The Saga of the Skaubryn Maltese folk song recorded National Library of Australia 1997

A Maltese folk song by Georgina Camenzuli and her husband Nazzareno (Is-Simenza), recorded for the National Library of Australia, in 1997 by Barry York and Kevin Bradley at the Camenzuli's home in Fairfield Heights, Sydney.

The song is an example of 'ghana tal-fatt' or a 'fact based song'.

Also performing are guitarists Joseph Mifsud (Il-Koko) and Vince Gauci (Tar-Rabat).

The 'Skaubryn' was a migrant ship that caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean en route to Australia in 1958. No-one drowned but an elderly man died from a heart attack. It was a traumatic and extremely frightening and dangerous experience, needless to say, especially for those, like the Camenzuli's, who were travelling with their young children.

They eventually made it to Sydney on the 'Roma'.

The recording of the song is part of an oral history interview held and preserved at the National Library in Canberra, Australia.

I am advised that Mr. and Mrs. Camenzuli are no longer alive but they indicated copyright ownership of the song when they completed the Rights Agreement for the Library.

I wish to thank Mark Caruana, historian of Sydney, for making the session possible in 1997.

The song is in the Maltese language.

The Saga of the Skaubryn originally appeared on the twin-CD package 'Maltese Voices Down Under', produced in 1998 by Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, and the National Library of Australia.

(Photo taken by Barry York on 29 September 1997)

Видео The Saga of the Skaubryn Maltese folk song recorded National Library of Australia 1997 канала Barry York