A study in local history : Hamrun

Abstract

Choosing this topic for my dissertation was very straight-forward, I have always been interested to gather information about my home town. There is not a lot written about Hamrun. I hope that my modest contribution can be of help and a contribution to the writing of the social history of this interesting town. This was an opportunity to learn about the conduct of historical research at the local level and to work with primary sources. I found particularly educational the use of official statistics, especially the censuses of population, with their rich data. I found this exercise on the whole a useful and pleasant experience. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who gave me their help in preparing this dissertation. First and foremost, I would like to thank my tutor; Professor Dominic Fenech, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, for his precious guidance and understanding. I would like to thank also all the lecturers of the Department of History, as well as the secretarial staff for their help and support throughout the last three years. I would like to thank also the staff of the Melitensia section of the University of Malta library for their enormous patience. Thanks also go to Mr. Anselm Sciberras, who was of great moral support, and guidance on various topics. Other special thanks go to all my colleagues in the B.A. History Course, class 2009-2012, and all my friends both here at University and also my friends and colleagues at the Saint Gaetan Band Club executive committee and youth section. Finally the greatest thanks go to all my family for the constant support they gave me during the past past three years, and the years before that. Throughout my research I have never missed the enlightening presence of Saint Gaetan, of whom I am a dedicated devotee.