Joseph Anthony Bartolo

Joseph Anthony Bartolo OAM (1928 – 2005) was a businessman and community worker in Melbourne, Australia.

Early life

Joe was born in Mosta (February 1, 1928) and arrived in Australia in 1950. He worked most of his life as a furniture retailer, but will be remembered for his involvement in the community. Within the Maltese Community he was very active, particularly through the Maltese Community Council of Victoria, where he served as Vice-President for many years and was Chairman of the Annual Fete sub-committee raising funds for the MCCV.

Joe was the founding member and inaugural chairperson of the Migrant Resource Centre North West Region. He worked for many years at Victoria University, starting when it was the Western Institute, and helped to increase the number of Maltese students. He was one of the top Soccer Referees in Victoria for a good number of years.

Awards and recognitions

Joe was very involved in community volunteer work for which he received many awards, including the Keilor Citizen of the Year Award (1990), the Brimbank Council's Australia Day Mayor's Recognition Award, the Manoel de Vilhena Award (1999), but the one that gave him the most pleasure was the award of the Order of Australia Medal (OAM)(June 1992) for his service to migrants, multicultural affairs and the Maltese community of Victoria.

He was married to Patricia and had seven children, sixteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He passed away on 1 June 2005. His main hobbies were soccer, golf and socialising.