A Maltese flag and welcome sign greeted Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Mrs Catherine Gonzi as they stepped off the plane in Adelaide on the second day of their visit to Australia. The Maltese delegation was met by the honorary consul for Malta in South Australia, Frank L. Scicluna, who emigrated here in 1965.

Adelaide counts 1,500 first generation Maltese among its population and in all, there are around 5,000 people of Maltese descent. It was for this reason that a need was felt to set up a church for Maltese parishioners, Christ the King Church in the town of Lockleys, and it was here that Dr Gonzi made his first stop.

The Maltese chaplain in South Australia, Fr Gabriel Micallef, explained how the first Maltese migrants who arrived in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s brought with them their strong Catholic faith, and how this same community is now an ageing one which requires even more attention. The embossed windowpanes are a reminder of those who have passed away with the inscription “Please pray for…” followed by various Maltese names.

Dr Gonzi spoke of how the spiritual aspect of Maltese culture is reflected in places such as this church and the importance of retaining this link with Malta. “It is particularly appropriate that today, 1 August, the extension of our dual citizenship arrangement with Australia has come into force. As from today, it will be possible for second generation Maltese persons born abroad to acquire Maltese citizenship through a simple registration procedure, while still residing outside Malta. Their children shall also have this possibility provided that the parent has acquired Maltese citizenship and that the applicant can prove that he is a descendent of someone born in Malta.”

The next stop was St Raphael’s Home run by Maltese Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus. Here the nuns had arranged a table with Maltese memorabilia: Maltese lace, dolls dressed in traditional costumes and tea towels on which was written a recipe for a typical Maltese rabbit stew. There are 33 elderly residents of different nationalities at the home, three of whom are over 100 years of age. Sister Natalia, originally from Birkirkara, is one of the eight Maltese nuns who takes care of the residents and has been in Australia for 48 years.

The sisters were clearly charmed by the Prime Minister, who joked with them good-naturedly as he posed for a photo. A chihuahua named Queenie, belonging to one of the nuns, also wandered over, apparently wanting to be in the photo as well.

“Everywhere I’ve visited I’ve been greeted by the Maltese flag, but the real Maltese flag are the values you represent,” he told them. His gifts of an icon of Saint Gorg Preca and a copy of the DVD of the Maltese saint’s canonisation were met with gasps of pure joy.

The Maltese delegation was ushered into the nuns’ sitting room, but with his customary knack for doing away with formality, Dr Gonzi insisted on sitting with them in their small, homely kitchen, while the sisters bustled about, offering everyone refreshments and home-made cakes.

The Town Hall City Centre was the venue for the last visit of the day where the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Michael Harbison, hosted an official reception. Here, around 200 members of the Maltese community were lined up, eager to shake the Prime Minister’s hand. Our Lady Queen of Victories Band, made up entirely of Maltese musicians young and old, gave a lively performance of familiar band marches as well as a rendition of the well-known tune, Tini Jdejk.

“We consider the Maltese to be part of our Australian family,” said Mr Harbison, and to prove his point, he quipped that his own daughter was dating a Maltese boy – a remark which was met with a loud cheer.

Dr Gonzi said that, “From what I have seen, it is evident that the Maltese community has not only integrated well in Australia, but its members play an active role in this country.”

The merging of the various ethnic groups in Australia was demonstrated by a speech given in Aboriginal dialect by Josie Agius (whose deceased husband was Maltese) from Kuanaland. She was there with members of her extended family, and their presence at this reception was a very significant one.

There has been a concentrated effort in recent times to make amends with the Aborigines, the original owners of this land, who have suffered a lot of injustices in Australia. Involving them in such official events as welcoming the Maltese Prime Minister was an example of this, and they proudly presented Dr Gonzi with traditional Aborigine gifts, including the boomerang “in the hope that you will come back,” they told him.