Regaining Australia Hall

I was absolutely delighted to read (The Times, February 5) that the government is seeking to regain possession of Australia Hall in Pembroke.

I had raised this issue in October 2007 by way of an appeal to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the then Australian High Commissioner, the Friends of Australia Society and Labour MP Leo Brincat.

I was not the least bit surprised at the comments the article attracted. It immediately brought to mind the response I received from Mr Brincat.

He was more interested in berating Mepa for the manner it was handling the Anzac Memorial application than addressing the subject matter of my plea.

I just hope that Jason Azzopardi is a man of conviction and will pursue the matter to its finalisation. I, with many others, sincerely wish him every success.

I visited the Australia Hall site in September 2006 and was absolutely appalled and horrified at the ruinous state such a historical building was allowed to degenerate into. It is part of Malta's heritage and it will be an indictment on the government if the building were not saved for posterity in recognition of the role Malta played in world history.

The building was erected in 1915 - as the plaque on the front of the building attests - by the Australian Branch of the British Red Cross Society. It played a major role in providing refuge to the maimed and wounded soldiers - particularly Anzacs - returning from the Dardanelles.

Malta's role earned the country the title of 'Nurse of the Mediterranean'. The preservation of this fine example of British colonial military architecture will not only enrich Malta's heritage but will also be evidence of the shared history between Malta and Australia. It will serve to further enhance the long standing relationship between the two countries and their peoples.

For once, let us not engage in the national obsessive pastime of judging an issue solely by the political party that drives it, but rather on its national merits. Perhaps this is another topic that the Maltese-Australian contingent attending the Migrant Convention to be held in March would do well to address.