Farsons has made a donation for a new street statue in Hamrun as part of celebrations marking 90 years of brewing.
The brewery traces its origins to Hamrun, where its first products were produced.
The donation was made during a reception at the premises of Ħamrun Local Council.
The occasion celebrated the launch of the brewery’s first beer, Farsons Pale Ale (popularly referred to as tal-Iġgant), in April 1928.
Farsons Chairman Louis A Farrugia outlined the historical highlights that connect the Farrugia family and later the company with Hamrun.
The Farrugia family had initially established a four-floor flour mill and pasta making factory, called The Victoria Steam Roller Flour Mill. The street where the factory was located was called Strada Pastificio and subsequently changed to Farsons Street. When the mill was destroyed during the Sette Giugnio riots
in 1919, the factory was changed into a carbon dioxide producing facility called L. Farrugia and Sons Ltd.
L. Farrugia and Sons Ltd was soon supplying various clients, among which H. G. Simonds Brewers. Simonds imported beer in bulk from the U.K. and had it bottled and carbonated locally. Through this contact with the brewing industry, the Farrugia brothers – on the advice of Luigi’s son, Lewis V Farrugia, who was then 25 years old, decided to venture into this thriving sector.
Their first brewery in Ħamrun was a first for Malta.
Just down the road, in Strada San Giuseppe (now High Street) also in Ħamrun, another brewery known as ‘The Malta Export Brewery’ later started to produce lager type beers including ‘Cisk’. Simonds Farsons and Cisk merged in 1948,
Simonds Farsons Cisk eventually moved to Mriehel. In 1951, Farsons made premises available to the Parish of St. Cajetan to be used for the teaching of doctrine. Later, this place became a chapel, and is still referred to by some as the Farsons Chapel.
The new statue, of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, is to be placed in Parish Priest Muscat Square in Ħamrun as Hamrun's second parish celebrates its own 50th anniversary.