Josephine Zammit Cardona will turn 74 in November. At her age, most have chosen to retire to a quieter life. Instead, Mrs Zammit Cordina still undertakes six week long journeys to Australia, plays principal parts in Malta's most popular television shows and is the producer and presenter of one of the longest running radio programmes.
Josephine Zammit Cordina was born in Hamrun to an army pharmacist father. Although she started her education in Malta, first at the Government Primary School in Birkirkara and then at St Louis Grammar School in Sliema, her father's work soon took the family all the way to Egypt.
She says, "After a short while at St Louis, my family moved to Suez, Egypt. Life in Egypt was different, very exciting. I attended the British School - a very expensive school. Fortunately my school fees were covered by the army. At this school, which was co-educational, already a big departure from the segregated schools of Malta, there were people from many different countries. I remember Greek, French, Italian, English and Egyptian students. The school had a cosmopolitan feel and the education was excellent. We even played basketball and volleyball, sports which in Malta were unheard of.
“Living in Egypt was not free of problems. There was political unrest and I remember watching a film, quite ironically it was called Appointment with Danger and hearing chants of 'Down with Churchill!' and 'Down with England!' In October 1950 there were rumours of a war so we were evacuated to camps in the desert, where the days were always scorching and the nights freezing. For me, life in the camps was thrilling; however I can imagine my parents were quite worried. There was no war, but I recall a drunk soldier shooting in the air and causing a false alarm.”
A return to Malta followed this long sojourn in Egypt. It was during this four-month stay in Malta that a 16-year old Josephine met a 17-year old Harry, her husband since 1957. (Incidentally it was at around this point that Harry walked in and joined the interview, chipping in with facts and anecdotes and footnoting his wife's stories.) They met in Ghadira and kept in contact when Josephine's father was posted to England.
Residing in England was different to Egypt. Mrs Zammit Cordina says, “For one thing the weather was different. I am not fond of the cold, and it was often cold and rainy. I furthered my education at the Secretarial College in Reading and this led to my first job at the REME Depot in Arborfield. During this time Harry and I kept contact by writing long letters. On my return to Malta, where I was employed as secretary to the gynaecologist at the DBMH Mtarfa, we got engaged and then married. We have two children, Henry and Jacqueline who lives in The Hague. I also have four adorable grandchildren.”
Having spoken about her childhood and adolescence, Josephine Zammit Cordina moves on to what led her to a life of stage, radio and television. “Neither of my parents acted, but I had a Nannu Daniel who I supposedly resemble, who used to participate in Catholic Action plays. Then when I started school, I always acted in plays. I was in Little Ragged Robin, in the part of the Robin. We participated in a competition and our play did not place first because my costume was blue rather than red as a robin's should be. When I was 12 years old, I spent six months singing with the Stage Commandos. Although I could carry a tune quite well, this was just children's singing - quite amateur - but fun, and through it I definitely garnered experience and got used to an audience. When we moved to Egypt, my singing and acting were put in hiatus, but at the British School, with its progressive notions of education, we even had drama lessons!
“In England I did not act at all. Back in Malta, I did not start acting and presenting immediately. Eventually I started working on the Rediffusion and I had several leading roles in radio-plays. It was here that I met Mary Camilleri who invited me to act in the play The Late Edwina Black. One thing led to another. As I worked on radio, stage and television, I always had to keep in mind the different styles of acting required. Radio-plays are all about the voice, with the listeners imagining what you look like and the stage requires strong acting, so that the slightest nuance is projected to the audience. Television, on the other hand, needs subtlety. All actions are intensified on television, so one has to be very careful to not fall into the trap of overacting. On television an expression has to be restrained, otherwise it seems grotesque. One of the shows in which I take part on radio has now been going on for 43 years. It used to be called Siegha tal-Morda, and now it is known as Solidarjeta'.
“The acting life is full of humorous moments. When I was in Francis Ebejer's Il-Menz, I had to have a very powerful voice. By the time opening night turned up, after all those rehearsals , I had lost my voice. Dr Briffa had to give me an injection, but I still suffer with my voice till today. Then, another time, I was at the De Porres Hall. The scene was amorous in nature when a dog decided to join us on the stage. And, in Zabbar, a feud between two families spilled onto the stage. It was also funny but scary when we were judging a song contest. The final results were not liked and the judges feared attack, so we both had to make our exit hastily through a window.”
We still have not mentioned the programme with which Josephine Zammit Cordina is synonymous - Waltzing Matilda. How did the programme come to be and why has it been running for so long, with its popularity never abating? "As a young girl I had to leave my country so I know what it means to miss your family, friends and homeland. These memories of homesickness have always been the impetus of my work. I first visited Australia in 1979, when I went to visit my parents who were there on holiday. Since then, I must have gone there around 12 times. In Australia, I met Josephine Zammit, now deceased. I would go on her programme and send the regards of Maltese people to their kindred in Australia. This led to Boomerang, which I started out with Charles Coleiro. In 1988 I won a contract to produce 28 programmes on the 28 Grand Masters of the Order of St John, Minn L-Isle Adam sa Hompesch, for SBS, the ethnic-community station in New South Wales.
“Then during a visit to Australia in 1993 to collect the Manoel de Vilhena Award from the Harmonic Cultural Centre of Melbourne, for outstanding contribution to the propagation of Maltese Arts and Culture in Australia, I also went to the Centru tal-Kunsill Malti in Victoria where I met Joe Montebello who had a video camera handy. I asked him to capture on film the people present sending their wishes back home, to Malta. Eventually, these wishes were broadcast on national television and Waltzing Matilda had sowed its seeds. On 28 July, 1994, the first Waltzing Matilda programme, as we know it today, was broadcast. In the beginning the show was around 50 minutes but from September 1998 it became a 30-minute show, broadcast every two weeks. It is now even shown on Channel 31 in Melbourne, Australia.
“This chance meeting with Joe Montebello resulted in a lifelong friendship. To this day, he sends us recordings of activities held in Victoria, where he lives, but also of events in Queensland. He even accompanied me on two of my trips around Australia.
“For me Waltzing Matilda is the story of the Maltese in Australia. We have featured all types of Maltese there. The programme also casts its lens on the official visits of the Maltese authorities in Australia and vice-versa. We featured the visits of Prof. Guido DeMarco, Dr Edward Fenech Adami, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, Dr Alfred Sant, Deputy PM Tonio Borg and Archbishop Paul Cremona. From the Australian angle, coverage was given to the visits in Malta of Governor General Bill Hayden, and Governor General Quentin Bryce, Victoria's Premier Jeff Kenneth, Prime Minister John Howard, Minister John J. Aquilina; the Hon Stephen Smith and to a delegation of Parliamentarians. Moreover, the programme also focuses on Australia Day, Anzac Day, the Melbourne Cup, the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and any other events held in Australia.
“Filming Waltzing Matilda is strenuous. We go to Australia for around six weeks and film two years worth of material. I go with suitcases stuffed with clothes, and I always have to keep the varying weather of the different states in consideration. I also do my own hair and makeup.
“I think that my programme has been successful. I love hearing from my audience, when they tell me that thanks to Waltzing Matilda they know what is going on with their relatives. I am also immensely proud of my Midalja Ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika (MQR) and my honorary membership of the Order of Australia. This means that my work has been appreciated on both sides of the equator. In the words of Governor General Michael Jeffrey, I have been honoured for my 'service to the development of cultural links between Australia and Malta, particularly through the Maltese media.'
“I think the show is popular because it is very human. The Maltese see the stories of the Australians and the memories of family abroad remain fresh. I know that Waltzing Matilda would not be possible without Joe Montebello, who has been awarded the Midalja tal-Mertu (MOM) for his efforts, and my husband and son. My husband is the unnamed director of the shows while my son comes with me to Australia to film. It is not easy to jet off to Australia for six weeks straight. Luckily Emirates now help us out with the flights, and for this I am very grateful. We also get help from the Malta Tourism Authority, Magro Brothers, Britannia Tours, Special Delivery and Panthers Travel in New South Wales. The people of Australia also lend a helping hand, helping me sort out accommodation and travelling within the country.
“My work with emigrants is not confined to Australia. In 1987 I took Monsignor Azzopardi's place in a 10-hour telethon, shot in Ontario, Canada to collect funds for Dar tal-Providenza. Monsignor Azzopardi was sick, and in fact he died just four months after the event.”
Josephine Zammit Cordina's diary is still full to the brim. She often gets sent a script just one or two days before filming, and she has to learn her lines quickly. She says that filming today is very different to when she started out. Her husband adds that as everything was filmed on a reel, editing would actually involve cutting and sticking parts of film. Moreover, a scene had to be reshot entirely if there were any errors. Mrs Zammit Cordina says, “This does not mean that filming today is necessarily easier. It is true that a scene can practically be shot line by line, but it is more difficult to remain in character when constantly breaking off. However, I like filming soaps. Lately I have been in Undercover 1 and 2, Dejjem Tieghek Becky, and we are still filming KC, although at the moment we are on break."
Josephine Zammit Cordina's career has also led her to be a member of the Film and Stage Censorship Board, a role she took very seriously (was) to chair the Kummissjoni ghall-Maltin ta' Barra. It is a wonder how Mrs Zammit Cordina finds time for herself. She says that when she has a spare moment she enjoys cooking, although her husband pipes in that what his wife really enjoys doing is worrying. Mrs Zammit Cordina admits that she does worry, but with such a full schedule to maintain, this is no surprise.
In her own words, “As long as God grants me my health and PBS commission my programme, I intend to produce and present Waltzing Matilda, forever continuing to bridge the distance between the two islands, tiny Malta and huge Australia."