'Discovering il-Hamrun'
Author: George Cassar
Publisher: Hamrun Local Council / 2023
Pages: 168pp
This informative book about Hamrun is an interesting venture by the local council, an initiative that very few local councils seem to be taking.
The book is written by a Hamrun boy, now living in Mosta, where he was also awarded, who teaches History and Culture at ITS. The photos that adorn the book come from a multiplicity of sources.
Before I start, I must, as the Italians say, first remove a stone from my shoe. This regards the name itself - is it Hamrun as the council has it or il-Hamrun? Now I know that there may be grammatical reasons to add the article "Il-" and this seems to have been adopted in street names and bus destinations but it still looks strange to me.
The author adopts a historical approach, first about the locality itself then about the most important buildings in it. At first glance, we might think Hamrun is a relatively modern town but the book helps us discover some hidden gems.
Thus, for example the De Rohan obelisk, hidden away in the backyard of a former carpenter workshop in St John Street, which commemorates conservation and maintenance work carried out on the Wignacourt aqueduct under Grand Master de Rohan. There is no reason for this obelisk to remain there and it should be relocated to a more appropriate open space - not that Hamrun has many of these.
That monuments can be moved can be seen from the Spencer monument, which commemorates an elderly relative of Lady Diana. Originally this tall needle was nearer Corradino, until it was realised it could serve as a marker to enemy ships entering the Grand Harbour. Hence the relocation to Blata l-Bajda.
Another historical building, which has lost most of its context, is the Sant Fournier palace and adjoining church, the Our Lady of Porto Salvo church, nicknamed ta' Santunnuzzu. The church is a gem and should be used for cultural activities while the palace, as shown in the book, still has an imposing main door, today unfortunately split up in two. The church was fully furnished with 18th century missals and furnishings. Who knows what has survived today?
One other historical relic, underutilised today, is the Hamrun train station, now used by the Hamrun Scouts (and offering free parking spaces for some insiders at night). There are huge unutilised rooms, it seems, and one could establish a historical museum of early 20th century mechanical works.
Speaking of museums, some years back, I happened to visit a house in the upper reaches of Qormi Road where the elderly bachelor proudly showed me the many religious paintings by Maltese old masters and various statues and church furnishings he had amassed. There is a wide market for such objects if one scouts around but many end up in private hands.
In this regard I must mention another church in Hamrun, the Tas-Samra church dedicated to Our Lady of Atocia (Antioch). I remember seeing quite a number of ex-voto paintings thanking for miraculous escapes from death. Now I am informed hardly one has survived.
But the main parish church of St Gaetan would have the most artefacts, dating from the 19th century, most of which are no longer used given the changes post-Vatican II and the wholesale changes in recent years.
Hence the urgent need, I feel, for the establishment of a Hamrun museum.
The book focuses mostly on buildings and events such as the festas, and so on. It is the people who make up localities. Perhaps a follow-up would see what the people of Hamrun have to say. Predictably they might be very negative about the drastic changes in the locality's composition of people from different countries.
In our lifetime Hamrun has changed. It is thus important to remember what the locality has been.