Prominent Maltese-Australian Lawrence Dimech was made a Member of the Order of Merit (MOM) by the Malta Government as one of the recipients honoured on Republic Day.
The President of Malta Dr George Abela presented the honour to Mr Dimech during the Republic Day Honours ceremony held at the President’s Palace in Valletta last Thursday. The honour was bestowed on Mr Dimech in recognition of his exceptional contribution towards the welfare of the people of Malta, and in particular, Maltese migrants in Australia.
Lawrence Dimech was born in 1936, in Hamrun. He migrated to Australia in 1954 but returned to Malta in 1962 and worked for the Malta Allied Newspapers as sub-editor with Il-Berqa. He also served as sports editor with Leħen il-Malti and editor of Malta News. He is considered as a pioneer of Maltese print journalism in Australia. He founded the Maltese Herald which he also edited until 1971. He is the representative in Australia for the Institute of Maltese Journalists.
Mr Dimech was Malta’s representative in New South Wales, Australia, first as Migration Attaché (1971-1977) and Consul General (1997-2000). Since 2012 he has been serving as a member of the Council for Maltese Living Abroad.
He was appointed by the Australian Federal Government as Director-Coordinator of the first Migrant Resource Centre in Australia and also served as Executive Officer of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1977-1985). He served on various committees, advising governments on settlement issues and ethnic affairs (1985–1992).
Mr Dimech is one of the founders and life member of Melita Eagles Soccer Club where he served both as Secretary and President. He served as President of the Maltese Community Council of New South Wales.
He was awarded the Manoel Vilhena Award (1996), the Premju Kulturali by the Maltese Cultural Association of New South Wales for outstanding contribution to the Maltese and Australian media (1997), and a Special Merit Award by the NSW Football Federation for outstanding contribution to soccer (1998). In 2003, he was awarded ‘The Order of Australia’ for his long-standing contribution to the Maltese community in New South Wales since 1956.
Mr Dimech, who lives in Sydney, is the author of a research study The Ageing Maltese – a minefield of need and neglect (1992), and editor of The Maltese Resource Dictionary. He also published two sell-out books Telqu għal għonq it-triq about Maltese settlement in Australia.
The Maltese Community Ccouncil of Victoria congratulates Mr Dimech on his achievements and his latest award.
Lawrence Dimech awarded MOM in Republic Day Honours
