Dear Members and Friends of the MHA,
It is with great sorrow that I notify you of the death of Joe Bonett. Joe was a long time member of the MHA. He always arrived early to help set up the tables and chairs for our lectures. He was very friendly and I will greatly miss our chats, as will many others. The MHA offers its deepest condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace.
Today was the funeral of our friend Joe Bonett. This was held at St. Paul’s Chapel, Parkville. Celebrant was Fr Edwin Agius, MSSP. Because of the Covid-19 restrictions the funeral could only be attended by some of the close relatives as only 10 people could be in attendance. Sad, very sad.
Joe did a lot of voluntary work with Caroline Springs George Cross Soccer Club.
He was an active member of the Maltese Literature Group and used to attend all our meetings. It wasn’t the first time that he read some of his poems. He was always there when his assistance was needed.
He was also member of the Reskeon Maltese Association Seniors Group and once again his help was always there.
He used to attend all the meetings of the Maltese Historical Association of Australia at the Maltese Centre and always found the talks very interesting.
He loved Malta and everything that is Maltese. He never missed our Maltese programs on 3ZZZ and he was a member of the Maltese Programs of 3ZZZ.
We are going to miss his visits to our place when he used to stop for an hour chat over a cup of coffee or something stronger.
Joe will be missed by one and all.
We offer our condolences to his wife Catherine and the whole Bonett family.
Oh God, grant him eternal rest.
Paul is very dedicated to the Maltese Community, in so many ways. He informs me that, although Radio station 3ZZZ has been closed since March 27, the Maltese Broadcasting Group still manages to produce three programs a week for their listeners. With the participation of the other two broadcasters, Liz Phillips and Mario Sammut, Paul has been recording the programs at home and sending them electronically to the Manager to lock them into the system every week. So, despite COVID, you can still listen to the Maltese programmes on 3ZZZ at the usual times, Mondays and Fridays at 5 pm, and Saturdays at 10 am.
Today, Sunday, August 9, is the feast of Our Lady of Tal-Ħerba. Dr Clemente Zammit generously shares an online flip booklet he published in 2018, bringing together his memories and links to the Sanctuary in Birkirkara, Malta, where it can be found behind St Helen’s Basilica. It is credited with miraculous healing properties. The booklet is in Maltese, accompanied by excellent photos, but there is a summary in English in the last few pages. Enjoy!
I will incorporate these in the next newsletter.
Warm Regards,
Charles Gatt
MHA Secretary
