Anthony Zarb Dimech

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli Campaign.  A Commemorative Service marking this event will be held at the Pieta' Military Cemetery on Saturday 25 April 2015 at 10am.

Terence Mirabelli, a journalist by profession has finalised a history trail project of the ANZAC  (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) experience in Malta  set on four self-guided tours to the principal sites associated with the personnel of the  ANZAC during, mainly, the First World War.

Malta played a significant role in and during the Gallipoli Campaign with many Australians and New Zealand casualties being evacuated to Malta for medical treatment. From the spring of 1915, hospitals and convalescent camps were established on the islands of Malta and Gozo, to deal with the many thousands of sick and wounded from the Gallipoli and Salonika campaigns. Despite the courageous efforts of the doctors and medical staff, some of the casualties could not be saved and they were buried on Malta. Of those buried on Malta there were 202 Australian and 72 New Zealanders.

These tours show where wounded Anzacs where hospitalised, convalesced, were entertained and the locations where those who lost their personal battles are buried.

I interviewed Mr Mirabelli on how this project was birthed and also on other matters related to his career experience and the value of embarking on such  initiatives.

Can you give me some background about yourself?

I am a journalist by profession, and have been in the business since 1970. I began my career at The Times of Malta, then moved to London and specialised in the Middle East. I was roving correspondent for The Middle East magazine.

After covering civil and regional wars for a number of years, my wife asked me to do something safer - and I was appointed editor of a travel magazine in Bahrain. In the late 1980s we came to Malta and set up our own publishing company, specialising in travel titles.

I am proud to say we launched the first, and only, travel trade magazine in Malta, the only travel industry annual. Our titles were also the first to go online in Malta.

Other works you have written?

Some three years ago I produced a small booklet on treasure hunts, which sold out in days. Encouraged by that response I produced a bigger version in 2013, and that has been selling well.

Why your interest in First World war in general?

I did not have a specific interest in the Great War as such. Ms Jane Lambert, the Australian High Commissioner here, saw my treasure hunt book and wondered if I could produce something relating to what ANZACs experienced in Malta during the First World War.

25 April is the centenary of the allied landings at Gallipoli, in Turkey. At first the wounded were evacuated to Egypt, but it was very quickly apparent that the medical facilities there were limited, and so from 4 May 1915 the wounded from Gallipoli were brought here.

Thousands of Australian, New Zealand and British sick and wounded servicemen were brought and treated in Malta; many also died and are buried here.

It's because of this service that Malta became known as the nurse of the Mediterranean.

As it is the centenary, large scale commemorative ceremonies are being held in Gallipoli and thousands of Australians and New Zealanders are expected to travel there to visit the site where some of their ancestors fought, were wounded and, in many cases, are buried.

Ms Lambert asked me to produce a series of tours highlighting the hospitals the wounded were taken to. And this is how The ANZAC experience in Malta came about.

It's a set of four self-guided tours to the principal sites associated with the personnel of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during, mainly, the First World War.

These tours show where wounded ANZACs where hospitalised, convalesced, were entertained, and the locations where those who died here are buried.

The tours also highlight points of interest on the islands, places where recovering servicemen and off duty personnel may have visited.

The tours are highly detailed and contain much little known information?

Yes, as I researched the subject I was amazed at how Malta was transformed into the nursing centre of the Mediterranean.

I enjoy history and researching this project was an eye-opener for me. Like most people, I knew a little about Malta's role in the First World War, but what I learnt of the goings on here was astonishing. For instance, the first heart operation in Malta was carried out in 1918 - it was the removal of a bullet from a soldier's heart. This was also the third such operation worldwide.

On a personal level, and as an Old Edwardian, I was fascinated to learn of the role St Edward's College played; at the time it was Cottonera Military Hospital that was designed on the recommendation and suggestions of Florence Nightingale.

What is your intended audience?

The primary audience are Australians and New Zealanders that will travel to Malta to visit where their ancestors were treated and, in some cases, buried. Of course anyone with an interest in this episode of Maltese and world history may also obtain copies of the tours. They are complimentary and can be downloaded from either the Australian High Commission's site - www.malta.highcommission.gov.au/mlta/ANZAC.html, the Australian War Memorial site - www.awm.gov.au/1914-1918/centenary-links - or from my site at www.travelmalta.com/anzacs.html.

What are you trying to achieve with it?

The point of the tours, I like to think, is twofold. Firstly, to inform people - visitors and locals - of the vitally important role Malta played during this conflict. Although the islands did not actively participate in the war, like the rest of Western Europe, their role was nonetheless crucial.

In these four tours, that I named Arrival, Healing, Recovery and Departure, I focused on just one aspect - the medical side - of Malta's role.

Secondly, I did not want them to be too morbid; so there is an element of tourism. The tours also point out things of interest on the islands that are not linked to war.

What are you working on now?

The research has piqued my interest to do something similar with other aspects of the First World War relating to Malta; not so much the Second as there's a vast catalogue of books and research on that. I'm looking at the possibilities.

What makes your research stand out from the crowd?

I like to think that my style of writing is easy-going and understood by everyone. I like to explain things as simply as possible. I'm a great believer in the KIS principle - keep it simple.