The years of massive emigration to Australia from Malta in the first two decades after World War II are now a distant memory for many in Malta. But the impact of Maltese migrants in certain areas was so significant that we are now justly and proudly celebrating emotional anniversaries.

This time last year La Valette Social Centre in Blacktown, NSW, remembered 40 years of fruitful work since its foundation. This year we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the arrival of the statue of Our Lady of Victories at Greystanes, a locality in the heart of "Little Malta" in the western suburbs of Sydney.

It is not easy to convey to the average reader in Malta a concept of the size of Sydney and the way the city has spread and developed in a few decades. The area with the highest concentration of Maltese is some 40 km from the central business district of Sydney. When the Maltese started to settle there, some 50 years ago, the locality was practically "bush". Many a tale is told of the hardships and difficulties faced and courageously surmounted by the Maltese migrants.

Despite the problems, religion and tradition were not forgotten. Nor were these pioneers forgotten. In fact, the celebration of the arrival of Il-Bambina to this area cannot but also revive the memory of stalwart Maltese priests besides that of the hardy Maltese and Gozitans. Some apostle priests like Fr Robert Cassar, Fr Michael Camilleri, Fr Tarcisius Licari and others have passed away. Many remember them with gratitude and admiration.

The heartache of the years it took for migrants and their chaplains to be accepted by the authorities as well as by the general population cannot be left unmentioned. The burden of added isolation which the prevailing attitude of the time imposed on the new arrivals might very well have made them cling to their past even more strongly!

It was a time when migrants were expected to assimilate overnight - an attitude which could be compared to a desire for canaries to change to budgerigars, or for an evolutionary process to occur before one's very eyes.

It is not possible to mention all involved in the progression from finding a job and acquiring a roof over one's head, to the building of a school whose hall became the church on the Sunday, to the erection of a real church, and the commissioning of a statue from Bolzano, to the life of the present vibrant community.

The first procession in honour of Our Lady in the parish was held in 1962. The Mother of Jesus was hailed under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes, of which a statue was available at that time. However it was not long before staunch helpers of Fr Michael Camilleri convinced him to hold a feast more in tune with the patriotic sentiments of the Maltese.

Two of them hailed from parishes in Malta dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. They were Charlie Sherry from Xaghra and Charles Barbieri from Senglea.

In Greystanes, £2,000 was collected, with the major donors being Charlie Sherry and his brother.

And so it came about that in 1965, the fourth centenary of the Great Siege, the year of the closure of Vatican II, the statue of Il-Bambina arrived in Greystanes "to the great joy of the Maltese not only from the immediate area, but also from many other parts of Sydney".

This year the festa committee led by Joe Spiteri, with the enthusiastic help of Frank Zammit, organised three days of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that event.

A week before, on October 21, there was a literary evening and an exhibition of photos and memorabilia presented by friends of the festa committee. Poems by George Chetcuti, Valentin V. Barbara, Manwel Scicluna and other contributions were read.

The three days of celebrations started with a Mass for deceased members on October 28. The next day, the local bishop, Mgr Kevin Manning, celebrated a sung Mass which incorporated Maltese hymns. This was followed by a procession with the recitation of the Rosary by the bishop himself.

Last Sunday, Mass was said by Fr Carmelo Sciberras, a Maltese priest with a long connection with the parish. Unfortunately the procession, a musical programme by Our Lady Queen of Peace Maltese Band and a fireworks display had to be cancelled due to rain. As Fr Sciberras said in his panegyric, the rain which curtailed the outdoor festivities should be seen as a present from Our Lady considering how badly it is needed because of the drought.

The parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Greystanes would have been named Our Lady Queen of Victories had the fervent wishes and justifiable aspirations of the Maltese found a just response. It was their generosity and enthusiasm which had built up the area, the facilities and the church itself. But it was not to be!

Multiculturalism had still to make a kink in the attitudes of leaders of the time.

Age is now catching up on the original migrants. One looks forward with concern on the survival of traditions such as that of honour to Il-Bambina in years to come.

Meanwhile, even the great credit due to those who inspired and developed parishes, schools, social centre, facilities, communities, and festas will be forgotten.

Before it is too late some sort of permanent remembrance of the sterling work of the Maltese in the Greystanes area of the western suburbs of Sydney should be instituted.

And, maybe, eminent Maltese visitors who occasionally pay us visits should include Greystanes and Il-Bambina in their itinerary. The humble, unassuming, very generous, loyal people of this locality and their far from insignificant contributions deserve more credit and attention than business ventures, however financially successful and lucrative these might be!

Dr George Boffa, OAM, KM, MD, JP, FRCA, FACA, is writing from Ashfield, NSW, Australia