Fil-Qorti qalu li ma kell-homx flus biΩΩejjed biexi˙allsu, allura se jag˙mludan bin-nifs, fi Ωmien disa’xhur.
Riedu iwaqqfu l-Ajruplan
It-Turizmu Pilastru
According to a re-port in the SMHAustralian offi-
cials paid thousands ofdollars to captain andcrew of a boat carryingasylum seekers, whowere then returned toIndonesia. Sixty-fourpeople from Bangladesh,Sri Lanka and Myanmar,who were seeking asy-lum in New Zealand,
had their boats inter-cepted and returned tothe island of Rote. It isalleged that Australianofficials paid the sixcrew members at least$7,000 each. Peter Dutton the Immi-
gration Minister refusedto confirm these seriousaccusations. It has be-come “policy” of the Ab-bott Government not tocomment on or discloseoperational details.They are calling this lat-est move as “unprece-dented” and even “aform of people smug-gling”. It appears thatanything goes as long asit stops the boats.
The Australia Govern-ment is facing pressureto explain the allega-tions from the UN HighCommissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) and
the Inter-n a t i o n a lOrganisa-tion forMigration( I O M ) .The Indon-esian Min-istry is say-ing, “thepush-backpolicy isa l r e a d ybad eno-ugh andnow if thisincident isconfirmed
it would be a new law inthe way this issue isbeing handled.
The question wouldthen arise whether thisconstitutes an authoritycollaborating and abet-ting with people smug-glers to re-traffic thepeople”.
An official from Timurprovince said sendingback to Indonesia theasylum seekers on twoboats with just a drumof fuel each was akin toa “suicide mission”, ask-ing: “Where is the hu-manity”.
He added: “We havenow given you the evi-dence, (showing photo-graphs of thousands ofUS dollars handed to thesmugglers) it is now upto you and other organi-sations to demand ananswer from the Aus-tralian government”.It now appears that the
practice of intelligenceagency officials payingmembers of people-smuggling networks, in-cluding boat ownersand crews goes back toabout 2010 under theRudd government.
The Prime Ministersaid, ”Australia will dowhatever is necessary,within the law, consis-tent with our standardsas a decent and humanesociety to stop the bo-ats”.
A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia
16 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
Many ways to stop the boats
Stamp duty and state governments
Coal and climate change
The Property Council of Australiahas released figures showing thecost of stamp duty to a home
buyer with an average-sized mortgagehas increased by 795 percent in Mel-bourne and 749 per cent in Sydney dur-ing the last 20 years. Property taxesmake up as much as 46 per cent of state,territory and local government budgets.
Stamp duty alone contributed morethat 20 per cent of the total revenue ofthe NSW, Victoria, Western Australiaand Northern Territory government. InNSW, it topped $5 billion for the firsttime this year. The cost of stamp duty over the life of
an average mortgage is now $61,542 inSydney, $56,616 in Melbourne, $49,701in Darwin, and $35,427 in Canberra, ac-cording to the council’s model.
The Property Council of Australia ar-gues state governments had to rely onstamp duty as a source of revenue be-cause GST has been untouched since itsintroduction in 1999.
Australia, with one of the world’shighest per-capita emissions “had
gone from leadership to free-rider sta-tus in climate change diplomacy. Apanel led by former UN secretary-gen-eral Kofi Annan, said Australia, the USand the EU should be aiming for a deepcarbon cuts by 2030 while China – thelargest emitter – should bring forwardits planned peak, the African ProgressPanel’s 2015 report said.
Africa, home to 600 million peoplewithout access to electricity has doneless to contribute to climate change, butno region will pay a higher price forfailure to tackle it. The report furthersaid that coal companies in Australia,the EU and US were campaigning vig-orously against climate change.
Police guard a wooden boat carryingRohingya migrants from Burma
Australia has been cautioned by theOECD to keep further interest ratecuts "in reserve" and that the coun-
try's booming housing market could be atrisk of a "sharp correction".
The warning from the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OEDC) came in its latest economic reporton Australia.
Given Australia was adjusting to its post-mining boom landscape, and consideringthe downside of rate cuts, the OECD saidthe country should continue to support in-vestment in non-commodity sectors, amongother areasIt also said it should consider measures to
boost competition, cuts to red tape and taxreforms in order to help boost growthAustralia's benchmark interest rate is at an
historic low. Analysts warn that cheap credithas fuelled a housing bubble in some cities.
In May, the Reserve Bank of Australia(RBA) cut its key interest rate by 25 basispoints to an all-time low of 2%.
Rising property prices in Australia'sbiggest city, Sydney, a strong currency anda drop in iron ore prices were among thereasons for the cut. But Australia's treasurysecretary John Fraser said that Sydney was"unequivocally" in a housing bubble.
A shortage of new houses, cheap credit andgenerous tax breaks,together with moneyfrom overseas inves-tors, sent city's hous-ing prices sky high.
Home prices ac-ross some of thebiggest cities surgedas much as 40% theOECD warned thatcontinuing momen-tum in Australia'sproperty market ad-ded "to the risk of asharp correction".
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard (above) speaking at For-tune Most Powerful Women, a London summit for successful
women picked out her own handling of sexist and misogynisticattacks as “one thing I absolutely did get wrong” – in that she did-n’t directly address it soon enough. “Instead of…policy dialogueit degenerated into “ditch the bitch” or “ditch the witch”. Asked if she had any advices for Hillary Clinton, the US presi-
dential candidate, Ms Gillard said Ms Clinton “has experienceenough of politics to not particularly need my advice”. However,she said, from her own time in power, “If anything happens that’ssexist you’ve got to call it out early rather than thinking it will allnormalise itself and just go away by itself”.
A quick glimpse at AustraliaA quick glimpse at Australia
Tuesday June 23, 2015 5 The Voice of the Maltese 17
The Government plans to strip citizenship from dual nation-als involved in terrorism could face a High Court chal-lenge. There is always a risk involved in every decision
like this, particularly around national security. The plan is being opposed because it gives the immigration min-
ister the power to revoke nationality even where someone has notbeen convicted of a crime. There is also some doubt about peoplebeing left stateless. The government has been pushing the opposition to declare its
support for the legislation. Labor has given in-principle supportto the idea of cancelling citizenship for suspected dual nationals
but has reserved final judgement regarding the expansion of min-isterial power. It appears that Mr. Abbott’s controversial proposal relies on the
courts being completely cut out of the process, arguing that lim-iting citizenship cancellation only to those people already con-victed of terrorism-related crimes by courts would render thechange “toothless”. It is being argued that in many cases law enforcement agencies
will know an Australian has been fighting with terrorist groupsbut will be unable to present sufficient eligible evidence to secureconviction.
The Dalai Lama, one of the world’smost revered spiritual leaders, in
Australia recently, said world reli-gious leaders have failed in their mis-sion to create a better world. “Frankly speaking, I am a Buddhist,
and even Buddha failed to bring apeaceful and happy society. If killingeach other, if crises, injustice andhuge gaps between rich and poor areOk, then there is no need to promoteethics, these things are a sad situa-tion, they are human created”
He said that among the supposedsix billion religious believers in theworld, some were “corrupted”.
Dual nationals and terrorism
They have
failed
Julia Gillard on sexism
OECD warns Australia to keepfurther rate cuts in reserve
The Dalai
Lama
18 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
Particularly duringthe winter monthsin Australia at a
time when Malta wouldbe basking under thesummer sun and the is-land becomes a Meccafor tourists, The Voice ofthe Maltese is inun-dated with requests,particularly from Mal-tese-Australians for in-formation about themost interesting placesto visit during theweeks they spend inMalta. They tell us thatthey don’t come toMalta just to meet rela-tives or go to the beach.
We like to oblige andfor the next few issues especially, butnot only, we would be focusing onsome of the interesting places oneshould visit during the stay to learnmore about the Maltese islands andtraditions.Malta is not only beaches, restaurants
or festas. It has so much more to offerthe visitor. In itself, Malta is in itself ahistorical place, with the remains datedback to 3600 BC.Our first visit is to the Óal Saflieni Hy-
pogeum, which is an underground pre-historic burial site dating back to 3600BC. Discovered in 1902 during con-struction works, the site, site, describedas a unique monument and superb ex-ample of architecture in the negative,consists of halls, chambers and pas-sages hewn out of the living rock andcovering some 500 square metresFr Emmanuel Magri first excavated it
between 1904 and 1906. After his deathin Tunisia, his excavation notes couldnot be found, but excavations weretaken over by Sir Themistocles (Temi)Zammit, who continued works until1911.
Excavation at the Hypogeum, or un-derground cavity which is in BurialStreet, Paola, is known to have yieldeda wealth of archaeological material in-cluding pottery, human bones, per-sonal ornaments such as beads andamulets, little carved animals andlarger figurines.
The Hypogeum consists of rock-cutchambers in diverse shapes and sizes,finished to different standards of work-manship, halls and passages hewn outof the living rock.
The complex is grouped in three lev-els – the upper level (3600-3300 BC),consisting of a large hollow with a cen-
tral passage and burial chambers cuton each side, the middle level (3300-3000 BC), made up of various cham-bers very smoothly finished, whichgive the impression of built masonry,and the lower level (3150 -2500 BC),with the deepest room being 10.6 me-tres under road surface.
The Hypogeum was first opened tovisitors in 1908 and since then it hasbeen visited by many thousands ofpeople. Unfortunately, this has had atoll on the delicate microclimate of thesite that has affected the preservationof the site and the unique red ochrepaintings.
For this reason, after a conservationproject that saw the site closed for 10years between 1990 and 2000, a newsystem was established in which only10 visitors an hour are allowed in for amaximum of eight hours a day (start-
ing on the hour from 9.00 till 16.00.Each tour is complemented by an en-vironmental control system thatkeeps temperature and humidity atrequired levels.
A tour of the site starts with a briefintroductory exhibition and multi-lingual audio-visual presentation fo-cusing on the temple buildingpeoples and the Hypogeum's rela-tionship to Malta's temple sites.
Would be visitors are advised tobook ahead as tours are often full upto weeks in advance. One can bookonline for most of the tours by ac-cessing the Heritage Malta websiteusing the links below. Tickets arealso available from the HypogeumVisitor Centre in Paola and from theNational Museum of Archaeology inValletta.
NOTE: The Hypogeum will beclosed from 3rd August 3 to April2016 due to conservation andrestoration works.
The Óal Saflieni HypogeumThe beautifully crafted interconnect-ing chambers of the underground ÓalSaflieni Hypogeum, a shrine or burialchamber, which was once the restingplace of some 7000 human bodies.
a) Mag˙Ωulin (we˙idhom): dawk, u˙ud, min, ie˙or,itom, a˙na, din, hija.
b) MehmuΩin (li jing˙aqdu): i, ja, ni, ek, ok, k, u, h,ha, na, kom, hom,
3. Il-Pronomi jonqasmu f’: a) Personali li huma: jiena/jien, inti/int, huwa/hu,
a˙na, intom, huma.
b) Relattivi li huma: min, xi, kull, li.
ç) Dimostrattivi li huma: dan/dana, din/dina,
dak/daka, dik/dika, dawn/dawna, dawk/dawka.d) Riflessivi li huma: jien innisi, inti nnifsek, hu
nnifsu, hi nnifisha, a˙na nfusna, intom infuskom, humanfushom.
4. Il-Pronom jista’ jkun ta’ G˙add Singular jew Pluralu ta’ Ìens Maskil jew Femminil. Ez.: jien (Sing.); a˙na(Plur.); huwa (Mask.): hija (Femm.).
5. Il-Pronomi Personalu huma ta’ tliet persuni kemmfis-Singular kif ukoll fil-Plural. Dawn huma:
L-ewwel Persuna Jiena (jien) A˙naIt-tieni Persna Inti (int) IntomIt-tielet Persna Maskil Huwa (hu) Huma
“ “ Femminil (hi) “
(Dab’o˙ra nittrattaw il-Pronomi MehmuΩin)
Biex tikteb Malti tajjebIl-Pronom
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 19
NINU CREMONA
Ninu Cremona, jew is-Sur Nin kif ˙afna kienu jafuh) twieled fir-Rabat, G˙awdex iben Feliç u Margaret née Pace fis-27 ta’Mejju 1880. Huwa tilef lil misieru meta kien g˙ad kellu biss
tlett snin u fl-1885 mar jg˙ix ma’ zijuh f’Tuneż. Hemm attenda l-iskola tal-Christian Brothers u aktar tard studja fis-St Charles Col-lege.
ewwel g˙alliem tal-Malti fil-Liçeo. MaΩ-Ωmien kien anke sar wie˙edmill-eΩaminaturi tal-Maltifl-Università. Imma forsi Ninu Cre-
mona jibqa’ miftakar l-aktar b˙ala wie˙edmill-fundaturi tal-G˙aqdatal-Kittieba tal-Malti(illum l-Akkademja tal-Malti). Kellu l-kariga ta’viçi-president u kien ukollwie˙ed mill-edituri tar-rivista tal-G˙aqda, Il-Malti. Flimkien ma’o˙rajn, fosthom ÌanniVassallo, fasslu l-or-tografija Maltija. Ninu kien kittieb pro-
lifiku u j˙obb id-drama,bl-aqwa xogħol tieg˙ujkun dramm imsejjes fuq
l-istruttura klassika tal-Griegi, bl-isemta’, Il-Fidwa tal-Bdiewa. Fost il-kotba minn tieg˙u nsibu, Weraq
Ninu Cremona xandar ukoll studji bħal: L’Antica Fondazione dellaScuola di Lingwa Araba in Malta (1955), La Marina Maltese dal MedioEvo all’Epoca Moderna (1964). Kien ukoll espert dwar il-Folklor kifwera fil-kitbiet: Maltese Funeral Customs (1922), Race, Language,and Myth (1922), Mourning and Funeral Customs in Malta (1923),Some Myths and Beliefs in Maltese Folklore (1923), Weather andHusbandry Lore in the Isles of Malta (1925), Is the Maid of Mosta aMyth? (1934) u Folklore u Lsien Malti (1944).
Fl-1946 ing˙ata l-midalja tad-deheb ÌuΩe`Muscat Azzopardi, fil-waqt li fl-1960, b˙ala g˙arfien g˙all-˙idma kbira tieg˙u fil-qasamletterarju, grammatikali u xjentifiku tal-Ilsien Malti, l-UniversitàRjali ta’ Malta tag˙tu l- Honoris Causa tad-Dottorat tal-Letteratura.
Classes are available for students from 6 years to adults at all levels of ability in theMaltese language. We have trained and experienced teachers qualified in
language teaching and with Maltese study credentials. Learn the Maltese language,the culture, lifestyle, cuisine, traditions and about the amazing history of the island.
Classes at: HORSLEY PARK - SEVEN HILLS - LUDDENHAM
For more information and enquiries Call Mary on 9601 2189Or email: [email protected]
Supported by the Minister of Education and Training and the NSW Community Languages Schools Programme.Member of the NSW Federation of Community Language Schools of NSW; Member of the Federation of
Maltese Language Schools of Australia; Supported by 16 Maltese associations affiliated with the MCCof NSW. The Maltese Language School of NSW is a Not-For-Profit organisation.
A Division of the Maltese Com-munity Council of NSW Inc.
Fuq Radju Malta (www.pbs.com.mt) kull nhar ta’ Ìimg˙a fis-2.30 p.m. TippreΩenta Josephine Zammit Cordina
Follow The Voice of the Maltese online magazine everyfortnight and also join us on our facebook page:
Dedication we have lots of; when it comes to time, we find it aswhen dedicatiing oneself to a cause, it’s there. A third ingredi-
ent needed to produce an online magazine such as The Voice of theMaltese is financial. To offset that, of late, the production team hasbeen seeking sponsors to help us share that burden with us.
Some have responded positively by advertising the services theyoffer to their clients on our publication. There is need for more, butat least it’s a start. We call upon others to follow them.
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THE GROUP SANTA MARIJATHE GROUP SANTA MARIJASydney Sydney
is celebrating its Annual is celebrating its Annual Dinner Dance on SaturdayDinner Dance on Saturday
August 8 at 7.00 pm at August 8 at 7.00 pm at the Balmoral Centre, the Balmoral Centre,
With a four-course mealWith a four-course mealIncluding beer, wine, softIncluding beer, wine, softdrinks cassata ice cream drinks cassata ice cream
and tea & coffeeand tea & coffee
ENTERTAINMENT: providedENTERTAINMENT: providedby The Facon’s Bandby The Facon’s Band
with Special Guestwith Special GuestSTACEY SALIBASTACEY SALIBA
Donation.... $60.00 Donation.... $60.00 Children U/12.....$30.00Children U/12.....$30.00
Come and let’s celebrate toCome and let’s celebrate to--gether with our Lady Queen ofgether with our Lady Queen of
Peace Maltese Band of NSWPeace Maltese Band of NSW
For more info/tickets call:For more info/tickets call:AGNES: 9626 6753 Mob: 0432 714 735AGNES: 9626 6753 Mob: 0432 714 735
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THE MALTESE - AUSTRALIANGOLD COAST
ASS. INC.Is celebrating:
MALTA DAYOn Sunday August 16 atCasey Hall on Fairway
Drive, Clear Island Waterson the GOLD COAST Qld. from 10.30 am- 4.00 pm
This will be a Maltese style fiera, a festival with a variety of tra-ditional dishes, including Fenkata (rabbit stew), timpana
(baked macaroni), ross il-forn (baked savoury rice), pastizzi,and a selection of traditional cakes and sweets, including themuch-loved ricotta cannoli, imqaret and the soft drink Kinnie.
Other attractions will include: Live entertainment, raffles, dis-plays,folklore music and DVD’S of MALTA and it’s history.
Entry is free. Everybody is invited. Bring along family and friends.
For further information contact: Margaret Grima on55763441or Judith Padovani on 55290654
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 21
GEORGE CROSS FALCONS CLUB Inc.GEORGE CROSS FALCONS CLUB Inc.(25-27 Lake Ave Cringila NSW 2502, (02) 4273 0906 [email protected])
Seniors’ Day Every MondayHome-made cooked two-course meal, tea and cof-
fee Bingo and dancing lessonsComputers available for usage.
Cost only $5.00. Sponsored by MCCI Illawarra.Phone 42 746121 and leave a message
UTS Sydney - Free English classes
As part of its Teachers Training for2015, the University of Technology(UTS) Sydney - Insearch is offeringfree English classes designed toimprove one’s speaking and listen-ing skills. Following is the pro-gramme for this year:
July 6 - July 31 (1.30pm to 3.30 pmMonday to Friday)August 11 - October 15 (6.00p.m-8.00pm Tuesday & Thursday evening)October 20 -December 23 (6.00pm-8.00pm Tuesday & Thursday evening)
If interested call 92188646, fax92114334 or email:
Student Centre, Ground Floor, 187Thomas Street Sydney NSW 2000
(corner Quay & Thomas Street Chinatown).
Students must be at least 16 years old
FRIENDS OF PROVIDENCE HOUSE NSW(Formed in November 2011)
ANNOUNCES:
18 Day Fly – Cruise – Stay – TourCommencing September 19, 2015
Visiting Perth – Bali – Thailand – Malaysia – Singapore.Fantastic Tour – Great value – All inclusive from $3650 p/p
Proceeds to be donated to Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Malta.
For brochure or bookings call Jim Borg on (02) 9636 7767.Note: Donations to Id-Dar tal-Providenza can now be made
in Australia at any Commonwealth Bank. A/C Name: Friends of Providence House NSWBSB: 062 416 A/C No. 10199448
This will save you the normal bank fees. Please supply name and address so an acknowledgement can be issued.
Proudly supported by:
Cnr Main & Campbell Sts, Blacktown. Contact George Vella Tel (02) 9622 7799
St Helena Maltese/Aust. SC
Community NewsCommunity News
Programme for the rest of 2015JULY 18: (Saturday): Function at Albion AUGUST 21: (Friday): Feast Mass at ArdeerAUGUST 22: (Saturday): Feast dinner dance at Melrose AUGUST 23: (Sunday): 35th Anniversary feast at Ardeer SEPTEMBER 19: (Saturday): Functioin at AlbionOCTOBER 24: (Saturday): Function at Parkville OCTOBER 25: (Sunday): AGM meet at Parkville NOVEMBER 14: (Saturday): Function at Holy Eucharist DECEMBER 19: (Saturday): Xmas function at Melrose.
(For bookings or more information
phone Victor: 0412 99 13 25)
SAINT NICHOLAS FESTA COMMITTEE
Other activities this year:Sunday July 5: Lejla fil-Buskett ; Sunday October
18: Spring Fiera; Sunday December 6: Feast of St Nicholas
For further information call Bill Schembri: 0416 261 415.
Presents......
The Feast of Saints Peter & Paul(Festa L’Imnarja and Lejla fil-Buskett)
On Sunday July 5 at the Good ShepherdParish Hall 130-136 Hyatts Rd Plumpton
Starting with Classic Cars and Bikes at 12.00 Noon
1.30pm till 6.00pm: Entertainment, Arts & Crafts and Agriculture Displays
There will also be music & singing featuringRon Borg, Joe Xuereb & Tony Fenech
Refreshments of Maltese foods and drink,tea & coffee will be available.
ENTRANCE IS FREE - ALL UNDER COVEREVERYONE WELCOME
For more information please ring:Vice President: Charlie Gatt - 9671 3919 or
Public Relations Officer: Joe Fenech - 96280481
Maltese Association – Hobsons Bay Inc.NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE
Tluq miç-çentru f’21, Collins Ave. Altona East nhar is-Sibt 4 ta’ Lulju fis-7.00 a.m.
G˙al aktar tag˙rif wie˙ed g˙andu jçempel lil Joe fuq: 0400357001, jew lil Carmen: 0413 386 714
22 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
Meetings of DayCare Maltese
Groups in NSWFairfield Active Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Tuesday of the Month
from10:00am to 12 noon. The group meets in the Parish Hall, cnr
of Stella Street & The Boulevard, Fair-field Heights.
Maltese Seniors Central CoastGroup Meetings for Maltese livingat the Central Coast: are held everysecond Monday of each month from
10 am to 12 at Wyong RSL, cnrAnzac & Margaret Street Wyong.
For more information Tel: 02 439 000 12 or 0414 267 652
On SBS Radio - Day Time Analogue DigitalTuesday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Thursday: 12:00-13:00 SBS Radio 3Friday: 12:00-13:00 97.7fm SBS Radio 2Saturday: 14:00-15:00: 97.7fm SBS Radio 2To tune into digital radio you need receiveror device with a DAB+ chip.Tuning in is by station name not fre-
quency. Digital radio can also be heardon digital TV. SBS Radio 2 is on Chan-nel 38 and SBS.Radio 3 is on Channel 39. Analogue is
the present FMwavelength. Digital radiocan also be accessed by a smart phoneand/or by going online at HYPERLINK:http://www.sbs.com.au, www.sbs.com.au
Maltese Radio ProgrammesMELBOURNE, on 3ZZZ 92.3FM or onwww.3zzz.com.au. Mondays 5pm, Fridays5pm, Saturdays 10am.; Last Wednesdayeach month at 1pm.
MELBOURNE on 98.9 North West FM,each Friday 6.00 - 7.00p.m. Presenter Em-manuel Brincat.
MELBOURNE: STEREO 974 (93180930):97.4FM Wed (Maltese Magazine) & Thurs-day (Merhba): 6.00pm to 8.00 pm Co-ordi-nator – Ray Anastasi
In SYDNEY, listen to the MCC radio pro-gramme Sunday at 11am 2GLF FM 89.3, oron demand: www.893fm.com.au
In BRISBANE listen to the Maltese Pro-gram on 4EB on Tuesdays 6.00 -8.15am;Sundays 4.15pm to 5.15pm
UNCLE SAM DJ (Maltese Radio) tune into link: www.unclesamdj.com
The SBS MALTESE NEWS L-A˙barijiet on SBS TV twice a week nationwide Sunday at8.00 am on SBS2 (Chan. 32); Thursdays at 8.05 am on SBS2
*(All Groups are Sponsored by The Maltese Community Council ofNSW). Please contact the MCC Welfare Officer: Marisa Previtera JPon 0414 863 123. The MCC offices are at 59b Franklin Street MaysHill NSW (next to West Parramatta Primary School)
Daceyville Maltese SeniorsMeets on the last Wednesday of the
month in the Meeting Room One, No. 3General Bridges Crescent, Daceyville.Note: The Groups also arrange regular Bus TripsCome and join us and make new friends.
Merrylands Social Maltese SeniorsMeets every second Friday of the
month; Miller Room, Memorial AvenueMerrylands from 10.30am to 12.30 am
Llandillo Maltese SeniorsMeets on the first Wednesday of the
month at the Llandilo Community Hall,Seventh Avenue, from 11am to 1pm.
Greystanes Maltese SeniorsMeets on the second Monday of the
month n the George Preca Centre ofOLQP Church, 198 Old Prospect Road,Greystanes from 10 am to 12 noon
The Sutherland & St GeorgeMaltese Group
Ongoing: We meet every First Wednesdayof the Month from 10:00am-1:00pm
Our Meetings/Get Togethers are inter-esting, informative & entertaining. Come Join us and make new Friends
For more information contact our Coor-dinator: Charles Mifsud J.P.Phone (02)9501 5525 – mobile 0421 662 298.
VIVA MALTAVIVA MALTA on Central CoastRadio: July 2, 16 and 30; August 13
and 17 - from 6 pm -7 pm on COASTFM 96.3 Community Radio in Gosford
NSW. Presenter: Nathalie Gatt. Web streaming on: www.coastfm.org.au.
Isma’ l-programm tar-radjubil-Malti mill-Kunsill Maltita’ NSW minn fuq l-istaz-
zjon 2GLF 89.3FM.Jista’ wkoll jinstema’ On De-
mand minn fuq l-Internetwww.893fm.com.au
(On Demand >Ethnic >Maltese Council 11am)Fi programm ta’ sieg˙a nhar ta’ Óadd
fil-11.00 ikun fih l-a˙˙ar a˙barijietminn Malta, muΩika, tag˙rif, kultura,
Mhux biss, imma min irid isegwi dak lijkun g˙addej, kull filg˙odu in ta' Maltafuq il-website jittellg˙u wkoll l-a˙barijiettal-jum ta' qabel.
L-ahbarijiet tal-PBS (Malta)
Community NewsCommunity News
The Maltese Language School of NSW is plan-ning to open new classes in the Western Sub-urbs of Sydney in the teaching of the MalteseLanguage. We need new teachers (paid posi-tions) for these classes. Those who are inter-ested in teaching this languageshould apply:[email protected]
Malta was one of 50p a r t i c i p a t i n gcountries in the
Baku 2015 EuropeanGames, Azerbaijan - thefirst-ever major multi-sportevent for the entire conti-nent that brought togethermore than 6,000 of the con-tinent’s finest athletes over17 days of competition, in arange of traditional and in-novative sports.
The Baku 2015 EuropeanGames – June 12-28 – arefeaturing a total of 20sports: 16 Olympic and fournon-Olympic sports. Malta has been represented by 59athletes in seven sports:Athletics, Badminton Cy-cling, Judo, Shooting, Tria-thlon and Waterpolo. Thelast remaining participationfor Maltese athletes will bein Judo June 26-27.
Most of the Maltese ath-letes selected for the Gamesmade the trip not because ofminimum qualifying stan-dards but through direct invi-tation, except the Water-poloU-17 team, which qualifiedon its own merit.At least 11 sports are offer-
ing qualification opportuni-ties for the Rio 2016Summer Olympic Games.By the end of the Games, injust a few more days, ath-letes will have competed for
245 gold medals. When it comes to Malta’s
participation, the Water-polo team was the first inaction on the second day ofcompetition. It rounded upits commitments with fivedefeats from as many gamesto finish in a disappointinglast place out of 16 teams.
The Malta team lost all itsthree Group D matchesagainst Spain, Serbia andSlovakia, conceding 55goals in the process. Maltalost 3-18 to Serbia; 8-15 toSlovakia and 4-22 to Spain.
Then it also lost the twomatches for final placing,by 7-8 to Azerbaijan, and inthe 15-16th place match 8-13 to Ukraine. Triathlon: In thewomen’s
event Danika Bonello Spi-teri finished 37th from 47starters, but Hannah Pacefailed to finish the distance,while in the Men’s eventKeith Galea was lapped (in54th from 57)
Shooting: Nathan LeeXuereb just failed by threehits to make it to the finalround of the Double Trap,hitting 137 clays from apossible 150. In theWomen’s 10m Air Pistol,Eleanor Bezzina finished32nd from 36.
Cycling: Michelle Vellawas one of the 16 failing to
finish the 120.7km Roadrace from 67 cyclist The same fate for Maurice
Frmosa in the Men’s roadrace (215.8 km). He wasone of the 29 cylists among125 who did not finish
Malta is also scheduled tocompete in Athletics, Bad-minton(in Men’s an Wom-en’s Singles group), and onthe final two days, in theJudo preliminaries
The Baku 2015 Games, or-ganised by the EuropeanOlympic Committees (EOC)are the brainchild of Euro-pean Olympic Committee(EOC) president PatrickHickey who proposed theidea of staging the continen-tal championships in 2011.
On a day when Parramatta City reflected on itsproud history, June 14, Blacktown City’s TravisMajor tarnished their day when he scored anearly goal for the away team that proved the dif-ference between the two sides in the inauguralHeritage Round match at Melita Stadium.
Then Parramatta suffered another defeat atSutherland last Sautrday by 2-1 on a day whenthree matches were washed out.
Against Blacktown City,he away team’s Major,pounced in the eighthminute to turn home the de-cisive goal of the contestafter Parramatta goalkeeperLuke Turnbull could onlyparry a fierce Patrick An-telmi strike into the scorer’spath.
The Eagles’ resilient per-formance that however left
them empty-handed was not repeated in Satur-day’s game. The fact that they took an earlylead throgh Marco Sama, at Sutherland did nothelp much. They conceded the leveller 12 min-utes later and then suffered the all-importantgoal three minutes into the secnd half.The back-to-back defeats certainly did not helptheir cause as they stay in the penultimate posi-tion in the league ladder. five ahead of Marconi.
Tuesday June 23, 2015 The Voice of the Maltese 23
Spor tsSpor ts 11The Malta Team at the march past dur-ing the opening ceremony in Azerbaijan.
Round 15Sutherland S. v Parramatta Marconi S. v Rockdale CSBlacktown S v Manly U v Sydney O. v APIABlacktown C v BrownriggSouth Coast W. v Sydney U
Round 14Mounties W v Macarthur Rams pos..
2-10-13-2
pos.pos.pos.
PS4N PL2 NSW
Round 14Parramatta v Blacktown CBrownrigg v Sydney O.APIA v Marconi S.Sydney U v Blacktown S South Coast W. v Sutherland S.Rockdale CS v Manly U.
Round 13North. Tigers v Mounties W 4-1
0-13-16-21-63-04-0
Results
Back-to-back defeats for the Eagles of Parramatta Football: PS4 NPL 1 NSW
Hibernians and Malta international mid-fielder Andrew Cohen, 34, has beennamed Footballer of the Year for thirdtime in his career following similar suc-cesses in seasons 2004/05 and 2005/06.Cohen was widely acclaimed for the
prominent role he played during theleague campaign that let to Hibs’ titlesuccess. He was regarded as front-runnerfor the award.
He also became only the second playerto win the coveted award for a third timeafter former Valletta striker GilbertAgius. Ironically, Cohen was left out of the na-
tional team in the Euro 2016 match inMalta against Bulgaria.
3rd Footballer of Yeartitle for Andrew Cohen
The Premier League draws for sea-son 2015/16 have been made and onthe first day, on August 21, champi-ons Hibernians were drawn to meetBalzan FC, the only team that man-aged to beat them last season.
The rest of the first day’s pro-gramme is: Naxxar Lions v TarxienRainbows, Valletta v Pembroke Ath-leta, Mosta v Qormi, St Andrews vSliema Wanderers, and Birkirkara vFloriana.
Champions Hibs kick-off 2015/16 v Balzan
Having obtained a rare victory in aninternational match a few days ear-
lier, Malta’s national football team wasexpected to fare much better than losing1-0 at the National Stadium against Bul-garia in a EURO 16 tie. However, itwas not to be.
Malta shared much of the exchangesbut were lucky to wrap up the first 45minutes 0-0 after the Bulgars missed apenalty in stoppage time when Ilian Mi-canski hit wide from the spot.But Bulgaria got the all-important goal
on 56 minutes through Ivelin Popov.Four days by Nigerian-born Alfred Ef-
fiong.
Slender-goal loss forMalta against Bulgaria
Malta participates in firstEuro Games at Baku 2015
It was an afternoon that brought tears tothe eyes of the supporters of the greatMelita Eagles FC founded in 1956. Fed-
eration NSW sponsored the Heritage Roundon Saturday June 14. To mark the occasion,before kick-off of the Parramatta FC vBlacktown City game at Melita Stadium,this club with a magnificent history remem-bered and honoured the founders of theclub, other administrators, and past coachesand players. George Ellul, who this year marks up half a
century of uninterrupted service to the clubnow known as Parramatta FC (since the foot-ball teams were taken over by the GranvilleDistrict Football Association), headed thehistoric roll call that included the founders ofthe club and other administrators. The crowd was also thrilled once again to
the nostalgic sound of the theme song of theclub in Maltese, “Ma tag˙mlu xejn ma' tal-Melita” played by trumpeters AnthonyTheuma and George Attard.
Sam Vella, Lawrence Dimech and LinoVella, three of the founders of the club were
given mementoes as atoken of appreciation.The same to formercoaches, Raul Blanco,Rale Rasic, Brain Deanand Trevor Morgan.
Former players able toattend the historic occa-sion like Marshall Soper,Hector Martinez, KevinMolyneaux, Gus Serro,Richie Williams, HugoGiminez, Malcolm Mej-lak, Mirko Jurilj, GlennMejlak, Ben Delicata,and Daniel Borg werealso honoured.
Speaking to The Voiceof the Maltese, George Ellul said that “MelitaEagles has punched above its weight in foot-ball NSW and as a Maltese-based club hasgiven the community respect, glory andmany successes in the most competitive sportof all, the world game”.
There is no doubt that Melita Eagles, nowParramatta Melita Eagles still remains themost supported organisation the Maltese com-munity has ever had in NSW.
Parramatta FC (Parramatta Melita Eagles),are an Australian soccer club based in SouthGranville NSW. They played several seasonsin the National Soccer League winning theNSL Cup twice in 1990/91 and 1993/94, andlater the NSW Premier League in variousforms on six occasions - 1985, 1988, 1989,1996, 1997, 2001/2002. They currently com-pete in the PS4NPL NSW Men’s 1.
Maltese immigrants formed Melita Eaglesin 1956 after the amalgamation of two Mal-Soccer Club.
In 1962 they changed their name to MelitaEagles-Newtown.
Melita Eagles know their origins in theMaltese community and stretch back to theformation of the original NSW Federationof Soccer Clubs in 1957. Along with higherprofile clubs like Prague, Hakoah, APIALeichhardt, St George, Pan-Hellenic andothers they were part of the original break-away movement that saw the death of theold NSW Soccer Football Association inJanuary 1957.Parramatta’s current coach Franco Con-sentino – a former Eagles player himself –said the pre-game ceremony was a touchingtribute and a great reminder of the impacthis club has had on Australian football.
“I played here as well, and to see the oldboys back was great. The club has a lot his-tory and has been one of the greatest forcesin Australian soccer over the years, so itwas a nice touch” Consentino said.
Spor tsSpor ts 2224 The Voice of the Maltese Tuesday June 23, 2015
History remembered at theMelita Stadium
George Ellul (red shirt) leading outthe team on the historic occasion
Melita Eagles’ heritage group made up of coaches, players and administrators
Trumpeter and fan Anthony Theumaplaying the Eagles’ nostalgic theme song
