5 minute read
ENDURING LEGACY
BY RENEE CLUFF
Queensland’s Sugar King: The Zammit Legacy delves deep into the pioneering ethos of the early days of far north Queensland’s sugar industry, and how one migrant overcame obstacles and seized opportunities in his pursuit not only to belong, but to give back.
Catherine Smith’s very personal historical biography also spans themes of racial discrimination, music, gold mining, rural life and wartime through the lens of her relative’s lives. Thus, at its heart, Smith’s composition is a rich story of resilience, familial bonds, community and service laid over a steady beat of humility and kindness.
Woven amidst engaging tales of everyday family and farming activities in tropical Queensland is the true story of Smith’s grandparents, Paul and Pauline, who’d migrated from Malta on separate ships in 1912 and 1913.
“In the 1980s, when I was in my early 20s, I would meet people in Brisbane who would comment on my dark colouring,” the author said. “I would explain I had Maltese heritage and then they’d say, ‘I knew this wonderful Maltese man once, Paul Zammit, who was a sugarcane farmer at Bartle Frere.’
“I was surprised that such a simple question could lead to such a pointed answer, and I thought, ‘If he was that good, why hasn’t someone written about him?’”
In 2003, she set about writing about him herself, initially spending hour upon hour in libraries gathering material from the state and national archives.
“I would come home with square eyes and a bad neck,” she said.
I knew nothing of them when I was first told about them but through my research, I feel like I have been introduced now
It was quite a story she unravelled. Even though Malta was part of the British Empire, the couple’s olive complexions clashed with Australia’s then White Australia Policy and Paul initially found it difficult to get a break. He walked on foot from Sydney to far north Queensland, where he began cutting cane.
It was through alliances and friendships forged in the cane fields that he and his brother (who arrived a few years later) were able to purchase some land and start a new farm from scratch. Paul later bought out his brother’s share and purchased other farms as well.
Smith said Paul and Pauline shared a vision of progress and managed the business and their family of 12 as an egalitarian partnership. “They operated in tandem, and they both had brains for business,” she said.
“They consulted each other and made decisions together and that was unheard of in those days. I believe they were ahead of their time, and I don’t think it would be too outrageous to suggest that today we would regard them as migrant entrepreneurs. It was sweat equity and they pursued economic opportunities and created their own wealth through sugarcane farming, then contributed that back to the community.”
In 1948, Paul Zammit was awarded the Benemerenti Medal from Pope Pius XII for building the Church of St Paul at Bartle Frere. He was the first Queenslander and fourth Australian to be recognised by the Papal honour.
The family was also well known for giving back through music. All ten children were talented musicians, performing locally, nationally and even on global stages. “That music and performance on such a scale over 20 years or more created cultural and social cohesion between migrants and Anglo-Australians,” Smith said. “They didn’t have a gramophone, or a TV and music was always live.”
The Zammit family also sponsored many other migrants to come to Australia and take up jobs in the cane fields. The descendants of those migrants continue to work in the sugar industry today. Silkwood sugarcane grower Luke Zammit is among them.
At the end of the day, a lot of us are here because of Paul Zammit
“He brought out our grandparents, he brought out the Calleja and Camilleri families, the Aquilinas, there’s a huge list,” Luke said. “They worked off their debts and then they bought their own farms. Everyone spread out.”
The grandfather of Mourilyan sugarcane grower Alan Aquilina was also sponsored by Paul.
“His wife, Pauline, was my father’s Aunty and Paul Zammit sponsored my grandfather to come over with his brother,” Alan said. “My father used to work with the younger ones, the children.
“Paul was such a success with all his business deals. He came with nothing at all and achieved so much. He had an influence on early Cairns development and the Floriana building he constructed on the Esplanade is an example of that.
“His ability to harness those small opportunities early on allowed him to provide much bigger opportunities for his family in later years.”
Cairns Library will be hosting Catherine Smith at a special author event on August 30. More information can be found at qldsugarking.com
