Speaking to a former reporter of The Times who covered local issues some 40 years ago makes you realise that whoever coined the adage that the more things change, the more they remain the same, really knew what he was talking about.

Tony D'Andria Hunt worked as a reporter between the mid-1950s and the first half of 1964 and emigrated to Australia just before Malta gained its independence. He often covered events related to the debate on whether Malta should obtain independence from Britain. His experiences are reminiscent of the politically charged period before Malta joined the EU.

"Political rallies, especially those of the Labour Party, were always hot. We used to hang around the back of halls where meetings took place taking notes fleetingly and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. At meetings of Mabel Strickland's Constitutional Party we had no problems and did not feel in any way threatened," he said.

His experience in trying to seek comments from Dom Mintoff while he was about to fly from Malta's airport was particularly amusing as most journalists have had similar experiences.

"When I went up to him and politely asked if I could have some comments, first he asked from which newspaper I was from and when I told him I was from The Times of Malta, he said: 'No, no hi, no comment' and turned me away!"

"What I vividly remember was the huge buckle he wore on his belt. I can still see it in my mind's eye," Mr D'Andria Hunt said.

The former reporter is in Malta on holiday with his wife Miriam.

He had left Malta out of a sense of adventure.

"I was a restless teenager and was involved with the Scouts and the Territorial Army. I felt Malta was a great place but I felt hemmed in. We left as what was known as £10 tourists because that's all we paid to go, but we were bound to stay in Australia for two years. We were very home sick initially but looking back, I don't regret it," he said.

While in Malta, he was one of the founders of the Malta Ornithological Society.

"That's another thing that has hardly changed here, the amount of hunting," he said.

His rebel streak could be seen in an incident at Salina, where he used to go bird watching before emigrating to Australia.

"I was on top of the wall around the salt pans, concealed in a reed bed and looking out for birds. A flock of waders came and settled in the salt pan in front of me and suddenly a shot rang out and half of them lay dead and fluttering around. A few flew away. The hunter was situated immediately below me but could not see me.

"I was enraged. But I did not dare do anything foolish as he had a gun. So I decided to stay put, but each time I saw waders coming in, I started waving to scare the birds away and he did not fire another shot," he said. While at The Times, he used to write a fortnightly page on natural history called Outdoor Life. In Australia, his first job was with The Daily Telegraph in Sidney. And the way he got the job showed the strong influence and connections Miss Strickland had.

"She had given me a number of letters of reference that I had to send to editors of a number of newspapers and that's what I did and I was immediately offered a job," he said.

He later became a wildlife officer with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. After obtaining a university degree, he switched careers and joined the education branch of the Royal Australian Air Force. He and his wife taught English to Indonesians and Indonesian to Australians.

Since his retirement he has been involved with Greenpeace as a volunteer with the Earth Sanctuaries Foundation.

"We are buying huge tracts of land and transforming them into sanctuaries, removing non-indigenous animals from them and surrounding them by fences to keep out foxes and rabbits, which had been introduced to Australia and which wreak havoc with indigenous vegetation and other wildlife," he said.

In Malta, among the positive changes he has noted are the new buses "which are a joy to ride", clean beaches and an easing in traffic congestion.

"On the negative side, there seems to be an excess of building development and large areas of Malta and Gozo have been lost. I am also alarmed at the disappearance of some birds. Corn buntings (Durrajs) have disappeared and I have yet to see a blue rock thrush (Merill).

"I look forward to seeing some birds on migration but on the other hand dreading it because I know what will happen due to illegal hunting. This is a blight on the landscape and on Malta's reputation," he said.