Kenuna Tower

First of all, the name Ta’ Kenuna comes from the word kenur, which is the place where a fire is lit, probably in more distant times these areas were used to give signals of enemy attacks through the windows.

On the east door of the tower there is an inscription that says VR 1848: an indication that the tower was built during the reign of Queen Victoria of England in 1848 and during the time when there was a Governor of Malta, Richard More O’Ferrall. It includes two rooms and two other doors besides the one we mentioned, one facing West and the other facing South and you go up to the upper floor via a spiral staircase.

The purpose for which it was built was to be a means of telegraph communication between Malta and Gozo. It was then in direct communication with another similar tower in Għargħur Malta. This tower was mainly used by the military, but the public could also communicate through it for a fee of sixpence (€0.06) for every twenty words sent. But the use of the tower for telegraph did not last long, because technological progress was advancing at a rapid rate. Now communication could begin to be done through a direct line and no longer by telegraph. In 1860 such a line was laid between Malta and Gozo, which left the Kenuna tower unused after only twelve years of use.

Later on, the telephone was also introduced, with the first one in Nadur being installed in 1899 at the Police Station. Over time, the tower became derelict and abandoned. Parts of it began to collapse. During the Second World War, the Kenuna area was affected. On 9 March 1941, five German planes were seen flying low coming from the Ramla area. One of them crashed into the foundation under the Kenuna Tower.

The tower remained abandoned until, at the end of the twentieth century, Maltacom p.l.c., the national telecommunications company, took it over, restored it and installed the technology and infrastructure necessary to operate the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which is an aid to ships that find themselves in difficulty while sailing.

We can say that the Kenuna tower was then used again for a similar purpose to that for which it was built in 1848 – that of communication. It was inaugurated again one hundred and fifty years after it was built, on 20 December 1998.

Writing and research: Daniel Meilak B.A. (Hons)
Photos: Darren Cassar