This photograph was found loose in a bundle of Maltese migrant records, without a name or any other identifying information.
The bundle covered Maltese migrants on the SS Florentia which arrived in Melbourne on 23 January 1951. The photograph was found amongst records for migrants with surnames beginning with 'D'.
That’s all that is known about the 'Mystery Maltese Man'.
The National Archives has partnered with the Maltese community to make Maltese migration records more accessible. This involves volunteers organised through the Maltese Community Council of Victoria (MCCV).
The National Archives' Victoria office holds several key series containing Maltese migration documents from 1948 to 1961.
However, these were transferred by the Department of Immigration to archives in bundles by voyage. This makes it difficult to locate the records of specific migrants unless the name of their ship and date of arrival is known.
A very enthusiastic group of Maltese volunteers are working on records dating from 1951 and 1952. They are repackaging each migrant / family's records and listing them individually. This will make these records identifiable by name in the National Archives' RecordSearch database.
The previous Maltese mystery man photograph posted on this blog was identified as Henry Brewster, who arrived on the SS Cyrenia on 26 May 1950. Henry was identified by his son and daughter-in-law Simon and Jennie Brewster. Jennie, who follows the National Archives on Instagram, saw the photograph when it was posted on that platform. Henry’s photograph has been reunited with his file.
So can you help the National Archives put a name to the face of the latest 'mystery Maltese man' and reunite his photograph with the right records?
If so, please contact us.
