At the official launch of Telqu għal għonq it-Triq - Book Two at Greystanes NSW held recently in the presence of H.E. Francis Tabone, High Commissioner for Malta in Australia and NZ, the Honourable Chris Bowen, Minister for Human Services, Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law and the Federal Member for Prospect, the Honourable John Aquilina, Leader of the House, Parliamentary Secretary and the State Member for Riverstone, Dr Mark Lawrence Dimech B.Ed (Econ), M.Ec., Ph.D. (Econ) spoke on behalf of the people whose story is recorded in this latest book Dr Dimech said “It was about this time last month that retired General, Peter Cosgrove, gave the Australia Day address, at the NSW Conservatorium of Music. I had the good fortune of working with Peter on trans-Tasman, Customs, Immigration and Quarantine policy, as part of the Australia and New Zealand Leadership Forum, just a few years ago".
 
Peter gave an outstanding address which he called: “Sunshine and Shade: the triumphs and tribulations of Australia in our time”. General Cosgrove used his address to praise what he called “the sunshine in Australia’s history”. He referred to what he called “that great wave of immigration, in the 1950s, 60s and 70s” when, in his view, Australia had remained “intact and remarkably unified”. I agree completely with General Cosgrove’s conclusion, that those three decades, characterised by mass immigration, were indeed a success – a period of Australian sunshine.
 
But I also know that that success came at great personal cost. I asked Mum and Dad to reflect on that period of their lives, when they arrived here in Australia, and whether it was, to use Peter’s words, “more sunshine than shade”. Mum, without hesitation, and with much conviction, immediately retorted by saying: “Absolutely, it was most definitely a period of shadow and shade”
 
She recalled how, even as a child, she could appreciate the struggle her mother and father were going through when they moved her family from Malta to Australia. In contrast, my Dad had joined his two, brothers, who had come to Australia, before him.
 
My Uncle, Tony Dimech’s story, was told so eloquently at the launch of the first book and it was perhaps the first time I had seen my father recall with a degree of trepidation, and overcome by his own emotion, that period of his life.
 
But Mum’s story is a story about her whole family, it’s a story about her mother Maria and her father Romeo, her brothers Charlie, Joe and Frank, and her sister Carmen, and how they left a prosperous way of life in Malta, to come to Australia, to be confronted by a lack of accommodation and a lack of basic services.
 
Befittingly, it was my grandfather, Nunnu’s decision to come to Australia (no doubt under the wise counsel of his wife, my Nanna). I say befittingly, because he was born on the 26th of January, which of course, is Australia Day. Mum, reflecting on that period of her life, recalled in her own words:
“The provision of prior accommodation was a myth. We went from private school, private music tuition, and lacking nothing, to a fibro-clad room, with a tin roof, no electricity, or running water”.
 
It’s very hard for me to fully appreciate my Mum’s story, and that part of her life, she described as being covered in shadow. But what I do, most certainly appreciate of course, is that today those clouds have parted, and that the future could not be brighter. I’d like to share with you, one of my favourite quotes by Robert Kennedy, who said: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work, to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts, will be written the history of this generation”.

Dr Dimech and his mum, Marlene.

Some of people present at the launching of the book,
Telqu għal għonq it-triq.

Dr Dimech delivering his speech.

Through these stories, your experiences, my mother’s, and father’s experiences, the history of your generation has been written. It’s a history of courage and endurance, of selflessness and love, and my generation, and future generations, will prosper because of it, and for many years to come.

Importantly, your stories, and my mother’s and father’s stories, are now preserved - preserved for me, and preserved for my children.

The book “Telqu għal għonq it-triq” therefore represents an invaluable transcript, whose stories still resonate today and will continue to resonate for years to come, and so I congratulate Dad, and all those who have contributed to its production.

In closing, I’d like to reflect on General Peter Cosgrove’s excellent Australia Day address “Sunshine and Shade, the trials and tribulations of Australia in our time” and leave you with a story, about a band of brothers.

This is a story, about three brothers, who would often go on adventures across the countryside, and on one occasion, they came to an orchid wall, that was too high to climb, and too hard to try, and that would potentially, bring an end, to their journey,
and so they took off their hats, and they tossed them over the wall, and then of course, they had no choice but to follow them.

Like most of you that migrated to this country, my mother and her family, my father and his, had a dream, they had a dream, of going on a journey to Australia, and embarking on a great adventure. When they arrived here, confronted by the challenges that lay ahead, they didn’t turn back, instead, they took off their hats, and they tossed them over the wall, and then they had no choice but to follow them.

They, like you, endured the shadows, and enjoyed the sunshine, They managed the tribulations, and celebrated the triumphs, They appreciated their good fortune, and importantly, left us, with a good future and for that, my children and I, are eternally grateful.

Note: Dr Mark Dimech is the son of Marlene and Lawrence Dimech of Greystanes NSW. He is currently the manager, corporate & regulatory affairs with a multinational Sydney based company. He is presently in London to further his studies.

Telqu għal Għonq it-Triq – Book Two
is available for sale as follows:

In Malta: Joe Cutajar Tel 21 441545
In Australia: The Maltese Herald Tel 02 9637 9992

Dr Dimech's family, on his mother's side just before they left Malta.