We would like to introduce you to the website of the Maltese Language School of Adelaide, which is the first Maltese/South Australian site on the WWW. This unique website is the voice of the teachers and students of our school. Professor Maurice Cauchi of Malta describes Building Virtual Bridges as "one of the best websites I have seen so far by a Maltese Association."

But, the best description was published in The Advertiser, Adelaide's daily newspaper, when our site was selected as the HOMEPAGE of the WEEK  -  Well, it is more than a homepage. It is a cross-cultural world devised by Frank Scicluna. He calls it Building Bridges site- and so it is, drawing together the links between Malta and Australia with a strong emphasis on South Australia being also a link to the Maltese Language School of Adelaide. There is a wealth of interest in this website, which features myriad links as well as constructed pages.    Samela Harris THE ADVERTISER (South Australian Newspaper).

Our website's principal aim is to encourage our younger generation to interest themselves in learning more about the Maltese language, culture and heritage.  Our success is measured by the fantastic response we received so far from all those who visited our site.

The Maltese School of Adelaide, which was established in 1982, although small is still very active and vibrant and the number of young Maltese/Australians who attend our classes are benefiting from the educational services we professionally offer. We encourage you to read what they had to say about why they are learning Maltese on our site.  Their comments cement our arguments that the Maltese language and culture will never fade away as long as we have people who love, appreciate and want to share them with the wider Australian community.

Now, I believe, it is appropriate to end with a comment in Maltese that we received recently from one of our regular readers in Sydney about our site;

Prosit talli qed izzid NEW web entries. Verament il-website tieghek, Building Virtual Bridges, sar jixbah xi encikolpedija informattiva u edukattiva. Ghogobni l-artiklu dwar il-Konferenza dwar il-Kunsill Federali ta' 1993. B'hekk l-istorja tkun korretta u ma tigix misinterpretata maz-zmien. Hadt gost ukoll nara li hemm is-sources, jew bil-Malti korrett, l-ghejun mnejn inixxu dawn l-artiklu ta' ilma helu, ilma gieri, ilma safi, ilma Malti-Awstraljan, Kompli f'din ir-rotta.-- Mark Caruana -  Migration Historian (Sydney, NSW)

Traditional balconies certainly go a long way in defining the character of the Maltese urban landscape. Through their abundance of colours, materials, textures and decorative motifs, they enrich the visual aspect of our streets. Projecting into the urban space, they dominate and articulate it.
When touched by the strong light so typical of our region they cast deep shadows on large expanses of plain stone walls creating a dynamic ciaro-scuro effect. Much like hanging gardens, the multitude of floral and foliage motifs in stone, wood and iron enliven both grand avenues and shady alleys. Further more, these static gardens are alive with beasts such as lions and horses, angelic figures and contorted faces.
Due to their often sizeable proportions balconies also play a significant role as epitomies of architectural styles prevailing during particular periods. Balconies often constitute the main component of a facade and have a prime role in defining the architectural hierarchy both within a building and between different buildings. The largest, and most lavishly decorated, are usually those of the Piano Nobile of palazzos.

Most Maltese women up to the 1930s and even during the Second World War days used to wear the ghonnella. That headgear used to distinguish her from all other women of the world. The ghonnella covered the head and wrapped round the body from the waist upward; it did not cover the face, but with a little move hid it from curious eyes.
The ghonnella endowed Maltese women with a proud and pretty appearance. It became her, showed her sprightly and honoured her in people's eyes. The cover of ghonnella was like a charm which bewitched and enticed men to yearn for a more revealing look at the eager face hidden behind it while the big and alluring eyes shot through the little hoop in the ghonnella like the arrow of the Son of Venus.

The word "aboriginal" means "the first" or "earliest known". The word was first used in Italy and Greece to describe people who lived there, natives or old inhabitants, not newcomers, or invaders. Australia may well be the home of the worlds first people. Stone tools discovered in a quarry near Penrith, New South Wales, in 1971 show that humans lived in Australia at least twelve thousand years before they appeared in Europe. So far three early sites have been discovered in Australia, the Penrith one being dated about forty-seven thousand years old, a Western Australian site forty thousand years old and another in Lake Mungo, New South Wales, thirty-five thousand years old. To put this in perspective, so that we can appreciate the time scales, since the first fleet arrived in 1788 there have only been 8 generations of settlers. On the other hand, there have been in excess of 18,500 generations of aboriginals!!!

• The Aborignes ...|...
• Aboriginal Links...|...
• Australian White Policy...|...
• Yes Australia...|...
• Who are the Aborigines?
  

Many hundreds of years after the Neolithic period and precisely in 1530, the Knights of the Order of St. John brought about another epoch of great cultural significance to the island of Malta. This is not to say that between the sudden disappearance of the Neolithic culture and the arrival of the Knights nothing had happened. Quite the contrary. Many relics and remains witness to important historical events in this period. However, no unique or individual culture had originated from the many peoples - the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Castillians - who colonised the island in this prolonged interval.
The history of the Knights of St. John begins in the middle of the eleventh century in the Holy Land. The Order's original duties were to care for the sick and wounded Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and to help the poor. But very soon their duties expanded; the fight against the infidels became of equal or even greater importance. The Knights became Soldiers of Christ. They acquired and maintained huge estates and castles in the Holy Land and finally owned a large fleet.........

Knights of Malta

IL-MALTI QED JITGHALLMUH ANKE L-BARRANIN
Ċertifikat fil-Malti bħala Lsien Barrani (Certificate in Maltese as a Foreign Language)

Mary Farrugia was born in Melbourne, her parents having migrated to Australia in the 1950's from Gozo, Malta. 
In 1990 Farrugia discovered the Australian Lace Guild in Melbourne and began lessons in lace making. Both her grandmother and great grandmother were lace makers, who used their craft skills to earn an income. Today the craft of lace making has become a family affair; with her mother, aunt and cousin also participating in the craft of lace making.
Farrugia currently teaches craft techniques, specialising in bobbin lace and designing her own pieces of lace work. She aims to pass on these craft skills to ensure the beauty and history of Maltese lace making well into the future.
Mary participated in the Common Goods artist residency program at Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell Victoria.
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