FCYM Assignment

Annie photographed with her siblings;
(left to right) Felicissima, Mary, Antonia, Carmel and Annie.

Born in Luqa, Malta on the 21st of August 1944, Anna (Annie) Ciantar became the third eldest in a line of seven children to her parents, Andrew (Andy) and Rita Ciantar. Annie spent her childhood years in Malta and began her schooling there, until she was 11 years old and life as she knew it turned into something quite foreign and different.

Life in Malta in the 1940’s and 50’s was simple and Andy and Maria worked extremely hard to provide for their family. Being part of a such a big family came with responsibilities. Annie says that every one of her brothers and sisters had to do their fair share of work and jobs around the house. Annie remembers how hard her father Andy, worked. He worked as a labourer, cutting stone in the quarry not far from Luqa Airport, a short distance from where Annie and her family lived. He used to get up at 4am every single morning to go to work and would often return late in the evening, to provide for his large, young and growing family. Rita on the other hand was a stay at home mother, which was generally the role of the mother in the 1940’s and 50’s. She taught the girls to cook, sew and clean, helping her to feed the young, growing children that were in her care.

Although life in Malta was content and comfortable, Andy and Rita sought to give their children more opportunities than remaining in Malta would be able to offer them. When Annie was eleven years old, just after WWII, the rate of migration from Europe to Australia was constantly on the rise and in full swing. This massive wave of migration to Australia eventually reached its peak in the mid 1950’s. It was at this time that Andy and his eldest daughter, Stella, decided to move to establish themselves in the fast-growing land down under. Annie can remember in that time, moving from their house to live with her Grandmother. Herself, three sisters, two brothers, her mother and Grandmother all lived together in one room for the six months that Andy and Stella were in Australia without them.

During this time, Annie, her mother and siblings waited; waited for their family in Australia to send for them to make the journey and this day eventually arrived. It was on a Sunday, the 15th of May 1955, that Annie and her family departed from Malta on the ship called the M.S. Aurelia. The ship originally departed from Trieste, Italy, making multiple stops throughout Europe before lastly, picking up Maltese passengers. Annie remembers a few of the stops during the 42-day ship journey. One being at Colombo in Sri Lanka and another being Fremantle on the 17th of June 1955, before docking at Melbourne. She recalls the ship had only three levels and recalls it being comfortable but not as grand as the Titanic! She also recalled that her family shared a room with another family… of seven! She laughs when she reminisces of the small room she stayed in, with bunks and beds everywhere, 14 people and “everyone sleeping everywhere”. Annie remembers this as a strange and nerve-wracking experience as she’d never been on a boat journey for that long before however despite this feeling, also remembers it as being an exciting one. The ship docked in Melbourne on Sunday the 26th of June 1955, just a few weeks before Annie’s 12th birthday.

For the next year, Annie continued her schooling in Australia but as she knew very little English, it was extremely difficult for her. Annie remembers her first home in Australia being located at 2 Day Street, Sunshine West, just off Glengala Road. However, records provided by the National Archives of Australia state otherwise. The address was listed on passenger arrival records as 4 Collins Street, Sunshine West. At this time, only half of the home they lived in was fully plastered and completed, posing a challenge for Annie and her family to settle into their new home. Soon after finishing school, Annie began working and did so for many years.

Life in Australia proved to be very different from the life she had imagined and expected for herself and her family. It was initially very hard to adjust to the different lifestyle, customs and the language barrier proved to be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. However, despite dearly missing her family and friends back in Malta, Annie loved the new life she had in Australia, especially because when was 16 years old, she met the love of her life, Alfred, who also migrated to Australia from Malta only a year prior to meeting Annie. Only one year after that, they were married. In all her years of living in Australia, she has never had thoughts of moving back to Malta.

In the later years of their lives, Andy and Rita decided to move back to Malta and live there once again, taking three of their children with them. The three children later got married and continued their lives in Malta. Annie’s older brother also went back to Malta for a holiday, however met the woman he would later marry so also decided to stay there. This left half of Annie’s family in Australia and half in Malta. Annie has visited Malta three times to visit her parents since she moved from there in 1955; the first wasn’t until she was 48 years old.

Today, Annie still lives in the same area that she moved to when she was 11 years old. Over her life so far in Australia, she has become a wife to her loving husband Fred, given birth to three children and is now also a grandmother to six grandchildren. While Annie still loves the country in which she was born, her life is here in Australia and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Annie and her husband, Fred.

The M.S. Aurelia: - This is the ship that brought Annie and her family to Australia.
Annie and her siblings: - (From left to right) Annie, Mary, Carmel, Felicissima and Stella's then husband, Frank.
Annie's Certificate of Migration: - This is the original copy of the official immigration document to certify that Annie migrated from Malta to Australia in 1955. This document was issued to her in February 1975.
Annie's Boarding Pass: - This document was issued to Annie in January 1975 to confirm that she was a passenger on the M.S. Aurelia in 1955.
Immigration Restriction Act: - The Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 was an Act which limited immigration to Australia and formed the basis of the White Australia policy which sought to exclude all non-Europeans from Australia.
Another photograph of Annie and her siblings: - (From left to right) Mary, Annie, Stella and Felicissima.
Boarding Records: - Found on the National Archives of Australia website, this document shows the names of Annie, her sister Antonia, her brother Carmel and her mother, Rita on a list containing all passengers that arrived in Fremantle on the 17th of June 1955.
Boarding Records: - This is a continuation of the previous passenger list highlighting siblings, Mary, Felicissima and Joseph.

Annie Ciantar

This is my story

Follow Annie as she shares the story of her migration to Australia.

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