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A New Australian
Teresa
Teresa and her family survived the bombing of their home and went hungry during the long siege of their island during the war. Life in peace time is still hard. Her parents want a better life, and so apply to migrate to Australia to find it. But after the long voyage to Sydney, there are more testing times ahead for Teresa as she tries to learn Australian ways, avoid the bullies and do well at school. She is not about to let anything stop her from making her family and her nanna back in Malta proud of her.
- GenresSchool
274 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2016
5 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Abela
57 books120 followersDeb knew she wanted to be a writer when she was 7 years old. Her first story was about a man made out of cheese. It wasn’t very good. She’s had much more practice writing since then and strangely enough her first writing job was for a kids’ show on channel Ten called “Cheez TV”. After 7 years of writing scripts about everything from llamas to bungy jumping and how to go to the toilet in outer space, Deb wrote her first novel - Max Remy Superspy Part 1: In Search of the Time and Space Machine.
It’s about a feisty girl called Max and her best friend Linden who travel the world as secret agents fighting bad guys. It’s an action packed series based on loads of adventures Deb had, just after she left school. She’s slept beside alligators, been harassed by monkeys (and who hasn’t) was almost
traded for a camel and was thrown in jail at gunpoint, twice.
Deb still claims her innocence to this day.
Together with sport icon Johnny Warren, Deb also created
the Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) series. It’s about a
young boy called Jasper and his best friend Lil, who love
their soccer and dream of being soccer legends, just like
Johnny. Deb lives in Sydney with her partner Todd, who
is almost as cute as Linden.
It’s about a feisty girl called Max and her best friend Linden who travel the world as secret agents fighting bad guys. It’s an action packed series based on loads of adventures Deb had, just after she left school. She’s slept beside alligators, been harassed by monkeys (and who hasn’t) was almost
traded for a camel and was thrown in jail at gunpoint, twice.
Deb still claims her innocence to this day.
Together with sport icon Johnny Warren, Deb also created
the Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) series. It’s about a
young boy called Jasper and his best friend Lil, who love
their soccer and dream of being soccer legends, just like
Johnny. Deb lives in Sydney with her partner Todd, who
is almost as cute as Linden.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 26, 2023
While this isn’t completely a true story, it depicts true experiences in an insightful and intriguing way.
I am Maltese and a history teacher so I found the first part of this story very interesting. I feel that Malta’s involvement in WW2 is overlooked. It was also interesting to hear about the war experience from a younger perspective. I was lucky to have a conversation with a dear relative of mine who has now passed, and she told me similar stories about the shelters. I think this story really illuminated how brave and courageous the Maltese were.
I have also heard so many personal stories from family about the journey to Australia. It was interesting to hear Teresa’s depiction of her time on the ship as my grandparents have also told me similar stories. The racial element also was quite powerful. My own mother moved to Australia at a young age and has not only dealt with the difficulty of learning English, but also the racial slurs. I think this book was able to successfully depict the way in which the Maltese were racially grouped and the struggle they faced trying to fit into society while still maintaining their cultural identity through things such as a delicious rabbit stew or ricotta pie.
I am Maltese and a history teacher so I found the first part of this story very interesting. I feel that Malta’s involvement in WW2 is overlooked. It was also interesting to hear about the war experience from a younger perspective. I was lucky to have a conversation with a dear relative of mine who has now passed, and she told me similar stories about the shelters. I think this story really illuminated how brave and courageous the Maltese were.
I have also heard so many personal stories from family about the journey to Australia. It was interesting to hear Teresa’s depiction of her time on the ship as my grandparents have also told me similar stories. The racial element also was quite powerful. My own mother moved to Australia at a young age and has not only dealt with the difficulty of learning English, but also the racial slurs. I think this book was able to successfully depict the way in which the Maltese were racially grouped and the struggle they faced trying to fit into society while still maintaining their cultural identity through things such as a delicious rabbit stew or ricotta pie.
June 27, 2024
Teresa loves Malta, but life is hard with the continual bombing by the Germans in WW2. Malta is nearly destroyed, and her parents have decided to emigrate to Australia for a new life with better opportunities for the whole family.
Their arrival in Australia, living in a dingy flat and Tesesa’s endless bullying reflects how hard it is for immigrants. Teresa finds a way forward but it is slow and hard.
I enjoyed the realism of the account of being a New Australian and not welcomed by all. The racism Teresa experienced after WW1 is still the experience of new migrants to Australia.
Recommended for all readers aged ten years and more
Their arrival in Australia, living in a dingy flat and Tesesa’s endless bullying reflects how hard it is for immigrants. Teresa finds a way forward but it is slow and hard.
I enjoyed the realism of the account of being a New Australian and not welcomed by all. The racism Teresa experienced after WW1 is still the experience of new migrants to Australia.
Recommended for all readers aged ten years and more
February 6, 2017
Very moving reality. Overwhelmed by the resilience of most Maltese families who managed to make a name for themselves in Australia, against all odds. Life in Malta, after WWll was very hard. An outstanding book!
June 20, 2018
Beautifully written story of Maltese immigrants coming to Australia in Post WW2 and the challenges of the new life they face including racism. Maybe a little convenient at times, and it all works out fairly neatly, but this is written for a certain audience, and it does it well, a great read.
March 17, 2016
Teresa is a school-aged child when Malta is sieged and bombed daily by the Germans during the Second World War. Malta, is decimated, its people left hungry as they await British ships containing precious supplies and military reinforcements. At the conclusion of the war comes the challenge of rebuilding. With accommodation in short supply, many Maltese decide that the possibility of a new life in Australia, funded by the Australian government, is their best option. Teresa travels by ship with her parents, leaving behind friends and family to a country where everything is new and she must navigate through the challenges of growing up in a place where she is acutely aware of her difference.
True stories never go out of fashion, and while this one is not exactly complete truth, it is real enough to speak to authentically to its audience. I confess that my interest in Teresa: A New Australian was mostly personal. Like Teresa, my father migrated to Australia in the 1950’s as a child escaping war ravaged Malta. Having heard his stories I was very keen to read this one, dedicated to Deborah Abela’s Nanna Teresa and inspired by the author’s father’s experience as a new migrant to this country. Stories such as this are immensely important because they speak of that place from which we have come. Writng as a Maltese Australian, I was acutely aware of the power for Abela’s story to bring to life the snippets of information I gleaned over the years from family members. For other Australians it serves as a stark reminder of the extent to which the White Australia Policy had influence during the 1950’s. Indeed, for new Australians today, it is a story with a message that is nothing less than hope-laden.
I appreciated the way that Abela allowed the unique identity of the Maltese people to emerge. Too often, Maltese people are grouped together with other Southern Europeans, which as Abela takes time to reveal, is an unfair assumption. The Maltese, unlike the Italians for example, have an enduring connection with the British Empire and many of them came to this country with a fair understanding of English and its customs. While this was apparent I couldn’t help but feel that Abela might have explored with even greater intimacy, the cultural context of Malta. Similarly, I respected Abela’s depiction of a 1950’s Australia, as being a land that abounds with opportunity, yet a place where an uncomfortable chasm lurks beneath the surface which is inherently racist.
Within the classroom, middle school students from grades 6-8 will have no difficulty in accessing this text. Written in clear prose, students should relish the opportunity to investigate the migration experience during this period of history. I imagine that students will have no difficulty in identifying (and juxtaposing) this experience with more recent and contemporary experiences of migration. In particular, rich discussion may evolve from an exploration of racism in Australia, identifying the origins and evolution of this up to today.
Teresa: A New Australian is the fourth book in a series exploring the stories of children immigrating to Australia. I recommend it for use in isolation as a shared or independent text with students. Similarly, it would work equally well as a reading circle option perhaps complemented by other books in the series.
True stories never go out of fashion, and while this one is not exactly complete truth, it is real enough to speak to authentically to its audience. I confess that my interest in Teresa: A New Australian was mostly personal. Like Teresa, my father migrated to Australia in the 1950’s as a child escaping war ravaged Malta. Having heard his stories I was very keen to read this one, dedicated to Deborah Abela’s Nanna Teresa and inspired by the author’s father’s experience as a new migrant to this country. Stories such as this are immensely important because they speak of that place from which we have come. Writng as a Maltese Australian, I was acutely aware of the power for Abela’s story to bring to life the snippets of information I gleaned over the years from family members. For other Australians it serves as a stark reminder of the extent to which the White Australia Policy had influence during the 1950’s. Indeed, for new Australians today, it is a story with a message that is nothing less than hope-laden.
I appreciated the way that Abela allowed the unique identity of the Maltese people to emerge. Too often, Maltese people are grouped together with other Southern Europeans, which as Abela takes time to reveal, is an unfair assumption. The Maltese, unlike the Italians for example, have an enduring connection with the British Empire and many of them came to this country with a fair understanding of English and its customs. While this was apparent I couldn’t help but feel that Abela might have explored with even greater intimacy, the cultural context of Malta. Similarly, I respected Abela’s depiction of a 1950’s Australia, as being a land that abounds with opportunity, yet a place where an uncomfortable chasm lurks beneath the surface which is inherently racist.
Within the classroom, middle school students from grades 6-8 will have no difficulty in accessing this text. Written in clear prose, students should relish the opportunity to investigate the migration experience during this period of history. I imagine that students will have no difficulty in identifying (and juxtaposing) this experience with more recent and contemporary experiences of migration. In particular, rich discussion may evolve from an exploration of racism in Australia, identifying the origins and evolution of this up to today.
Teresa: A New Australian is the fourth book in a series exploring the stories of children immigrating to Australia. I recommend it for use in isolation as a shared or independent text with students. Similarly, it would work equally well as a reading circle option perhaps complemented by other books in the series.
October 23, 2016
4.5 would be a better rating.
Great story and great characters. The experiences of Teresa are very believable from a child's point of view. Starting in Malta and Teresa witnessing German planes bombing to her getting on board a ship to sail to Australia and ending with Teresa making a home in Australia. Problems develop along the way, including the confrontation of being called names because she has a different type of food in her lunch box and the separation from her parents while they work several jobs. I found the the section where Teresa must live at the boarding house at St Patrick's particularly interesting.
Great read aloud for upper primary students. This story would generate a lot of discussion and create many questions.
Great story and great characters. The experiences of Teresa are very believable from a child's point of view. Starting in Malta and Teresa witnessing German planes bombing to her getting on board a ship to sail to Australia and ending with Teresa making a home in Australia. Problems develop along the way, including the confrontation of being called names because she has a different type of food in her lunch box and the separation from her parents while they work several jobs. I found the the section where Teresa must live at the boarding house at St Patrick's particularly interesting.
Great read aloud for upper primary students. This story would generate a lot of discussion and create many questions.
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October 13, 2016Teresa and her family survived the bombing of their home and went hungry during the long siege of their island during the war. Life in peace time is still hard. Her parents want a better life, and so apply to migrate to Australia to find it. But after the long voyage to Sydney, there are more testing times ahead for Teresa as she tries to learn Australian ways, avoid the bullies and do well at school. She is not about to let anything stop her from making her family and her nanna back in Malta proud of her.
April 7, 2022
i read this a while ago and i read the maltese version, but it was such an amazing book!!! very accurate to the times its set in, and it was such an emotional roller coaster, it genuinely made me cry so much ive never cried this much over a book!
July 6, 2017
A well written immigrant story. Lots for children to discuss.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews