The first group of Maltese men migrating to Queensland in 1883

The first attempt at organised migration from Malta to Queensland was in 1883, when 69 labourers were sent to the cane fields of the lower Burdekin River. The dissatisfaction with working conditions on the cane farms deterred further emigration until the early twentieth century. Maltese Australian historian and researcher, Mark Caruana explains what lead to the failure of the first group of Maltese migrants in Australia.