As Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s tour of Australia progresses, it is clear that it is the original Malta-born migrants who are the ones most eager to meet him. To them, Malta represents the beloved country they were constrained to leave behind in their youth in search of employment.

At the Maltese Cultural Centre in Beverley, the lined, aged faces of those first emigrants broke into smiles at the words of the relatively young Prime Minister.

“I was born in 1953, the year when this centre was first established,” he told them with his customary knack for giving his speeches a personal touch.

Speaking of the importance of retaining one’s roots, Dr Gonzi praised Honorary Consul Frank Scicluna and his wife Josephine, both former teachers, who teach Maltese at this centre for the younger generation.

They are also planning to form an association so that the Maltese language and identity are not lost.

“It is vitally important to keep the Maltese language alive and we will do everything we can to support this initiative,” said Dr Gonzi. “It is such a pleasure to hear those of you who were born in Malta still speaking in your mother tongue, but it is crucial that your children and their children also continue to speak the language. The decision to extend Maltese citizenship to them as well is one way of retaining this identity.

“Although it will not give them the right to vote, they will be able to enjoy all the benefits we have as EU citizens,” the Prime Minister said.

Frank Scicluna pointed out that the Maltese have been in South Australia for 200 years and the Maltese community here is very proud of the fact that the cultural centre is actually owned by them rather than just leased. In welcoming Dr Gonzi, Mr Scicluna was careful to point out that Opposition Leader Alfred Sant was also welcomed in the same way when he visited Australia some time ago.

Mr Scicluna spoke of Malta’s progress over the last few years – an evident reference to the fact that many of these Maltese-Australians assume that the Malta they left behind in the 50s has remained stuck in a time warp. Ironically, however, this is a community which still clings to such deep-rooted cultural traditions as il-Muzew.

Australian hats normally worn in the outback were presented to the Prime Minister and his wife, although it was Mrs Catherine Gonzi who laughingly put the hat on straight away, followed rather more reluctantly by Dr Gonzi. A very down-to-earth woman, Mrs Gonzi has made a hit with Maltese-Australians who have all responded to her warm, unpretentious nature.

Everyone is eager to tell you their story: each with its own pathos, ups and downs, and ultimately, success.

Freddie Richard was born in Cospicua, but grew up in Hamrun where he played for the locality’s football team. He has been in Australia for 50 years, coming to live with his aunt when he was just 17. “When you’re a young man and you want to take a girl out, but have no money in your pocket, it’s very hard. So I left.”

He admits the first six months were the worst, “I was very homesick and wanted to go back to Malta. I couldn’t get used to the long distances here,” he says. Then he met his future wife and things got better. “In those days, if you lost one job, you could get another one just like that.”

“Although I have friends of all nationalities, my best friends are Maltese,” said Philip Catania. He and his wife Rita are originally from Qrendi. They have been here for 33 years and he is well-known for his delicious pastizzi, which are popular with Italians, Greeks and the Australians. “I used to work in a quarry, making just Lm7 a week, and it was very tough. The last time I went back to Malta was in 1978 and I spent a year there. But I could never go back to Malta for good because of my children.”

Charles Mallia, originally from Zejtun, had good jobs in Malta as a driver, first with the army, the dockyard, and later an oil company. When the company offered him the chance to come to Australia with his wife and four children, he took it.

“I have been here 51 years,” said this sprightly elderly gentleman, who looks much younger than his 84 years. He made a good living driving large lorries for a government department. Sadly, he lost his wife in a car accident in 1968 and raised his children single-handedly with the help of his married daughter.

Today he lives a full life, gardening, fishing, going to his various clubs, and enjoying his large family which has grown to nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren: “They all take care of me now; I have a very good family, so how can I leave them to come back to Malta?”

After lunching with the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, MP, the Maltese delegation headed for the Zoological Gardens. It was a rather incongruous coverage for the press, following Dr Gonzi around as he petted kangaroos and koalas, but there were some light-hearted moments. Seeing the cameras, some Australian schoolchildren wanted to be photographed “in order to become famous”.

This was followed by a visit to the Old People’s Home at Melita House, a government-funded home which gives priority access to various ethnic groups. It currently houses 10 Maltese residents and provides home help by Maltese volunteers for another 39. As the Maltese population in Australia ages, it becomes more and more nostalgic for its own traditions. This home provides a meals on wheels service with home-made Maltese food such as timpana, kannoli, pastizzi and mqaret. It may not be the healthiest option, but the comfort it provides to these elderly Maltese-Australians is probably more important at this stage in their life than the worry of high cholesterol.

Today the Maltese delegation leaves for Melbourne where it will spend four days.