Here in Melbourne Klabb Ghannejja Maltin Ghana club is celebrating its ten year anniversary since it opened its doors in the year 2001. The club, which was formed around 1985, had been going from venue to venue presenting its Friday Maltese Ghana singing sessions since its inception. It spent a time presenting these music sessions at Malta Star of the Sea premises in St Albans where it spent a number of years. Later on it moved to the facilities at Errington Reserve which is also situated St Albans.

In all this time the club president George Aquilina along with his committee always had the wish to build their own club so they planned accordingly. They bought a plot of land in Gooding Street St Albans, near the railway tracks which was ideal for this exercise. And so the President along with the committee and club members all helped by lending their trade skills and even their hard earned money to create a fund which helped them buy the land without burrowing money or going into debt.

There were many creative ideas as to how they approached their fund raising. Many members who offered a certain sum of money where given a brass plaque which was put on the wall. The wall which is covered in these plaques shows the generosity, sprit and vision of the members and the club to this very day.
There have been many singers (ghannejja) and guitarists (kitarristi) who did not live to see the celebrations held on the 7th of August this year but the club never fails to remind the audience who attends every Friday for the Ghana session, about the huge contribution by the ghannejja and kitarristi who have now passed on. In fact the club has reserved a wall which shows several plaques of past contributors. Many of those which appear on the wall where legendary Ghana singers at the club and gave a huge contribution in keeping Maltese Folklore singing alive in Australia, particularly in Melbourne.

In ten years Klabb Gahnenjja Maltin has hosted some of the best ghannejja and kitarristi from Malta and interstate. Although with the passing of time the Klabb has lost many of its ghannejja and kitarristi the current Friday sessions still draw a good crowd as the members crowd in for their weekly Ghana session.
The club rooms have seen other functions held in spite of it being a Maltese Folk singing club. The support by the members is still strong and while the club keeps expanding structurally and in members it still plans with an eye on the future. In an interview with the Club president George Aquilina, for SBS radio, the president revealed that they are opening their new club office rooms which will give the ladies who do the administrative work more room and better facilities.

We extend our good wishes to the club and its members and wish them many more years of presenting Maltese Folklore music and keeping the music alive for the new generations of Maltese.

In the last ten years the Club has achieved and progressed. It held many important functions. To view more photos of the history of the club click on Photogallery.

Manuel Casha

6 August 2011