THE ROCKY ROAD TO SELF-GOVERNMENT WAS NEVER A SMOOTH ONE, said Deputy Chief Minister Dr Garcia

Dr Garcia reflected on the importance of the establishment of the City Council. ‘The road to self government was never a smooth one for Gibraltar’, he explained. Gibraltar was a ‘small territory of a global Empire, a strategic military fortress and staging post, but also a civil colony, and all this rolled into one’. ‘Every step’ towards increased self government was subject to the scrutiny and ‘explicit approval’ of the military: ‘for decades, this stymied the political evolution of Gibraltarians’, he added.

He explained that the ‘main steps along that rocky road to self government’ came after the two World Wars. The Council’s establishment in 1921 was a ‘direct consequence’ of the First, and its re-establishment in 1945 and the subsequent founding of the Legislative Council a result of the Second. Gibraltar was important during the First World War, and afterwards ‘there was a genuine desire to reward Gibraltar and its people for their contribution to the cause. A desire to reform and to modernise’.
CITY COUNCIL A LA CARTE
It was, however, a ‘City Council a la carte’. The four elected members – voted in only by male ratepayers – were in a minority as five appointed, often military, officials sat on the Council. It nonetheless ‘set the scene’ for later developments, especially regarding calls for an elected majority on the Council – this was achieved after the Second World War.
The Council’s establishment was ‘in institutional terms...where the journey of our political representation as a people actually began’. It came to an end in 1969, when it merged with the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly was born.
The exhibition, he said, ‘brings to life one important component of our long and difficult path to self government’.
Government Archivist Anthony Pitaluga said that his team had begun looking into this project back in January. He proudly stated that while other exhibitions often draw upon a wider context, such as the World Wars, this one ‘is 100% ours, and not only that, but...99.9% of the materials have been drawn from the fantastic repository that is the [Gibraltar] National Archives’. He added that the City Council collection at the Archives is ‘so vast’ that it would be possible to set up a ‘completely different’ exhibition with the material available.
Mr Pitaluga paid tribute to those involved in making this exhibition possible, especially his team at the GNA. He also thanked Ryan Tomsett, who had been an intern student at the Archives and brought the upcoming centenary of the City Council to Mr Pitaluga’s attention. Mr Pitaluga ended his speech with an adapted quote from a well-known song: ‘we just couldn’t wait to be on the road again, the life I like is making exhibitions with my friends’.
The exhibition is divided into eleven sections, and includes 243 images which have been captioned, dated and labelled. It includes material from the GNA and that which has been donated by the public.
Gerard Wood of the GNA described the hard work behind preparing this exhibition. The involved the data gathering stage and collecting of resources, many of which were already at the Archives: ‘it was just a question of unearthing what was already there’. The material was then put into printed and exhibit form and placed in context for the exhibition. One of the key considerations was the viewer experience, ‘making sure that the viewer has an easy ride and is guided through the course of the exhibition with ease so that they can enjoy it to the fullest’.
Mr Wood also praised the public response regarding the donation of material for the exhibition: ‘it’s been very good, we’ve had lots of members of the public coming forward and making quite valuable contributions which have upgraded the exhibition itself’.
IMPRESSIVE FIGURES
One of the exhibits includes a set of impressive figures representing well-known personalities from Gibraltar’s past. These have all been cast and painted by Mr Ralph Capurro. The figures on display include the calentita vendor Paloma, Mr Martinez (‘Be Sure’) with his horses, Robba, Dr Cassaglia (‘Jacan Bush’), Nati Banda and the photographer Pablo Moreno. Others represented the shoe shiner, ’el alfilador’ and the ‘ladies of the night’.
The exhibition will remain open to the public at City Hall from Monday to Friday, 10am-7pm until Friday 17th December.

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