Members of Reskeon Maltese Association meet
The Maltese Association of Wellington
by Paul Vella

Reskeon Maltese Association make new friends in New Zealand During October last year Paul and Salvina Vella, Victor and Lina Pulis and Emmanuel Agius spent two weeks in New Zealand. From Auckland they travelled to Bay of Islands, then back to Auckland, down to Rotorua, further down to Napier and finally to Wellington.
 
Paul had made contact with the President of the Maltese Association of Wellington, Mr Anthony Micallef, about a month before they went to New Zealand. Paul found out about this association from the website allmalta.com of Mr John Cassar of Glasgow, Scotland.
 
He got a quick reply from Mr Micallef and they made arrangements for a meeting while the group was in Wellington.
 
When they reached Wellington they phoned Mr Micallef who on the same day drove with his wife Emily from Tawa to the Motel where the group was staying.
 
They spent almost five hours together where they exchanged information about the Maltese Association of Wellington and Reskeon Maltese Association, being both two associations looking after the interests of Maltese living away from Malta.

Telling us about themselves, Anthony said that they left Malta for New Zealand in early March 1988 and settled in Wellington working in Porirua Psychiatric Hospital. After two years they went for a working holiday in Perth. In October 1990 they returned and started back at the same hospital until both Anthony and Emily were made redundant in 1996.
 
Then he started work as a supervisor on night shift in a 110-bed hospital and rest home. This again ended in redundancy after three years. Now Anthony is again working in another private rest home and has done so for the last year.
    
Since the beginning of 1997 Anthony has been taking care of the Maltese Association of Wellington which he Incorporated as an Official Society late in 1997.
    
Emily is temporarily filling in as secretary for the assocaiation as the elected secretary at the AGM has moved up to Auckland.
    
Since then they have been trying hard to get an agreement between Malta and New Zealand which they hope will get them on an equal footing with their migrant counterparts in Australia.
    
They hope they will see some results towards this in the New Millennium.
   
 Anthony told us that every three or so months they organise socials and gatherings for their members. They try to coincide these with Public Holidays in Malta.
   
 Very often they have dinners in different localities around Wellington.
    
Once a year they have a family picnic.
   
Anthony told us that they also take part in the celebrations and activities on Anzac Day as well.
    
Their committee meets every eight to 10 weeks to discuss and organise everything .
    
Sometimes they try to have items discussed that they print on their newsletters.
    
After this meeting, both the Maltese Association of Wellington and Reskeon Maltese Association exchanged their newsletters to let each other know of their activities.
    
There is constant contact between Paul and Anthony through the Internet.
    
We would like to thank Anthony and Emily for their hospitality and friendship and we hope that this contact between the two associations will stay for a long time.
    
Incidentally, Emily Micallef is the niece of our Father Emmanuel Adami, MSSP.