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Il-Festa tal-Vitorja ta' Greystanes, in Sydney, Australia
The suburb of Greystanes, is one of the heartlands of the Maltese community of Sydney. Situated some 18 kilometres to the west of Sydney's CBD, it is surrounded by familiar other suburbs known to the relatives of the Maltese wherever they might be. Names like Wentworthville, Pendle Hill, Toongabbie and Girraween alongside the postcode 2145 could be found on the return address of many a letter sent to Malta, the US, UK, Canada and wherever there are Maltese with relatives in Sydney.
These suburbs are all part of the City of Holroyd, which adjoins other reasonably Maltese populated municipal cities, namely, Blacktown, Fairfield, as well as Parramatta. In the 50s right through the 70s, the Maltese in their thousands began to make these cities their permanent home after first temporarily settling around the inner parts of Sydney on their arrival. In those years Australia, following its relaxation and assistance of migration, witnessed one massive wave after another of migrants settling here. They came mainly from Britain and Europe.
The records show that some 60,000 Maltese came to Australia during those years. A fair number of them settled in these parts. But the area wasn't sparse of Maltese before then. Although emigration to Australia from Malta wasn't at all on the minds of the Maltese and Gozitans in their homeland a few took the plunge to make a new home in Australia.
At the turn of the 20th century a trickling made the long and, at times, hazardous journey. Hazardous because they often came without permit and on one particular voyage the Maltese were not allowed to disembark in Sydney and were sent on their way to the ship's next port of call New Caledonia, a French protectorate to the north-east of the Australian continent. After some hectic weeks the authorities here relented and the emigrants were allowed to return and settle in Sydney.
Those who came during those first forays here invariably ended up working in the backbreaking cane industry in the north Queensland town of Mackay. But some that didn't fancy that kind of work too much decided to make Sydney their home. The west of Sydney then was a desolate place with a few hamlets scattered here and there.
Land was obviously dirt-cheap and perhaps this alone attracted those first Maltese settlers. They were not afraid of hard work. Back in Malta and Gozo they were toilers of the land and the area where Greystanes is now situated became the epicentre of a vibrant farming community. They grew what the market demanded and became more successful the longer they settled. Another industry they successfully dabbled in was the egg and chicken farming. Names like Cordina Chickens, Baiada Chickens, Pace Farm Eggs have now become household names in NSW. Those very early enterprising pioneers in and around Greystanes started them.
To be correct the name Greystanes only came into being when the suburb began to become gentrified in the late 60s. The Maltese, devoted as they were, and still are, to Our Lady soon took it upon themselves to obtain the land and build a temple dedicated to her. The first efforts were just of the modest functional nature: a church cum school for their children. But as money became available plans were drawn to erect a proper church.
In the meantime the Maltese felt the need to continue with their homeland traditions and thus the Festa tal-Vitorja began. The very first celebrations took place in the church grounds in 1965. Il-Festa tal-Vitorja has significant meaning to every Maltese and/or Gozitan. Not for nothing 8th September was the nation's only national day from time immemorial.
But chief among the Maltese of western Sydney in wanting, nay, baying, to have the festa dedicated to Il-Vitorja/Il-Bambina were the people that hailed from Xaghra in Gozo. They dug deep to start the festa, they dug deep to get the statue and they dug even deeper to see the church built to complete everything. The statue duly arrived from Italy and it's an exact replica of the one dedicated to Il-Bambina venerated by all the Xaghrin.
(To be sure, the Maltese in Sydney began celebrating the Festa tal-Vitorja much earlier than the Greystanes one. Every year on the closest Sunday to the 8th September the Maltese used to - and still do - congregate at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral and take part in a Mass said by the Cardinal with a small procession around the vast temple afterwards.)
It was also the Maltese' wish to dedicate the Greystanes church - which, with the erection of the brand new church, the suburb had been made a parish - to Our Lady of Victories. But as luck would have it the era saw the birth of PC - as in political correctness - and the clergy in charge of the church at the time deemed it incorrect to have the moniker Victories attached to Our Lady, notwithstanding the hundreds of years of tradition. Thus the Parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace of Greystanes came into being.
The festa ta' Greystanes is normally celebrated on the first Sunday in October. The first weekend of that month is a long weekend here in New South Wales and Monday is a holiday: Labor Day. But we might have seen the last of the festa celebrations on that weekend. Last year it had to be postponed because it coincided with the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympiad. It was held on the last Sunday in October and the crowd that attended on the day was astronomical.
Whenever it is held it always attracts a good crowd not only from around Sydney but also at times from interstate. Apart from the church celebrations there is, of course, a procession with the statue of Il-Bambina in the church grounds, accompanied by the Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Band, formed some years after the beginning of the festa. Sometimes the procession even verges onto the surrounding streets.
The church grounds are decorated with Maltese traditional festa paraphernalia. The whole atmosphere is akin to what one finds in every town or village in Malta on festa day, albeit without the extremities one sometimes finds there. Of course no festa would be complete without the fireworks. At around 9pm the whole crowd just moves to the back of the church to witness and enjoy the fireworks. There in a football field, a 20 minute non-stop display of giggifogu and high petards completes yet another traditional Maltese Festa, this time far, far away from the shores of Malta.
Emanuel Grima
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