"My ties with Malta are still very strong"

Joe Dougall, who emigrated to Australia in 1949, recalled people such as Nestu Laiviera under whom he studied his trade as a fitter at the drydocks.

"I am a staunch Labour supporter. Actually I am a social democrat who practises what he preaches," he said. Mr Dougall is from Cospicua.

He recalled he earned four shillings six pence a week as an apprentice and after six years he became a fitter and later an engineer after he followed a course about tug boats.

"When I came to Australia, I worked as a fitter and welder and earned £12 a week, which was better than the £4 I earned in Malta. But as soon as I came here I organised a strike as we had to sleep in a tent and conditions were awful," he said.

He was the secretary of the Labour Party in Granville for 13 years and is now an honorary life member as he has been a member of the party for 42 years.

He also spent 12 years as a councillor and was given the Queen's Order of Australia Medal for his work in building the Paramatta Melita Eagles stadium.

"My ties with Malta are still very strong. My grand-daughter lives in America and when she had a daughter five years ago, I made all the arrangements and we met in Malta and we had her baptised at the Immaculate Conception Church in Cospicua," he said.

Mr Dougall's nephew, Anton B. Dougall, is well known in Malta for his cookery recipes, while Joe T. Dougall, another relative of his, is known in Malta for his tal-farfett cigars.