Stella Keenan (nee Micallef)
| First name | Stella |
|---|---|
| Last name | Keenan (nee Micallef) |
| Country of Origin | Egypt (then Malta) |
| Date of Birth | 16/02/44 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1950 |
| Submitted by | Stella Keenan |
Story
Stella Keenan (nee Micallef) is the eldest child of Joseph and Theresa Micallef. She was born on 16 February 1944 in Alexandria, Egypt. After moving to her father Joseph\’s homeland on the Mediterranean Island of Malta she migrated to Australia with her mother Theresa and brother Alfred in 1950.
They arrived in Freemantle, WA aboard the Greek-registered SS Cyrenia on 20 May 1950. From there they sailed on to Melbourne, Victoria where Stella\’s father, Joseph, met them before embarking by train to Queanbeyan, NSW, where they were to reside for two years with Joseph\’s brother Charles.
Even though she was only seven years old, Stella vividly remembers the ship voyage to Australia Ð it seemed she was seasick for the whole trip and had trouble keeping food down which meant she was quite emancipated when they arrived in Melbourne, causing alarm and concern for her father, who hadn\’t seen her since the previous year. He had migrated to Australia with his brothers Charles and Emanuel in 1949 with all the aspirations and hopes for a new and better life in this foreign country, but seeing his beloved daughter in this state only served to add angst to his many other strange experiences.
Once the family was back together again in Queanbeyan, the outlook improved considerably Ð they found they were among a group of fellow-Maltese migrants, some of whom who had long established family links in the area and they easily settled in to a completely new way of life which continued to improve with the passage of time. Stella commenced school at St Gregory\’s Convent and met and made new friends as she came to terms with her new language Ð English.
She moved to Narrabundah ACT with her family in 1952 and attended St Christopher\’s Convent School in Manuka, where she continued her schooling right through till high school, and along the way acquired skills in sewing and many facets of arts and crafts.
Stella started her working life in the retail sector. It was during this period that Des Keenan, whose father was an immigrant from Ireland, began courting her. They were married on 15 April 1961 Ð Stella was 17 years old and Des 20. They had two sons, Bernard, born 15 April 1962 and John, born 8 May 1963.
As her boys began to grow up, Stella re-entered the workforce pursuing a career in the Australian Public Service and also completing accredited courses in dressmaking and floristry. She achieved great satisfaction from a number of awards from an annual ACT Floral Art Guild competition at her very first attempt. Eventually she was enticed back into the retail sector by a family friend who operated a series of cosmetics and accessories shops, in the role of store manageress.
Over the years Stella\’s craft skills have kept her in good stead and provided immense satisfaction to both family and friends alike.
She has also cherished her role as a doting grandmother taking great pride in her six grandchildren – Stacey, Mitchell, Rory, Courtney, Tom and Kathy, whose ages vary between 22 years down to seven (2007 figures).
Being a strongly committed family person, Stella is also pleased with the meld of nationalities involved in making up our extended family. Apart from the Mediterranean influence, there is a mixture of people who originated from British countries (England, Ireland and Scotland) and Europe, including Scandinavia. Indeed a great feeling to be part of the Australian multi-cultural society, which goes a long way towards our country\’s continuing prosperity.
– prepared by Stella Keenan (nee Micallef), 22 November, 2007.