History
The date when the first European settlement arrived in Australia is today remembered as Australia Day. That was way back in 1788. The first Maltese to set foot on Australian soil were a group of convicts in 1810, the first free settler arrived in 1838, and the first organised migrant group came in 1883 - 61 Maltese labourers who had been recruited to work on sugar plantations around Queensland. After nearly a century of immigration, there are now 47,000 Maltese-born living in Australia, rising to 150,000 Aussies of Maltese descent ... more than in any other country outside of the Maltese Islands.
Maltese - Australian communities, both at home and away, work tirelessly to make sure that cultural relations between the two nations remain strong. Nearly 60% of Maltese-Australian citizens speak their mother tongue, and activities in Austalia range from football leagues to church groups. (The Circle Magazine, page 17)
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