One World - Protecting the most significant buildings, monuments and features of the Maltese islands (12)

The Australian bungalow is the only habitable building in Malta built entirely of wood, which was specially imported from Australia.

It was brought to Malta in the 1920's as part of a scheme aimed at assisting the training of potential migrants wishing to work in Australia in the techniques and methods used in building and construction there. It was originally located in the Migrants Training Centre in the Bugeja Technical Institute at Ħamrun but was relocated to the Government Experimental Farm in Għammieri in 1930, where it remains to date.

This pre-fabricated building used to be built and dismantled in order for trainees of different courses to learn how to construct such a building by using standardised building elements in wood.

The bungalow is a freestanding wooden structure supported on short stilts and consisting of a large room with smaller ones at the ends. The front part has a verandah and has a double-pitched roof, which is very rare in the Maltese skyline. The bungalow is over 70 years old and although it has had some repair modifications carried out to it, it is still largely original.

At present it is used as a classroom by the Agricultural and Rural Development Division Department in which students are taught biology and farming at secondary school level. This unique structure in Malta is thus of substantial historical, architectural and social significance since it was an element that facilitated aspiring Maltese migrants and helped the forging of ties between Malta and Australia.

Mepa scheduled the Australian Bungalow as a Grade 2 national monument as per Government Notice no. 492/068 in the Government Gazette dated June 6, 2006.