Synopsis
Sponsored by the Alfred Mizzi Foundation. This lecture describes the search by the author in the Public Records Office Victoria and in Australian newspapers for criminal activity by the Maltese. What started as a search with the objective of finding Maltese women criminals in the 19th century evolved and changed into a more general search dictated by the history and availability of the historical sources. This paper gives some background on the Maltese immigrants in Australia based on secondary sources and describes the first arrivals, the slow trickle in the 19th century and early 20th century, and the great wave of Maltese migrants in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, as well as Maltese migration to Australia today. This is followed by an explanation of how this history in turn constrained this particular study on Maltese criminals. A possible explanation is given as to why no Maltese women criminals where in fact found by the author and how non-Maltese women criminals proved to be quite interesting. Some comparison is made between the crimes of Australian non- Maltese women in the 19th century and the crimes of Maltese women in Malta in the 18th century. The first Maltese women encountered by the author in the records are mentioned, and then the paper shifts its focus to Maltese male criminals in Australia. They are small in number but they do give some indication of what Maltese male troublemakers were getting up to in early 20th century Australia. The final version of this paper ended up somewhat different from the initial idea however it is hoped that it can still make a contribution to the general history of the Maltese in Australia.
Speaker: Prof. Yosanne Vella
The search for Maltese troublemakers and criminals in Australia
Speaker: Prof. Yosanne Vella
Casa Lanfreducci, Valletta
The search for Maltese troublemakers and criminals in Australia