The Malta-Australia Migration Agreement was signed on 31 May 1948. Amongst the first Maltese to arrive in Australia under the agreement was a young shipwright, Anthony Grima.

A teenage apprentice 

One of six children, Anthony (Tony) Grima left school aged 14. Tony won an apprenticeship at His Majesty's Naval Dockyard. The British Mediterranean fleet was based in Malta and the dockyard was the islands' major employer. Apprenticeships there were highly sought after.

Tony learned his trade during the War. There was a lot of work. Tony remembered 40 or 50 shipwrights alone would repair a bombed or torpedoed ship.

Tony completed his apprenticeship in 1946 and continued as a 'journeyman shipwright'.

Plan B

However, the work was beginning to dry up. Sensing what might be coming, Tony began making plans to migrate to Australia. Tony already had an aunt living at Yallourn North in Victoria. In late 1947, he applied for a British passport and undertook a pre-migration medical examination.

Tony was retrenched in early July 1948. Fortunately, he had already been accepted under the new Malta-Australia Migration Agreement. This meant he only had to pay £10 for his passage.

On 15 July 1948, Tony departed for Australia on the Asturias. He was part of the second group of assisted migrants leaving under the Agreement. Some of Tony's family and friends farewelled him at the quay. However, his mother was too distraught to do so.

Culture shock

Tony arrived in Melbourne on 10 August 1948 – his 23th birthday. The inland coal mining town of Yallourn North subsequently proved to be quite a culture shock. Tony wondered ‘what the hell have I done?'

Moving to Melbourne, Tony found work as a shipwright on the Melbourne waterfront. He initially lived in a West Melbourne boarding house. During his time there, Tony discovered Australian Rules Football. He became a lifelong supporter of North Melbourne, which played at the nearby Arden St oval.

Every cloud has a silver lining

In April 1950, Tony was seriously injured at work and hospitalised for nearly a year. Later, he won £3,000 in compensation. He used part for a house deposit and some for a trip back to Malta in 1953.

In Malta, Tony's experiences were written up in the national press to encourage others to migrate to Australia. According to Tony, Australia was the ‘best place in the world for the emigrant'.

Egalitarian spirit

One of the things Tony liked most about Australia was its egalitarian spirit. His favourite example of this was down at the pub: the person having a beer next to him could be a lawyer, office worker or labourer. Tony felt Australia's egalitarianism set it apart from other countries like England. Tony was an active trade unionist for decades.

Overcoming the tyranny of distance

What Tony missed most about Malta was his family. One inventive way they overcame the 'tyranny of distance' was through tape recordings. Relatives would record their news – big and small – and post it to Tony. He loved hearing their voices, even though sometimes his relatives would tearfully ask 'when are you coming back?'.

Tony never went back to Malta after 1953. However, in the 1960s two of his children spent several months there with their grandparents and other relatives.

Tony passed away in November 2000, aged 75.

The assistance of Tony's daughter Theresa Grima and Joseph Matina of the Maltese Community Council of Victoria Inc. is gratefully acknowledged.