The Greeks in Australia

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The Greeks in Australia The Greeks have made an enormous contribution to Australian cultural and social life, and this book tells their story. Beginning with an examination of the conditions in Europe that led to migration, it details the role of the Greek people in Australian settlement, the two large waves of Greek migration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the ways in which the Greeks have maintained a solid sense of Greek cultural expression. Numbering approximately half a million, the Greek community in Australia comprises the second-largest ethnic minority after the Italians. The contribution of Greek settlers to the large industrial cities and other major urban centres modernised them by injecting new ideas into the economic, social and political life of their new environment. The role of Greek settlers has been vital in building the nation we have today. Professor Anastasios Myrodis Tamis is Director of the National Centre for Hellenic Studies at La Trobe University.

THE GREEKS IN AUSTRALIA

A n a s ta s i o s M y r o d i s Ta m i s

   Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge  , UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521547437 © Anastasios Myrodis Tamis 2005 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2005 - -

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CONTENTS

Illustrations

page vi

Abbreviations

x

1 Hellas of Diaspora

1

2 The Greeks Discover Australia

31

3 Demographic Characteristics

59

4 Social and Community Life

67

5 The Years of Respectability

117

6 The Culture and Civilisation

133

7 From Migrants to Citizens

165

Further Reading

197

Index

200

v

I l l u s t r at i o n s

1 From the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Stefanopoulos to Australia (2002).

pages 25

2 Greek timber cutters and loggers in Bridgetown, Western Australia (1907) preparing sleepers for the construction of the Australian National Railways. Pictured here are M. Kalafatas, A. Palassis, I. and J. Barboutis.

34

3 Improvised homes in the bush belonging to Greek immigrants in 1890. Kastellorizian settlers at their ‘mansion’ in Western Australia.

35

4 The Greek businessman of Perth, Petros Michelidis, in the 1900s.

37

5 The Greeks of Sydney gather to celebrate at Paddington Town Hall (1929).

42

6 A Greek wedding in Melbourne circa 1925. In the middle, next to the newlyweds, is Metropolitan Christophoros Knitis. Behind him stands Rev. Dimopoulos, a close friend of the Metropolitan.

45

7 Kostas Kalaitzidis and his family being farewelled in 1957 bound for a new life in Australia. Thousands of migrants experienced such moments of parting at the Port of Piraeus.

48

8 The arrival of the liner Kyreneia in June 1953. Thousands of new settlers greet the crowd waiting for them on the historic pier of Port Melbourne.

49

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I l l u s t r at io n s

9 Playful Greek women of Adelaide during a picnic (1957), arriving as the ‘brides’.

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50

10 The President of Athens 2000, Gianna Aggelopoulou-Daskalakis with students of St Spyridon College moments before accepting the Olympic Torch.

57

11 Port Melbourne, 1953. Arrival of the ocean liner Kyreneia full of young male migrants. A new life of hope begins.

61

12 Kastorian P. Lekopoulos celebrates Christmas with compatriots and other Australians at Coff’s Harbour, NSW (1929).

65

13 The first Greek Consul General in Australia (1926–32), Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos (right) in Sydney with a friend (1926).

70

14 From the first visit of the second Metropolitan of Australia, Timotheos Evangellinidis, to Perth (1931) in a room where four Orthodox baptisms were performed.

71

15 Young evzones smile while awaiting the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Karamanlis (March 1982).

76

16 Young Australians retrieve the Holy Cross from the waters of Port Melbourne (1999).

96

17 Leaders of the Greek Community of Sydney celebrate Greek National Day in St Sofia Cathedral (28 March 1948).

100

18 Ithacans at a picnic in Newcastle, NSW during the 1940s.

101

19 The Hellenic soccer club a year before its merger with the Greek club of Yarra Park. As a result of this merger the popular Melbourne Hellas was established (c. early 1950s).

103

20 Greeks of Melbourne during a picnic with their priest in the early 1920s.

106

21 The first Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Australia, Christoforos Knitis (1924–8), accompanied by the newly married Theodore Politis and his wife, overlooks the city of Adelaide from the surrounding hills (July 1926).

108

22 Archbishop Ezekiel visiting a Greek child-care centre in Fitzroy, Melbourne (1967).

112

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I l l u s t r at io n s

23 Pope Paul visited Australia on 30 November 1970. Archbishop Ezekiel welcomed him at the Sydney airport on behalf of Orthodox Patriarch, Athenagoras.

114

24 Nakis Raftopoulos was operating his fruit shop ‘Mildura’ from 250 Johnston Street, Abbotsford. The meticulous order is apparent (1931).

118

25 Fish shop in Collingwood, Melbourne, at the beginning of the 1930s. In 1934 the shop was sold to Constantinos Xanthos. Pictured here, Stamatis and Constantinos Xanthos.

118

26 Sarantos G. Zantiotis (second from left) with the personnel of his caf´e in Grafton, NSW (1913).

121

27 Staff of the ‘Capitol Caf´e’ in Canberra (1927). From left: Ioannis Notaras, Ioannis Kassimatis, Manolis Notaras and the owner of the caf´e, Theo Notaras.

122

28 Nikos Constantinidis’ Fruit Market at Kingston (1948).

123

29 Karpathian settlers Constantinos Mantinaos, Ioannis Economidis and Minas Economidis take pride in the Greek flag at Parliament House (1950).

131

30 The only Greek afternoon school in Melbourne in 1947. Teachers Alexandra Vrachna (first from left), Nina Mavrokefalos (back) and Stathis Raftopoulos are seen here with their students celebrating Greek National Day.

135

31 Students of the Aristoteleion High School in Brunswick parade as part of the celebrations marking the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Karamanlis(1982).

137

32 Teacher Anna Kovaiou with her students at a Greek School in Melbourne (1971).

138

33 Florinian girls of Melbourne in their traditional costumes during a dancing exhibition (1969).

151

34 The Norwegian steamship Skaugum anchored at Fremantle outside Perth. Greek migrants photographed at the pier.

166

35 It is estimated that approximately 3000 Greek Australians took part in World War II with the Australian Imperial Army. J. Valtazanos served in the Australian Army as an

I l l u s t r at io n s

officer and later on was appointed Harbour Master during the war (1944).

ix

169

36 The President being welcomed enthusiastically (March 1982).

181

37 The President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Karamanlis accompanied by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser (on his right), and the Premier of Victoria, Lindsay Thompson (1982).

182

38 Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visits the Melbourne Town Hall where the Greek community organised a rally in his favour in 1975.

191

Maps 1 Greece

30

Illustrations are from the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora, National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research, La Trobe University.

A b b r e v i at i o n s

ANZAC EU GDP GOCM GOCNSW GOCS HACCI KAM LTU NCHSR PASOK SAE

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps European Union Gross Domestic Product Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales, also GOCS Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales, also GOCNSW Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kentro Apodemon Makedonon (Centre of Macedonians Abroad) La Trobe University National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research Panellenion Sosialistiko Kinema (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) Symvoulio Apodemou Hellenismou (World Council of Greeks Abroad)

x

1 H E L L A S OF DIA S P OR A

Over the last 3000 years Greeks have always perceived themselves as an elect people. Their history of two thousand years under foreign dominion portrays the sufferings of a nation, which attained the highest degree of civilisation in antiquity. Yet, all those years have not eradicated their national character and culture, including their language, nor reduced their national ambitions. During classical antiquity the Greek identity was established through language, culture and superiority in science, technology and letters. Soon after, via Alexander the Great and the unified Greek army, they established the first real empire of the world spreading Hellenism across three continents and leading the genesis of the Eastern Hellenic world. Later, Greeks appeared as Byzantines in a Christian Empire (330–1453 AD), which alone guarded and disseminated the true faith, the Orthodoxy. Yet in historical and political terms, it was only in 1830 that the Greek people achieved an exclusive sovereign identity through the establishment of a modern Greek state. This was made possible only with the active support of the European Powers, the influence of the utilitarian western tradition and institutional life, and the active moral and financial contribution of the Greek communities scattered throughout Europe since the middle of the fifteenth century. Prior to the foundation of the Greek state, Greeks lived for almost five hundred years as a subject millet (people) in the Ottoman Empire distinguished only by their religious affiliation. The Greek War for Independence (1821–9) represented the first revolution by a Christian oppressed nation against the Ottomans and its successful

1

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outcome inspired other Balkan millets to rise against them, thus causing the disintegration of their Empire. Greek expatriation has also been an intense phenomenon over the last 3000 years, with more than 40 per cent of Greeks residing, at any given time, outside the national borders of Greece. This phenomenon has been the outcome of a national ambition to expand and survive or the consequence of a long period of foreign domination. This massive exodus took initially the form of colonisation from the eighth to fifth century BC, followed by the dispersion of thousands of Greeks precipitated by military campaigns or long term occupations of Greece. This dispersion took the form of a Diaspora and was best manifested during the Hellenistic era (352–160 BC), the Roman conquest of the Greek world (160 BC to 350 AD), and the fall of Byzantium to the Ottoman Sultans (1453–1821). The last exodus of the Greeks took the form of migration and commenced in massive numbers during the second last decade of the nineteenth century. Until 1974, they settled in almost 150 countries around the world, carrying with them their heritage together with their homeland’s political divisions and national rivalries. The era of Hellenic colonisation commenced from the eighth century BC, spreading Greeks over colonies around the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas, in search of new ports and fertile lands. Wishing to secure their lives, thousands of Greek colonists ‘emigrated’ and built over one hundred prosperous colonies, in North Africa, South Europe, especially Sicily and South Italy (Magna Graecia), South Russia and the Crimean peninsula, the Levant and the whole of Asia Minor. These colonies established robust administrations and managed to flourish both financially and socially, even surpassing, in some cases, their metropolis city-states with which they usually maintained amicable relations and to which they turned in times of need. Odessa, Marseilles, Nice, Tripolis and the affluent states of south Italy and Sicily including Catania and Syracuse were some of these colonies. These expatriate Greek colonists brought with them the Hellenic culture and language, influencing the neighbouring foreign peoples and in many instances Hellenising them. Greek sailors and merchants, poets and orators travelled within the Mediterranean Sea, from colony to colony, transforming the entire region into a Greek world. During the classical years (c. 490–350 BC) Greek expatriation slowed for domestic and external reasons. Following the victorious wars against the Persians (490–479 BC), the Athenian hegemony led Hellas to prosperity and affluence. Greek theatre, schools of thought

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3

and art, architecture and poetry, sciences and technology offered to the world unsurpassable knowledge and the ethos of kallos (beauty). The Golden Age of Athens and its cultural and spiritual enhancement attracted many thousands of Greek and foreign immigrants as well as the envy of her opponent city-states. Greek urban centres, especially Athens, were heavily populated and the fruits of classical civilisation were communicated to the entire then known world via the common Greek (Attic) language. The moral obligation of the metropolis cities to support their colonies coupled with unscrupulous greediness, political arrogance and demagogical attitudes led to the downfall of the Athenian hegemony and with it the beginning of the demise of the classical era. Sparta and her allies, following the unwise Sicilian expedition masterminded by the ambitious and imperialist Athenian general and statesman Alcibiades and the eventual destruction of the Athenian army, defeated Athens. Immediately after the Peloponnesian War (431–301 BC), Athens re-emerged ephemerally as the cultural cornerstone of Greece. This was manifested in Platonic philosophy, the appearance of the new comedy and the contribution of many charismatic philosophers, poets, orators and artists. However, Athens was already militarily exhausted; her navy was destroyed; her population was decimated by successive plagues; her income and wealth, produced of her hegemony over other Greek cities, dwindled. Thus the decline was inevitable. This led other Greek city-states to emerge into prominence. The Boetian city of Thebes and her allies rose to power, as did the Macedonian royal dynasty of Philip and his son, Alexander the Great. They shaped the history of Hellas and the entire western world. The ascendant dynasty claimed direct descent from the Greek ancestry and tradition, and became the advocate of the Greek heritage and language, spreading them to three continents. Following the conquest of Persia and her allies by the united Greek armies of Alexander the Great and his successors, thousands of Greeks dispersed and established prosperous centres of the Hellenistic world in Egypt and Asia, including Alexandria, Antioch and Ephesus. These commercial cities emerged culturally in a vacuum, with no local traditions of their own. They were the outcome of the Greek Diaspora and their main language and character was Greek. During the years of the Hellenisation of the eastern world thousands of Greeks were scattered from Macedonia to India and Afghanistan and from Thebes in Egypt to Alexandria Eschate in Russia, disseminating Greek culture and language. This led to the spread of Greek arts and thought to the rest of the known world; to the promotion of the sciences

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of medicine, politics, mathematics, architecture, philosophy and astronomy; and to the transfer of the centre of Hellas from Athens to Alexandria. The relocation of the centre of Hellas from Greece to Egypt brought the Hellenic civilisation and tradition closer and more accessible to those nations and peoples of the East, including Africa and the Levant. After the devastation of the Roman conquest, the destruction of Corinth, the obliteration of Macedonia and the massacre of the Athenians many Greeks seeking safety found refuge in other parts of the world. Under the Romans, the Greeks formed only an insignificant portion of a vast empire and did not play any noteworthy political role. Yet, the conquerors were culturally defeated. The Hellenic cultural dispersion continued, spreading the enlightenment of classical Greece within the borders of the Roman Empire. Greek teachers, pedagogues, poets, orators and artisans were in high demand by the Roman rulers to educate their offspring and thus be acculturated. Famous foreign historians and leaders of the time, including Josephus, Appianos, Lucian, Arianus, Tatius Achilleus, Cassius Deion, Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the Evangelists commenced writing in Greek, instead of their native tongue, Latin or Aramaic. In this way their work circulated to a larger readership and became popular and widespread. The most fundamental texts of western civilisation and Christian scripture were formulated and transmitted through the ages via the Greek language. During this period, certain Greek Christian communities were also scattered across the Roman Empire before it adopted Christianity as the state religion. The rise of the Christian theocratic Eastern Roman Empire (330– 1453) in the heart of the Eastern Hellenic world offered the Greek language and culture an important role to play. That the Eastern Roman Empire was also theocratic further enhanced this importance. Yet, official Byzantium, its administration and its Christian Emperor, were the enemies of Hellenism, representing to the Greeks paganism and polytheism. The moral and religious values of the Hellenic antiquity were hostile to Byzantium, God’s earthly kingdom. The hostility led to the closure of the philosophical school of Athens by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, the termination of the Olympic Games and the devastation of Olympia by Emperor Theodosius. The terms Hellene and ethnos (nation) were treated with distaste, perceived to indicate the heretic, the barbarian and the pagan. Even the first Ecumenical Patriarch after the fall of Byzantium to the Ottomans, the controversial Gennadios (George) Scholarios refused to allow himself to be called

HELLAS OF DIASPORA

5

Hellene. Yet notwithstanding this official antagonism to Hellenism as a philosophical and moral movement, and in spite of a lack of ethnic identification with the ancient Greeks, the Byzantines maintained a tradition of Hellenic culture while the Greeks were identified with the imperial administration, particularly from the accession of Leo the Isaurian (716). This was implemented via the secular avenues of the Greek language and the Greek literature, which were fully adopted. Classical education and knowledge of the ancient Greek language were indispensable prerequisites for any advancement to the higher ranks of the Byzantine administration. This situation led to the formation of an intellectual aristocracy, admitting only those with a Hellenic education. Despite the official hostility of the Byzantines to platonic ideas and the moral values of Hellenism, this intellectual ´elite became the claimants of the Hellenic heritage and propagators of Greek historical identity and continuity. During the first half of the fifteenth century, this ‘Hellenising’ movement, led by George Gemistos Pletho, Cardinal Isidorus, Constantinos Laskareos, Ioannis Argyropoulos, Manuel Chrysoloras, Cardinal Bessarion, Antonicus, George of Trapezund, Theodore Gazas and other prominent classical scholars was directed to both the hierarchy of the increasingly frail Byzantium as well as to the ‘schismatic’ Christian West, the latter demanding, in return for assistance to resist the Turkish insurrection, that Byzantium and the Orthodox Church acknowledge the universal authority of the Pope. Pletho, representing the changing attitudes towards the ancient Greek world, idealistically claimed to Emperor Manuel II that the people of mainland Greece were the racial and spiritual descendants of the old Hellenes: We over whom you rule and hold sway are Hellenes by race, as is demonstrated by our language and ancestral education. And for Hellenes there is no more proper and peculiar land to be found than the Peloponnese, together with the neighbouring part of Europe and the islands that lie near to it. For it appears that the same Hellenes have always inhabited this land, as far as the memory of man reaches back: none lived here before them. Have immigrants occupied it and expelled the others, later to be expelled themselves in the same way? No, on the contrary, the Hellenes themselves appear always to have been its possessors, and never to have left it . . .

The history of the Greek nation demonstrates the degree of human determination and resilience. Neither the Roman Caesars, nor the

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Frankish princes, any more than the Turkish sultans were able to interrupt the continual broadcast of a political and cultural inheritance by each generation of the Greek race to its successors. As British historian G. Finley (1877: xxii), a contemporary and associate of Lord Byron, wrote in May 1843: The Greeks are the only existing representatives of the ancient world. They have maintained possession of their country, their language, and their social organization, against physical and moral forces, which have swept from the face of the earth all their contemporaries, friends and enemies. It can hardly be disputed that the preservation of their national existence is to be partly attributed to the institutions that they have received from their ancestors.

Nevertheless, Greek movements in the Diaspora maintained a strong momentum during the third century AD with the ravages of the Teutonic Herules and the ruthless incursions of the Goths and Alaric in the fourth century. The exodus continued with the massive invasions of the Slavs and their subsequent settlement during the sixth and seventh centuries and the raids of the Albanians in the fourteenth century. After the destruction of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and their conquest of a large portion of Byzantium, the severity of the Latin influence and domination forced many Greeks to flee to Asia. The expatriation of Greeks sustained its momentum following the failure to implement the Council of Ferrara-Florence’s agreement ‘Laetentur Coeli’ (1439) for the union of the Orthodox and the Roman Churches. The notion of orthodoxy of the ‘true faith’, where the names of Hellene and Plato were still alien, prevailed over the ‘schismatic’ and Aristotelian Latin and its Pope. After all, the ideas expressed by the Greeks participating in the Council, including Byzantine Emperor Ioannis VIII Paleologos, were shared only by a small section of the Byzantine educated classes and still less among the inhabitants of Hellas, who remained loyal to the Orthodox Christian tradition. Despite the Council’s failure, its chief result was to bring many Greeks to Italy and central Europe, thus strengthening the cultural connection between East and West. In any case, the Turkish conquest that followed, reminiscent of the biblical Babylonian captivity, represented for the Byzantine masses a temporary punishment for the sins, which His people committed before God. Given the aforementioned constraints, until the last decades of the fourteenth century the Hellenic world did not create any substantial contact with the then western European tradition and institutional life, which began to develop mainly in Italy by the early thirteenth

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century. Greek intellectuals and soldiers began their sporadic dispersion towards the European kingdoms and states around the late thirteenth century in anticipation of employment and a more secure environment. However, larger waves of Greek immigrants began to settle in southern and central Europe during the last seventy years before the fall of Constantinople in 1453. During the Ottoman rule (1453–1821) Greeks suffered degradation and calamities, the imposition of unbearable taxes and hostile attitudes to the rayiades (slaves), leading to a massive exodus of Greeks, initially towards Europe and, later on, to the rest of the world, thus establishing trans-territorial Hellenism or the Hellenic Diaspora. The Greeks in Diaspora played a key role in the establishment of the modern Greek state (1830) and the post-independence development of Greece, and substantially contributed to the cultural, political, economic and social welfare of the host countries where Greeks had settled. The patriotic role of the Greek communities diminished after the establishment of the Greek state; nevertheless, it remained robust in any international crisis affecting Greece or Cyprus. The term ‘Hellenic Diaspora’ characterizes those Greeks, who despite their temporary or permanent expatriation to foreign lands for any reason, continue to maintain cultural, political, economic or social relations with their country of ancestry and descent. The total population of those people currently residing outside the boundaries of Greece and Cyprus could be estimated between 4 000 000 to 4 500 000. The Greeks, upon their arrival in the host country, establish their own separate social groups, which they call paroik´ıes (communities) and identify themselves as different from the mainstream society. These communities do not require the active participation or affiliation of their members. During antiquity the term paroikia (community) was closely linked with the apoikia (colony), the difference being in the distance separating them from the metropolis, rather than the structure of the group. The equivalent commonly accepted term in western European bibliography was colonia. The members of the Greek community in any given host country were organised in distinct ethno-religious entities, called koinotetes (communities). Although most of the Greek communities in Diaspora were united in cases of imminent strife or danger to Greece or Cyprus, nevertheless constant intra-community dissension in times of peace led to schisms and serious rifts. During the initial years of the Hellenic Diaspora the conflicts were mainly religious, between those aspiring to a United Catholic Church under the primacy of the Holy See in Rome and those remaining loyal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in

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Constantinople. Later on, intra-community splits occurred for reasons of political ideology, the preferred type and structure of the organisation or personal animosities. Greek community organisations, upon their establishment, acquired legal status from the host country. Until the establishment of the world Council for Greeks Abroad (SAE) in 1989, there was no administrative linkage between the organised Greek communities in Diaspora and Greece or Cyprus. Initially, the Church of Greece (1908–23) and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople thereafter, in the absence of the Greek State in Diaspora, played an ethno-religious role, as was the case during the stony years of the Ottoman Rule (1453–1821), often with catastrophic results. During their initial exodus (1400–1860) Greeks were scattered in well-known ports and commercial cities throughout Europe, where they occupied themselves first with commerce and later on with navigation, banking, insurance and other industries. The settlement in most urban centres was numerically very limited. Greek migration was precipitated by the harsh land occupancy laws introduced by the Ottoman Empire. Demographic pressures followed, exerted on the Greek-speaking Christian population because of massive numbers of Muslim settlers especially in the plains and fertile regions of the empire and the movement of the peasantry to more secure parts. A large portion of those emigrating settled in countries around the Danube River, especially Moldavia, Vlachia and Romania. Earlier (late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries), there was a sizeable exodus of scholars and charismatic intellectuals, experts in classical studies and ardent masters of the ancient Greek language, heading towards central and northern Italy and playing an important role in the Italian Renaissance. A smaller number of Greek soldiers, remnants of Byzantium, left for France and England. During the second half of the fifteenth century the expatriation currents increased and most Greeks settled in southern Italy. Another group of 4000 Greeks sought refuge in the Spanish colonies in Italy. Most of them later crossed to Spain, where they settled in Toledo and from this group many travelled as far as Central and South America. The wave of migration increased dramatically 200 years later with the termination of the Venetian occupation of Euboea and Crete (1645–69), when thousands of islander Greeks fled from Turkish rule to seek refuge in Italy. The constant warfare of the European countries with the Ottoman Empire generated the massive exodus of Greeks towards Europe. Thus, hundreds of Greeks from the Dodekanese fled to Malta (1530) and from Rhodes to Italy (1522),

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while during the period 1532–4 more than 6000 Greeks from the western Peloponnese sought refuge in Sicily (Palermo, Syracuse and Messina) and Italy (Naples, Brindisi, Regio di Calabria), where they established local Greek communities. Substantial numbers of Greeks emigrated to Europe following the fall of Nafplion and Monemvasia (1540–1) and of Cyprus (1570–1) to the Turks. Another cause of expatriation was the Russian–Turkish Wars (1768–74) and (1787–92), especially from the Peloponnese and the islands of the Cyclades. Some of the fleeing Greeks moved to the British-occupied Ionian Islands, however, the majority dispersed throughout central Europe, Russia and the cities of Venice, Napoli, Livorno, Trieste and Minorca. During the beginning of the Greek War for Independence (25 March 1821) thousands of Greeks left their ancestral homes from Smyrna, Kydonies (Aivali), Constantinople, Cyprus, the islands of the Aegean, Macedonia and the Peloponnese. However, they repatriated immediately after the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830. During the long period between 1390 and 1821, those Greek immigrants living in Europe had better cultural, social and political opportunities to realise the political problem of their country, if compared with those living under the Ottoman yoke. The former understood that a compromise between the values of the Greek Orthodox tradition and the need to modernise their society with the prevailing western concepts was the ideal situation. The influence exerted on Greek immigrants by the societies of European countries (primarily France and Italy) via the Renaissance was also based on the culture and thought of the ancient Greek world. The Greek manuscripts were initially translated into Latin during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries from Arabic, whereas Greek literature began to spread to the West during the fourteenth century with the arrival of Byzantine scholars and the visits of Italian humanists to Constantinople. Thus for the Greek immigrants living in the Diaspora of Europe this was not a foreign influence but rather a repatriation of the ancient Greek cultural tradition. This time the idealisation of the classical golden age of ancient Greece was not emerging from the Greeks and their bibliography. The European intellectuals themselves, including the divine Petrarch, argued that only Greek and Latin authors should be studied for guidance on how to live, how to enjoy nature, how to cultivate friendship and so on. The whole pattern of education for citizenship, the thoughts about civil and social order, the norms of a rationalistic interpretation of life were concepts well known to the Greek intellectuals, students and

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merchants residing in European countries. The educational reorientation in Europe had been an intellectual revolt replacing the theocratic doctrine of the universe with the capacity of the human individual. The humanist ideology emerging amongst those Greek immigrants scattered in Europe, as merchants in large commercial centres, as students in the Venetian Republic’s University of Padua and the University of Bologna was based now on the dogma that the Greek political problem could only be resolved with the implementation of western type of administration. To implement this it was necessary to expel the Turks from the Greek regions with the military assistance of the Christian European countries. These ideas were not isolated to within the European Greek communities but were also spread throughout Greece, via those Greek students studying abroad, Greek merchants, sailors, and shipping agents, and via the circulation of printed material. Following a number of commercial treaties and the signing of charters of privileges between the Ottomans and France and England (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) the Greek lands and in particular the Greek islands received the enlightened visit of a large number of scholars and well educated merchants carrying with them the dream of the liberation of Hellas. The exposure of the Greeks to the ‘Hellenised’ western ideals was paying back. The Greeks were re-emerging as the first ‘westernised’ ethnic group in eastern Europe inspired by the concepts of liberalism and humanism. The Greeks of the Diaspora undertook also the important role of infiltrating the various regions under Ottoman rule with a large Greek population, involving diplomats, merchants, missionaries and intellectuals, and thus they were breaking their cultural and political isolation. During the centuries of the Turkish occupation, the Christian Orthodox Church in Greek lands, from the Peloponnese to Macedonia, remained idle, as it had been in Byzantine times, unable to produce any radical thought. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was proclaimed by the ruling Sultans not simply the spiritual but also the temporal ruler milletbashi (national leader) and enjoyed privileges for the entire civil and ecclesiastical administration of the Christian millet (nation). Thus, the Greeks under Turkish rule remained as anti-western as they used to be when they were masters of their own empire, Byzantium. Conservative ecclesiastic attitudes, portraying western Europe as apostates from the ‘true faith’ coupled with the collective memory of the Crusaders of 1204, who sacked Constantinople and imposed their long occupation, continued to generate legacies of extreme suspicion and rejection. This hostile sentiment

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against the Franks was further augmented by Venetian and Genoese trading activities, which deprived Byzantium of its financial means, and led to its demise and to the proselytising religious orders of the Jesuits (1645), the French Capuchins (1658) and the Evangelist missionaries. These activities continued to generate ill feelings amongst the Greeks even into the twenty-first century, necessitating Pope John Paul II to publicly apologise ‘for the crimes committed by the Roman Catholic Church against the Orthodox’as a preconditions of his pilgrimage to Athens in 2002. The presence of Greek communities in Europe, with their economic, social and cultural achievements and contribution, slowly, from the fall of Constantinople until the days of the War for Independence, improved the image of Hellas and furthered the philhellenic movement in Europe, recruiting its members from within the humanist, liberal and intellectual stock. This philhellenism, which brought Lord Byron to the city of Mesolonghi, encouraged the Greeks to rise against the Turkish yoke and establish a nation, perhaps on the lines of a secular (non-theocratic) state and in accordance with the fashionable theories of Rousseau. The University of Padua, under the direct authority of the Venetian Republic, and untouchable by the papal court and the Inquisition, under the direct influence of the affluent Greek Community of Venice, became the centre of the Aristotelian movement for a secular state. The University benefited from the services of the most outstanding Greek scholars of the time, who brought with them sources of knowledge and scholarship unknown in western Europe. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Greek Community of Venice built robust Greek commercial houses and printing facilities, and by 1498 permission was given for the establishment and operation of the Greek Orthodox Brotherhood of St Nicholas. As from 1511 the Brotherhood brought its own Orthodox clergymen and began services at the premises of the Brotherhood. The organised members of the Community in 1539 commenced the building of St George, the first Greek Orthodox Church in Frankish Europe, while in 1610 they established a secondary college and in 1665 the Flanginineion School, a college that operated for almost four centuries (until 1905), training over 500 educators and pedagogues from all over the Greek regions. Many of those trained were admitted to the University of Padua, thus becoming educated in Aristotelian ideas. The appointment of a neo-Aristotelian scholar, Theophilos Corydalleus from Venice as the director of the Academy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1624 by Patriarch Cyril Loukaris, was of paramount importance

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for the transmission of humanist and secular thought and culture into the Greek lands under the Turkish yoke. Corydalleus reorganised the Academy of the Patriarchate along the lines of Padua University, imposing a secular philosophy as the basis for higher education, and thus breaking away from its connection with theology. In 1817, the affluent Greek Community of Odessa organised its own school recruiting outstanding Greek scholars of the time from Italy and other European countries who could undertake a teaching role. The Greek Commercial School in Odessa, which continued its operations until its destruction during the Bolshevik uprising of 1918, admitted thousands of Russian and Greek students. Many of those Greek students in Odessa, emerging from the Greek Diaspora, were nourished by the liberal ideas of secular scholarship, and exerted powerful influences, via their affluent commercial families, on the actual intellectual and cultural mentality of pre-independence society. However, despite the broad acceptance of Hellenic ideals and thought by the European world, there was also a disruptive reactionary influence from certain European rulers of the time and the Roman Catholic Church, which opposed Orthodox activities. The Greek communities in Europe, being small were often subjected to suspicion and prejudice. To build a Greek Orthodox Church was an achievement, involving long delays from the authorities. The permit was usually given only after persistent pressure applied by the community leaders and by influential and generous Greek notables. Until at least the middle of the eighteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church applied enormous pressure to proselytise the Orthodox migrants. The rivalry was especially vigorous during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, particularly in Sicily and South Italy under Spanish sovereignty and in central Italy under the Vatican Church. Many small Greek communities, bowing to the coercion, accepted the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church and, although remaining Orthodox in faith, acknowledged the ecclesiastic union (Unia) and recognised the Pope as their universal leader. This dogmatic integration led to the alienation of their Greek culture, which in turn led to their acculturation, progressive social assimilation and in certain cases to their Latinisation. However, most Greek communities resisted the pressure, allied with other Orthodox Christians, including Serbs and Russians and built their churches in Napoli (1561), Trieste (1782–7), Vienna (1646) and Odessa (1794), to mention only a few. The Aristotelian ideology of a purely natural and secular state and the concept of happiness via self-sufficiency influenced the Greek

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aristocracy and the affluent merchant classes of Greek settlements in Europe. They established Venice as the most important Greek commercial colony in the world; however, by the eighteenth century robust Greek communities operated in large European commercial centres, including Malta, Napoli, Barleta, Ancona, Genoa, Livorno, Leipzig, Utrecht, Algeria, Tunic, Corsica, Novas, Bravos, Iasi, Zangrep, Istria, Cherson, Nikolaiev, Gumushane, Erzerum, Halle, Chalka, London, Manchester, Trieste, Piza, Vienna, Paris, Marseilles, Amsterdam, Leghorn, Peste, Zemlin, Alexandria, Odessa, Marioupolis and the Indian cities of Calcutta and Dacca to mention a few. Many of those merchants and ship owners had already from the beginning of the seventeenth century acquired control of the domestic and external commerce and navigation of the Ottoman Empire. From the closing years of the eighteenth century those merchants intensified their activities, combining intellectual and economic resources, to prepare the ground for the liberation of their country. The secular liberalism and the ideas of classical enlightenment, which were financially promoted by the merchant and ship owner classes, mainly in Diaspora, were best attained and disseminated in the writings of prominent educators including Regas Ferraios and, most importantly, Adamantios Korais. Equally supportive of the cause to revive the culture of classical Greece and salvage their country were the Phanariots, the high class of civil administrators of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Most of them possessed a wide education, usually at Padua University, and skills in languages, and held positions of prestige in the officialdom of the Ottoman government. For example, Padua graduate, mathematician and astronomer Panayiotis Nikousios was proclaimed the first Phanariot Dragoman of the Porte (1661) to be followed by Alexandros Mavrocordatos, who studied medicine and philosophy at Padua. These affluent patriots and their communities abroad embarked on a campaign to revive the Greek language and classical culture and educate the nation of Greeks, establishing and sustaining Greek schools operating in the Greek lands under the Ottoman yoke. It is therefore not surprising that all the insurrections and revolutions, commencing from the sixteenth century, from Cyprus to Macedonia during the Ottoman Rule were in fact implemented with the active assistance and participation of the Greeks of Diaspora. The involvement of the Greeks of Diaspora in the struggle for liberation took many forms. Socially powerful Greek leaders petitioned the European rulers for an armed interference to save Hellas from the Turks, reminding them of their moral duty to the ancient Greeks.

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Financially powerful Greek personalities constantly campaigned against the Turkish tyranny printing newspapers, pamphlets and proclamations in an attempt to influence the central European powers. The Greeks in Diaspora formed secret societies to save their country and many liberal personalities were enlisted in support of the cause. Most believed that the authority behind these societies was Tsar Alexander himself, others claimed that it was his Greek Foreign Minister I. Capodistrias, who in fact in 1816 refused an invitation to lead the conspiracy. For example, the Friendly Society was founded in Odessa (1814), to coordinate the various Greek social and economic groups in their conspiracy to revolt against the Turks. The society moved its centre to Constantinople (1818), recruiting prominent merchants, ship owners, sea captains and clergymen to its ranks. Greek community members abroad were compelled to contribute substantially towards the cause of liberation, offering resources and many of them their own lives, often condemned by the courts of the central European powers in an attempt to improve their relations with the Ottomans. Yet, in 1821, the struggle for the independence of Greece, which was loosely coordinated, had a successful outcome for the Greeks. A modern Greek state was officially proclaimed with the Berlin Treaty of 1830 and its existence owes a lot to the interference of the European Great Powers, especially the British, the French and the Russians. The triumphant outcome was also inspired by many other factors, such as the Greeks of Diaspora with their aristocracy of merchants, intellectuals, powerful bankers and those involved with the leadership of the Greek communities as well those living for centuries under the Turkish yoke, comprising mainly clergymen, administrators, ship owners and merchants who managed to develop a national conscience during the last thirty years prior to the revolt. There were also the united forces of kleftes (armed brigands), who took to the mountains of Greece initially to escape from the authorities, and the armatoloi (Christian irregulars appointed for the protection of the masses). Then there was the heroic consent of the ruler of Mani in southern Peloponnese, Petrombeis Mavromichalis, who agreed to become a member of the Friendly Society although his region enjoyed the privilege of autonomy. The role of Greek notables serving in the Army and the Government of Russia, including the reluctant Foreign Minister of Russia, I. Capodistrias and the Phanariot officer of the Russian Army, Alexandros Hypsilandis and other Greek leaders in semi-autonomous regions of the Empire, including Michalis Soutsos, Hosbodar of Moldavia, were also

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important. Most Greeks, despite the disastrous consequences of the Russian intervention, which encouraged the southern Greeks to revolt in 1770, were looking to Russia for their deliverance. After all, following the Treaty of Kiutsuk Kainartzi (1774), Russia was the Christian Orthodox power entitled to protect the Orthodox subjects under the Ottomans. It was in Russia that the Greeks were exerting enormous influence having their own compatriots in positions of prestige and power in commerce, administration, the army and navy. The establishment of a modern Greek state (1830) even with the unification of the Ionian Islands (1864) and the annexation of Thessaly (1881) created a clear anomaly between national dominion and political state sovereignty. For example, with Italy or Poland, the national dominion coincided with the formation of their political sovereignty, that is, there was an agreement and harmony between the given ethnic groups and their national boundaries. In the case of Greece, however, the new political state comprised only a small part of the region where Greeks were residing. The most substantial number of people identifying with the Greek culture, language and the Orthodox faith, estimated at eight million, had been left outside the boundaries of the modern Greek state. This generated an uninhibited nationalism and gave rise to a crusade to liberate those alytrotous (irredentist) Greeks remaining under the Ottoman yoke. Despite the fact that post-Ottoman Greece, during these early years, remained a nation of destitutes and peasants, with a devastated countryside and inadequate resources and infrastructure, the aspirations of both the Government and the people were directed towards the revival of the Byzantine imperium. Yet, in 1834 the total population of Greece was 651 233. The number increased to 823 773 in 1839, to 930 295 in 1844, to 1 035 527 in 1853 and to 1 096 810 in 1861. Its emerging middle class, consisting mainly of artisans, maritime and retail groups, was inspired to mould both foreign and domestic policies to expand the nation, to revive its ancient glory and re-establish the Hellenic world. These grandiose aspirations partially reflected commercial and economic advances made by Greeks domestically and in Diaspora: the emergence of Piraeus as a strong Mediterranean port, the enhancement of commercial transactions in Syros, Andros and Piraeus, the swift development of the Greek merchant fleet, ranking fourth after those of England, Norway and Denmark, and the interest demonstrated by certain European powers, especially Belgium, France, Germany and England, towards investing heavily in banking and infrastructure work, including energy, tramways and mines.

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With the establishment of an independent Greek state, Greek communities in European Diaspora declined both in number and economically. The initial inward movement from Europe to the tiny kingdom of Greece was almost insignificant. Substantial movement towards the liberated land came only from those Greek lands under the Ottomans, mainly from Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace and Crete. The nationalist movements in various host European countries as well as the changing economic and social characteristics there also affected the decline of Greek communities. Another contributing factor was the reduction of the number of Greeks under Ottoman rule entering Europe, as a result of economic agreements signed between the High Porte (the Sultan) and the British and French governments, giving the opportunity to Greeks, Jews and Armenians to undertake a primary role in economic matters within the Ottoman Empire. The bilateral agreements generated a new flow of migration towards Manchester, Liverpool and London where robust Greek communities were established as a result of these commercial initiatives. As from 1840, Greeks commenced their exodus to neighbouring Egypt, where they established themselves as the largest ethnic group living in that country until the conclusion of the World War I. The new situation also inspired the Greek maritime industry to transport commercial products, especially grain from Turkey and the eastern European countries. However, during the last three decades of the nineteenth century, Greeks began to migrate in large numbers from the liberated Greek state and the Greek lands under the Ottomans towards southern Russia and the Caucasus, Transylvania, Bessarabia, Moldavia, and Vlachia, while by 1880 Greek migrants commenced their settlement in the Americas and Australia, a trend which continued until the eve of World War II. During this period there was also a massive Cypriot exodus to England and Australia, creating large Cypriot communities in London, Manchester, Melbourne, Sydney and Home Hill (in Queensland). The dispersion of the Greeks was caused by various economic and political factors. First, domestically, the tiny kingdom of Greece was predominantly rural and undeveloped. The agriculturists remained neglected and impoverished, and most of the land remained, in the hands of indifferent Greek governments, untilled. Those who were fortunate to acquire some land for cultivation from the government were subjected to heavy rental fees, equivalent to almost 10 per cent of their annual income. The inability to borrow funds to cultivate the land and purchase supplies forced many to emigrate. In the urban centres, with the exception of Athens, where most taxes and public capital were directed,

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there were only clusters of merchants, small manufacturers and retailers, which were inadequate to provide employment and security. The imprudent war with Turkey (1897) and the construction of public works led to heavy taxes, placing the burden on the rural population and the lower middle class people of the urban centres. The main drive for Greek expatriation, which took various forms from 1870 to 1970, sending almost 3 000 000 migrants to foreign lands, was the pursuit of opportunities, rather than class discrimination or any desire to escape military conscription. Heavy emigration was precipitated by the severe decline in the price of traditional Greek export products, especially currants and figs as a result of changes in the commercial policies of the two major importing partners, France and Russia. The elimination of olive trees in Peloponnese and their replacement with vineyards to profit from the currant trade also caused much emigration. Other underlying reasons included the unhealthy state of the Greek economy, the decline in the value of the drachma, the serious natural disasters that struck Greece, severe unemployment, crop failure, and the dowry system, forcing not only brothers and fathers to emigrate but also some females. The outflow was initially from the islands and the Peloponnese and later on from Epirus and Macedonia, using Patras as the principal port of embarkation. Greeks emigrating from the Ottoman Empire usually left for political reasons. Military service was imposed upon all Greeks living within the boundaries of New Turkey after 1908, compelling many young Greeks to emigrate. Loyalty to Greece and their Orthodox faith was the most important aspiration for all of them. During 1907 a total of 21 207 migrants left from Patras, Kalamata and Zante for North America alone to find an inhospitable social climate, where xenophobia and racism were at their peak. There were also mounting national and international tensions aggravating these economic problems. The Crimean War (1853–6) and the Russian Turkish War (1877–8) generated another massive influx of the Greek Pontian population from Pontus to South Russia. Their mobilisation this time was not the result of Turkish oppression but the result of the pressure that the Russians were exerting on Islamic minorities to go to Turkey in exchange for Christian populations moving into Russia. On the other hand, thousands of Greek refugees were compelled to seek refuge in Greek liberated lands. For example, the political disturbances in East Rumelia (1906) brought almost 20 000 Greek refugees to Thessaly, whereas the Balkan Wars (1912–13) forced almost another 100 000 to settle in the region. According

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to the 1907 Greek Census, the number of Greeks residing in Greece was approximately 2 100 000, as against more than 8 000 000 residing outside the boundaries of Greece, still under the Ottoman yoke, in Italian (Dodekanese) or British (Cyprus) colonial occupation or spread through Eastern Thrace and Russian Pontos, in addition to an estimated 1 000 000 settlers of Greek descent residing in Europe, the Americas and Australia until 1912. It is also important to include in these statistics the massive and forceful Islamisation of many thousands of Greeks in North Epirus (between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries) and the persecution of many Epirotes by the nationalist forces of modern Albania from 1913 to 2004. The exact number of Greeks reaching the countries of the New World will never be known, since Greece failed to keep departure records, while those kept by some shipping companies are either incomplete or destroyed. On the other hand, Greece’s definition of what characterises a ‘Greek’ is more inclusive than the model used by the countries of the modern world, which adopt the notion that the place of birth is the sole criterion for nationality. According to the official census of these countries, those Greeks settling from countries other than Greece were not recorded as Greeks. The political climate of post-Ottoman Greece, which was causing high emigration, continued to be controlled, in the absence of the middle class, by an incompetent oligarchy, emerging from former revolutionary leaders, the Phanariotes and the families of the former administrators under the Turkish rule, the kotsabasides. This ruling minority supplied the state administrators, the military and diplomatic appointees and the kommatarhes (party leaders) who decided who would fill the Voule (parliament), and were responsible for arbitrary policies. It is not a mere coincidence that only rarely Greece managed to elect a Prime Minister from the middle class and of course never from the agricultural. It was only after 1906 that the middle class in Greece gained political status, and its influence increased with the prosperity of merchants, ship owners and those affluent members of the Diaspora either repatriating or investing in Greece. The degradation on the diplomatic front, the humiliation of national filotimo (self-esteem), the chaotic internal situation and failing policies all came to a head in 1909 with a military revolution, supported by middle class demanding reforms to the Greek army and the political system. The rise of Eleftherios Venizelos, a person endowed with statesmanlike virtues and excellence of mind, was a triumph also for liberalism based on the model of Western Europe. Venizelos immediately embarked on a campaign to break with the past, to install confidence in the state, to

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build territorial aspirations unifying the irredentist Greeks and to offer prosperity for Greece in collaboration with the middle and merchant classes of the Greek community in Diaspora. When Venizelos assumed power, the age-old crusade to unite all Greeks under one flag gained enormous momentum and was portrayed as Megale Idea (the Great Idea). Its aspiration was to revive the glories of ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire by building a new Greek state with Constantinople as its capital, embracing at least the southern part of the Balkans and Ionian Asia Minor. Concurrently, a number of intellectuals emerging from the middle class promoted a variant of this Great Idea: The Ottoman Empire could be maintained intact in its present political form and the Greek and the Ottoman elements would closely collaborate as two important coexisting and inseparable fundamentals, establishing Ellinothomanismo (Greek-Ottomanism) as a political situation. In this way the Ottoman political and administrative character would be preserved, while the Greeks would assume the cultural Hellenisation of the Empire. This variant in fact interpreted nationalism as an intellectual movement, directly relevant to the spiritual notion of a person. Nevertheless, the ideology of Panhellenism united the Greeks and those millions of Greeks living in Diaspora. Societies were formed in support of these aspirations with members scattered in various parts of the world, including Australia. Appeals were conducted worldwide for the building of the Greek army and navy and the national aspirations were fully adopted by the Greek Orthodox Church. Thousands of Greek settlers residing in foreign lands joined as volunteers amid the imminent war with Turkey in 1912. With the eruption of the Balkan Wars thousands of them returned to Greece and enlisted to liberate the Greeks still under the Turkish yoke. During the last months of 1912, as many as 160 000 volunteers took an active part, amongst whom were 45 000 from the United States, 1400 from Australia and a smaller number from Canada. Some of them never returned. The victorious Balkan expedition secured for Greece and her allies, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria, virtually the entire Turkish sovereignty in Europe. Following the Treaty of London, west and central Macedonia, southern Epirus and Crete were finally united. The quarrelling victors, however, continued the Balkan Wars and with the eventual defeat of Bulgaria, the Peace of Bucharest gave southeast Macedonia to Greece. Yet, political controversies reached catastrophic proportions within Greece, seriously affecting the unity and the welfare of the Greek communities in Diaspora. The continuous clashes between royalist and liberal forces and later between royalists

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and the supporters of Eleftherios Venizelos, the Venizelists, had violent repercussions in Greece as well as on the Greek communities throughout the world. When it became obvious that King Constantine would not pursue a pro-ally policy, tensions between the royalists and Venizelists erupted. The existing divisions were exacerbated after the outbreak of World War I (1914), with Greece’s continuing neutrality, despite Venizelos’ eagerness to join the War with the allies. By 1915, Britain offered Greece ‘important territorial concessions on the coast of Asia Minor’ if she entered the war. However, the final decision to side with the allies, necessitated that Venizelos establishes a ‘provisional government’ in Thessaloniki, which sparked intense emotions and indignation. Venizelos and his followers emerged as anti-royalists, and gained the support of the allied forces, and following a blockade of the Greek ports under King Constantine’s jurisdiction, the latter abdicated in favour of his second son Alexander. The end of World War I found Greece victorious in her negotiations with the Allied Forces. Greece obtained control of Constantinople and the cession of Northern Epirus, the Dodekanese islands, Eastern Thrace and Smyrna with its hinterland. The Greek army also undertook the role to occupy and administer Smyrna and its outer region on behalf of the allies. However, irresponsible policies, including that of recalling the experienced soldiers of the Asia Minor Front in exchange for their votes in the forthcoming elections and the eventual removal of Venizelos from power, together with the push for a grandiose appearance in Asia Minor, continuing domestic rivalry and opposition, an ill-equipped army and arrogant attitudes all led to the military defeat of the Greeks in August 1922. A massive retreat of the Greek army followed and Smyrna was given up to flames and massacre, brutally ending the long history of Hellenism in Asia Minor. The horror of the defeat paralysed Hellenism across the world and the huge waves of refugees that followed the destruction flooded Greece, the Americas and Australia. Following the catastrophe, Greece was compelled by the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923) to cede to Turkey the islands of Imbros and Tenedos together with eastern Thrace. In January 1923 Greece and Turkey decided on the return of prisoners of war and political hostages and the compulsory exchange of the Greek and Turkish minorities living in the two countries, with the exception of the Turkish population in western Thrace and the Greeks of Constantinople. Following this compulsory exchange of population, the first of its kind in modern times, approximately 160,000 Greeks were exchanged against approximately 390,000 Turks. It is estimated that already

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1 000 000 refugees who had fled or been driven from Asia Minor, settled in Greece in addition to the 250 000 refugees who crossed the Atlantic or the Indian Oceans to settle in the USA, Canada, South America or Australia. The departing Turks vacated large areas of land in Greece for the settlement of the Greek refugees particularly in Thrace and Macedonia. The massive settlement of refugees there altered the demography of these regions in favour of the Greek element, which in 1926 comprised 88.8 per cent of the total population. Ironically, the Asia Minor catastrophe led to the demographic homogeneity of Greece, bankrupting the Bulgarian and Yugoslavian territorial claims on Macedonia and making the Greek Communist popular movement for an autonomous Macedonia unreasonable and unpatriotic. Political hostilities emerging from the debates leading to the Asian Minor catastrophe and the destruction of the Great Idea continued with increasing tension in Greece. From 1922 to 1936, the situation incited numerous military coups, a succession of ephemeral governments, political instability, diplomatic mockeries and unwise concessions to Bulgaria, Italy, Albania, Yugoslavia and Turkey, national insolvency, abdication and restoration of the royal family, executions and trials of politicians, administrators and generals. The inter-war period was a period of national despair for the Greeks. Neither the persuasive personality and political talent of Venizelos, nor the constitutional monarchy could eradicate the politically anomalous and nationally tragic situation, compelling thousands of people to chase better opportunities in foreign lands, including Australia. The constant hostilities between the liberal Venizelists, who now emerged as Republicans, and the conservative Populists as Royalists had serious repercussions for the national and individual welfare. Failing political coalitions exchanged recriminations; there were successive coups d’´etat, mutinies, corruption and the policy of rousfeti (string pulling favours) were embedded well in Greek politics. Furthermore, agitation on the part of the people, which led to 344 strikes during the first six months of 1936, the Communists’ readiness to exploit the dissatisfied masses in the urban centres, severe political disorder and above all the probability of a forthcoming European war, led the Prime Minister, Ioannis Metaxas to formally establish a dictatorship (4 August 1936) with the endorsement of King George. The new regime proved to be efficient in bringing political stability, and cohesion amongst the people. Metaxas placed emphasis on agricultural economy, supporting irrigation and drainage and declaring a moratorium on farmers’ debts;

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he reinforced the local industries and protected urban employment. He also declared war on bureaucratic indifference and improved the quality of service offered to the public, supported the re-equipment of the armed forces and inspired a system of civilian and military mobilisation. Ironically, a dictatorial regime established stability in Greece for the first time after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, just before the Italian invasion in 1940. The totalitarian regime of course was contrary to the traditions of western liberal democracy and a tyranny according to the ideals of classical Greece, since the parliament was dissolved, press censorship was established and certain articles of the Constitution were suspended. Communist leaders were arrested, and political parties declared illegal. Certain Republicans, including former Prime Minister Andreas Michalakopoulos were exiled to Paros and people were asked to abandon individualism, adopting a Christian civil conscience. The invasion by fascist Italy further united the nation. On 28 October 1940 Metaxas, after reading the Italian ultimatum delivered to his house by Mussolini’s Minister, Grazzi, replied with one word, ‘Ochi’ (No). The invading Italian army was defeated and the Greeks commenced their offensive driving the Italian Alpine Division back to the city of Valona. The Greek victories in the Albanian campaign represented the first defeat suffered by the Axis powers. The admiration of the world for Greece was consequently generous. The feelings of national pride and the notions of filotimo (self-esteem) and pallikaria (gallantry) restored confidence to the tiny European nation. The sentiment of drope (shame) installed in the hearts of the Greeks around the world following the Asia Minor Catastrophe was now removed. The legacy of Greece’s resistance to the Italians and, later on, to the German and Bulgarian invasions and occupation restored national pride and led to the moral recovery of a people that had suffered humiliation. By April 1941, however, following the German offensive and a final gallant resistance of the Greeks and the allies in Crete, Greece, once again, was dominated by foreign powers. Shortage of food, a black market and horrific inflation brought serious famine to the major urban centres of Athens and Thessaloniki, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. The tripartite German, Italian and Bulgarian occupation, nevertheless, created strong resentment among the Greeks, developing widespread resistance. The guerilla warfare, which was supported by the allied powers, involving various resistance groups, finally gave an impetus to the Communist forces, which during the inter-war period were only a

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marginal force. Following the liberation of Athens in October 1944, the Government of Georgios Papandreou arrived with the aim of disarming the guerrilla groups and reforming the national army. However, the country’s reconstruction was made impossible by the Civil War that followed (1944–6), involving government forces supported by England and the allies, and the Communists, who had the support of the Soviet Union and those Balkan countries under its influence. Greece’s tragic history received another blow. The country became a battleground for competing ideologies. Bloodshed, terror and destruction were widespread. The national army, with the support of United States armour, training and equipment – under the leadership of Marshal ‘Alexandros’Papagos – was finally successful in defeating the Communist-driven Democratic Army on Mount Grammos (30 August 1949). American presence and support became more apparent during the years that followed. Greece, depending on her allies, emerged from the chaos of civil war, as the only non-Communist country of Eastern Europe, sacrificing over 100 000 lives and compelling another 90 000 to cross its borders as refugees in various countries. Immediately after the termination of the Civil War in Greece (1949) a massive emigration commenced: to the central European countries, which absorbed almost 900 000 Greek migrants as Gastarbeiter (guest workers); to Australia, which attracted 270 000 migrants; and to Canada, which attracted 108 000 migrants. The main reason for this exodus was the high demand for labour in some of the recipient countries. At the same time, Greece’s unhealthy economy and unstable political situation was creating serious social strife and upheaval. From 1962 to 1966 the number of emigrants exceeded the natural increase in population of Greece. In certain cases many bureaucrats were encouraging the emigration of dissidents and encouraged the exodus of unwanted persons for political reasons. Postwar political life in Greece (1944–74) was not substantially different from that during the inter-war period. Short periods of democracy, succeeded by dictatorships, oligarchic rule, and coups d’´etats, and a highly unstable situation with forty-four governments, precluded economic and social progress for the nation. The military Junta of the Colonels (21 April 1967) demonstrated the volatility of the Greek democracy and the serious weaknesses attached to the overall structure of its society. During this period, the instability was caused by the traditional distribution of power, the strategic position of Greece, her strong dependence on her allies, the fear of the Communist north and

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the threat of its arch rival Turkey. Another major source of instability was the issue of Cyprus, an island under British colonial rule since 1878, but predominately Greek in language, culture, history and sentiment. The demand of the Cypriots for Enosis (union) with Greece had commenced as early as the Greek War for Independence and became more apparent in 1931, with popular demonstrations and riots against the colonial rulers. Following the termination of World War II and the sacrifices made by the Greek people in support of the Allies, the Greeks demanded that the United Kingdom respect promises given since 1916 and allow the union of Cyprus with Greece. In 1950, the struggle for termination of the colonial rule received profound impetus with the rise to power of a church figure who assumed the political leadership of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, and the gallant involvement of a Greek army officer of Cypriot birth, Georgios Grivas [Digenis]. By 1954, the peaceful campaign for Union was transformed into an armed struggle against the British, lasting for almost six years. The British maintained their authority over the island, inflaming the irreconcilable differences separating Greece and Turkey. The situation changed when it was realised that the British bases could be maintained in an independent Cyprus, without its union with Greece. Following a settlement based on loose proportional demography between the Greek and the Turkish Cypriot communities, Cyprus was declared an independent state on 16 August 1960. The independence of Cyprus finally signalled the end of friction between Greece and Britain; however, this was short lived. In early July 1974, the unpopular regime of the Junta of Athens, in an effort to win national popularity launched a campaign to convince President Makarios to accept Greece as the mother nation and the metropolis of Hellenism. Makarios responded to these demands with his intention to remove mainland Greek officers serving in the Cyprus National Guard. Almost immediately a coup was organised by those officers and Makarios was compelled to seek refuge in the British bases and flee the country. Turkey, fearing that the coup was a precursor of the island’s union with Greece launched an invasion, occupied 40 per cent of the northern part of the island, and forced over 200 000 people into the refugee camps and the countries of the western world. Soon after, the Greek Junta was dissolved by influential military personalities within the army, who demanded a return to a civilian government. Constantinos Karamanlis returned from his Paris exile (24 July 1974), amid scenes of wild jubilation and was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of the metapolitefse (restored democracy).

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1 From the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Stefanopoulos to Australia (2002).

The restoration of democracy to Greece coincided with the end of Greek emigration. In the years that followed only specialists and highly trained professionals exited the country, together with tertiary and postgraduate students and merchants. From 1949, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the serious national and political crisis affecting many countries in north Africa (especially Egypt), the Middle East and Eastern Europe (Rumania and Albania in particular) destroyed the centuries-old Greek settlements there and triggered much repatriation. At the same time, the improved financial situation in Greece became an attractive prospect for thousands of expatriates who preferred to resettle in their native regional or urban centres, together with approximately 1 200 000 economic immigrants and refugees, mainly from the countries of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The restoration of democracy brought with it the longest period of political, economic and social stability in Greece’s 3000-year-long tragic and heroic history. New political formations emerged based on the concepts of national independence, the apohountopiisi (eradication of the elements of junta), the democratisation of the institutions and social liberation, while the referendum on the monarchy (1974) convincingly terminated this institution. The emergence of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), founded by the charismatic Andreas

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Papandreou, the re-appearance of the Communist Party of Greece and the restructuring of the conservative forces under the banner of the New Democracy Party contributed to the stability. The process of consolidation was seriously hindered, however, by a continuing tension with Turkey, leading to enormous spending on the armed forces, which were absorbing almost 20 per cent of Greece’s annual budget. The apprehension was based on Cyprus’ continuing occupation by Turkish forces, the discovery of oil in the Aegean, and the heavy fortification of the Aegean islands by Greece as she maintained her right to selfdefence. Other disputes included the twelve miles coastal waters zone, the disagreements over air traffic and the treatment of their respective minority populations. Greece’s diplomatic victory, based on the robust Cypriot economy, in opening the road for Cyprus’ accession to the European Union (EU), erased the shame of the 1974 military coup and forced Turkey to moderate her aggression to win Greece’s favour and support. The accession of Cyprus, via its Greek Cypriot community, to the EU (2 May 2004) applied vigorous pressure on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community to resolve the Cyprus political problem. Many members of the EU saw the continuous occupation of Cyprus by the Turkish troops as a hostile gesture, seriously affecting and hindering prospective Turkish aspirations to join the EU. The most important event, since its independence, arguably was Greece’s accession to the European Economic Community. This became the overriding objective of Constantinos Karamanlis, who correctly assessed that the accession of Greece would compensate his country for the losses emerging from the deterioration of her relations with the United States. Most importantly, the accession would bring economic prosperity, would secure Greece’sfragile democratic institutions, acting as a deterrent against any future military threat to democracy and, above all, would protect Greece against Turkish threat. Her affiliation with the western European economic alliance, dominated by France and Germany, as this was portrayed during the Iraq invasion by the coalition forces (2003), also offered an attractive political alternative to the past indignities of the British and American domination. Politically, when Greece became the tenth member of the EU, the new affiliation created obligations and conditions that could not be subverted or become a matter of political expedience for any succeeding Greek Government. Economically, Greece’s affiliation and participation in the EU, with efficient and advanced partners, offered her an assured prosperity, turning the tiny eastern unstable democracy of the Balkans into the strongest economic western nation in the region.

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Psychologically, the accession legitimately sealed Greece’s European identity, a notion that commenced more than 200 years before, in the Greek communities and their secular, humanist and liberal forces in commercial European centres. The treaty of association (1961) provided the opportunity of becoming a full member by 1984. However, Karamanlis’ persuasive personality and his influence with powerful contacts built during his exile in France were paying off. In May 1979 the treaty promised Greece full membership and by 1 January 1981 Greece became the tenth member of the European Community, despite initial opposition from PASOK and the Communist Party of Greece. The changes to Greek society from the end of the World War II to the advent of globalisation show some typical patterns of the process toward modernity. For example, the shift from a predominantly rural and locally fragmented society to a centrally organised urban society, with one-third of the total population concentrated in Athens’ metropolitan area. Other social changes include the shift from an agricultural economy with a few industrial enclaves to a tertiary economy and the shift from a relatively static social structure with limited expectations to a more dynamic one with rising expectations. However, the most intense social mobility that Greek society experienced in its modern history was the shift from a labour-exporting country to a labour-importing country. Yet despite these modern trends, the massive population outflows to urban centres and especially Athens and Thessaloniki did not sever family ties between rural and urban inhabitants. Urbanisation in Greece was not accompanied by thorough industrial development. The industrialisation process started in the 1950s and involved food products, beverages, textiles and chemicals. The new urban immigrants found jobs in services and other areas of the tertiary sector. The number of public servants soared, resulting in an increase in the role and power of the state, turning the public sector into the breeding ground for the new dominant class affiliated with the state. In 2004, Greece’s welfare state remained less developed than in other European countries. The Greek social policy system was characterised by fragmentary regulations, obstructing the function of welfare institutions and creating gaps and overlaps. The role of women remained critical to the care of younger, older and disabled family members, making the nuclear Greek family the most important institution working as a substitute for the welfare state. Greece’s accession to the European Community in 1981 was the beginning of a period of gradual incorporation into a complex

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process of economic and political reform, implying major restructuring practices in economic and political institutions. Greece established the institutions, values and practices of a viable, and stable democracy. During the last two decades the Greek economy has been marked by a more rapid industrialisation, a continuous rise in consumer spending, higher yearly rates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase (3.5 per cent) than those of the EU average (2.7 per cent) and slightly lower unemployment rates (below 9 per cent) than the EU average. The EU contribution to Greek GDP started at 0.5 per cent back in 1981, rose to 5.5 per cent in 1991, and reached a peak of 7.1 per cent in 1996. However, those benefits are expected to become less intense for Greece in the years to come, especially with the accession of countries, lacking infrastructure from Eastern Europe. Greece occupies the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula (131 990 square km) with a population of 11 089 200 of which 97.7 per cent are Greeks. Its territory comprises the mainland (79 per cent) and 1900 Aegean and Ionian Islands (21 per cent). Minority groups include Turkish (1.3 per cent), Slavic and Albanian (1 per cent). Since the beginning of the 1980s Greece admits economic migrants mainly from Eastern Europe, while she discourages its citizens from emigrating. Greek Government sources estimate the number of immigrants settled in Greece at approximately 1 100 000 from mainly eleven migrant source countries. During the period following World War II, the highest wave of migration took place in 1965, when approximately 120 000 Greeks left the country for permanent settlement in the Americas and almost 20 000 for settlement in Australia. In addition, 60 000 left Greece for temporary migration, mainly to Germany, Belgium and Sweden. Almost 98 per cent of the Greeks adhere to the Greek Orthodox Church. Greece became the twelfth participant in the Euro single currency (1 January 2001) triggering high prices and unemployment, while its inflation was kept relatively steady (3.4 per cent) in 2003. Whilst the vast majority of the active population in the workforce is occupied in services (59 per cent), 21 per cent of them are in industry and only 20 per cent in agriculture. In the year 2003 the actual deficit in the balance of payments was almost $US 6.1 billion, while the country’s external debt was approaching the sixty billion mark. Greece maintained a growing economy in 2004 with a steady increase of 4.2 per cent and its per capita GDP was the highest in Eastern Europe ($US 17 900).

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As Greece entered the third millennium, with a robust and stable economy for the first time in her modern history, delivered from the fears and prejudice of the past towards her Balkan neighbours, including Turkey, she became their strong advocate to join the EU. Greece, being the first eastern European and only Orthodox country to achieve membership of the EU (1981), acted as a trustworthy and remarkable mediator between East and West, thus reactivating forgotten roles from the time of the Council of Ferrara-Florence, almost six centuries before.

Map 1 Greece

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Preparing for the unknown Although Australia remained largely unknown to Greeks, from 1829 to 1974 approximately 300 000 immigrated and settled in. The early period of settlement (1829–80) was highlighted by the arrival of displaced Greek patriots convicted for piracy by the British naval court in Malta (Gilchrist, 1995; Tamis, 1997a, 1997b), curious seafarers, fortune seekers and adventurers tempted by the gold rush. During these early days the sporadic migration comprised predominately 450 Greek male sailors serving on British vessels, fugitives, fortune hunters, unsuccessful islander traders and unskilled or unemployed persons from the Greek islands interested in the possibilities in a new land. From Sydney and Perth, where they landed initially, many moved on to other areas; the fortune seekers headed to the goldfields, the travellers roamed across the country, and some migrants settled in rural New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. Greek gold-miners, from the Ionian Islands, a British protectorate (1815–64), began to arrive in large numbers after 1850 to amass wealth and return to Greece, with the intention of investing in the flourishing Greek shipping industry of the time. Most of them settled in NSW and Victoria, particularly in Ballarat and Bendigo. Some of them even participated in the armed Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854, in which miners protested against the unbearable working conditions and capital taxes imposed on them by the British colonial rule. Among the Eureka stockade participants was the Ithacan Andreas Lekatsas who had arrived in Australia in 1851.

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The pioneers, mostly bachelors, were illiterate wanderers who endured hardships in mining camps and worked under strenuous conditions as peddlers in the urban centres, porters on the wharves and unskilled labour clearing vineyards and farms. Some of them decided to settle. They married local girls, primarily Irish, and became small farmers and graziers, while others moved towards the north of the continent where they were engaged in the sugar cane plantations. Some shortened their names in an effort to gain acceptance from the broader Australian community and were assimilated. They lived far apart from each other, employed in seasonal work or unhealthy jobs, which many Australians found too demeaning to perform. They often had to travel long distances to find work. In country areas they lived in improvised houses, which were usually made of tin and hessian cloth, and were often cruelly exploited by their employers (Tamis, 1997a). The only exceptions were the gold hunters of Tambaroora in NSW who, in 1860, established their own housing settlement called ‘Greektown’ near the town’s edge. However, when the gold deposits ran out these settlers dispersed across the vast continent. The earliest Greek Cypriot immigrants were also attracted by the gold rushes of the 1850s in Australia. For example, Antonios Meringas emigrated in about 1840 from Cyprus at the age of twelve, initially to Great Britain and by 1857 to Victoria while George Kalenidis successfully settled in the mining city of Ballarat in 1880, thus encouraging further Cypriot migration. The massive exodus of Cypriots from their homeland continued throughout the twentieth century for political and economic reasons. Being under British rule, Greek Cypriots had been constantly agitating for enosis (union) with Greece. Cyprus was offered to Greece in 1915 as an inducement to enter the war on the side of the allies, however Greece was not willing to risk its fortunes on the battlefield and declined the offer. Greece’s refusal to annex the island led large numbers of Cypriots to seek refuge in Greece, the USA and Australia with the hope of repatriating once there was a change of administration. For example, by 1881 the Australian Census already recorded ten Greek Cypriot settlers, by 1911 their number increased to thirty, while by 1928, pioneer Cypriot settlers established the local Greek community of Home Hill in Queensland consecrating the church of St Stephen and a Greek language school (Tamis, 1997a). When in early 1933 the first Cypriot communities were established in Melbourne and Sydney the number of Greek Cypriots was more than 500.

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Greek immigration to Australia until 1965 was male dominated. For example, the Victorian Census of 1871 recorded 127 males and only nineteen females born in Greece. Ironically, the first recorded lists of non-convict Greek settlers to migrate to Australia included more women. Aikaterini Plessas, an attractive lady from Epirus arrived in 1835, accompanying her husband Major James Henry Crummer, who was appointed that year commander of the British garrison in Sydney. John and Maria Bartides and their son Petros landed in Fremantle in March 1830 as servants to James Somers Rae, while the first free will Greek immigrant, sailor Ioannis Peters, from the island of Samos arrived in Sydney in about 1838 and became a gold-miner. Four years later, Georgios Tramountanas arrived in Port Adelaide and was employed as the first mate on a coastal vessel, while Nicolaos Emelos, Georgios Doikos and Andreas Lekatsas landed in Melbourne by 1851. Greek settlers were dispersed after 1858 throughout Queensland, by 1862 in Tasmania and by early 1872 in Western Australia (WA). Some pioneers emerged as influential personalities and their role increased migration from their own region. For example, Ithacan Georgios Morfesis who came to Melbourne in 1849 opened his food store and set the foundations for the migration of hundreds of his fellow countrymen in the years that followed. Similarly, in Sydney in 1878 the Kytherian Athanasios Komninos opened the first Greek general store and in 1896 became a founding member of the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney (GOCS). Until 1890, Greeks were emigrating to Australia in larger numbers than to America. It was only in 1891, that, for the first time, more than a thousand immigrants arrived in America, while from then on, the influx increased steadily and became epidemic during the period 1901–9, when more than 165 000 Greeks settled in the USA. From the beginning of the 1880s Greeks commenced to settle in substantial numbers in Australia. By 1900, their number grew to about 1200, especially because of chain immigration of families from the islands of Kythera, Ithaca and Kastellorizo. Other important sources of emigration were the islands of Samos, Lemnos, Lesbos, Crete, Lefkada, Kefalinia and the Dodekanese. The pioneer immigrants were predominately from 25 Ionian and Aegean islands, with fewer settlers from the mainland and the Greek lands under Ottoman rule. During the inter-war period and especially by 1924, due to the restrictions on migrant intake imposed in the USA and the political and demographic situation created in Greece following the Asia Minor Catastrophe

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2 Greek timber cutters and loggers in Bridgetown, Western Australia (1907) preparing sleepers for the construction of the Australian National Railways. Pictured here are M. Kalafatas, A. Palassis, I. and J. Barboutis.

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3 Improvised homes in the bush belonging to Greek immigrants in 1890. Kastellorizian settlers at their ‘mansion’ in Western Australia.

(1922), a mass exodus began from mainland Greece. The number of Greek settlers in Australia drastically increased with new waves of refugees from Asia Minor, Macedonia and the Peloponnese to reach over 15,000 by 1940. Many of these immigrants came from the large trading centres of Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria and Cairo. Despite the population increase, the new arrivals were not provided with employment opportunities in the urban centres. Most of them were scattered over immense distances through the vast continent, compelled to labour in the bush, unprotected and often exploited. Most of them were alienated by the different cultural environment, the vastness of the host country, the hardships in the mining camps and the difficulties of surviving in the bush. Lacking adequate communication with their relatives at home through the tyranny of isolation and distance, facing communication breakdowns in their social life because of linguistic deficiencies and unable to find consistent employment, they faced serious health and mental problems. Most of them, though, were forced to endure the hardships because of their inability to finance the long return journey by sea. Gregorios Gersios, brothers Pavlos and Sotiris Siapkalis and Kostas Ioannou from Kastoria, Western Macedonia, paid eighteen

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pounds for passage from Piraeus to Fremantle on an Italian steamship in 1924. Gersios and Ioannou, who shared the same tent for three years in the bush, when they settled in Perth, obtained their meals from the Salvation Army for sixpence and a bed for one shilling. Gersios worked for five years in the bush clearing farms than opened his own restaurant in Perth and finally his general store with liquor licence. He brought his wife in 1931 from Greece and in the same year he was instrumental in the establishment in Perth of the first Greek Macedonian Club in Australia with his compatriot Zissis Nolides, entitled ‘Alexander the Great Club’. We had our own Club, ‘Alexander the Great’ since 1930. I served as a Secretary there when Damianos Goulas was the President, and later with Stavros Naoumis and Constantinos Kondos. We wanted to have our own club, to have a place to meet; we were only approximately thirty people at the time. Then we brought our wives and children from the old country. We used the premises of the Greek Community at Parker Street. There was then only one hall. We used to hang the icons from the roof to hold the Holy Mass; then we used to take the icons down to use the hall for our meetings and social gatherings. There was a great poverty then . . . (Interview with Gregorios Gersios, 8 December 1988, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

However, some managed to prosper during those difficult years and realised that Australia provided more opportunities for continuing prosperity than were available back home, and thus they settled permanently. Several examples of those who prospered included the Komninos dynasty who established themselves in the oyster industry in NSW and the Mytilinian Mihalis Manousos who became a well-known and successful farmer. Others included Kastellorizians Athanasios Avgoustis and Andreotis Georgios Falagas who became the most skilful cultivators and traders of oysters in WA. The Ithacan Lekatsas family, who ran a chain of shops providing refreshments, was also successful and consequently acquired real estate properties such as commercial buildings, hotels and theatre chains in Melbourne. In Perth, the brothers Michalis and Petros Michelidis from Kastellorizo became the most successful tobacco growers and industrialists of the time. Georgios Lymberidis, the biggest wheat-grower in NSW, and Nikolaos Lourantos, one of the wealthiest landowners whose property ran thousands of sheep, were regarded as great benefactors of the Greek community and were knighted for their efforts by the Australian government.

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4 The Greek businessman of Perth, Petros Michelidis, in the 1900s.

After 1895 pioneer immigrants were able to settle and survive in the large urban centres of Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. The position of these early Greek immigrants was worrying. Most of them arrived with no clear objectives in mind, with no knowledge of English, into a rather ignorant, and in certain colonies (WA and Queensland) hostile environment. Those migrants who were fortunate enough to have suitable trades could settle permanently in the cities. Those with trades included confectionery-makers, greengrocers, fishermen, wharf-labourers and porters, shopkeepers and restaurateurs. By 1916 there were nationwide six hundred Greek shops including fourteen cafes. In the rural areas occupational patterns differed depending on the origin of the immigrant. The islanders usually dominated the fishing industry and the mining industry and, after 1924, many worked in the vast sugar cane plantations in far north Queensland. The Macedonians proved to be the pioneers in timber cutting, market gardening and the clearing of arable land. They were also instrumental in the cultivation of grapes, tobacco and fruit. Employment in the industrial sector remained the exclusive privilege of British subjects in the cities.

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Until 1936 the union movement and the Australia Labor Party perpetuated an anti-foreign policy, confining most southern European settlers to manual work in the rural areas and exercising political pressure on the colonial and state governments to enforce restrictions at the expense of the first migrant settlers. During those early years, only a few educated migrants, some high school graduates, a couple of public school teachers and a few medical doctors were caught by the emigration fever. These individuals were not excused from the recriminations nor the hardships suffered by their less qualified predecessors. Lacking an adequate command of English most of them were confined to practice within the Greek community, often pursuing manual labour normally expected from immigrants in the restaurants of their compatriots. Before World War II concepts regarding immigrants were based on fear, prejudice and ignorance, making white Australia liable to racial discord and bitterness. Intolerance was often manifested in reports and anti-immigrant Acts of Parliament. For example, in debates in the Australian Parliament in 1925 (Sherington, 1989), it was claimed that the typical southern European was a ‘cheap foreign immigrant who can live on the smell of an oil rag’.One member of the Australian Parliament cited the case of Hellenes on shift work in a South Australian (SA) country town (Bailey, 1933): The beds they occupy never get cold. As soon as one man leaves his bed it is occupied by another of his fellows, and it is practically always in use. How can we expect such people to adjust themselves to our standard of living. The private life of these Hellenes is far below the standard of the private life of our people and they are quite unsuited, because of their former environment and general outlook on life, ever to become worthy citizens . . .

Anti-Greek feeling frequently erupted against stranded Greek immigrants accepting employment in strike-bound sites, while threats, stone throwing and actual bombs were hurled at their coffee houses and residential quarters in Melbourne and Broken Hill (Tamis, 2000). The anti-foreign opposition was particularly high during severe national economic crises, and emanated from organised labour, the older immigrant stocks, and certain elements of the conservative media and the mainstream population. Passage to Australia was exploited by unscrupulous Greek and European travel agents and some steamship companies who made misleading claims hiding from prospective immigrants the dangers

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and privations they would face in Australia. Many of the early Greek migrants after the 1880s came from Kythera, a British protectorate. Kytherians were encouraged to migrate and repatriate without special permission. On many occasions their migration was subsidised, as they were eligible for a special five-pound fare. The first choice was the United States, but when migration restrictions were applied there, Australia was seen as the next land of opportunity. Kytherian Platon Levantis was thirteen years old, when after forty-seven days as a stranded passenger in Port Said, he was finally given a place abroad the Italian ship Pena. His memories from the voyage are revealing: I paid 230 sterling pounds for my tickets to Australia, via Alexandria and Port Said. During this period the weekly wage for seven days work was three pounds. Pena was a very small ship of approximately 2500 tones, carrying 1000 passengers, most of whom were Englishmen. We did not have cabins, no beds, and no lounge to rest. We were confined to sleep on the deck, although we had been issued a full ticket by cunning agents. We were compelled to sleep on the deck lying on single blankets. It was obvious that the agents played a treacherous role . . . During the voyage I fell sick and exhausted. I thought that this was the end of my life. Some Greeks revolted against the captain. They demanded from him to give me a cabin and proper meals to recover. The Captain succumbed to the exerted pressure. . . . In Fremantle most passengers decided to take the train to Melbourne and Sydney rather than to risk an additional twelve days in the sea. My father was waiting for me in Port Melbourne to take me to his fruit shop in Goulburn. This was the first time in my life that I was meeting my own father. As I stepped out from the ship he took me to the first shop to buy me new clothes. I will never forget that . . .’ (Platon Levantis interview, 1 October 1997, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

On the other hand the Greek Government did nothing to curb emigration. The outflow of emigrating Greeks was generating an inflow of revenue for Greece and in certain cases emigration was the mechanism for getting rid of undesirable people (Tamis, 2005). Distress signals from pioneers appeared in the form of letters in the Greek newspapers in Piraeus (which ranked next to Naples as the principal Mediterranean port) Athens and Thessaloniki (Tamis, 1994). The mistreatment of the pioneer settlers was worsened by the application of protection fees and ransom money. Tracklayers constructing the railways in WA and sugar cane cutters in North Queensland were

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compelled to pay employment commission to leading hands and foremen. Many were compelled to pay bribes to foremen to avoid their discharge by the employing company or to secure their seasonal work. In certain cases some immigrants worked for almost an entire season clearing farms in WA without receiving any payment from the landlords, often a person of higher authority (Tamis, 1994). From 1890 to 1930 many underage boys were the victims of the padrone system. Children as young as eleven years old were brought by their relatives to work under their authority long hours in cafes, confectionery shops, laundries, coffeehouses, carpentry, grocery shops and restaurants under callous conditions. Some of the boys worked as vegetable, fruit and fish peddlers. Their transportation was arranged and paid for by the relative by means of mortgage, while their parents in Greece were assured that adequate provisions would be made to secure not only their financial welfare but also their education. In return the boy was to remain under their authority and in their employment for at least one year. During the early years many boys experienced complete isolation, censorship of their mail, severe exploitation and inability to abandon the padrone. Greek immigration was influenced by the fact that it was based on kinship, family values and loyalties. Pioneer immigrants had no choice but to follow the settlement and occupational patterns selected by the senior settlers of their family and to follow professions that had been followed by the pioneer settlers and their family to safeguard the customs and tradition of their village of origin. Many young Greek immigrants remained unmarried out of family obligation towards the single sisters that they left in the old country, while some decided to marry in order to provide a family environment and to look after their elderly parents. The formation of crowded communes in houses in the innersuburban areas in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide whereby single young men or families of the same kinship shared common facilities must be assessed in the light of these values. Companionship, security, financial advancement and easy access to accommodation were the advantages of the communal system. The main concerns of the Greek family were for their children to maintain loyalty to the village’s customs and values, not to marry outside the ethic group and to maintain their mother tongue. Postwar immigrants added to these aims the attainment of an excellent education for their children and the acquisition of real estate not only for a more affluent lifestyle and prosperity but also for security.

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In financially difficult periods employment was the exclusive privilege of British subjects, forcing the majority of the new immigrants into constant mobility to find seasonal work. Colonial and post-colonial governments protected these concession laws and prevented banks from lending to employers hiring the services of non-British persons. The character of the Australian colonies until the early years following the Second World War, remained British. Since the introduction of the Aliens Legislation in WA, in 1867, non-British settlers were prohibited from acquiring land. This was amended in 1951 when certain countries, including Greece, were declared ‘friendly countries’ and in 1965 land rights were extended to citizens of those countries who migrated to Australia. During the post-federation period the union movement and the Australian Labor Party continued an anti-immigration policy, confining most southern European settlers to manual work in the rural areas and exercising political pressure on governments to enforce restrictions at the expense of the immigrants. Some settlers, because of their wealth, and accompanying generosity, became more accepted in Anglo-Australian society and this acceptance, combined with their wealth, enabled them to visit relatives and act as advocates on Greek national issues. (Tamis and Gavakis, 2002). Australian opinion about immigration was influenced by British tradition and, to a very large extent, by economic conditions. The level of acceptance was largely determined on the basis of proximity to ‘the Australian way of life’, the degree of historical ties with Britain, and the capacity to assimilate. Acceptance of Greek immigrants, however, ultimately rested on their ability to serve the interests of the society without threatening entrenched labour positions. Even by 1948 the relative position of Greek immigrants appeared gloomy. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents to a questionnaire were in favour of limited Greek entry (the second highest after the Chinese), 45 per cent were positively favourable, while 18 per cent voted for their exclusion (Tamis, 2000). The Japanese threat, the aftermath of World War II and gradual changes in government and public opinion increased the acceptance of liberal reforms. The process for the liberalisation of immigration policies was cumbersome because the pressure for change was indirect. Most politicians considered any association with the liberal movement as a political liability. After 1965, the Menzies Government adopted constructive proposals submitted by liberal pressure groups, including the Australian Council of Churches and the Associations for Immigration Reforms. It was the vision and the

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5 The Greeks of Sydney gather to celebrate at Paddington Town Hall (1929).

policies adopted by contemporary statesmen that laid the foundation for the formation of a multicultural Australian society. Despite their hardships pioneer Greeks successfully grafted the social and cultural life of the old country onto the new environment. Living in communes within the inner suburban areas of the capital cities they managed to lay the foundations for the establishment of communities in Sydney and Melbourne which matured by 1898 when the first church was built and soon after launched the Greek language Sunday schools (1900). They also sponsored musical and theatrical productions (1912), circulated their first newspaper Australia (1913), published their first book, a commercial and social guide, The Life in Australia (1916), initiated social events and set up their most fashionable form of social institution, the Greek kafeneia (coffee houses). The coffee house was the most widespread form of organisation amongst the Balkan immigrants, acting as an all-male recreational centre, meeting place and a venue for finding employment and acquaintances. Heated political discussions took place there, attracting only those patrons who were in complete ideological alignment with the proprietor and his political favorites. Pictures of the political figures were

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portrayed on the walls to manifest the ideological reference point of the place. Their patrons played cards, held endless discussions on politics and philosophy and gossiped about community leaders. In periods of domestic community strife, coffee houses were the venues for public debate and an arena for learned discussions, often mistaken for quarrels by the agents of the Australian secret services. Many Greek organisations were established using the kafeneia as their assembly place. During the early years, in the absence of any churches and clergymen, Greek pioneer settlers had the opportunity to listen in the kafeneia to some chants during the Good Friday and the Easter celebrations or even to conduct certain sacraments with the assistance of gramophones. The nature of chain immigration brought together settlers from the same villages and regions. The necessity to preserve the local customs, coupled with the tendency of the Greeks to accept mainly their fellow villagers and islanders considering any person from their neighbouring village a ksenos (foreigner), triggered the establishment of a plethora of local brotherhoods and societies as early as 1912. These prevailing attitudes created hundreds of weak collective entities, with independent administrative committees, constitutions and banners, utilising the names of local saints and heroes. The eagerness for allilovoitheia (mutual aid) led to the formation of more than 100 legally registered brotherhoods by 1945 (Allimonos, 2002). The number increased to more than 1000 by 1995. After World War II settlers from the two prefectures of Messinia and Florina alone formed more than 100 societies (Tamis and Gavakis, 2002). Narcissism, fervor for political power and the segregation of the local agrarian communities in Greece could be considered the reasons for this parochialism. The multiplicity of these regional organisations generated antagonisms and rivalries within the Greek community affecting the cohesiveness of Hellenism in Australia and jeopardising the financial welfare of Panhellenic Communities. In certain cases, the transplantation of entire villages from Greece to Australia created the logical perspective for the establishment of fraternal societies. Numerically strong Greek regional groups settling in large urban centres dominated the political and communal arena setting their own parochial principles and values: the Kastellorizians in Perth, the Ithacans in Melbourne, the Kytherians in Sydney, the Kalymnians in Darwin, the Cypriots in Home Hill and the Macedonians in Shepparton and Werribee. The first organised association of Greek women began in Brisbane in 1913, with the establishment of a committee for the raising of funds for Greek disabled victims of the

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Balkan Wars. Associations of Greek women with nationalistic and philanthropic objectives were formed after 1926 in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. By 1914, Greek Cypriot settlers were responsible for the establishment in Home Hill, Queensland of the first Greek Community. Pioneer Cypriots from Sydney in 1929 established the Cyprus Brotherhood Evagoras in support of new immigrants from the island. Three years later (1932) in Melbourne the Cypriots organised the progressive Cypriot Brotherhood Zenon, and in 1950, ideologically dissenting members of Zenon formed the conservative Cyprian Brotherhood Troodos. The two organisations followed their separate ideological principles until after independence, when they were unified into one entity (16 March 1961) to establish the Cyprian Community of Melbourne and Victoria (Michael and Tamis, 2005). The zeal shown for the study of the parent tongue and the desire to maintain the Orthodox faith became the Greeks’ prime concern. The Hellenic heritage, which ‘inspired the entire western world’, ought to be preserved at any cost within the family environment and its social milieu, while Orthodoxy represented ‘the true faith’. Following the establishment of the Holy Trinity in Surrey Hills, Sydney (1898) and the Annunciation of our Lady (1900) in Melbourne, the community schools began their operation employing the services of the first priests. Utilising their churches, vacant stores, backyard sheds and the lofts of family-run restaurants the first Greek Communities provided Greek language and culture classes. Immigrant parents haunted by the unwillingness of their children to acquire or use Greek, often demonstrated harshness and irreconcilable determination. Those children who ignored strict parental instructions and used English at home frequently experienced deprivation of certain luxuries or were made to spend hours in solitary confinement. Greek immigrants were inspired by the diachronic continuity of Hellenic civilisation and regarded their identity as the basic ingredient of western civilisation. Community-based schools operated in all major cities, sponsored by the Greek business community, mainly restaurateurs and small proprietors. Greek Communities managed to employ qualified teachers of Greek with the appointment of Alexandra Vrachnas (1924) and Archimandrite Metrophanis (1931) in Sydney, Archimandrite Theophylaktos and Alexandra Vrachnas in Melbourne (1931), Archimandrite Germanos (1916) and Anna Perivolaris in Perth (1935), while the Greek Government appointed the first teacher to Perth in 1945. The services of the priests and certain

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6 A Greek wedding in Melbourne circa 1925. In the middle, next to the newlyweds, is Metropolitan Christophoros Knitis. Behind him stands Rev. Dimopoulos, a close friend of the Metropolitan.

female high school graduates were sought in most cases to act as classroom teachers, whose knowledge of pedagogy and English were very limited, often creating confusing experiences for students. Greek Orthodox immigrants received pastoral guidance initially from the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with the appointment of bilingual (Greek-Arabic) priest Athanasios Kantopoulos (1898) in Melbourne and Serafeim Fokas (1899) in Sydney (Tamis, 1997a, 1997b). However, following persistent intra-community strife, the Orthodox faithful of Australia were placed under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Church of Greece (1904) and twenty years later under the authority of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The role and contribution of the clergymen was severely criticised by the people, who expected their priests to demonstrate compassion, high morality and a zeal for the preservation of Hellenism. The pioneer priests were criticised for their personal life, their indifference to teaching Greek, their public mode of behaviour, even for their style of attire. By the time the first Greek Orthodox Metropolitan, Christophoros Knitis, an Oxford University graduate, was appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate (1924) more than ten priests had been replaced in Melbourne alone. They were criticised for their failure to propagate the faith and deal with the needs of their congregation. The majority of the Greek settlers remained loyal to the Greek Orthodox Church, however, the

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long period of feuding influenced negatively the attitude of the people towards their clergy, while the image of the ecclesiastical authorities was reduced to a low point. Moreover, reconciliation to the notion of permanent residence in Australia severely weakened the bonds with Greece, even eradicating in certain cases correspondence with the closest relatives. The majority of the Greek settlers were concerned with their survival in a rather hostile environment for foreigners, whilst the successful businessmen were apprehensive about Australian issues and affairs and their integration into the Australian society. On the other hand, community and organisation leaders continued to retain an active interest in the affairs of the old country and to be sentimentally attached to Greece. The embarrassing succession of ephemeral governments in Athens, the prevailing social and political instability, and the imposition of the totalitarian regime of Ioannis Metaxas (4 August 1936) disheartened many Greek settlers, however, they never stopped short of raising the loyalty issue high in their agenda. They knew that the Greek temperament would never compromise the independence of Greece even in the face of the most tyrannical ruler. Four years later, following the invasion of Greece by the forces of Mussolini (28 October 1940) and the heroic resistance of the Greeks against the Axis, the admiration of the world embraced Greece. Furthermore, it enhanced the Greek Australians’ status in the broader Australian society and increased the self-assurance of the rather insecure Greek community. Even those Greek Australians who had previously remained indifferent to Greek affairs suddenly recovered their enthusiasm and wanted the entire Australian society to know that they too were Greeks. Australian newspapers, cartoonists, philosophers, political and ecclesiastic figures, the Australian and British Prime Ministers, the Australian Parliament, scholars and poets all assisted in popularising the Greek miracle. A new era was emerging for the Australian Greek community. The old sentiment of contempt for the undesirable settler was replaced by the image of the loyal ally and devoted new Australian. These bonds of friendship between the Australian people and Greek settlers were further augmented with the dispatch of 17,000 Australian soldiers to the Greek Front (January 1941) and more so with the return of Australian veterans from the fronts of Macedonia and Crete. The returning soldiers told stories of gallant sacrifices performed by Greek families to save Australian and New Zealand soldiers, placing their own children at risk. It was only then the Australian people universally began to understand the Greek temperament. Furthermore,

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the War triggered an era of progress and prosperity for Greek Australians. The years that followed witnessed the massive transfusion into Australia of hundreds of thousands of young Greek migrants, thus establishing numerically the second largest ethnic group, after the Italians.

After World War II The period of massive immigration coincides with the end of World War II and the absorption of a large number of political refugees from Eastern Europe. During this period the pre-War chain migration was replaced by mass migration. In addition to refugees, the Australian government actively recruited immigrants from all over Europe at this time for reasons related to security and economic growth. Australia’s involvement in the war in South-East Asia and the Japanese invasion of Australian colonies in Papua New Guinea and attacks on Darwin and Sydney, altered the overall attitude of the seven million people living on this continent and embedded in them the feeling that Asia was a threat. In addition, the population and birthrate of Australia was insufficient to cover the security and economic needs of this country following World War II. Prime Minister John Curtin was convinced that Australia should financially support the intake of a large number of immigrants who could contribute to the country’s defence against the ‘yellow peril’ and who could bolster the number of skilled and unskilled workers needed to create economic growth. The establishment of the Immigration Department (12 July 1945), with Arthur Calwell as the first Minister, aimed to increase the net population by 2 per cent annually. Calwell signed agreements with participating countries (Malta and Italy were among the first) and took responsibility for the immigration of millions of European migrants. The relevant agreement with Greece was signed in 1952, triggering the transplantation of over 250 000 Greek and Cypriot migrants from Greece (1952–74), Rumania (1952–8), Egypt and the Middle East (1952–2), Cyprus (1974–84) and other politically turbulent countries of Eastern Europe and Latin America. After 1974, following the restoration of democracy in Greece and the prevailing favorable economic situation, Greece stopped exporting migrants and received massive waves of repatriating Greeks from around the globe. During this period, the last wave of Greeks from South Africa settled in Australia (1992–2004) amid the instability and the persecutions following the post-colonial apartheid administration.

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7 Kostas Kalaitzidis and his family being farewelled in 1957 bound for a new life in Australia. Thousands of migrants experienced such moments of parting at the Port of Piraeus.

Greek and foreign shipping lines began to bring to Australia hundreds of Greeks sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Committee of European Migration (ICEM). At every arrival of Kyreneia or Patris, for instance, over 1200 Greeks were welcomed by consular and church authorities. Every arrival became a social event, attended not only by relatives and friends but also by thousands of onlookers who would go to the wharf to simply become part of the event and to meet other friendly people. This also gave a psychological boost to the incoming ‘new Australians’ arriving in a strange land. Most of them (82 per cent) were unskilled, unemployed laborers of the major urban centres of Greece and agrarians of the impoverished and neglected countryside. They arrived with no liquid capital and very limited education, victims of a traumatic post-civil-war Greece. Many had left their families back home, borrowing the basic capital from their relatives, while many were compelled to sell their limited livestock for their migration expedition. Predominantly young, only a few had travelled far beyond their native villages. The unfamiliarity with the laws and tradition of the new country and the severe

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8 The arrival of the liner Kyreneia in June 1953. Thousands of new settlers greet the crowd waiting for them on the historic pier of Port Melbourne.

cultural differences gave them a feeling of insecurity. Yet these Greek immigrants were freedom-loving individuals and natural-born competitors with a determination to succeed, reconciling themselves to hard work. They cleverly assessed their social and economic position in Greece as redundant and emigrated. Driven by the desire to acquire wealth and status, they became receptive to the cult of success. Greek migrants, despite their peasant backgrounds and lack of experience, demonstrated an ability to adapt with energy and resourcefulness and to distinguish themselves from the very outset in business as well as in hard work. Upon their settlement in Australia they realised that they had arrived in a society that honoured these qualities. The new settlers, mostly male (78 per cent) until 1961, continued the settlement tendencies that they found, especially in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Residences were crowded; often there would be five to seven young bachelors or three to four families sharing the same residence, with one kitchen and one bathroom, in order to save money to buy a place of their own at a later date (Tamis, 1997a, 1997b). Living in communes or backyard bungalows, within the inner

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9 Playful Greek women of Adelaide during a picnic (1957), arriving as the ‘brides’.

suburban areas of the capital cities, in close proximity to factories, they relied heavily on their compatriots for their employment. Deprived of technical skills and a knowledge of the English language and thus unable to receive advice, most Greek immigrants sought employment mainly in the production lines of large car and glass factories, the smelters and the manufacturing industries. Most Greek women were employed as machinists and labourers in factories, while a smaller number was employed as kitchen assistants, cleaners and performers of menial tasks. The language barrier created serious problems in their everyday needs and constrained their social elevation, confining them within their paroikia (community). English language classes were offered to some Greek migrants employed in prestigious government departments but these, and the lessons organised by the Good Neighbour Council and the World Council of Churches, were inadequate to resolve the crisis of communication. Another serious problem of that period was the imbalance in the ratio of men to women, which caused serious social and psychological problems. The Greek communities in large urban centres in Australia remained mainly communities of bachelors. As a result of this, the number of children was small and so the appropriate emphasis was not given to the establishment of Greek part-time schools. Marriages between Greek men and Anglo-Australian women were few because

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matrimonial relations between local women and Greek men were considered to be a social stigma by the culturally insulated Anglo-Saxon family. The gender imbalance was caused by the official policy of the Greek Government discouraging migration of unmarried Greek women. This problem was finally resolved with the intervention of the Australian government following the successful representation by the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne, Thesseus Marmaras. In 1954, with the encouragement of the then Minister for Immigration Harold Holt, Marmaras visited Greece to convince Athens to allow the migration of Greek women to Australia, offering guarantees and assurances for their successful settlement. Nevertheless, the Greek Government remained reluctant until 1961, when it began the unrestricted immigration of women. The entry of thousands of women resulted in an increase of marriages and a permanent change to the structure and shape of the community. Focusing on the importance of Community cohesion, the Greek Press called on Community leaders to take responsibility for the organisation of an all-Community conference for the establishment of cooperation among the Communities to deal with the problems facing the new settlers. However, reluctant Greek leaders, despite being conscious of the need for reform and restructure of the Communities, failed to respond. The severe demographic changes affecting Greek Communities because of the sharp rise in migration figures – mainly due to the removal of martial law in Greece (21 December 1949) and to the bilateral migration agreement of 1952 between Australia and Greece – found the leaders completely unprepared. The massive inflow of Greek migrants made the need for upgrading the services provided to them imperative. In contrast to their compatriots of the pre-war era, the new migrants were coming to Australia for permanent settlement. Their inspiration and practice was to graft the social and cultural life of Greece on to the new environment. The perpetuation of the Greek language and heritage was a prime concern, while loyalty to Orthodoxy was undertaken with a missionary zeal. A large number of unprotected girls and young men from Greece immigrated in a period of high unemployment to a community known for the adverse relations between its old and new members. The ideological polarisation was tense amongst the settlers, as a consequence of the Greek Civil War (1946–9) and caused serious upheavals. The tyranny of distance, the insecurity and the difficulties in communication with Greece created serious social problems, including bigamy, abandonment of families, even suicides among young migrants. After

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1958, a number of unprotected women, in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney were subjected to exploitation, frequently by their own kinsmen. Certain compatriots acting as employment agents also exploited some labourers. They charged commission fees and bribes to secure the job awaiting the individual, often in violation of the labour laws of Australia. Gambling in various forms, particularly betting on horse races, had been a problem for the Greek Community as far back as the pre-war era and it continued to flourish in the new era, despite campaigns by the organised Greek Community to counter it. In mid-1960 severe unemployment hit Melbourne, Newcastle, Adelaide and other industrial centres of the continent. By the end of 1961 thousands of newly arrived Greeks found themselves in a desperate situation, destitute and unemployed. Despite promises given, the inability of the officers of the Department of Immigration to offer them work led to intense feelings of disappointment and helplessness among the new migrants. In the packed migrant camps at Bonegilla, Canberra and Fisherman’s Bend in Melbourne, hundreds of Greek immigrants endured the uncertainty of a nebulous future. Many were lucky to obtain seasonal work as construction workers, railroad workers, porters and unskilled workers in smelters, often suffering crippling injuries. Some were compelled to work for a couple of weeks in the market garden fields of their compatriots in Werribee, Fulham, or Wanneroo; however, forcing them to the fields was asking them to revert to a type of life they had already rejected. At Bonegilla, in a former military camp near the village about 400 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, the living conditions did not reflect the immigration brochures or promises given by recruiting Immigration Department officials in Athens and Thessaloniki. The rules and conditions, which kept married couples separated during the day, and the realisation of the ‘lost paradise’ led to an uprising of the migrants who set fire to the wooden sheds (1961 and 1962). The police arrested some people, mainly Italians and Maltese, who were later freed after a public outcry. In 1961, the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne, as well as those of Sydney and Adelaide reacted with massive meetings organised by the Pan Hellenic Committee in support of the unemployed, demanding a stop to the legal persecution of the helpless migrants who were accused of initiating the uprising. Greek soccer teams and wrestlers were called on to stage games, acting groups to give performances of plays, and businessmen to contribute money so an unemployment benefit could be given to the suffering

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new migrants. The amount of the benefit was set at two pounds for married couples and one pound for singles. The insecurity in employment, the apprehension of being in a new environment and the rarity of social functions due largely to the low number of women in the communities, pushed young men to controversial Greek social clubs which were popular even before World War II. There was a huge increase in the number of kafeneia (coffeehouses) and gambling houses. Most of them were in the inner suburbs of Australian capital cities where the majority of the newly arrived migrants resided in order to be in close proximity to their factories and the marketplaces. Many turned to the Greek centres and clubs so that they could meet other Greeks. There, many of them fell into the traps of dice and card playing. The pioneer migrants remained traditionalists in their national sentiment, identity and culture, confining their struggle mostly to the preservation of the Greek faith and language. Their children favoured integration and were ready to compromise, asking the elder immigrant groups to reconcile to the idea of permanent residence in Australia. The traditionalists, headed by the ecclesiastical authorities and the affluent families of those who had migrated there before World War II, maintained the view that their links with the old country could be best maintained through the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek school as they had been in the days of Ottoman rule. The conformists observed that their major concern was the operation of Australian institutions dealing with Australian issues, which would best serve them as Australians of Hellenic ancestry. Until 1975, their self-sufficient communities remained socioeconomically insulated, relying on their intra-communal business resources and networks. Priority was given to the preservation of family and traditional values via the establishment of numerous Greek language schools, Orthodox Churches, brotherhoods and societies, including the male-only coffee houses. After World War II, Greek immigrants were well aware that their generation had to be sacrificed to secure the advancement of their children. The vision of professional success for their children, despite the hardships endured in the process of reaching it, was overpowering. The multiplicity of Greek language newspapers and radio stations generated a feeling of security in intra-community interactions, although very often some of their editors inspired controversies. By contrast, the conflict between the leaders of the Orthodox Church and the Communities generated

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confusion, dissension and the apparent lack of a coordinating authority to impose order. During the last half of the twentieth century, Greek immigrants, following the years of struggle, consolidated their presence and managed to found their institutions for the social, religious and community life focusing on the maintenance of the Greek identity in Australia. The readiness with which the Greek Australians sprang to the defence of Greece during periods of national crisis and their inability to divorce themselves from the internal politics of the mother country demonstrate exactly this. Moreover, Greek Australians are people with strong political inclinations, ready to raise funds, to hold public meetings, to publish newspapers, to voice their opinion, to pass resolutions and to denounce each other with passion. Most of them (96 per cent) became Australian citizens and during the 1960s entered the Australian political system establishing Greek-speaking branches for both major political parties. Offering support and assistance to their branches, they managed to set in place effective mechanisms for the pre-selection processes of their prospective political leaders. Their children, twenty years later, were elected to the parliaments of the country in large numbers, while they themselves had a major impact on electoral results. For the members of the second generation of Greeks in Australia, the road to acceptance into an Australian society that treated foreigners with ignorance and prejudice was not easy. Born into families with strong tribal (regional), paternal and national links, the Australia-born children of the Greeks who had migrated after World War II grew up in a home and ethnic school environment that insisted on preserving the national identity, faith and language of their parents and on maintaining the torch of tradition of the old country. However, their daily contact with non-Greek institutions and friends was shaping an attitude of belonging to the society into which they were born. In addition, there were those discouraging teachers and individuals who wished them and all foreigners to conform to their own image of Australianism. Family ties and family networks, including members of external families, even co-villagers, in a Greek family are very close. The father outlined the family core values and the ancestral tradition and the children were expected to fully uphold them. During the first years of settlement children accompanied their parents as interpreters and assistants, performed certain household duties, looked after their younger siblings while both parents were in shift work and consistently attended afternoon classes in the local Greek community school. Almost every

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Australian-born child of Greek ancestry was exposed to admonishing parental counselling to endure hard work, take advantage of the opportunities denied to their parents, make a successful career and care for their elders. Most children were exposed to this kind of family and cultural discipline, growing in isolation at least until the first years of their adolescence. It was only then that they would commence to question the strict observance of the customs, the attendance at Greek school and the Orthodox Church, and to complain about the fact that their restricted independence and freedom was so different from those of their Australian fellow students and friends. Many Australian-born children became rebellious against the attitude of their parents to restrict their recreational activities, to prohibit dating among teenagers, to refuse entertainment on the pretext that there are other more serious matters in life and that amusement will come later on following a successful career. Many children became victims of their parents’ unyielding desire to repatriate. In most cases, following a disastrous short sojourn in Greece and having exhausted their resources in ephemeral ventures, they returned to Australia to begin again. In the meantime, their children had lost their contact with Australian education, and with that, much hope for vocational success. The average Greek family stressed the importance for their daughters to marry a boy of their ethnic and religious background. The parents emphasised the advantages of marrying a spouse of the same language and the same faith, alerting their children to the fact that non-Greek girls instead of cooking would serve them for the rest of their lives with ‘tin cans’. In agreement with the ancient Greek tragedy, daughters who deviated from the matrimonial norm would be often viewed as outcasts, until at least the arrival of the first grandchild. However, contrary to practices in the old country, the arranged marriage and the burden of dowry was never significant in Australia. In certain cases, the pressure exerted on Australian-born children of Greek immigrants by a society that was often intolerant of the new immigrants created tense relations between them and the Greek-born immigrants. The latter were trying to accept the concept that their offspring would become good Australian citizens with a Greek way of life. However, they also agonised about the preservation of the Hellenic identity, the loyalty to the Orthodox faith and Greek language not only by their children but also by their grandchildren and the consequent generations. A real attempt was made during the closing years of the twentieth century to enlist the second generation of Australian-Greeks

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into the community organisations. In most cases, however, the response was negligible. Few among those young who joined, remained to serve the community objectives. Most of them were engaged in conflicts with the senior members. The young members were critical and outspoken in their remarks about the senior membership, their mannerisms, their knowledge of English and their activities often ridiculing the nature of their assemblies and social functions. The senior members, in turn, regarded them as ungrateful. The rise of the second and third generation of Australian Greeks to commercial, professional and intellectual prominence is part of the contemporary Australian success story. Lacking acquaintances and prominent connections within the broader Australian society, emerging from a humble and socially obscure immigrant environment, they climbed to influential positions via their determination and dedication. The will to succeed was imposed on them primarily by their Greek parents at a very early age. Hard work and assumption of responsibility were the values with which they were often admonished. Available statistical data attest that the proportion of Greek Australian youths entering positions of prestige in all professional disciplines is extremely high. It need only be noted that, of all ethnic groups, the percentage of tertiary students of Greek ancestry in Australia is the second highest (11.5 per cent) after that of students of Asian background. The professions of engineering, teaching, medicine and law were the most popular, while other professions began to appeal later on, especially in cinema, music and other arts, and in the media. Success in these disciplines would secure a dignified life, add prestige to the family and reflect credit upon parents whose children were professionally successful. For the most part, credit could be given by all standards to the parents. Family esteem and responsibility via hard work and discipline are the primary qualities for any child raised within the Greek family. Childhood is normally preoccupied with assigned duties and employment, restricting entertainment and amusement. Greek parents assumed firm discipline over their children, often ignoring teachers and other external mediators, to maintain their cultural distinctiveness and individuality. After all, parents were equally determined to sacrifice their own wellbeing and leisure, to work long hours and overtime, in order to invest heavily in their children’s education, thus providing them with better opportunities. By the 1990s the Greek Australians were well consolidated into the broader Australian society and their vigorous input was recognised.

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10 The President of Athens 2000, Gianna Aggelopoulou-Daskalakis with students of St Spyridon College moments before accepting the Olympic Torch.

Many excelled in the cinema industry and theatre as actors, directors and producers. A large number of Greek Australians became notable academics, authors and journalists. Many advanced as chief executive officers of large corporations, including Toyota and Ericsson, while many appeared in the social and physical sciences as researchers and senior scholars. A larger number of second and third generation Greek Australians entered the legal profession as barristers, whilst some were accepted into the judicial system and became eminent judges and magistrates. A significant number of them were appointed directors in various government departments and some of them managed to become advisors to government ministers and heads of staff for state Premiers and Australian Prime Ministers. Data at the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research, La Trobe University attest to the names and the career of personalities who entered the aforementioned vocational disciplines together with those Greek Australians who demonstrated a continuing interest in public affairs, commerce and business. Greek Australians did not lose interest in the country they and their parents left behind. They became embroiled in the social, political and religious turmoil of Greece with passion and determination that equalled or even exceeded that of their compatriots of the

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metropolis. This can be seen in the impact that the Cypriot (1974– 2004) and Macedonian (1992 and 1994) issues had on the second and third generations of Greek Australians as well as in the intergenerational celebrations resulting from Greece’s achievement in the Euro 2004 football championship in Portugal (July 2004) and the successful hosting of the Athens Olympic Games (August 2004).

3 DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

The exact number of Greeks∗ reaching Australia will never be known. Neither the Greek Government sources nor the shipping agencies maintained records of departures during the early years. Scattered and incomplete records could be found in some prefectures, newspaper archives and travel agencies. To make the matter more complicated, the definition of nationality for Greece is based on paternal principles, while Australian government sources employ as the criterion of nationality the person’s place of birth. Thus, all Greeks arriving from non-Greek territories were not considered Greeks. Before World War II, Greeks settled in Oceania in two main stages. First, during the phase of the early settlement (1829–1900) when approximately 1000 pioneer migrants, mainly curious fortune hunters and sailors from the Ionian and Aegean islands settled initially in the vast countryside of Australia and as from 1880 in the urban centres of the colonies. During the second phase (1901–45) the number of Greek immigrants increased to approximately 17,000. Greek migration to Australia inflated as a result of the ethnic cleansing campaigns (1908–19) against the Greeks, the Armenians and the Assyrians in Asia Minor by the New Turks regime and the tragedy of the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1923). These events led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees and their settlement in Greece, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. Another contributing factor was the restriction on immigration quotas applied by the US government ∗

Greek population is defined as any person who was born in Greece or reports Greek ancestry or whose religion is Greek Orthodox or who speaks Greek at home.

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(1924). Many Greeks who had temporarily left to participate in the Balkan Wars (1912–13), World War I (1917–18) and the Greek Campaign in Asia Minor (1920–3), found the doors of the USA closed. So did their relatives. Thus, they were compelled, with the encouragement of manipulative travel agents and shipping companies to discover the route to Australia. The demographic evolution of the Greek population was slow until 1926 with the main arrival centres being Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. The first census in Australia (5 April 1891) recorded 482 Greeks of whom 12 were residing in Western Australia (WA), including two females. Most of them came from Kythera, Ithaca and Samos. By 1901 their number increased to 1240, of whom 148 settled in WA, again including two females. In 1916 the number of settlers increased to 3800. Despite the unfavourable economic circumstances and the restrictions imposed by the state governments on the arrival of immigrants, a slight increase in their numbers is noted after 1923. At that time the number of migrants was restricted to an annual intake of 1200 per ethnic group. Until 1926 the states of New South Wales (NSW) and WA attracted about 60 per cent of the pioneer immigrants, with Victoria, Queensland and South Australia (SA) accommodating the rest. A few islanders, from the Cassimatis and the Haros families from Kythera, lived in Tasmania. Before World War I, female entry to Australia was not encouraged. After 1905, restrictions were strictly enforced, and only the wives of affluent merchants and well-established tradesmen were welcomed to stay but only for a short period of time. The situation created an enormous disparity between the successful and struggling immigrants, with the latter being forced to remain single. The rector of the Orthodox Church in SA, Germanos Iliou reported in the Athenian-based weekly newspaper, Xenitevmenos: Greek families are more or less concentrated in the capital cities of the States and they could be estimated 200 in Western Australia, 110 in South Australia, 20 in North Australia. Approximately 85% of these were intra-ethnic whereas 15% inter-ethnic . . . (Xenitevmenos newspaper, p. 4, January 1935)

After 1935, as the economic situation in Australia improved, the number of Greek women and children arriving from Greece began to increase. However, the pre-war ratio of men to women was still disproportionate at 7:3, and this created serious social problems among Greek Australians. The number of single women and dependent

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11 Port Melbourne, 1953. Arrival of the ocean liner Kyreneia full of young male migrants. A new life of hope begins.

family members arriving increased again after the end of World War II, but until 1947, 78 per cent of the total 2500 Greek population in Melbourne were males. Until 1947, 54 per cent of the settlers were employers or were self-employed, a situation which enabled many of them to amass enormous wealth. Because of their wealth, and accompanying generosity, city-dwelling immigrants became more accepted in Anglo-Australian society and this acceptance, combined with their wealth, enabled them to contribute towards the welfare and the infrastructure of the Greek community. Greek migration after World War II can be divided into two basic phases. First, there was the massive migration incorporating government-assisted immigrants (1952–74), following the bilateral agreement on immigration between Australia and Greece (1952). Second, there was the selective migration of political refugees, as well as traders and technocrats, mainly from Cyprus, South Africa and South America (1974–2004). The number of Greek immigrants in the first period (1952–74) reached 220,000, and included those who arrived

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in great numbers, from 1953 onwards, from Egypt, the Middle East, Romania and other Eastern European countries. After 1975, the number of Greek migrants was considerably reduced and migration continued at an extremely slow pace, except for the approximately 7000 Cypriot refugees arriving from the Turkish-stricken parts of Cyprus and 3000 Greeks, mostly businessmen and professionals, arriving from countries which were experiencing serious political and social instability, including South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela (Tamis, 2005). During this period, Greece via its European partnerships emerged as a strong democracy in the region, attracting more than one million immigrants. Cypriot immigration to Australia commenced in the form of an ‘exodus en masse’ with the independence of the Republic of Cyprus (1960), which, given the dramatic post-colonial political history of the island, lost almost one third of its total population. The proclamation of the independence of Cyprus and the uncertainty caused by its controversial Constitution triggered the migration of 14,589 persons primarily to the UK and Australia. Prior to the enforcement of the Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962 (UK) and the application of severe restrictions on the immigrant intake, thousands of Cypriots managed to find their way to London and other major British industrial urban centres. Furthermore, the squeeze on the world economy and the labour market in the 1970s compelled many Cypriots to seek refuge in Australia. The tragic inter-community Greek–Turkish strife following independence coupled with the growing animosity between Greece and Turkey and the serious unemployment crisis generated another massive emigration wave of concerned Cypriots. The mass migration under the auspices of the International Committee of Immigration created new problems in the areas of housing, administration and community action for Greek-Australians. The vast majority of the Greek migration intake after World War II was stranded youth from the agrarian stock of Greece and unskilled labourers from the major urban centres. The intake of new migrants entirely changed the structure of the organised Greek communities. The decline experienced in community life until that time started to subside, and the population drawn to the large urban centres of mainly Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane cultivated new conditions for organisation. In Melbourne, which became the main arrival centre, especially for young immigrants between the ages of 23 and 35, the number of newly arrived Greek immigrants began to increase rapidly after 1954 to reach 98,000 in 1971, while in Sydney their number increased from

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4635 in 1947 to 53 646 in 1971. Traditional places of congregation for the Greek population became inadequate to house their activities. From 1954, celebrations for national days and other commemorations required large and spacious venues. Until 1981, 50 per cent of Greek settlers of the post-war period continued to work in the country’sfactories as unskilled or semi-skilled labour, in contrast to the pioneers of the pre-war era of whom 50 per cent were small businessmen and employers. Many educated migrants were unable to work in their professions and under the pressure of government policy were forced to work in heavy industries and other areas unrelated to the skills, qualifications and experience they brought with them. This ‘class’ difference between the Greek settlers of the post-war era and their compatriots of the pre-war era resulted in a different approach to matters of community organisation and the aims of the Greeks in Australia. The Australian 1996 Census based on ancestry, language and religious statistics suggested that there were 126 621 Greek-born settlers. The number of those Greek-born migrants who repatriated was 37 per cent higher than the number of new migration arrivals. There were also approximately 19 500 Cypriot-born of whom 14 936 (71.8 per cent) were of Greek origin, 3642 (17.8 per cent) Turkish and the remainder of mixed ethnicity. The Australian-born descendants of these Cypriots were almost 58 000 persons. Nearly 44 000 of these are of Greek origin, thus bringing the total number of Greek Cypriots in Australia to 70 000 or so persons. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the total number of Greeks in Australia in 2001 was 449 007, of whom 227 046 were male and 221 961 females. In 2004, the number of Greek-born settlers was estimated to be 110 000 of which almost 80 per cent were over the age of fifty years. During the last ten years of the twentieth century the number of new settlers of Greek ancestry in Western Australia (WA) increased with the arrival of immigrants from the unstable democracies of South Africa and South America. Melbourne remains the ethnolinguistic centre of Hellenism in Australia with a concentration of approximately 215 000 Greeks and Greek Cypriots. Vocational and socio-economic reasons led many young Greek Australians from other states, mainly technocrats and professionals, to settle in Sydney, increasing the number of Greeks and Greek Cypriots in NSW to approximately 160 000. In 2004, 14 717 Greek Australians were still without school education of whom almost all (98.9 per cent) were born overseas. However,

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the number of Greek Australians who obtained postgraduate education was 7 851, while 35 518 were university graduates, and another 19 270 acquired higher education degrees or diplomas. According to the ABS almost 55 per cent of the Greek Australian settlers over the age of 15 were not productive, as they remained outside the workforce. However, they are rapidly integrating into the broader Australian society, possessing the highest rate of citizenship (96.1 per cent) among all ethnic groups. The privilege of maintaining dual citizenship, Greek and Australian, should explain their attitude. Contrary to the prevailing practices at home, Greek women in Australia remain more productive as they give birth to 2.8 children compared with the Australian average of 2.1. Greek Australian settlement possesses the highest residential concentration as almost 97 per cent of Greek-born immigrants reside within the metropolitan area of the state capitals. This concentration makes press distribution relatively easy and mass media transmission accessible to almost the entire group and facilitates access of community leaders to the members. Inter-ethnic marriage patterns are arguably considered to be the determining factor for the shift of the home language and culture. Available data (Tamis, 2001) attest that although there has been a reduction in the actual number of inter-ethnic marriages across the country, percentages remain high, particularly in the churches serving more affluent and highly educated Greek Australian settlers. In 2003, the rate of exogamy in Queensland was 52 per cent, in NSW and SA 39 per cent, in Victoria 36 per cent, in WA 58 per cent, in Tasmania 17 per cent and in the Northern Territory (Darwin) 8 per cent. It is possible that the proportion of inter-ethnic cohabitation is greater, when civil weddings and de facto relationships are taken into account. Its acceleration is incongruous with the well-balanced ratio of males to females and the size of the Australian Greek community and could be justified by the eagerness of the children of the Greek immigrants to be absorbed into the mainstream society. Since 1952 the number of Orthodox Christians increased in Australia more than any other Christian denomination, with most of them (64 per cent) residing in Melbourne. In 2004, the number of Orthodox Christians was 529,000, representing 14 autonomous homodoxe churches under the primacy of honour of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Arguably one of the most important aspects of the Greek settlement was that, although it retained its dynamic aspects in that the character

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12 Kastorian P. Lekopoulos celebrates Christmas with compatriots and other Australians at Coff’s Harbour, NSW (1929).

of the settlement changed with the passage of time, its structure remained intact. The immigration patterns for the settlers from most regions of Greece, except Western Macedonia, remained dynamic, the districts of origin constantly changing as well as the number of immigrants arriving at a given time before and after World War II. For example, during the post-war years there was a sharp decline in immigration from Kastellorizo, Kythera and Ithaca, while there was no substantial migration from Crete or the Peloponnese in the prewar chain settlements. Western Macedonians, however, had sustained and reinforced their large pre-war chain settlements with substantial post-war arrivals. The nature of settlement resulted in the transplantation of whole villages from the Kastoria and Florina regions to Australia. Monopylo’srebuilt church by Greek immigrants in Australia, for example, is the only remnant of the pre-war village in Kastoria. All its residents permanently settled in Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. Furthermore, almost the entire population of the mountainous villages of the Florina and Kastoria regions, including of Akritas, Agiasma, Agia Sotira, Skopia, Triantafyllia, Polypotamos, Palaistra, Kotas, Ydrousa, and Perasma could be found in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Only thirty-five of the total 800 inhabitants could be found in Parori, Florina; half of its population had gone to

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Toronto, Canada, and the remainder to Melbourne and Shepparton in Victoria, Australia. The nature of settlement, however, had its advantages. It reinforced the unity of the process of movement and produced well-established communities of fellow-villagers in Australia, which might socially and linguistically be very similar to the village of origin.

4 SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY LIFE

The Greek community before World War II Upon their arrival Greek immigrants had the tendency at first to seek the protection of their compatriots, heading for destinations determined by their employment needs. After 1880, the 450 or so dispersed Greeks commenced to settle in the inner suburban areas of the colonial capitals of Sydney (Paddington), Perth (Northbridge) and Melbourne (Carlton) to find accommodation and employment. There they formed small communes of compatriots, working as street peddlers, street-vending labourers and kitchen hands in the restaurants and coffee houses owned by their compatriots. In the vast countryside, a small number of pioneer Greeks ware employed as railway construction workers and farm labourers recruited by agents of the companies needing their services. By the closing years of the nineteenth century, those living in the urban centres became aware of the need for a more permanent settlement in this vast country and decided to form their first Communities. In 1892, an Orthodox Christian consortium composed of Greek, Russian and Syrolibanese settlers commenced negotiations with Russia, Greece and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem to establish the first Orthodox Church in Australia (Tamis, 2000). Following seven years of negotiations, involving the Russian and Greek consular representatives, Community leaders and the Anglican Church of Australia their vision finally matured. On 22 August 1897 the leaders of the 100 Greeks in Melbourne, in collaboration with the Syrolibanese settlers, called a meeting and founded the Greek Orthodox Church

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[Community] of Melbourne. Founding members included Alexander Maniakis, Antonios Lekatsas and Grigorios Matorikos. They secured the purchase of land on which the Church of ‘Evagelismos’ (Annunciation) was erected three years later. During the first fifty years of organised Community life (1897–1947), important changes occurred within the Greek Orthodox Church of Melbourne (GOCM). The course that the Community had taken, despite the ambitions of its founding members, was conservative and limited. The slow pace of development could be attributed to a wide variety of reasons. The parochial chauvinism emerging from the powerful brotherhoods of Ithacans and Samians, the lack of leaders with vision and direction, and the difficult times of poverty and persecution in the initial period of settlement deprived the organisation of a more impressive impetus. The GOCM, without any strong financial resources in the first years of its existence, was further marginalised by the fact that the Church and the Greek Consulate had their centre in Sydney. The hardships of survival, particularly from 1924 to 1935, diminished any interest migrants may have had in actively participating in communal activities and life. This plunged the Community into decline. Only a few activities involving appeals for earthquake victims in Greece, fundraising activities for local hospitals and a narrow program of charity work for destitute members managed to alleviate the decline. During those difficult years Community leaders made an effort to assist destitute migrants, particularly the unemployed, but the necessary structure was lacking. In 1934, unemployed Greeks roaming the streets of Melbourne looking for work in exchange for food represented one-third of the total Greek population in Melbourne. The administrative inefficiency and incompetence of the Community’s leaders was often reinforced by the prevailing general spirit of organisational apathy. The ecclesiastical nature of the Community structure did not assist its progress. The GOCM lacked the social expertise to undertake initiatives to assist pioneer migrants with their needs and problems. In this climate of uncertainty and upheaval, the xenophobic attitude prevailing in the wider Australian community exacerbated the migrants’ feelings of impermanence and intrusion. In addition, the establishment of numerically robust and financially independent regional brotherhoods, such as the Ithacans’ Association, ‘Odysseus’, and the Panhellenic Association, ‘Orpheus’, essentially governed by the Samians, seriously affected the cohesiveness of the Community. These regional organisations caused the GOCM to become impoverished and gave rise to ephemeral and

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temporary committees, which did not manage to complete their term of office. Greek and Syrolibanese Orthodox migrants in Sydney founded the first Greek Community at the beginning of 1896 and erected ‘Agia Triada’ (Holy Trinity), the oldest Orthodox Church in Australia. The church was completed in 1898 with generous contributions from the Kytherian Greeks and its opening was celebrated with great splendour on 16 April 1899. Before World War I the majority of the Greek population in Australia was concentrated in Sydney where the seat of the Archbishop (1924) and the Consul General of Greece (1926) were located. Thus, it was inevitable that the mechanisms of communal organisation would work more effectively and vigorously there, and that two opposing Greek newspapers, the National Tribune and the Hellenic Herald, could survive in Sydney. Furthermore, the strong dissension between the clergy and the laity led to the establishment of two churches after 1926, when the Cathedral of ‘Agia Sofia’ was also erected, following the initiative of the inaugural Greek Consul General Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos (1926–32). The rearrangements in the hierarchy of the Sydney Community organisation were slow, due to the polarisation that the ecclesiastic dissension generated (1924–32), and the permanent existence of two conflicting committees up to 1945. Within the Community there were always two schools of ideology, depending upon the enthusiasm for unification and collaboration with the supporters of the Archbishop. The forces within the Community advocating collaboration with the Archbishop prevailed and maintained their power for the most part, often forcing the irreconcilable leaders to retire from public assemblies or to be out-voted and blackballed. A closer look at the Greeks in Western Australia (WA) who remained isolated from their compatriots of the eastern states reveals a different course of evolution in their community. In the eastern states the Greek migrants initially formed their community around the churches they built and did not invest large resources in the cultural or educational needs of their community until later. In WA though the Greeks promoted the cultural and educational needs of their people first, shaping their community around these, and subsequently built churches to meet their ecclesiastical needs. This opposing concept of community development in WA prevailed because of the Kastellorizians who submitted their parochial interests to the panhellenic ideology. Their commitment towards their Hellenic community was in part brought about by their experiences living under Italian

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13 The first Greek Consul General in Australia (1926–32), Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos (right) in Sydney with a friend (1926).

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14 From the first visit of the second Metropolitan of Australia, Timotheos Evangellinidis, to Perth (1931) in a room where four Orthodox baptisms were performed.

domination, expressed particularly in the Kastellorizian attitude and way of life. The numerical dominance of the Kastellorizians in Perth led to the establishment of the first regional Greek brotherhood in Australia in 1912, the Kastellorizian Brotherhood, with its main objectives being purely panhellenic. The first Executive Committee presided over by Athanasios G. Augoustis consisted of members who also formed the first Executive Committee of the Hellenic Community of Western Australia, which was established nine years later. A strong Community developed with the contribution of generous offers of estates and bequests. The close collaboration, initially, between the laity and the rector of the Orthodox Church, Archim. Germanos Iliou, and the favourable relations that developed between the Kastellorizians and the large number of Macedonian immigrants who had begun to arrive after 1924, both contributed to the development of sound educational, sporting, and youth activities, as well as to the development of an orchestra and a choir. Due to the presence of enlightened leaders and their geographical isolation, the ecclesiastic schism in other states did not ensnare the Greeks in Perth. However, the world economic

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crisis delayed the construction of the church of Saints Constantine and Helen, which was finally consecrated by Archbishop Timotheos Evangellinides in 1937. In 1918 an organised youth group, Greek Unity of Western Australia, came into effect, having as its main objectives the cooperative rapport with the broader Australian community, the implementation of charity work, the assistance of the disabled and the support and maintenance of the Greek Evening School, ‘Pittakos’. The Greek community in Adelaide remained small and politically unimportant until 1947. In 1923, there were only four families and thirty individuals in Adelaide and forty workers who worked at The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) mining smelter in the coastal town of Port Pirie. From 1924 the Greek migrant population in Port Pirie, 250 miles northwest of Adelaide, increased considerably, exceeding 1200 people. This sudden increase was solely attributable to the intake of large numbers of workers due to the extensive advertising campaign run by the administrative authorities of the BHP mines. Upon his arrival (1924) the first Archbishop Christophoros visited Port Pirie and encouraged its Greek settlers to establish the first Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia. The first timber church in honour of St George was established and operated within the grounds of the Anglican Church. However, by 1929 when the impending economic crisis led to mass retrenchments from the Port Pirie smelter, the local community declined as most of its members left for Adelaide and other cities of the eastern states looking for work. On 19 October 1930, thirty Greeks in Adelaide gathered at the Panhellenion Club and established the Greek Community of South Australia, electing businessman Constantinos Kavouras as their President. However, almost every aspect of community life in Adelaide, until 1940, experienced a decline. In 1933 an appeal began to raise money to purchase land and erect a church. The land was bought in 1936 and in November 1937 the foundation stone of the church of ‘Taksiarhes’ was laid. The consecration of the church took place in March 1938, under the presidency of Michalis Kambouris in an atmosphere of general euphoria. The contribution of the Community to the war victims in Greece was quite substantial during the Pan-Australian Appeal, despite the initial difficulties caused by intra-Community disputes. The immediate postwar economic development and the mass immigration of women and children at the end of the 1940s, due to the civil war in Greece, contributed to the Community’s elevation in prestige and its economic efficiency.

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Before World War II, Greek communities were formed in the far north of Queensland and spread for two thousand kilometres with their main pursuit being the acquisition of sugar cane plantations. Greeks and Cypriots lived in the main towns of Babinda, Ayr, Tully and Home Hill, opening up their own restaurants, caf´es and milk bars. Queensland’s peculiarity was that during the period of Greek immigration to that state and even during the postwar period, half the migrants lived outside the metropolitan area of Brisbane. Relatively few immigrants settled in the City of Brisbane. In 1913 the first Greek association was established and operated under the name of the ‘Queensland Hellenic Association’. In 1924, following the restrictions in migrant intake legislated by the Federal Government, a few hundred Macedonian migrants with no employment prospects in Melbourne and Perth were transferred to the cotton and tobacco plantations of north Queensland, under the care of the Greek Consul in Queensland, Christie Fryligus. They were also sent to the sugar cane plantations, which until then had been the stronghold of Maltese and Italian migrants. Although the arrival of the first Greek migrant in Brisbane dates back to 1860, the Greek Orthodox Community in Brisbane did not begin to register members until March 1928. Large numbers of people from the Dodekanese and Kythera had settled in the city of Brisbane in the early 1900s. Most of them owned small shops, fish shops, restaurants and small businesses importing goods from Greece. In 1929 the church of ‘St Georgios’ was consecrated. Later, a substantial block of land was bought and a magnificent church was erected in South Brisbane, next to Hellenic House which housed the club, a restaurant, a library and the office of the first parish priest, Archim. Nikon Patrinakos. Approximately 200 islanders settled in the tropical town of Innisfail after 1910 and by 1925 had organised a Community. As a consequence, in 1933 Archbishop Timotheos appointed clergyman Ilias Kotiades to be their first parish priest. At the first meeting it was decided that a Greek Association of Northern Queensland be established which included all Greeks from the major towns and surrounding townships. Its main objective was the establishment of a church and a Greek afternoon school. After 1935 a large number of Greeks settled in the rural town of Townsville. Many of the immigrants had been working at the sugar cane and banana plantations since the beginning of 1924. As a result of the settlement in Townsville, the Greek Community of Townsville was established and the parish priest Georgios Kateris was appointed to perform the religious services and to teach

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Greek to the children gathered in rural towns. He also conducted liturgies in the Church of the Saint Theodore ( ‘Agioi Theodori’),which was being built by the local Community. Until the consecration of the Greek Church in 1947, the Orthodox liturgies were conducted in the Anglican Church, which had been offered very generously by the Anglican parishioners in 1928. Even though the first Greek landed in Tasmania in 1860 only a few Greeks, from Kythera, settled there prior to the period of massive Greek migration to the island as a result of the government works in the hydroelectric project. So it was not surprising that an organised Community was not established until 1953. Until 1931 the only Greeks in Tasmania were Georgios Haros, his sisters Katerina and Manti, I. Flaskas and his wife who came to the island in 1922, the brothers Syd, Vasilios and Grigorios Kassimatis, and Athanasios Kaparatos who lived in Launceston. Greek settlers did not make their appearance in northern Australia until after the Balkan Wars. Only a small number of Kastellorizians arrived in Darwin in 1913 and lived there before the arrival of the Kalimnians who initially worked in the high-risk pearl diving industry. The institution of the Greek Koinotita (Community) was the focal point of community life, the provider of Greek language education and the custodian of the Orthodox faith for and on behalf of the entire Greek community, the Homogenia. They were formed during the late years of the nineteenth century in Sydney and Melbourne as governing bodies for those identifying with the Greek Orthodox faith. The Communities had the mandate to administer the affairs of the entire group identifying with Greece, its culture and Orthodox faith, despite the fact that many members elected not to pay their dues and not to enrol in the Community’s register. The Community’s network was responsible for establishing the Greek language afternoon schools, erecting churches, administering funds, and employing priests, teachers and administrators. Their progress was seriously affected by antagonistic and divisive attitudes instigated by lay and clergy leaders seeking to impose their own opinion. The quarrels led to serious litigation that deeply affected the welfare of the members. On many occasions priests were expelled, leaders were outvoted, teachers were replaced and elections results were placed in doubt as a result of the political affiliations of rival leaders. Other reasons for the feuds included the financial management of Community affairs, the personal behaviour or the qualifications of the Orthodox rector or the teachers, and the school policy or the social program of the

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Community. The Communities, which commenced initially as Church entities, were after the 1950s transformed into communitywide organisations headed by a board of elected directors. The establishment of fraternal societies followed, and in the case of Perth, the Kastellorizian Brotherhood preceded in 1912 the formation of the Greek community organisations. Until the era of massive Greek immigration (1952), these societies played a conspicuous role in the organisation of the early Greek settlements. Greek immigrants from all over Greece were caught by the zeal to establish a society, representing their island and their village, and thus boost their pride, self-confidence and competitive spirit. They drafted their own constitutions, organised their own seals and stamps, ordered their banners and flags, and adopted high-sounding titles in their logotypes. They used their clubs as social venues for themselves and their children, paid dues, elected the councils to govern them, attended their noisy assemblies debating indefatigably serious and trivial issues and raised money in support of their island or village. In periods of intra-community strife they used their fraternal societies as a stronghold against their political opponents. For example, the Ithacans in Melbourne used their clubrooms to conduct baptisms (1926–8) in a secretive fashion, when their leader and honorary Consul of Greece, Antonios Lekatsas (Lukas) was in strife with the canonical Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christophoros, who happened to be from the island of Samos. No doubt, their goals were patriotic and philanthropic, stemming from the need for mutual solidarity and assistance, charity and humanitarianism. During the initial years of settlement, most regional fraternities were established as a result of chain immigration. In the farms, restaurants, market gardens, mines, harbours and railways Greeks had the tendency to work, drink and reside according to village, province or island. Community leaders, who demonstrated panhellenic ideology rightly argued that the regional fraternities bred antagonism, obstructed community progress, divided the migrants and seriously impeded cooperation. These leaders were opposed fiercely by the leaders of the regional organisations.

The Greek Community after World War II World War II had beneficial results for the Greek population in Australia and the organised Communities. It united the Greeks, brought prosperity to the large urban centres, allowed migrants to find highly paid jobs, enabled the Communities to pay off their debts and inspired the religious and nationalistic powers, together with the communities,

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15 Young evzones smile while awaiting the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Karamanlis (March 1982).

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to establish the Panhellenic Appeal Committee which raised the sum of £1 000 000 for the Greeks who were fighting against the German, Italian and Bulgarian occupational forces in Greece. However, the Greek Civil War (1946–9) and the ideological conflict of the Cold War kept the Greeks in Australia divided and unable to consolidate their networks. Despite the ideological polarisation among the clubs, the members of the executive councils of Communities cautiously kept away from party politics during the first years after the Civil War (1949–55), mainly because moderate leaders governed the Communities. Yet, a series of other external factors contributed to and extended the Cold War tensions. The families of permanent residents in Australia, whose children had been seized by the retreating Greek Communist forces in Western Macedonia (1948– 9), approached the International Red Cross, the Australian Council for International Social Services and the Australian government demanding the return of their kidnapped children from the Eastern European countries. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, in collaboration with Greek consular representatives, became the centre for promoting the demands of the migrants seeking assistance. Naturally, there had been provocations between fundamentalist members of the active leftist leagues, such as ‘Demokritos’ in Melbourne, ‘Spartakos’ in Brisbane, ‘Atlas’ in Sydney and ‘Platon’ in Adelaide, and right-wing organisations and their ultra-conservative newspapers. Disappointing events occurred, including severe quarrelling and even physical violence among community representatives in club meeting rooms and in function rooms during community events. These episodes often called for police intervention. The radical dockers and maritime labourers in the leftist organisations were constantly in ideological conflict with the conservatives and the royalists, slandering the notion of unity within the Greek community in Australia. The irredentist campaign of the organised Macedoslav population to propagate bitter conflict with the Greek community through their newspaper Makedonska Ickra and their leftist Union of the Australian Macedonian People, further augmented the crisis. There was bitter factional confrontation and lack of intra-community collaboration, with community members keeping away from each other’s functions, but generally speaking there was no violence. The Greek Orthodox Church, adopting a policy of moderation, systematically avoided references to the Civil War and declared a panhellenic ideology, while the prudent stance of the Greek Consul General Aemilios Vryzakis avoided conflict and strife. The climate of appeasement was further

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assisted by the attitude of Australian authorities, which prevented the transfer of the internal conflicts experienced in Europe to Australia. During the 1950s the tension of the ideological schism, the massive arrivals of Greek migrants, the bitter conflict of the Macedonian Issue (Tamis, 1994) and the increase in social problems, mainly gambling and the abandonment of families, added to the community leaders’ concerns. Conservative newspaper publishers often printed articles attacking the Church and Greek consular representatives, blaming their conciliatory attitude and tolerance for the rise of leftists. Their friendly cooperation and missionary acceptance of the Orthodox Serbs and Poles, after 1949, was considered to be ‘unpatriotic’ by the conservatives and their radical media who viewed it as damaging to the national interest of the community. From the end of World War II until the partition of Cyprus following the Turkish invasion (1974), Greek Australians were unable to divorce themselves from the domestic politics of Greece. Most of them possessed strong political inclinations, organising themselves into rival factions. Leftists, liberals and conservatives held public rallies, circulated propaganda pamphlets, raised funds amongst their members, and passed resolutions denouncing each other with vehemence. The Venizelists and Royalists of the period preceding World War II were now replaced by the Communists (Kommounistes) and Nationalists (Ethnikofrones), both attempting to influence Australian foreign policy towards Greece. The decline that characterised Greek Communities before World War II worsened with the intake of more than 200 000 migrants after 1952. Although the Greek Community and Church administration boasted of sufficient resources to meet the needs of the increased number of migrants, it was apparent there were not enough churches or priests. Community organisations continued to be organised around the Church. They lacked secular welfare bodies and visionary leadership. Their constitutions remained anachronistic. In most cases they were ineffectively administered and their objectives were out of step with the demands of the times. The Greek media had not quite rid itself of the remnants of the old schisms. The demographic changes, however, were rapid. The new Communities that were created with the membership of thousands of new settlers were cut off from the existing old Community organisations in distant suburbs and townships of Australia. During the first twenty years of postwar massive migration of Greeks to Australia (1950–70), there was a severe and often open

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rift between those who had settled before World War II and were by now well-established and their compatriots who arrived with daring, yet traumatic experiences from a war-torn Greece. The latter were young, ambitious, progressive migrants, highly loyal to Greece and its national aspirations. The former were mainly islanders, conservative proponents of the rights of the Greek Orthodox Church. Initially, the new Greek immigrants were segregated and were treated with increasing prejudice. Greek consular representatives in their reports to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs openly accused prewar settlers and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of cultivating systematically a climate of favouritism towards the old settlers, who were imposing on their institutions a regime of seclusion, refusing membership to the broad Greek community. Malcontent new migrants, victims of arrogance and exclusion from organisations formed before the War, often protested against these practices to the Greek consular authorities, demanding admission and collaboration. For example, Consul K. P. Belegris in his report to the Greek Embassy stated that even new leaders from the old stock of immigrants were not accepted by the minority of the old Greek settlers: . . . the encouragement of new leaders, who even if they come from the ranks of the old migrants, are not accepted by them and they refuse any sort of communication with the majority of Greek immigrants. A recent characteristic of the mode of behaviour of the old settlers is their strong reaction and abstention from the celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, which took place in their own Community Hall and Church, simply because they were not the only ones to be invited, but the whole of the Greek community . . . (Consul Belegris’ report to the Greek Embassy, 6 December 1971, p. 3, Archives, NCHSR, LTU).

An All-Community Conference took place in June 1958 and its official opening was celebrated by the Greek Ambassador Georgios Christodoulou, despite the most serious objections from the Church. This event essentially constituted the first organised attempt by the Greek Communities, in the existing climate of change caused by mass immigration, to maintain control of the laity under their jurisdiction. The conference of the Communities, without the presence of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Theophylaktos, took place at the ANZAC Auditorium in Sydney where nineteen Communities participated. The sessions lasted from 13 to 16 June 1958, with participating delegates

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from the Communities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Newcastle and other smaller community groups. For the first time in the history of the Greek communities of Australia, representatives of Hellenism came together to examine not only ecclesiastical and communal matters but also social problems created by the arrival annually of thousands of new settlers. On the last day of the conference the participating Communities decided to establish the Federation of the Greek Orthodox Communities of Australia and voted for the relevant constitution to be written up. The decentralisation of the ecclesiastical administration and the role to be played by the laymen organised within the Greek Communities of Australia became the principal topic of discussion. Two months later, the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, Theophylaktos died in a car accident (August 1958). Following the death of Theophylaktos, the Archbishop of Thyateira and Central Europe, Athenagoras Kavadas, was temporarily appointed Patriarchal Exarch of Australia. Upon his arrival in Australia (September 1958) the Exarch implemented a program of reorganisation and reconstruction of the Greek community with the Archbishop as its centre. With the influx of Greek migration, the new program involved the establishment of new suburban ecclesiastic [parish] Communities with the participation only of approved laymen by the Church. This program aimed to decentralise the management of organised Hellenism so that the Church could benefit financially and in terms of power and authority. The new system also aimed to weaken the old Community organisations which had not acted in time (1952–8) to establish new Communities themselves in various suburbs of the capital cities where the new migrants were settling in great numbers, and thus to place them under their jurisdiction. At the same time, the establishment of parish Communities, would strengthen the authority of the Archdiocese, as it would maintain the right of intervention and also enjoy flourishing financial opportunities created from the payment of charges for sacraments, as well as a levy from their church’s revenue. The ultimate target, however, was to curb the resistance from the laity Community groups to the Metropolis Archdiocese as the undisputed authority of Hellenism in Australia. This policy was promoted as a major national case and was supported by the consular representatives of Greece during the following years with only a few exceptions. The implementation of the new program demonstrated that the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was pressing for the establishment of a transatlantic Orthodox axis of authority using New York,

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Sydney and London as the centres of power. It was not a coincidence that both Archbishops who were appointed to implement the program of the reconstruction of the Ecclesiastical Community Parish System in Australia, namely Thyateira’s Athenagoras and the fourth Archbishop of Australia, Ezekiel Tsoukalas, were close colleagues and collaborators in the Theological School of Boston. Nor that both were close confidants of Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople when he was the Archbishop of America. Meanwhile, acting within the framework of this hardline policy Exarch Athenagoras commenced his campaign, establishing ecclesiastical Communities, applying the model of the Greek Orthodox Church in the USA. An ecclesiastic civil war in Australia then erupted, between the Church, which as an institution of authority was girding itself for a more authoritarian role over the Greeks in Australia, determined to give greater power to the Archdiocese and the parish priests, and the Greek Communities which, despite their insufficiency in resources and their administrative incompetence, resisted the establishment of ecclesiastical Communities and sought to maintain the status quo as it had been before World War II. In the meantime, Exarch Athenagoras engaged the members of the Christian Youth and the Benevolent Committee to demand the establishment of St John’s Church in Melbourne, while he encouraged the settlers in Sydney to establish their own new church in Rose Bay. Finally, within a few months of his appointment in Australia, he allowed the establishment of the ecclesiastical Community entitled ‘Greek Orthodox Community of Evangelismos’ in Perth, ‘despite the unfounded protests by the leaders of the old Hellenic Community of Western Australia’ (Tamis, 2000). After the foundation of this ecclesiastical Community, any possibility of allowing wider jurisdiction to Communities administered by laymen disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by a powerful ecclesiastical regime (the Archdiocese) governing the multiple ecclesiastical Communities, based on the experience of the USA. The situation was further aggravated with the appointment of the fourth Greek Orthodox Archbishop in Australia, Ezekiel Tsoukalas (1959–74). Ezekiel’s pastorship in Australia was incident-ridden for a wide variety of reasons. He was called to implement the program of parish sectioning, which was initiated by Exarch Athenagoras. Ezekiel, a man of contradictions himself, despite his easy-going and reserved character, was a royalist and politically an ultra-conservative. The period of his pastorship was the most important in the history of the Greeks in Australia. It was the period of the mass migration and

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confrontation between the Church and the Communities, and the period when intra-community and ideological splits came to a head. In April 1959, at meetings in Athens with officials representing the Karamanlis Government, Ezekiel presented the new Constitution of the Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand, which was worked out at Constantinople. He also obtained approval from the Greek state to review the existing Church–Community regime implementing the changes for the consolidation of the Church’s authority over the organised laity. The dispatch of schoolbooks from Greece, the appointment of teachers and the financial support for the schools would all be under the control of the Archdiocese’s welfare program. The immediate objective was the disintegration of the Federation of Greek Communities as well as the weakening of the old Communities which, according to Ezekiel, were in danger of being taken over by ‘communists and elements, which were the enemy of the Nation and the Church’. After all, only the Archdiocese would be able ‘to secure the perpetuity of Christianity and Hellenism and give guarantees for a healthy and nationalistic mutual understanding with the motherland’ (Tamis, 2000). The program of creating new parish Communities was incorporated in a Charter of Agreement and was distributed by means of a Constitution, endorsed by the Greek Government. The Constitution caused a furore because it was not preceded by dialogue with the Communities and was taking away their right to establish new churches and Communities. The Archdiocese was now taking ‘the exclusive right to establish and organise new churches and Greek Orthodox Communities as well as their branches all under its jurisdiction’ (article Ia). Based on the new Charter ‘all the authorities were now exercised by the Archbishop’ (article VI), while the responsibility for the realisation of the Archdiocese’ aims and ‘especially for the administration of the Church’s Estate’ is now in the hands of the ‘Combined Clergy– Laity Management Committee (Mikton) under his presidency’. The new administrative rule gave the Archdiocese the authority to impose sanctions and threaten with deregistration any clergyman or civilian who would dare ‘not to do the right thing with the Metropolis’ (article XXI), while the appointment of priests, contrary to the Constitutions of the Communities, was ‘the sole responsibility of the Archdiocese’ (article XII). In Sydney, at a meeting of the presidents of the old Communities’ management councils and their representatives from Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Geelong, Gippsland, Frankston, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Albury, Innisfail, Kalgoorlie and Port Pirie

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(3 October 1959) the Archdiocese’s Constitution was rejected. The Greeks in Australia were moving fast towards an unavoidable split throughout Australia, except in the isolated Hellenic Orthodox Community of WA. Despite the approval by the Greek Government of the patriarchal program and the new constitutional charter of the Archdiocese, Greek consular representatives in Australia supported the cause of the Communities. Their initiative led to severe dissension with Archbishop Ezekiel. Ezekiel consented to the militant campaign against the Greek diplomats, but demanded secrecy about his behind-the-scenes actions against them because he feared that ‘their removal from Australia would be followed by mine as soon as possible’. He also turned to the Greek secret services including Kratiki Ypiresia Pliroforion (KYP), the State Bureau of Information, to get help to oust any Greek diplomat who did not go along with his program. The dissension between the Archbishop and the Greek diplomats continued throughout his pastorship, depending on whether or not they were willing to endorse his policies and accept his authority over the Communities of the Hellenes. Meanwhile, the Communities’ management councils in Melbourne and Sydney decided to intensify the campaign against the establishment of parish Communities by the Archdiocese, informing the Archbishop that their intention was to establish churches and schools in various Melbourne and Sydney suburbs including Brunswick, Prahran, Richmond, Footscray, Camberwell, Coburg, Moonee Ponds, Parramatta and Kingsford. The Archbishop stated in response that the Archdiocese, according to its Constitution and regulations, would not permit the establishment of new churches by the old Communities which were advised ‘to expel the communists from their Councils and to try to repair the churches under their jurisdiction’. In an attempt to counterbalance the demand for new churches, the Archdiocese systematically encouraged applications in large numbers from Greek Christians and ‘much to her [the Church’s] surprise’, these applications came from all over the country. The content of all the applications was the same. The applicants (usually in numbers of 600) asked for services to cover their religious needs, giving the long distance and the large number of migrants within their territorial boundaries as the reason for allocating top priority to their application. The Archbishop answered all these applications in the same way: he approved all of them and blessed the establishment of the new Community ‘whose aim was to have a church and a school to perpetuate our Holy Faith and our HellenicOrthodox ideals’. Giving approval for the Community of Thebarton

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(4 January 1960) in Adelaide, Ezekiel defined the structure of the new Community to be established in Australia. The new ‘Communities’ would be nothing but committees of Greek Orthodox Christians, parishes that the Archbishop would organise and direct through his representative and the Constitution. The dramatic culmination of the split between the Church and the Communities came on 9 June 1960 when the Management Council of the Greek Orthodox Community of Adelaide (GOCA) decided to split from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. This was in reaction to the establishment of the Communities of St Elias the Prophet at Unley, St Spyridon at Thebarton and The Genesis of Christ at Port Adelaide by the Archbishop Ezekiel, and to his threat to relocate the elderly priest Stylianos Stenos whom Ezekiel accused of organising a conspiracy in the Community against his ecclesiastic authority and the Patriarchate. The ‘rebellion’ of the Greek Orthodox Community of Adelaide was followed by a similar one on 9 July 1960 by the Greek Community of Newcastle, then under the presidency of Nikolaos Karatzas. In these tragic moments Ezekiel felt disheartened as well as politically uncertain. The mass reaction by the old Communities caused in him a sense of hopelessness and he was overtaken by feelings of defeat and insecurity. At the same time the Archbishop convened the Spiritual Court of the Archdiocese asking the protagonists of the rebellion to apologise (July 1960). When this failed (12 September 1960), he punished the ‘rebels’ with excommunication ‘in order to protect the authority of the Church and the rest of our brothers from the evil of the rebellion against the Archdiocese and the Patriarchate’. Ezekiel declared all ceremonial functions at the Community’s church null and void and called upon the Greek consular authorities in Australia to endorse these decisions of the Archdiocese. The schism spread to the country towns in which Greeks had settled. The excommunications did not bring the expected results and the harshness of the punishment made the Spiritual Courts controversial institutions. This situation also gave opportunists from both sides the chance to strengthen their behind-the-scenes activities aimed at undermining their opponents. The case was even tabled and debated in the Greek Parliament, while articles began to appear in the Greek newspapers in Athens expressing disapproval of the reasons for the split and condemning the policy adopted by the Archbishop. The three-year period from 1960 to 1963 was actually the most turbulent in the history of Australian Hellenism as far as public

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confrontation and public airing of internal differences are concerned, not only between the Archbishop and the Communities but also between the organised clubs and brotherhoods. The moderate members of the Communities’ councils and those close to the Archbishop attempted to mend the broken relations, but were unsuccessful. This explosive situation developed social consequences, spreading to the families of the settlers and leaving its mark on almost every collective activity of Hellenism. There were also incidents of violence in churches, neighbourhoods, cafeterias and other places where people congregated in the cities of Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. The minders of the Archdiocese distributed leaflets in which they branded as ‘communists’ those who were working in the Community schools. The biggest problem concerned the invalidation of sacraments officiated over by the defrocked and non-canonical priests. Months before the crisis the leaders of the Federation of Greek Communities contacted various other Independent Orthodox Churches, namely the Antiochean, Syrian and the Serbian Churches, seeking their collaboration. The latter refused to collaborate because they did not want to risk their good relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople by cooperating with the leaders of the breakaway Communities. With regard to intra-community relations, however, the situation was still stalemated and that led the Federation into sidestepping normal ecclesiastical procedure. The affiliation of the Federation with the non-canonical and controversial Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Byelorussia, which was based in Perth under the prelate Sergios Ohotengo, was just an offhand erroneous solution. The leaders of the Federation turned to Sergios and placed the Greek Orthodox Communities of Adelaide and Newcastle under his spiritual guidance. However, in September 1962 a Synodal Act of the Patriarchate informed the ‘respectful congregation’ of the Archdiocese of Australia, that ‘all ordainments officiated by the above-mentioned Ukrainian Ohotengo are invalid, non-existent and void, therefore persons acting as priests, after such ordainment, are not bearers of grace and holiness and any ceremony or any liturgy in which they officiate is unholy, a profanation’. Meanwhile the schism could not be avoided, even in Sydney. When five applications for the establishment of new churches in various suburbs submitted by the Executive Council of the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney were rejected by the Archdiocese, the Council decided (14 October 1962) to split spiritually from the Archdiocese. In Melbourne the Greeks were living through some very dramatic

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moments with the impact of a new court battle that adversely exposed the entire Greek community. The National Compatriot Assembly (Synagermos), which was established by the conservative elements of the Greek Community in Melbourne and people close to the Archdiocese, sued the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne for the use of the non-canonical priests ordained by Sergios. The case was heard in the Supreme Court (9–14 November 1962), which finally dismissed the accusations. Following the verdict, the Executive Council of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne retaliated with a decision to split from the Archdiocese and declared Archbishop Ezekiel undesirable at the Community’s churches. So the schism spread to the three major states of the country. In the meantime, 21 October 1964 marked the arrival in Melbourne of the deposed former Metropolitan of Paphos, Fotios Koumidis, who, after his dispute with Archbishop of Cyprus Makarios, left Cyprus and became the self-proclaimed Archbishop of the Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of America. The Greek Community leaders in Australia who opposed the policy of Archbishop Ezekiel received Fotios with enthusiasm. The reaction from Ezekiel was decisive. In a confidential telegram to the Patriarch he demanded and obtained the immediate defrocking of Fotios (24 October 1964), declaring any service in which he might officiate to be null and void. The Cypriot Community in the Antipodes was also involved in the Church crisis. The Cypriot Community of Apostle Andreas, based in the suburb of Sunshine in Melbourne, broke away from the Church following the rest of the Communities. Furthermore, their leaders attempted to implicate the Cypriot authorities in the confrontation in an attempt to gain recognition and prestige for their actions. Makarios, however, condemned the defection, supported fully the rights of the canonical Church and advised the priests of Cypriot descent who were disputing the jurisdiction of Ezekiel to duly declare their devotion to the canonical Primate. The Greek Consulates rallied to the support of the Archdiocese with official announcements reminding the members of the Greek Community that the sermons performed by the noncanonical priests were not recognised by the Greek state and thus remained void. The attempts of the Federation of Greek Communities to gain recognition of the Autocephalous Church by the Australian authorities failed when the Attorney General’s Department expressed its view in support of the Archdiocese. Ezekiel also had the support of all the other canonical Orthodox Churches in Australia, as well as the

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support of the Greek and Cypriot Governments. Meanwhile, Fotios was in an awkward position. At the beginning of May 1965, he announced to the astonished Community leaders in Sydney that he was planning to return to the USA. He finally departed for America on 24 May 1965 after a fruitless seven-month stay in Australia. A few months later Fotios was reinstated as Metropolitan and moved to Athens. A period of temporary euphoria for Ezekiel followed. The protagonists of the crisis ‘were duly punished’ by synodal decisions, patriarchal defrockings and ostracisms from the Archbishop. Archbishop Ezekiel appointed Bishop Dionysios of Nazianzos as his Assistant Bishop from mid-1965 for the region of Victoria, to provide for the increasing population of Greek settlers. Yet, despite his presence the conflict between the prominent members of the newly established parish Communities and the Archdiocese could not be avoided. The major cause of the conflict was the leading role that Archimandrite Ierotheos Kourtessis was playing in Melbourne. Many Community leaders were seriously annoyed with his arrogance, regarding his intervention as a provocation. The strongest adverse reaction came from the leaders of eight ecclesiastical Communities from Melbourne and one from Sydney, headed by the Communities of Brunswick, Richmond, Footscray and Yarraville in Melbourne. In the campaign against Kourtessis’s authority, the parish Community leaders gained the support of the church rectors of the dissenting Communities, who also rejected Kourtessis’ role, proclaiming Rev. Antonios Amanatidis from Yarraville their leader. However, Kourtessis had loyal allies and supporters from among the business circle, the prominent leaders of the community, the dependent Communities and within the press, with his main instrument being the newspaper Pyrsos. Nevertheless, the dispute among the conservative Communities of the Archdiocese was a heavy blow to the cohesiveness of these organisations established by the Church. In the meantime, the rise of the Colonels to power in Greece, on 21 April 1967, generated severe ideological tension that radically changed existing relationships within the Greek Community. The leaders of the old Communities were against this dictatorial regime and so benefited from the support of the wider Australian community. However, the anticommunist views of many of the leaders of the dissenting new Communities and of the Archbishop united them in supporting the dictatorial regime of the Colonels. These ideological differences had serious repercussions on the newly formed Communities’ membership drive. Furthermore, the dictatorship of the Colonels prompted

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direct involvement by Australian organisations in the domestic affairs of the Greek Community. Some indication of this involvement was the participation of the Anglican Church, through its Archbishop in Sydney, in the Committee for Democracy in Greece; the methodically organised interventions by the leftist philhellene, former Colonel of the Australian Army in Greece, Alex Sheppard and the longstanding embargo on ships under the Greek flag by the Australian dock workers. The imposition of the dictatorship in Greece also meant that Greek career consular representatives were dependent for their survival on the conservative community organisations and publications of the Greek Community in Australia. After the coup, the Consul General Charalambos Papadopoulos, for example, who had been leaning towards Ezekiel and his circles, turned deliberately towards the conservative Community leaders who were against the policies of the Archbishop but supported the ‘revolution’ of the Colonels and sought their favouritism. Eleven of the fifteen leaders of the newly established Communities of Victoria who were against the Archbishop had expressed their devotion to the Colonels. Consequently, the exclusive access to Athens and the Greek Intelligence Service (KYP) which the Archbishop’s ‘front’ had enjoyed was considerably weakened. The severity of the intra-Community civil war and the demoralised spirit that fell upon the Communities caused many leaders to reconsider the wisdom of maintaining the schism. The members of the second generation that began to emerge in the late 1960s began to loosen the ties with the Church of their parents as a consequence of the continuous confrontation. The starting point for the re-entry of certain rebel Communities, including the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne, into the ecclesiastic canonicity is placed around February 1967. While in Canberra, Ezekiel met with Ambassador Vasilios Tsamisis, who emphasised to him the necessity of dialogue with the leaders of the rebel Communities. Ezekiel agreed, in principle, to open discussions with the rebel Communities, but expressed certain reservations in relation to the tactics that should be used during the discussions in order to keep his prestige intact. Meanwhile, in early February the Patriarchate’s Holy Synod invited both Ezekiel and the President of the Federation of the Greek Communities, D. Elefantis to Constantinople for secret discussions to find a viable solution to their differences. On 20 February 1968 the meeting of the two men took place at the Patriarchate in a climate of mutual compliance. Ezekiel submitted to the Holy Synod a lengthy report describing with confidence and

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optimism the development of affairs of the Greek Community in Australia while Elefantis took on the task of bringing the old Communities back on the path of legitimacy. Seven days later (27 February 1968) Ezekiel, without any warning, submitted his resignation from the throne of Australia to the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate giving his poor health as a reason. His decision to resign was decisively influenced by the promise of his enthronement in the Metropolis of his native Patras that he received from the Archbishop of Athens and Greece Ieronymos, and the Colonels. Ezekiel’s decision to resign took the Patriarch and the members of the Holy Synod by surprise because they were ignorant of the ‘agreement’ reached between him and the dictatorial regime and Ieronymos. The Patriarchate, curiously enough, accepted Ezekiel’s resignation as an alternative solution to the reconciliation of the Archdiocese with the dissenting Communities and appointed Archbishop Iakovos Tzanavaras as Patriarch Exarch in Australia. The Patriarch maintained the view that the departure of Ezekiel from Australia would bring the rebel Communities back to the canonical Church. The news of Ezekiel’sresignation caused great satisfaction among the leaders of the old Communities, but disappointment and panic among his friends. Meanwhile, Archimandrites Ierotheos Kourtessis and deacon Ezekiel Petritsis, loyal to the Archbishop, commenced a campaign to convince Ezekiel to withdraw his decision to resign and organised a crusade for his re-appointment as Archbishop of Australia. The appointment of Patriarch Exarch Iakovos Tzanavaras attempted, with little success, to reduce the causes creating the rift between the Church and Communities, which restrained the progress of Hellenism. Iakovos avoided comments of a political nature, making sure not to implicate the Archdiocese in new controversies. He approached the conservative leadership of the dissenting postwar Communities and compelled these clergymen who stood as pillars of Ezekiel’s regime to reduce their arrogance, which was creating animosity. In Adelaide, where the long-term split was prominent, plausible reconciliation between the old Community and the Archdiocese would mark the success of Iakovos’s mission. The Exarch was especially confident because of the presence there of the Episcopal Vicar Panteleimon Sklavos, and his own ability as a prelate to be diplomatically flexible. His negotiations behind the scenes with the leaders of the rebel Community were continuing secretly. The Exarch promised a bright future to the Community leaders in Adelaide. He encouraged Archim. Panteleimon to develop close links with the influential

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leaders of the old Community, especially with its President Eustathios Tsakalos, so that the schism could be eradicated. Certain protagonists of the split did not want peace for reasons of political expedience and gain. In addition, the forces loyal to Ezekiel fought against the reconciliation while at the same time using various excuses in attempts to implicate the Exarch and the Assistant Bishop Dionysios in the failure. The unsuccessful attempt to reconcile with the old Communities, they believed, would clearly demonstrate that the reason for the animosity was not the presence of Ezekiel in Australia, therefore his reappointment would be the only just solution since his resignation had been wrongfully accepted. Many members of the Community with friendly tendencies towards the former Archbishop thought it would be treason to cooperate with the Patriarchal Exarch Iakovos. The bitterness caused by the loss of privileges they had enjoyed during Ezekiel’s pastorship converted many of those clergymen and laity into argumentative enemies of the new regime. The presence of Archbishop Iakovos and his policy of neutrality weakened the circles close to the former Archbishop of Australia Ezekiel. The campaign for the reinstatement of Ezekiel had to be made credible by the failure of the Patriarchal Exarch to bring peace to Australia. In the meantime, Archim. Kourtessis went to Athens to organise the campaign for the reinstatement of Ezekiel. He began to inundate Constantinople and Athens with demands for the reappointment of Ezekiel ‘as the only proven Prelate, able to restore peace, harmony and unity to the tormented and suffering Greek community in Australia and thus averting the catastrophe to the Church and the Greek Nation alike’. Furthermore, his people in Melbourne decided to send representatives to Constantinople and Athens. Exarch Iakovos, in the meantime, arrived in Melbourne and held secret meetings with the non-canonical priests of the Greek Orthodox Community of Adelaide. During the meeting the Community’s priests proposed to return to the Canonical Church as long as they were not ordained. They accepted that a simple blessing should be conferred on them in one of the churches belonging to the Archdiocese. The Exarch, however, insisted that they had to be reordained. The Archdiocese maintained the view that the proceedings would not humiliate them and their integrity would not be diminished. The priests participating in the meeting refused to compromise and walked out. Exarch Iakovos, following his failure to find a viable solution to the ecclesiastical conflict and the collapse of the negotiations for reconciliation with the old Communities, expressed to Patriarch Athenagoras

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his wish to return to Constantinople. Iakovos felt that he had been unfairly exposed to a battering of criticism from both sides: loud complaints from the old Communities that he had not performed his work properly, and harsh criticism from the ecclesiastical Communities for not resolving the split he had promised to help heal. Meanwhile, following the approval of the Greek dictatorial regime the Holy Synod re-elected Ezekiel unanimously to the position of the Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand (16 July 1969). The atmosphere of euphoria in the triumphant camp of the re-elected Archbishop was palpable. Indignation and desire for revenge characterised the feelings of members in the opposition camp. The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne reacted with restrained satisfaction to the announcement of Ezekiel’s re-appointment, not wanting over-enthusiasm to expose the secret discussions between their President Demetrios Elefantis and the Holy Patriarchate, prior to the announcement. The eight dissenting Communities of the Archdiocese that had strongly opposed Ezekiel’s pastorship since 1963 reacted by protesting with telegrams and petitions. In the meantime, on 28 August 1969, a meeting of the presidents of the eight dissenting ecclesiastical Communities of the Archdiocese in Melbourne authorised the presidents of the Brunswick and Richmond Orthodox Communities, Elias Rentzis and Kosmas Harpantidis respectively, to go to Greece and Constantinople ‘to handle the claim of the Greeks in Australia for the recall of His Eminence the Archbishop of Australia Ezekiel and the permanent removal from Australia of the priest Ierotheos Kourtessis’. The talks in Athens did not achieve any significant progress, because Ezekiel, who was also present, promised to abandon the policy of prejudice against the dissenting Communities, to constrain Kourtessis and to lead the Hellenes in Australia with wisdom and love. After his return the Archbishop duly honoured his devoted associates and moved to make administrative changes to consolidate his position. He also visited the churches of the eight dissenting ecclesiastical Communities in Melbourne and the three in Sydney in an attempt to defuse the tension that characterised his relations with them. The re-appointed Prelate of Orthodoxy emerged much stronger from the crisis. He returned from the Patriarchate with assurances of trust and support. During his long sojourn in Athens he had strengthened his relations with members of the dictatorial government and had also managed to reinforce his ties with the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, and with Metropolitans of the Church of Greece. Following Ezekiel’s re-appointment, Bishop Dionysios was elevated to

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the throne in Wellington as the founding Metropolitan of the See of New Zealand, Japan, Korea and the Pacific, while Bishop of Mareotis, Aristarchos of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, was appointed Assistant Bishop to Ezekiel. Ezekiel was also eager to find a resolution to the chronic ecclesiastic dispute. The departure from Adelaide of the non-canonical Archbishop of the Autocephalous Church, Spyridon Ermogenous, and his rumoured settlement in Melbourne further increased the pressure. A permanent placement of the Autocephalous Church in Melbourne, in the heart of the Greek community of Australia, would have meant an escalation of the discontent. In addition, the ‘war’ waged against Ezekiel and the lack of competent clergymen and laity to support his work were causing him serious psychological weariness, forcing him to rely continually on his retreats to Greece. In the meantime, the President of the GOCM, Demetrios Elefantis and the Archbishop commenced discussions for the return of the Community’s churches to the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese. The terms of the agreement were kept secret. Following a recommendation by President Elefantis, on 30 November 1970 Ezekiel wrote formal letters to the President of the breakaway Community of Newcastle, K. Karatzas, and to the ‘Honourable Management Committee’ of the Cypriot Community of Saint Andrew in Sunshine, Melbourne, inviting their return to the Canonical Church. The return of the GOCM to the bosom of the Archdiocese was a triumph for Ezekiel who consolidated his position at Fanari and began methodically to seek a Metropolis position in Greece, preferably in his native Patras. His unfulfilled objective in Australia remained to reduce the power of the Federation of the Greek Communities and to extinguish ‘completely in the conscience of the Orthodox congregation the role and perspective of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church’. He believed that the disbanding of the Federation would cause the disappearance of the non-canonical Church in Australia. Furthermore, Elefantis’s inclination towards the Archdiocese created a big gap in the balance of power between the Communities and the Archdiocese. Yet, despite its triumph, the Archdiocese was indolent in its administration during the period that followed, coinciding with the appearance of the Committee for the Protection of the Community Institutions. The new group aimed to upgrade and refurbish the mechanisms of the Community structure, focusing more actively on the wider Australian society in which they were claiming an equal civil role, and on the replacement of the old leadership of Hellenism, which was worn out by the continual disputes. The slogan of revival in

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membership and ideas was accepted by the majority of the Greek settlers in the largely populated centres of Australia, something that led to a massive registration of members in the Communities in Melbourne and Sydney. Ezekiel was also concerned about the proposed establishment and operation of the Australian Greek Welfare Society in Melbourne, an organisation whose administration expenses were to be met by the public sector and whose activities would cover a wide social range, an area that the Church wanted to have for itself. The establishment of this secular organisation was being methodically prepared by Australian-born technocrats and scientists with the open support of Bishop Aristarchos, which led to a collision between the Bishop and members of Ezekiel’s close circles. The active contribution of Aristarchos to the Community–laity forces, especially his participation in the establishment of the Australian Greek Welfare Society, and his presidency of the Appeal Committee for the Introduction of Modern Greek at Melbourne University, were perceived as a threat by the circles of the Archdiocese because they were losing the limelight in the two areas of social welfare and education where the Church ought to be leading the way. The personal attacks against Aristarchos by the pro-Archbishop press were forewarnings of the forthcoming rift, but it was Archim. Kourtessis who worked persistently towards the Bishop’s removal with the zealous collaboration of Ezekiel’s people in Sydney. Thus, the Archbishop despite his initial reservations decided to transfer Bishop Aristarchos to Perth, appointing assistant Bishop Panteleimon to Melbourne. The general discontent of the Melbourne Greek Community regarding the banishment of Aristarchos, in conjunction with the persistent attempts by the Archbishop to get a Metropolitan throne in Greece led Ezekiel to abandon his territory again on 14 December 1972. However, on 20 April 1973, Ezekiel finally returned to Australia with his expectations for an appointment to a Metropolis in Greece unrealised. Upon his return it became apparent that he had lost any interest in Australia. Without zest or willingness to lead his flock in Australia, he felt alienated in his own territory. The intra-Community crises in Melbourne and Sydney and the continual campaign of the press against the Archdiocese did not help his psychological condition. Ezekiel was getting very tired of the uncertainty of his candidacy and the cruelty of his opponents, the non-supportive community leaders and journalists. In September 1973 the Archbishop went again to Greece to strengthen his candidacy. It was the fifth of his long visits in two years. The ecclesiastic situation, however, did not imbue him with

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confidence. There was strong competition among the Metropolitans and the candidates being promoted were mainly related to the local ecclesiastic regime. In October 1973, during Ezekiel’s stay in Greece, a group of Metropolitans arrived in Australia to assess the situation. Leading the group of Metropolitans was Varnavas of Kitrous and members included Amvrosios of Eleftheroupolis and Sotirios of Gytheion. The newspapers warned the Orthodox faithful that the Patriarchate had already appointed an Exarchy. Rumours that Ezekiel had submitted his resignation and would depart Australia before the end of the year were also gathering momentum. On 22 December 1973 Ezekiel returned for a short time to Sydney, for the Christmas celebrations, before his return to Athens at the beginning of the following year and on 3 August 1974, the Patriarchal Synod elected and appointed Ezekiel Metropolitan of Pisidia while appointing the Bishop of Theoupolis Panteleimon as the Archiepiscopal Vestryman of Australia. Ezekiel, obviously bitter about his appointment as Metropolitan of Pisidia, nevertheless accepted the decision of the Holy Synod with some relief. The majority of the Greeks in Australia accepted his ‘promotion and transfer’ also with a sense of relief because they were looking forward to this change. They erroneously believed that the new ecclesiastic regime would be free from the grievances of the past. There was not, however, any reaction from the circles close to Ezekiel. They accepted with stoicism his decision to leave Australia. The members of the Holy Synod and the Patriarch were caught between two possible courses of action. They could not decide whether it would be preferable to elect an Archbishop of Australia or to divide the Archdiocese into Metropolitan regions in each major city. The second opinion was initially the most prevalent at Constantinople. The division of the Archdiocese into Metropolitan domains would minimise the confrontations between the Church and the people in their own respective cities and states, while they could clearly receive individual supervision in their separate areas within this vast continent. Meanwhile, following the departure of Ezekiel from Australia, Aristarchos returned triumphant from Perth to officiate in the Church of his loyal Community of Richmond, causing anger in the circles of the former Archbishop. Bishop Panteleimon, on the other hand, attempted to distance himself from Ierotheos Kourtessis, even though he had previously cultivated close relations. At this time (February 1975), the election of the Titoularian Metropolitan of Militoupolis Stylianos Charkianakis as the fifth Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia was announced. In response to his supporters

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in Australia who were anxious about the plans of the new Prelate, Ezekiel wrote many letters to them to calm them down and to ask them to fully support his successor. However, a serious rift between Ezekiel and his successor Archbishop of Australia Stylianos later erupted, the reason being his wish to visit Australia as a citizen. Ezekiel was also very upset about the ‘cleansing’ that was applied to the clergy of the Archdiocese by his successor, which resulted in the removal from prestigious positions of some of his devotees and spiritual children. The release from duties of some members of the Mixed Council and the Ecclesiastic Councils had angered Ezekiel and caused an uprising against Stylianos. Letters were sent to Patriarch Demetrios with accusations against Stylianos of haughtiness and contempt. Finally in July 1983 the visit to Australia of Ezekiel was realised, despite all the hurdles, amidst the joy of his numerous supporters. Ezekiel maintained his interest in the ecclesiastic affairs of Australia until the last days of his life, in July 1987. During Ezekiel’s pastorship (1959–74), despite its factional strife, a total of fifty-three Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical Communities and Parishes were established in Australia, governed by a constitution approved by him. The boundaries of these church Communities were not clearly defined, an event that led his successor five years later to smaller parishes being blessed within their borders. Most disputes within the Church, under Ezekiel’s leadership, revolved around ecclesiastical authority and the struggle for power. Undoubtedly, Ezekiel was the church leader who consolidated the authority of the Orthodox Church in Australia, shrinking the power of the old Communities. His successor, Archbishop Stylianos Charkianakis was appointed in 1975 to remove the bitter results of two decades of agitation. Yet, he sought to extend the control of the Archdiocese over the ecclesiastical Communities, reaffirming the principle that the Greek Church was the natural mother and the protector of the Greek people abroad. Thus, all bishops were auxiliary bishops who assisted the Archbishop in the performance of his duties; the bishops had neither dioceses nor rights of administration. The church Communities, having utilised since their establishment the logo of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, were now compelled to refer matters related to social welfare, systematic education and their daily Greek schools to the Archdiocese. The new leadership was energetic and determined to acquire greater authority for the Archdiocese. During the early days of Stylianos’ pastorship, a large number of Community leaders believed that the Orthodox primate would confine

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16 Young Australians retrieve the Holy Cross from the waters of Port Melbourne (1999).

his power exclusively to religious matters, without infringing upon the rights of the local Communities. Soon after, many of them became restless as a result of the power the Archbishop arrogated to himself. Many believed that the concentration of such power in one individual or a hierarchical establishment could not serve the needs of the communities living in transition and constant intergenerational change. There was a need to draw clear divisions between the duties and rights of the clergymen and laymen, so that neither could dictate to the other. However, in 1982, Archbishop Stylianos gagged the ecclesiastical Communities, restricting their authority and introducing the parish as the only appropriate form of Greek community organisation in Australia. His policy of parish blessing (enoriopoiisis), by the year 2004, increased the number of Greek Orthodox community organisations, Communities and Parishes, to 141. Throughout his long term in office, Stylianos increased the status of the Greek Orthodox Church among the other ethnic Orthodox churches in Australia, and secured the financial affairs of the

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Archdiocese, while he remained unrepentantly Hellenocentric in his meticulous devotion to the Greek language and culture and the promotion of the Hellenic civilisation. However, in the same period, the number of Greek Communities reacting against his authoritarianism and pledging their ecclesiastic affiliation to non-canonical Orthodox Churches increased from five to eight, incorporating the Greek Communities of Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Adelaide, Clayton, St Albans, Keilor and Sunshine. Any form of dialogue with these ‘schismatic’ community groups, even with the discreet participation of the Greek state or the Patriarchate was rejected. Stylianos’ correspondence with the Greek political leadership in Athens and his ecclesiastical leader, the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople revealed a contentious and insubordinate spirit. Most state and Patriarchal efforts to remedy conditions in Australia were viewed as unwarranted interference. Nor should one overlook the preferred method of this Archbishop who systematically attempted to bring into disrepute all those individuals who distanced themselves from the poimena (shepherd) or those who disagreed with his way of governing. As a matter of fact, from 2001, a state of ‘no-communication’(akoinonisia) prevailed between the Archbishop and his supervising authority the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 2003, Stylianos, claiming his Australian citizenship, sought the mediation of the Australian Government to inhibit the intervention of ‘a foreign government’, namely the Greek Government in the affairs of the Australian Greek community, causing universal unrest. The Archdiocese was denounced by many Greek community leaders for pursuing a policy of ‘rule or ruin’ in various Communities, despite devout reassurances to the contrary. These tendencies created serious dissension leading to ecclesiastic schisms and causing intraCommunity conflict, frequently dragging along the Greek and Cypriot diplomatic representatives and their governments. Nevertheless, with the termination of Greek emigration (1975) and the rise of the Australian-born generation of Greeks, another type of institution emerged, the secular, non-religious entities aimed at serving the welfare, cultural and linguistic needs of those identifying with Hellas and Hellenism. These institutions governed by native-born descendants of immigrants, sought and obtained financial support from the Australian Government, and thus secured their viability and future. Among these organisations, perhaps the most prosperous and successful is the Hellenic Club of Canberra, boasting a membership of 40 000, multi-million-dollar luxury premises and a commendable social welfare program. By this time, community organisations also

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managed to overcome their initial problems. They began to clear the debts they had incurred in rebuilding churches and community halls. The first activities included the establishment of Greek educational services. Buildings and facilities were purchased to propel future programs for an improved Greek community, while they managed to build their own nursing homes, house for the elderly and geriatric hospitals. Broadly speaking Australian Greek community organisations, including the numerous fraternities and regional brotherhoods laid the foundations of the organised Greek Community and served useful purposes. They preserved the traditions, brought together people who did not feel comfortable in the non-Greek-speaking environment, facilitated assistance and offered guidance on worthy projects, such as Greek language education and the preservation of the Orthodox faith. However, their historical role had been fully developed and became redundant with the emergence of the second and third generation of Greek Australians. Therefore, their survival in the future will depend on well-defined and worthy socio-economic projects and cultural programs that would merit support. Unless their leaders are prepared to establish policies to make the community organisations relevant to the socio-economic and cultural needs of their members, these organisations will continue to decay. Some of these Greek organisations suffered from inadequate leaders who used their offices for personal gain. Certain entities were adversely affected by poorly administered projects and by their selfcentred leaders who often placed their personal ambitions above the interests of their organisation. The weaknesses of these organisations created a vacuum that offered the Greek Church hierarchy the opportunity to move into areas that previously belonged to the secular section. The most serious weakness of Greek-Australian organisations remained their failure to attract and maintain the active participation of the better-educated and socially more astute people. The reasons for this disassociation vary from individual to individual. The desire to enhance their personal career prospects, the intra-Community strife, the continuous conflict between the clergy and the lay groups could be considered as valid reasons for the estrangement. The reality is, however, that many organisations had to content themselves with mediocre and insufficient leaders as a result of their indifference to join. The continuous operation of the Australian Greek Communities on the anachronistic Ottoman model where the lay community provides the churches and pays for the remuneration of the priests, however the Archbishop appoints and controls the priests, does not counter

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the current state of conflict. As a matter of fact, this situation generated continuous strife and caused friction between the Church and the community groups. To correct the imbalance, the Communities could offer their churches to the Property Trust of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, negotiating their potential economic losses and embark on a well-conceived educational and social program. Correspondingly, in 2004, many Greek Australians continue to be distressed by the questionable role that has been assumed by the Church hierarchy in lay affairs, particularly considering the assistance that community groups have offered to the Church in the past. The undermining of the secular communities’ right to exist and have a leading role has caused many to lose confidence in the Church’s leadership and drove them away from the Orthodox faith. From the very outset the protection of the destitute and the unemployed was an essential task of the organised Community. The records of the pioneer Communities and brotherhoods demonstrate the systematic way in which the various Community committees cared for the homeless and those experiencing serious problems of survival, as well as those who were dying unattended in hospitals and the shelters of the Salvation Army. During the difficult years of the Depression (1927–35) and the years of financial recession (1961–9) the Greek Communities and their benevolent societies campaigned to save those tragically affected and offered them guidance and support. After 1974, the children of the migrants who had settled during the first wave of migration after World War II emerged as professionals and technocrats, establishing social welfare organisations and utilising government resources for the benefit of those in need. They also established cultural and artistic festivals, incorporating theatre, music, concerts, and students’ competitions in literature and the performing arts, attracting large audiences in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Thirty years later, in 2004 social welfare institutions, shelters for the elderly, and homes for children with special needs have been established in all capital cities of Australia, offering care to thousands of Greek Australians. The few Greek migrants in Sydney and Melbourne remained inactive spectators during the Australian Federation celebrations of 1901. However, they celebrated with enthusiasm the Greek victories in the Balkan Wars and were actively involved in the celebrations at the terminations of World Wars I and II, and the institutionalisation of the ‘Greek Day’ commonly celebrated by the Greek and mainstream community. After 1952, Greeks in Australia began to celebrate the National

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17 Leaders of the Greek Community of Sydney celebrate Greek National Day in St Sofia Cathedral (28 March 1948).

Greek Day with massive participation, sharing Australian shrines and joining the Australian ex-servicemen’s clubs. Even though integration into the Australian society was having its effects, with high rates of interethnic marriages and the weakening of the influence of the clergy and the ecclesiastical authorities, strong bonds with Greece were maintained. Greeks displayed an ability to engage in sporting activities with resourcefulness and commitment. This was remarkable in view of their rural background. The establishment of such clubs was mainly to fulfil the social needs of their founders. The first Greek sporting clubs appeared as early as 1869, utilising the Greek colours of white and blue. Gold miners from the wider district of Bendigo and Ballarat in Victoria formed the Greek Rowing Club, ‘Leventia’, while six years earlier a Greek immigrant, Dimitrios Torianos was selected by the Australian cricket team to play against the touring English XI. Running and wrestling were events that inspired many Greek Australians following the first Athens Olympic Games in 1896. Renowned for his charm and charisma was Theodore Kostakis who was very popular as a Greco-Roman wrestler at festivals and folkloric gatherings in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. By 1928 the Australian-born children of the

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18 Ithacans at a picnic in Newcastle, NSW during the 1940s.

pioneer immigrants in Melbourne, led by Kytherian Andreas Kominos and Ithacan Ioannis Savitsianos formed a track and field team, adopting the Greek colours. During the 1930s, the leading communities, namely the Ithacans, Kytherians, Kastellorizians and Macedonians, were competing in wrestling and running events at panhellenic picnics, attracting large audiences. Most Greek Australians opted to join mainstream sports clubs, including swimming, track and field, cycling, basketball, shooting and fencing, weightlifting, kick boxing, Australian rules, rugby, volleyball, sailing, tennis, long-track speed skating, karate, soccer, ice skating, distance running, rowing, boxing, diving, canoeing, tae kwon do and even rodeo clubs. Among the large number of Greek Australians who participated in various sports, some were renowned at the elite level (Yiannis Kouros, Stan Longinidis, Terry Mitsos, Mark Philippousis) and as medallists at the Olympic Games (Michael Diamantopoulos). A larger number of athletes were participants in paralympic games (Peter Klioufis, George Kambouris, Dimitrios Nomarchas), the Commonwealth Games (Bill Stellios, Athanasios Zavitsianos, George Vakakis, Nick Voukelatos) and the Australian or

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World Championships (Nicki Andronicos, Elisha Kolovos, Lambros Stathakis, Philippos Tahmidzis, George Vasiliades, Liza Vyzaniaris) or as members of the Australian national teams (Peter Dimitropoulos, Michael Diamandis, Edward Psaltis, Athanasios Psaltis, Peter Raskopoulos, Charlie Yankos), gaining a name for themselves and their compatriots. Some of them became international competitors. For example, Don Cacas competed at the Rome and Tokyo Olympic Games in the featherweight division in Greco-Roman wrestling, while also winning all available Australian titles. A larger number of Greek athletes distinguished themselves in individual events and became national record holders. Greek-Australians have represented Australia at the Olympic Games since 1912 when Ioannis Gerakitis represented Australia in at the Stockholm Olympic Games. In the Sydney Olympic Games twelve Australians of Greek descent were selected, among them Jim Nomarhas and Michael Diamond (shooting), Marina Hatzakis (rowing), Spiros Marazois (volleyball), Costas Blatsis, Stan Lazaridis (soccer), Petros Negropontis (athletics) and Mark Philippousis (tennis). Certain Greek Australians, although they qualified to represent Australia in various events, did not participate simply because they were asked to renounce their Greek citizenship. A smaller number of young charismatic athletes joined Greek sporting clubs in track and field events and later soccer. The founders, wishing to keep alive the flame of Hellenism, gave to their clubs names that would associate them with their glorious past, namely ‘Apollon’, ‘Athena’, ‘Hercules’, ‘Panhellene’ and ‘Olympic’. Sport appealed to the Greeks for many reasons. Most important, perhaps, was the desire to acquire status and prestige among their compatriots. Many took up sports to make friendships and thus serve their social needs. Many were attracted by the possibility of improving their business prospects. Yet, whatever the motives, a large number of Greek community leaders emerged from these clubs, following many years of training and discipline. During the second half of the twentieth century, Greek immigrants brought from Greece the colours, aspirations and names of the soccer teams of their native cities and transplanted them to the local suburbs of Australian capital cities. In doing so they were preserving their collective memory from the old country, while they were creating a social focal point for themselves to alleviate the hardships of an industrial environment. Community-conscious individuals believed that through these clubs they were offering shelter to their children, conservative elements looked for discipline, while traditionalists viewed the establishment of these clubs with patriotism, frequently

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19 The Hellenic soccer club a year before its merger with the Greek club of Yarra Park. As a result of this merger the popular Melbourne Hellas was established (c. early 1950s).

offering names denoting competing national ideologies, namely, ‘Macedonia’, ‘Hipeiros’, ‘Alexander the Great’, ‘Hellas’. Among their more articulate advocates were industrialists and businessmen who were coming into prominence via generous sponsorships. During the period 1954–2004 Australian soccer was enriched with the presence of over 150 Greek soccer clubs, maintaining men, women and youth teams in various leagues. Many of these Greek clubs dominated Australian soccer having consistently one-third of the total number of competing clubs in any league. Greek soccer clubs predominated with their representatives in the administration of Australian soccer, while many attained the highest ranks of its leadership. Community conscious individuals such as Sir Arthur George, Thesseus Marmaras, Savvas Papasavvas, C. Constantine, George Vasilopoulos, John Dimtsis, Paul Afkos and Manoli Galanos influenced the position of soccer in Australia. A still larger number showed a determination to become involved in their state’s soccer affairs, thus gaining closer contact with the Australian society and accelerating the process of social integration. Greek soccer clubs exerted considerable

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influence in Australian soccer and were also partly responsible for intra-community cohesion. The most prominent Greek soccer clubs in Australia included South Melbourne ‘Hellas’, Heidelberg United ‘Alexander the Great’ in Melbourne, ‘Olympic’ in Sydney, ‘Hellas’ in Adelaide, ‘Olympic’ in Canberra, ‘Athena’ in Perth, and ‘Olympia’ in Hobart. Many Australian Greek soccer players made their way to European clubs where they excelled, such as Yiannis Anastasiades, Charlie Yankos, Jim Alexiou, Yiannis Samaras and Jim Patikas. The more experienced and sport-conscious Greeks from Egypt and Romania stressed the need for the establishment of sporting clubs varying from basketball and netball to cricket. Some of them, such as Union of Greeks from Egypt and Middle East (EEAMA) in Melbourne, managed to maintain a number of basketball teams competing in various levels of the league. Greek businessmen Tom and Tim Efkarpides were the owners of the Canberra Canons, a team, which made an essential contribution to the sporting activities of the nation’s capital. Greek Cypriot Andrew Demetriou was elected Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Football League in 2003 and was voted as one of the five most influential personalities in Australian sport, the others being Rubert Murdoch, Kerry Packer, Frank Lowy and John O’Neill. AFL is the top sport in Australia. It has immense exposure in the media and is the only football code with a genuine national competition. The children of the pioneer immigrants entered mainstream clubs and excelled as prominent players of football, rugby, tennis and cricket, while many of them managed to distinguish themselves as highranking officials in the administration of those sports. George Peponis was appointed director of the Canterbury Bulldogs Rugby Club, while Anthony Koutoufides and Peter Daicos excelled as top footballers. Mark Philippousis rose to ninth in world tennis, while Michael Diamond made an essential contribution as the gold winning Australian athlete in shooting during the Olympic Games of Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000). The reign of the astonishing Yiannis Kouros in world sport includes ninety-two world records as an ultra-marathon runner and his election as best athlete of the millennium.

The Greek Orthodox Church in Australia The contribution of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia has been important in the areas of spiritual and pastoral services and education. Orthodoxy as a faith, as well as a culture, acted as the common bond

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amongst Greek settlers and emerged as a source for language and cultural loyalty for Hellenism. From its first recorded appearance in Australia in 1892, under the reign of the Patriarch of Jerusalem Gerassimos, the Greek Orthodox Church had catered for all Orthodox people, not for Greeks alone. Eastern Orthodox faithfuls looked to the Greek Orthodox Church as their spiritual leader. Hence the prominence of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia did not result from the numerical predominance of Greeks in Australia alone but also from the traditional Greekness of those presiding at the Patriarchates in Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Their close cooperation with the Serbs, Romanians, Macedoslavs and Bulgarians, the availability of services to the Russians, and the solid relationship with the Syrians and Lebanese made the See of Australia the ecclesiastic centre of all Australian Orthodox people. During the first years of settlement (1829–98) the Orthodox settlers in Australia were left without the pastoral care of the Eastern Church. Greek, Syrolibanese and Russian migrants, being without an Orthodox priest, initially accepted the supervised pastoral care and hospitality of the Anglicans who generously offered their churches and mission houses. The Orthodox liturgy was conducted in the migrants’ own language, mainly by laity. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Gerassimos, in his letter of 8 August 1892 to Anglican Bishop Goe of Melbourne thanked the Anglican Church for the love and care shown to the Greek Orthodox followers in Australia. He also gave his permission to the Anglican clergy to administer the sacraments according to the religious rites of the Eastern Church (Tamis, 1994, 1997a). The appearance of the Greek Orthodox Church first in Melbourne was mainly due to the existence of gifted leaders, the appointment of the first honorary consul of Greece there, the active instigation of the Russian and Syrian Orthodox migrants and the genuine interest of the Russian Consul in Melbourne, Baron Ungern-Steinberg. Five years of intense lobbying for domination among the various parties followed. Numerous meetings in St Petersburg, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Athens and fervent messages to the Patriarchates urging them to appoint a priest took place and, finally, on 22 June 1898 rector Athanasios Kantopoulos arrived in Melbourne to be the first officially ordained priest for the Orthodox people. The priests’ relations with the Community leaders were not entirely harmonious. Often disputes would occur and a crisis would break out for trivial reasons. With the arrival of the Greek priests, a falling out also occurred with the Anglican Church because the Orthodox rector,

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20 Greeks of Melbourne during a picnic with their priest in the early 1920s.

Athanasios Kantopoulos, enforced the re-baptism of Orthodox children in Melbourne. At the same time, rector Seraphim Fokas, who was appointed in Sydney, applied innovative and arbitrary methods in conducting sacraments (Tamis, 1997a). More important, however, was the dispute between, on one side, the Arabic-speaking and Russianspeaking Orthodox people who formed a coalition with the Greeks who remained citizens of the Ottoman Empire and, on the other side, the Greeks of the independent Greek Kingdom, who had the organised Orthodox Communities of Melbourne and Sydney under their firm control. The former wanted the Greek Communities in Australia, which also served as Church committees, to remain under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The latter, though strengthened by the wealthy leaders of the community and the honorary consuls of Greece, had already convinced the Greek Government and the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece to place the communities under their jurisdiction. The main reason for the dispute was the fact that the first priests, coming from a Patriarchate that served Arabic-speaking followers, attempted to enforce the ideology of panOrthodoxy in Australia, as they shepherded various ethnic groups. The

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Greeks placed much importance on their Greek identity and refused to accept this policy that played down ethnic distinctions. On 6 June 1903 the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, following the insistence of the Greek community leaders in Melbourne, placed Australia under its spiritual jurisdiction and appointed Archim. Nikandros Betinis to be its first rector. As a result the conflict among the Greek Orthodox Christians continued even more intensely, ensuring the cumulative appointments of priests in Melbourne and Sydney until 1923. In that year, due to ecclesiastical unrest in the USA, the Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis revoked the Synodic Patriarchal Tomos of 1908, which allowed the Church of Greece to have jurisdiction over the Orthodox people outside of the Greek state, and placed all Greek Orthodox Churches of the Diaspora under his spiritual jurisdiction. In January 1924 the new Patriarch Grigorios VII appointed Christophoros Knitis from Samos, as the first Metropolitan of the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The pastoral reign of the first Orthodox Metropolitan, Christoforos Knitis (1924–8) was not smooth. The establishment of a Metropolis met with opposition from the Communities of Melbourne and Sydney in particular. They were influenced by the serving Orthodox clergy who believed that with the appearance of the Metropolitan their authority and status would become somewhat limited over the congregation, their earnings would be reduced, and they would eventually be marginalised. The opposition also secured the endorsement of the Greek consular representatives, who felt that the establishment of a Metropolis by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople would transfer the centre of power of the Orthodox community outside Athens and would greatly restrict their political power. Consequently, the arrival of Metropolitan Christophoros in 1924 rendered acute the intra-community strife and parochial rivalry in Australia, which contributed to the retardation of community development within Australia. The Samians and Ithacans who both claimed control of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne, through their powerful and affluent memberships, became involved in a destructive group rivalry, transforming the Community into a weak institution and obstructing the cohesion of Greek migrants. The Kytherians, who demographically represented the backbone of the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney, influenced and controlled the Community there, by placing the interests of the larger community above their own local interests.

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21 The first Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Australia, Christoforos Knitis (1924–8), accompanied by the newly married Theodore Politis and his wife, overlooks the city of Adelaide from the surrounding hills (July 1926).

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The supporters of the Community’s unilateral authority (koinotikoi), having the support of the Greek consular representatives and of their Community rectors, embarked on a campaign of representations to Greece, accusing the Metropolitan of an immoral private life and requesting his recall. Several unhappy scenes followed in the coffee houses between the koinotikoi and the supporters of the Metropolitan (metropolitikoi). The Greek Government, acting on the adverse reports of its consular representative and having assessed the correspondence from community leaders in both Sydney and Melbourne, finally exerted pressure on the Patriarchate of Constantinople to transfer Metropolitan Christophoros. However, the withdrawal of Christophoros was not implemented until 4 February 1928. By this time, the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney had seceded from the Australian Metropolis (on 18 November 1926) and joined the Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of America and Canada led by the defrocked Metropolitan Vasilios Komvopoulos. The Greeks in Sydney experienced ecclesiastic dissension and schism for the following twenty years, with the koinotikoi having as their political power base the Church of the Holy Trinity and the metropolitikoi having the Cathedral of St Sophia. The sacraments conducted by the discharged and defrocked clergymen of the Community were declared null and void by the Greek Government and the children born from nullified marriages were not recognised by Greek legislation. The consequences of this harsh stance that the Greek Government took were serious disturbances and social unrest. The affected parents formed a coalition and undertook legal battles and procedures to convince the civil administrators in Athens of their validity, but in vain. Historically there was the precedent of the nullified sacraments in the USA, which prevented any change in policy. At the same time the Patriarchate, following the strong recommendation of the Greek Government, appointed as the Episcopal Vestryman in Australia an ex-monk from the Monastery of Stavronikita and a graduate from Athens University, Archim. Theophylaktos Papathanasopoulos. Many influential political and government representatives endorsed Theophylaktos’ appointment (1 March 1928). Theophylaktos’ vestrymanship was lenient and was a major factor in the appeasement of the crisis. He was very diplomatic in his handling of situations and cautious to maintain a balance. In the meantime, the ecclesiastical schism was essentially resolved by the restoration of relations between the Archbishop of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of America and Canada, Vasilios Komvopoulos, and the Ecumenical

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Patriarchate. Eventually Komvopoulos transferred all the churches under his control to the Patriarchate, securing, in return, his election to the Metropolis of Drama, Greece. These changes made it necessary for the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney to accept the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. On 22 November 1931 the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate elected Timotheos Evangellinides, who was serving as its diplomatic representative (nuncio) and Rector of the Greek Orthodox Church in Bucharest, Romania, to become the second Metropolitan of Australia. The selection of the new Metropolitan was made on the basis of his financial independence because any dependency on the Communities for his remuneration would have made the exercise of his ecclesiastical authority subservient. The pastoral reign of Metropolitan Timotheos (1932–47) was comparatively uncomplicated. Besides, the Communities were somewhat exhausted and financially broken due to the continuous conflict and the economic crisis both of which contributed to the decline of the Communities between 1926 and 1935. The onset of World War II contributed substantially to the setting aside of ideological and parochial differences, and assisted the Greeks to overcome the Church disputes and unite to face the destruction of war-torn Greece. Upon his arrival in July 1932, Metropolitan Timotheos appointed Archim. Theophylaktos as Rector of the Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne and declared the unification of the Greeks in Sydney. He performed liturgies in both churches and emphasised that both churches would be parishes of the same Metropolis. He announced the appointment of a twelve-member Clergy–Laity Council and urged the two councils to unite into one powerful Community. On 21 May 1933 Metropolitan Timotheos validated all sacraments, announced the removal of the schism and called on Community representatives and the media to work together so that unity in the community could prevail. However, the final union of the two councils into a single community entity was not realised until April 1945, when the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW (GOCNSW) was formed with the first commonly acclaimed president, Australian-born lawyer Athanasios Georgatos. Timotheos’leadership was moderately successful. The achievement of harmony should be attributed more to his administrative incompetence, his fear of responsibility and his procrastination, as well as to coincidences related to the economic crisis and the war, than to his leadership skills. Despite the economic wellbeing that the Greeks enjoyed, particularly after 1942 with the increased security, capital

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and resources brought to Australia by the American military presence, Timotheos was unable to establish the Church’s authority more firmly. In March 1947 Timotheos departed to take on the Metropolis of Rhodos and the Rector of the Community of Melbourne, Archim. Theophylaktos Papathanasopoulos was proclaimed Metropolitan of Australia on 22 April 1947. The new Metropolitan announced the establishment of payments to the Metropolis and promised to give the future generations an institutionalised Metropolis that would be economically powerful, independent and unscathed by criticisms. Theophylaktos’ episcopacy was decisive for the early stages of the organisation of the Metropolis in Australia and was responsible for the development of a community conscience in the leaders of the times. The commencement of government-controlled mass migration from 1952 onward, the appointment of the first Greek Ambassador to Australia in March 1953 (Demetrios Lambrou), the progressive replacement of the honorary consuls with career diplomats, the significant increase in the number of Communities and churches, the creation of the Federation of Greek Communities, and the convention of an All-Community Congress setting the boundaries of the Church–laity collaboration and questioning the authority of the church were all about to be realised during his tenure. Theophylaktos attempted to exercise his authority over the Communities on issues of administration and management of the religious sacraments. Until the middle of 1951, the Communities were responsible for the service of the church sacraments. In July 1951 Theophylaktos issued a circular informing the Executive Committees of the Greek Communities around the country that Greek settlers must refer to the Metropolis and not to the offices of the Communities for their sacraments and other religious functions. This move was critically judged as ‘ignoring traditional rights of the Communities’ and resulted in the resignation of some Community presidents and the creation of serious Church–laity friction. The Metropolitan’s move was motivated by rational criteria relating to the development of migration. Since 1949 thousands of Greek women immigrants had begun to arrive and the number of sacraments increased greatly. With the centralisation of the Church’s administration, Theophylaktos was endeavouring to generate substantial income to enable the Archdiocese to become financially independent. By the end of 1957, Theophylaktos had established his authority by developing political maturity and expertise as well as by exercising

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22 Archbishop Ezekiel visiting a Greek child-care centre in Fitzroy, Melbourne (1967).

flexible policies taking advantage of his numerous political acquaintances. He lived during the period of extreme bitter conflicts and perilous divisions as a result of the Greek Civil War (1946–9). The Metropolitan’s administration was characterised as slow to reach decisions and he appeared hesitant in his approach to change. Theophylaktos, the spiritual leader of 170 000 Orthodox Christians in Australia and New Zealand, who travelled nine out of twelve months in the year to meet his followers in person, died in Melbourne in August 1958. He was the first and only Metropolitan who died and was buried in Australia, himself also a settler like his spiritual children. Ezekiel Tsoukalas was the fourth Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Church in Oceania. The new Metropolitan was, until 1943, the ecclesiastic head of various Greek communities in the US, such as in Haverhill, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. Highly educated, with postgraduate studies in theology, philosophy and sociology, he was appointed Assistant Director of the Archdiocese’s Theological School of Holy Cross in Brooklyn, Massachusetts in 1943. In 1949 he was promoted to Director, succeeding the Bishop of Boston, Athenagoras Kavadas. Ezekiel’s pastorship was characterised by authoritarianism, shifting away from the conciliatory attitudes of the past. Ezekiel adopted the policy of supporting the social and

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political pursuits of the Greek ruling class in Australia. His tendency was also to deliberately inspire feelings of danger among the people in order to keep them united around him and dependent on him. Despite his strong stand against the old Community organisations, he was unrelenting in his intentions. Although his battle on two fronts – with the consular representatives and the leadership of the old Greek Communities – damaged his popularity, he felt instinctively that it was his duty to participate vigorously in implementing an ecclesiastical program and he moved methodically and cautiously towards its realisation. Ezekiel was definitely not a popular Metropolitan, but he was a conscientious and honest clergyman with a deep sense of his ecclesiastic duties. Although his pastorship was affected by continual internal wavering, he was known for his leniency and forbearance. The death of Patriarch Athenagoras, on 7 July 1972, had negative consequences for the Archdiocese in Australia because it dramatically reduced Ezekiel’s access to the Patriarchate. The earlier death of Thyateira’s Archbishop Athenagoras (1962) had also deprived Ezekiel of a strong ally and advisor with very powerful connections in Athens and Constantinople. Under the new regime he had to deal with Hierarchs who did not belong to his generation and with whom he did not have any connections in the past. The arrival however, of the two assistant Bishops, Dionysios of Nazianzos and Chrysostomos of Myrini, strengthened the Archbishop’s power. Their position allowed them to impose their authority over the Communities’ executive councils and control them much more easily than could ordinary clergymen. Ezekiel exerted substantial influence on the Australian Council of Churches through the various State Councils of Churches because of the solid presence of Greeks in the large urban centres of Australia. The influence of the Archdiocese was used sometimes with flexibility, on some occasions with conviction, as in the case of the exclusion of the non-canonical Macedonian Church from the Australian Council of Churches (Tamis, 1994), and at other times with phenomenal singlemindedness. He demonstrated sensitivity in appeals for assistance to refugees and victims of political persecution in communist countries and, generally, in cases of an inter-ecclesiastic character which were usually handled by the Australian Council of Churches. Influenced by the years he had belonged to the Archdiocese in America, Ezekiel naturally adopted Patriarch Athenagoras’ campaign for unity and cooperation among the Christian Churches. On 30 November 1970, Pope Paul VI of the Roman Catholic Church came to Sydney for the Convention of the World Council of Churches.

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23 Pope Paul visited Australia on 30 November 1970. Archbishop Ezekiel welcomed him at the Sydney airport on behalf of Orthodox Patriarch, Athenagoras.

Archbishop Ezekiel welcomed him, conveying ‘the deep respect and admiration of the Greek Orthodox Christians of our Archdiocese, and their best wishes for his health and his cooperation with our Patriarch for the progress of their efforts for world unity and the consolidation of Christian peace to the world’. Pope Paul VI thanked the

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Archbishop and conveyed love and brotherly greetings to the ‘Great Patriarch Athenagoras’. After the reception, the procession went to the headquarters of the Australian Roman Catholic Archdiocese where the two spiritual leaders met personally at Saint Mary’s Cathedral and exchanged Eucharists. Ezekiel was succeeded in 1975 by Stylianos Charkianakis, a talented poet, whose pastorship has been the longest and yet the most turbulent. During his long presence in Australia, the relations of Orthodoxy with different dogmas were initially upgraded due to the leadership skills of the Orthodox Hierarch. His ecclesiastic dominion was augmented with the increase in the number of churches and parishes, and the economic welfare of the Archdiocese was consolidated, while provisions were made to promote adequately educated Australia-born and English-speaking clergy with the establishment of the St Andrew’s College of Theology. The latter move was important for the welfare of the Australian Greek community. After 1958, the anti-clergy feeling became particularly intense due to the deficiency of the services provided to incoming migrants, as well as ideological polarisation. The appearance of certain charismatic clergymen during this period determined the consolidation of the authority of the Church and set the parameters of its social and communal dynamics. Archimandrite Ierotheos Kourtessis was the most controversial clergyman in the history of Australian Hellenism, but he was also the most creative. Born with leadership skills, vast humanity but also a bottomless ego, which on certain occasions was destructive, he had the strength and the talent to conceive ideas and to implement them. His arrogance, perhaps his most tragic weakness, constantly led him to defy his superiors, a trait that Archbishop Ezekiel tried to play down, bearing in mind the benefits that his qualities brought. Later, however, Archbishop Stylianos Charkianakis, claiming the ecclesiastic Canon Law, punished him, with tragic consequences for Hellenism in Australia, leading to the non-canonical ephemeral re-appearance of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Australia (1991–3) and severe intra-community dissention. Nevertheless, the priests’ position in the new churches remained remarkably vulnerable and curious, as ecclesiastically they were under the jurisdiction of and appointed by the Archbishop but administratively they served the executive councils of the Communities on whom they were financially dependent. The consequence of this unique situation was the appointment by the Metropolitan of local or travelling priests without pay (dependent solely on ‘donations’ by the

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parishioners) to preclude the possibility of Communities deciding not to employ certain priests. However, the duty of the priests to make the name of the Archbishop popular among the Community leaders and the organised members of the newly established Communities was made difficult when they came up against opposition to the policies of the Church from prominent Community members. Insecure and uncertain, the priests were subjected to intense psychological pressure, which had unpleasant and detrimental consequences for them, because of the opposition between the Communities and the Archdiocese. On many occasions the Community parish priests were forced to be either apologetic to their Community leaders for being supportive of the Archdiocese or they were dragged to Spiritual Courts of the Archdiocese for being supportive of the Communities on whom they were financially dependent. On top of that, the limited knowledge of the English language, the cultural differences between Australia and Greece and the lack of knowledge of the new country’s law generated ethical and legal problems for many priests.

5 THE YEARS OF R E S P E C TA B I L I T Y

Greek Australians, utilising their experience as a nation of Diaspora during the last 2500 years, displayed an ability to engage in business and commerce with energy and ingenuity. Over the last 120 years of Australian migration they achieved prominence as food and services industrialists, while they managed to control the fishing and furniture manufacturing trades and to expand with resourcefulness in the taxi and development business. This was remarkable in view of their agrarian and proletarian backgrounds and the lack of capital and formal education upon arrival. Driven by their natural temperament as individualists determined to succeed and as independence-loving civilians, they managed to accumulate the initial capital to enable them to embark on business careers. Commerce appealed to the Greeks for a number of socio-psychological reasons. The desire to acquire status and social prominence to justify their emigration from the old country influenced some migrants. Others were motivated by the desire to amass wealth and secure a comfortable life and opportunities for themselves and their children. Some were driven by the perception that only via their financial ascent could they secure their Greek pride and selfesteem ( filotimo). There were also those who were compelled to enter into business simply because of the hardships they had experienced as unskilled labourers and the inadequacy of wages. Commencing as street vendors and peddlers selling fish, fruit and vegetables, with no command of English or substantial capital, the pioneer migrants managed to secure adequate returns. Most of them initially worked for a compatriot before investing their savings in trades necessitating long working hours, mostly in fruit, confectionery and 117

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24 Nakis Raftopoulos was operating his fruit shop ‘Mildura’ from 250 Johnston Street, Abbotsford. The meticulous order is apparent (1931).

25 Fish shop in Collingwood, Melbourne, at the beginning of the 1930s. In 1934 the shop was sold to Constantinos Xanthos. Pictured here, Stamatis and Constantinos Xanthos.

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florist kiosks in busy arcades and close to the railway stations and the cinemas. Later, they managed to open their own caf´e stores, employing mainly family members and newly arriving compatriots, while they themselves ‘remained on guard at the cash register’. These compatriot employees learned the trade, saved their money and as soon as opportunities allowed they opened their own business amid fierce competition. The fruit and vegetable trade was also in aggressive competition with the Italians who had entered the market at an earlier date and in much larger numbers. Settlers involved in the confectionery trade were usually those who had some experience from Greece or Asia Minor. The confectioner enjoyed important social status as he catered for the general public and operated from a shop, which was a social icon not just for the Greek community (paroikia). During the first sixty years of Greek settlement (1880–1940), a smaller number of Greeks established tobacco businesses, cultivating their own tobacco and managing large tobacco factories. A pioneer cigarette manufacturer was Petros Michelides from Kastellorizo, who was successful in Manjimup and Perth in Western Australia (WA), employing large numbers of labourers in his tobacco fields and his factory and substantially contributing to Greek educational and religious causes. However, a milestone in the cultural and economic life of Australia was the Greek involvement in the restaurant business. Many charismatic restaurateurs gained wealth and social respect through their restaurants, attracting the social and political ´elite of the country. Certain restaurants became legendary as gathering places for patriotic and fraternity causes, while most restaurateurs were associated with philanthropy and the support of letters, the arts and education. Perhaps the driving force behind Greek success in the restaurant industry was the natural drive of the Greek people towards hospitality, the principle of ‘hospitable Zeus’, rather than any exclusiveness in the taste of Greek food. Most of these restaurants were run by family members and compatriots, working long hours and thus reducing the overhead expenses. Their pioneer owners enjoyed a high social status within mainstream Australian society because of their philanthropy. For example, in the 1920s and 1930s Antonios Lekatsas, Andreas Nicolaides and Nikolaos Kontoyiannis were socially accepted in Melbourne by the mainstream society and the prevailing Presbyterian ethos for their generous bequests and their hospitable social activities. Greek restaurants became the venue of financial and political transactions, commercial deals and cultural activities and many emerged as cultural icons in local Australian history. At the Glousters’ Restaurant on the East

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Row of Canberra in the mid-1940s, owned by Demetrios Savvoulides, Australians and Greeks renewed their mutual respect and friendship. The Anglo-American Caf´e in 239 Bourke Street, Melbourne owned by Jacob Sigalas in 1903 entertained political leaders and the fathers of Australian Federation. In 1956 his grandson, Ion Nicolades refurbished it just prior to the Melbourne Olympic Games and established the Legend Restaurant, commissioning the famous Australian artist Leonard French to paint seven panels to beautify the environment. In the rural towns of Australia one of the most important landmarks for the local economy was the Greek caf´e. It was their proprietors who laid the foundation of the local Greek communities. During the first half of the twentieth century Kytherian settlers dominated almost the entire rural and urban caf´e industry in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. They spread to small and larger rural townships throughout the vast hinterland, giving rise to the saying ‘when two Greeks meet, they open up a caf´e’. They opened their local caf´es as family businesses and built themselves sustainable livelihoods. In most cases they were well received by the local population, while many rose to positions of prestige within the farming communities. After 1950, concern for the future of their children led most of them to move into larger urban centres. Most of them arrived as young children at the age of twelve to work in the caf´es of their relatives and compatriots to earn enough to support their needy families in Greece. The majority of these young immigrants arrived under inhuman conditions and were confined to the kitchens or behind the ovens of these caf´es, working long hours to pay off their fares and save the deposit to start their first business. For example, Harry Notaras arrived from Kythera in Albany, WA in 1909, as an unaccompanied twelve-year-old child with no formal education to work in the caf´e of a compatriot family friend. He put in seven years of hard work, sending bank drafts to support his three sisters and parents in Kythera. The Australian postwar migration program was founded on both humanitarian and socioeconomic considerations, although, after 1962, the economic interests of the country prevailed. The inaugural Minister for Immigration, Arthur A. Calwell announced in 1945 that preference in taking displaced persons would be given to those ‘occupations where there is a marked shortage of labour’ because ‘without substantial migration, Australia’s future would be uneasy and short-lived’. With the influx of Greek migration, the number of Greeks involved in business and commerce increased, as this was the most direct way of obtaining wealth and independence. Thousands

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26 Sarantos G. Zantiotis (second from left) with the personnel of his caf´e in Grafton, NSW (1913).

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27 Staff of the ‘Capitol Caf´e’ in Canberra (1927). From left: Ioannis Notaras, Ioannis Kassimatis, Manolis Notaras and the owner of the caf´e, Theo Notaras.

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28 Nikos Constantinidis’ Fruit Market at Kingston (1948).

of Greeks established their wealth as merchants and retail businessmen, while the most successful among them became manufacturers and wholesale suppliers of food merchandise. During the years of massive migration (1952–74), Greek settlers entered the service industries with corner shops, milk bars, fish and chips, take-away shops, caf´es and small restaurants. After 1980, they accumulated enough capital to elevate their trade aspirations. For most of them it was simply a natural progression to move from corner shops to mini and super markets. At the beginning of the 1980s Greek proprietors in certain cities established consortia of Greek-owned supermarkets and provided competitive prices and swift services. For example, in the early 1990s, consortia of Greek-owned supermarkets controlled nearly 70 per cent of Canberra’s retail market. A smaller number of Greek settlers turned towards trades, which they brought from their native towns. There were a few tailors and dressmakers, and a larger number of shoemakers and carpenters. Most of them managed to overcome the limitations caused by their inadequate command of English and with the initial capital that they saved upgraded their businesses to small clothing and shoemaking factories, while some carpenters and bricklayers became builders and developers. By the mid-1950s the relatively high degree of Greek mobility came to an end, mainly because there were more Greeks in appreciable

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numbers within the metropolitan areas of the major urban centres. As a result, the pattern of settlement became more fixed. Some of them entered the skilled trades and thereby created a demand for shoemakers, tailors, mechanics, driving instructors, hairdressers and other craftsmen. However the majority was absorbed by the developing industrial sector as unskilled labourers. Pay was low, but the opportunity of supplementing a wage with overtime employment and shift work attracted many Greek immigrants. Following the massive influx of Greek immigrants, easier living conditions prevailed, together with more tolerant attitudes from the Australian society at large. As Australian capital cities began to grow and expand rapidly, most new suburbs had a mini market and a larger supermarket generally run by Greeks. With the introduction of American-style marketing networks, shopping centre complexes began to spring up in the new suburbs by the beginning of the 1980s. The prevailing Greek-style development of individual local corner shops began to adjust to the new consolidated market setting. Greek developers and businessmen were the first to adapt to the construction and redevelopment of group shopping centres in the cities and metropolitan areas. In more recent times, Greeks have invested in a large number of highrise retail buildings, some up to thirty-five stories high, in all capital cities. These businessmen were independent, freedom-loving individuals and naturalborn competitors with a determination to accept challenge and hard work. A large number of them were of peasant origins, completely ignorant of the mechanisms of capitalism, and had no formal education and no prior experience with other conspicuous businessmen. Most prospered while some achieved considerable wealth and influence. A large number of Greek migrants entered the taxi industry, while some distinguished themselves developing taxi consortia in Melbourne and Sydney. Anastasios Revis established the Taxiway Industry Company controlling hundreds of taxis in Melbourne’s metropolitan region, his compatriot Andreas Andrianopoulos with his sons acquired tens of petrol stations in Victoria, while Costas Petropoulos and his demolition and excavation company Delta dominates the Australian market. Many Greek Australian settlers decided to diversify their economic holdings, investing in hotels, fisheries, pearls, cars, metals, farming, petrol, entertainment industry, food-processing plants, media networks and real estate. The names that stand out most conspicuously are those of the Michael Kailis and his son and Emanuel Petrelis in Perth, Gerasimos Karydis, Theo Maras and Stan Gerovasilis in Adelaide, Speros Stamoulis, Steve Angelodemos in Melbourne,

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Nicholas Paspalis, John Anictomatis and Theodoros Voudouris in Darwin, A. and S. Liangis, Theophilos (Tom) and Anastasios (Tim) Efkarpides, Christos Michalis and the Kostas Tsoulias family in Canberra, the Samios brothers in Brisbane and Nicholas Politis in Sydney. Innovative Greek Cypriot businessman Andrew Kelly successfully dominated the market in the car and mobile telephones in Sydney. Some of these individuals emerged as benefactors of universities, sponsors of cultural activities and donors to religious institutions. Zissis Dardalis an orphan from Siatista of the Kozani district arrived in Melbourne in 1960. He worked as an unskilled labourer in many jobs prior to building his multimillion-dollar Marathon Foods industry in Melbourne, exporting both interstate and overseas. In 1992 he expanded his industries to Greece and Hungary where he built new factories from which he exported his products, mainly beverages. Dardalis’ pride and generosity became almost legendary in Australia and Greece. His compatriots in Macedonia expect with reverence his annual pilgrimage on 15 August to celebrate Our Lady’s festivities, as the entire population is invited to participate in banquets and cultural activities funded by him. Dardalis’ caring provision to the Australian and Greek community has been demonstrated with bounteous donations totalling millions of dollars to St Vincent’s Hospital, the Greek Hostel for the Elderly in Clayton, La Trobe University and its National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research, and generous sponsorships to Australian Greek soccer teams, South Melbourne ‘Hellas’ and Heidelberg ‘Alexander the Great’. His motives are simple: ‘I wish to offer the younger compatriots the opportunity to enjoy what I was deprived of in my youth’. The consolidation of the Greek community and the emergence of powerful financial trusts and personalities in all capital cities were very much due to the drive for success, the hard work and innovative involvement in the building and development industries of individuals such as Zissis Dardalis, brothers Christos and Costas Sarris and other toiling businessmen. From as early as 1910, when Antonios Lekatsas built his fortune acquiring in Melbourne the Capitol House and Theatre, the Australia Hotel and another four buildings in the centre of Melbourne, hundreds of Greek migrants emerged as powerful and charismatic developers. These personalities have significantly affected Greek Australian communal life and strongly influenced the broader Australian society. The time between the two pioneering builders and developers in Canberra, Ken Savvas and Nikolaos Tsoulias in 1949, and the rise of Angelo and Sotiria Liangis and brothers Tom and Tim

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Efkarpides as the business leaders in the area of commercial and industrial development in 2004 was a period of remarkable transition and evolution. The involvement of Greek Australians in the erection and modernisation of shopping centres and commercial developments, and in the acquisition of properties and other equities and investments was paramount. Canberra, Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart became centres of Greek Australian development businesses. Given the small size of the local Greek communities in these cities, there is no precedent in the migration history of this country for the rise of so many financially robust consortia and individuals. It is a common saying about Canberra among Australian politicians that, ‘The British found it, the Americans planned it, the Italians built it and the Greeks owned it’. Pontic Greek brothers, Tom and Tim Efkarpides, whose parents were driven to exile from the Turks, were born in Odyssos, Russia. The brothers immigrated to Australia in 1962 and excelled in the service industry as merchants and businessmen, influencing the economic and political life of Canberra. Tom Efkarpides was sent initially to the Bonegilla migration centre and then to Albury, Leeton and other rural centres of NSW, before settling in Canberra, where he opened his small business. The brothers opened their first supermarket and began their developing enterprises, including the establishment and administration of one of the most successful commercial consortia, the Shoprite Corporation, competing with Woolworths and Coles. The Efkarpides corporation included thirty supermarkets in the ACT, attracting 56 per cent of the business trade of Canberra. The brothers also diversified their commercial interests in shopping centres, developments and real estate, controlling the retailing landmarks of the capital, namely, the mini-markets, Supabarn and Shoprite. Senior Australian politicians over the years acknowledged that Australia needed the initiative and drive of people like those in the Efkarpides group. They had ventured millions of dollars to bring food markets up to world standards. When addressing the opening of the redeveloped Belconnen Fresh Food Markets constructed by the Efkarpides group, the then leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley declared that the Efkarpides brothers symbolised what made Australia a great place to live. It was during the economically depressed years for Canberra (1994–8), that the brothers invested enormous capital to upgrade retail markets. Their capital injections provided badly needed boosts to the local economy. The builders and developers strove to organise consortia and collective entities in their states in order to defend themselves from the attacks of competitors, and to economise on their purchases and

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resources. Coping with the prejudices of business enemies and maintaining a united front in the face of hostility and fierce competition became a major issue. Some Greek-based collective business entities emerged to create massive corporations, which could control the market and enhance their interests. One of the first such organisations, the Canberra Property Owners Association, was incorporated in 1984 and comprised Greek businessmen and developers. The Association, with 150 members in 2004, owned over two million square metres totalling approximately one billion dollars in property value and was cautiously lobbying the Commonwealth Government against its policies to reduce the public sector. The prevailing employment tendencies among Greek-Australians of the last fifty years of the twentieth century were definitely away from the disciplines normally associated with the earlier immigrant years. The great majority of Greek migrants from 1952 to 1982 worked as unskilled labour in production jobs in expanding manufacturing industries in Victoria, NSW and South Australia (SA). At the same time, their wives were employed in the clothing, footwear, textile, foodprocessing and car component industries. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, the number of Greek Australians employed as industrial labourers declined sharply. Falling rates of employment, particularly for Greek women and the young, seriously reduced the family income. Since the mid-1980s changes in world markets, trading and financial investments, technological developments and changes in production for export, seriously altered the patterns of the economy and affected the welfare of Greek settlers in Australia. As a matter of fact, in 1981 the number of Greek migrants working as unskilled labourers in various industries comprised 47 per cent of the entire Greek migration intake, while twenty years later this dropped to only 8.7 per cent. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2001 Census, the number of Greeks involved in small business was 24 957, one of the highest in the country. Australian gross income data indicate continuous prejudice against immigrant workers from Southern Europe. Furthermore, inadequate language skills, lack of schooling and proper qualifications drove many Greek migrants into lower-paid occupations, usually not preferred by Australian-born labourers. Those migrants who obtained their education overseas remained disadvantaged compared with their colleagues who obtained their education in Australia. Nevertheless, their compatriots involved in the Labour Union movement, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s protected many Greek migrants through the

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Clothing and Textile Union. During the last fifty years of the twentieth century many Greek migrants sought the mediation of the powerful Railways and Tram Unions, the Australian Maritime Union and the Building Constructions Union. Australia’s aging Greek-born population is highly concentrated in the lower income levels in far greater proportion than the total Australian population, indicating that many Greek migrants are relying on government unemployment benefits, age and sickness pensions and other forms of welfare. A large proportion of Greek-born settlers in 2004 (61 per cent) declared an individual income below $300 per week, well below the poverty line, while the equivalent for the total Australian population stands at 28 per cent. The current lower than average income for the Greek migrant workers suggests that there will be serious problems ahead for the Greek community in Australia in the coming decades. Since employment is the basis of most families’ income and, equally, the basis of their self-esteem, there will be a need for a number of educational and training initiatives to minimise any strains emerging from the changing economic conditions. In addition, low incomes have obvious implications for the ability of these individuals and their families to upgrade qualifications, to attend further training and to support their children attending tertiary programs. The rapid aging of Greek migrants, in conjunction with their initial involvement in unskilled and unhealthy occupations that remained unclaimed by older settlers, forced many Greek-born workers out of the labour force prematurely. Their employment mainly in the manual and low status manufacturing areas, which have seen a marked decline over the last twenty years of the twentieth century, has created a moderate level of unemployment, particularly among Greek men. Greek migrants were generally from rural backgrounds and had little or no exposure to manufacturing work. Consequently, they were exposed to hazardous work, resulting in many industrial accidents and long-term work-related illnesses. During the first twenty years of massive migration (1956–76), a higher percentage of Greek women were in the work force compared with women from other ethnic groups (47 per cent). However, the massive decline of traditional occupations and the demise of the textile and clothing industries compelled most Greek women (92 per cent) to stay at home, although the remainder moved to the retail trade as shop assistants and to service work as cleaners and cooks. Census statistics attest that from a total of 197 283 Greek Australians in the workforce, only 24 923 were still occupied in the

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country’s industries, 38 132 were employed in retail shops, 24 957 ran small businesses, 13 995 were in the service sector, while only 510 were engaged in the mines. In 2004, 11 176 continued to work in commerce and 10 210 were involved with tourism and hospitality. Contrary to traditional practices in Greece, there were only 5 868 public servants of Greek background, while the number of teachers was 10 891. During the 1990s an increasing number of Greek professionals, managers and administrators began to emerge in Australia. In 2004, a total of 14 609 stated that they were employed as managers and executive officers, while there were 33 445 professionals. The numbers can be expected to increase further, as many more professionals and scientists graduate from Australian universities. It is not surprising for a well-established community to possess one of the highest home-ownership rates in Australia. Approximately 75 per cent of Greek residents are homeowners. This compares with 42 per cent of the total Australian population. The much lower than average numbers of Greeks in private rental accommodation and the negligible percentage in accommodation provided by housing authorities in all Australian states confirms the financial consolidation of the Greek community. In 2004 there were approximately 10 000 large and small businesses owned by Greek Australians scattered over the entire continent. The substantial number of enterprises, the need to cope with competition and the necessity to canvas in a collective way the challenges confronting them, led to the establishment of the first Greek Australian Chamber of Commerce in 1947 in Melbourne. It was the period when many community leaders believed they should assume a greater responsibility in collective affairs. The life of this consortium, however, was ephemeral, because its limited membership was heavily reliant on the Greek migrants who arrived before World War II. In June 1981, Greek Ambassador to Australia, Alexander Vagenas inaugurated the re-establishment of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce in Sydney. The organisation maintained a very limited role, because it emerged at a time when Greek Australians were bitterly divided in their community affairs. Misguided individuals and some groups prompted by personal gain and by bigotry preached conformity and assimilation. Others maintained the view that Australian Hellenism could only survive via its loyalty to the Greek language and the Greek Orthodox Church. There were also the many more indifferent individuals, who preferred to insulate themselves within their own private interests. The Greek Australian community in the 1970s and 1980s was in the throes of transition, from a labour-centred working class colony into a

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middle-class urban society. There were also the Australian-born professionals and businessmen, who followed the progressive exodus of their parents from the enterprises that they had established. The emergence of the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) in the 1990s, as a national body with a more elaborate organisational philosophy, was a triumph for those emerging professional classes who wished to identify themselves with Australian society. HACCI was better led, better financed, and more appealing to the educated professional generations that followed the pioneer migration. HACCI represented a need that could no longer be ignored. It appealed to those who were climbing the socioeconomic ladder of success. A large section of Greek-born businessmen, alienated from the more sophisticated, however, ‘Australianised’HACCI membership, maintained a non-conformist stand, establishing the Hellenic Business Forum in Melbourne. The Forum members elect their leadership almost exclusively from those first-generation settlers who closely identify with Greece. Assuming financial confidence some Greek Australians began to invest after 1975 in Greece and Cyprus and from 1992 in the countries of Eastern Europe. Most of them, accumulating experience from their commercial practices in Australia, cautiously extended their businesses into Greece, establishing factories and manufacturing companies. Many more invested their capital in the tourist industry, developing their own hotels and resort centres in the Greek islands and the mainland. Greek migrants substantially contributed towards a European profile in Australia. They embellished Australian life with an efficient and effective network in the areas of marketing, building and development, as well as in the service and hospitality industries, small business, academe and administrative services. With the consolidation of the Greek community, the traditional suspicion of the local Australian society towards Greek migrants and their linguistic and cultural background evaporated. Suspicion gradually changed to cautious tolerance, and later acceptance. The unresponsiveness of many in the broader Australian society to the persistent efforts of the smaller numbers of prewar Greek settlers to integrate was challenged after World War II. Economic prosperity together with the professional achievements and successful social adherence of large waves of Greek migrants and their children began to win over the wider Australian community. The emergence of their Australian-born children, as successful professionals, technocrats, public administrators,

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29 Karpathian settlers Constantinos Mantinaos, Ioannis Economidis and Minas Economidis take pride in the Greek flag at Parliament House (1950).

merchants and businesspersons gave the Greek community prominence and seriously affected the entire society. The architectural designs of Epameinondas Katsalides and Omiros Emanuelides won international acclamation and fame, while John Conomos and Bill Zikou excelled as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the multinational giants Toyota and Erricsson respectively. Conomos was elected in April 2004 one of the fifty-four world managing officers at Toyota, the fifth non-Japanese to hold such a senior post. The

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honour bestowed on Conomos also reflected the increasing visibility of Australia, which, more than forty years ago, was the first country outside Japan to build Toyotas. The contemporary political and commercial significance of Greece and Cyprus is enhanced by their geographic and political status as the easternmost members of the European Union (EU), and by their political stability in the careworn Balkans and as bridges to the Levant and Africa. In view of this and the free settlement of professionals and businesspersons between the EU countries the need for Australian Greeks and Cypriots to invest and to liaise are expected to increase substantially. Australia’s interest in enhanced trade and investment arrangements with the EU has been repeatedly affirmed by successive Australian governments. The potential significance of Greece and Cyprus in the realisation of the Australian Government’s trading aspirations for better links with the EU and the role of the Australian Greek and Cypriots communities in establishing and maintaining them is evident. For the present, direct trade between Greece, Cyprus and Australia remains insufficient, the marked decline in imports being due to termination of Greek petroleum products and in exports due to a 75 per cent reduction in Greek demand for Australian wool. However, the role of Greek shipping in transporting Australian products around the globe remains robust.

6 T H E C U LT U R E A N D C I V I L I S AT I O N

Greek language education Greek is rated a major world language despite its small number of speakers, estimated at sixteen million, whose written history dates from the fourteenth century BC (Linear B syllabary script). It is the official language of the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Cyprus and one of the nine official languages of the European Union (EU). It has also received considerable recognition in the countries of the world where substantial Greek speaking communities have settled and it continues to enjoy the status of an international language by virtue of its extensive penetration of western languages, particularly in their abstract, cultural, technological and scientific registers. In Diaspora communities, maintenance of the Greek language, culture and Orthodox faith are central to the mission of the organised Greek Communities and families. The educational activities of the Greek Community during the first fifty years of settlement in Australia (1900–52) were inadequate due to demographic limitations and the nature of immigration, which remained entirely male-dominated until 1949. The number of families was comparatively small while concentration of Greeks in the large urban centres began only after 1935. These factors did not allow the operation of systematic schools, except in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. In Perth, in 1913, Archim. Germanos Iliou established the first parttime evening school named ‘Pittakos’, and in 1929 the first teacher to Australia was appointed there by the Greek Government, receiving

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remuneration equal to a priest’sfrom the Hellenic Community of Western Australia. The situation in Adelaide was hopeless as the first school operated systematically there only after 1936. In Melbourne, although the GOCM had established the first evening school in 1898, it was not able to secure the consistent operation of a school until the 1950s. The generosity of the regional organisations, the good-heartedness of individuals, particularly businessmen, the conscientiousness of teaching staff and the anxiety of the parents saved the school from permanent closure. However, its operation was almost casual, as it was transferred from the mezzanine floor of restaurants to halls and its function was interrupted according to the economic situation of the Community and whichever dispute was in vogue at the time. In contrast, the educational services in Sydney operated methodically, perhaps due to the antagonism between the GOCS and the Council of the Cathedral of St Sophia. Two schools were established and operated which were also used as power bases by the councils’ members during their disputes and schisms, with the children’s parents divided in supporting one or the other faction. In Brisbane and northern Queensland, where collective associations were formed by Greeks working in the huge sugar plantations of Innisfail, Babinda, Tully, Home Hill and Townsville, evening schools operated with clergy undertaking teaching duties. In Brisbane, the local community operated the first school with the Orthodox Rector Daniel Maravelis as its teacher in 1923 and in Innisfail and Townsville the first lessons began in 1928. Metropolitan Theophylaktos (1947–58) began a program of improving Greek education, which until that time had had no assistance or direction. His objective was for the Metropolis to take over and be responsible for the implementation of teaching programs in Greek language and culture to Greek children in Australia. Theophylaktos demanded the transfer of Greek teaching staff to Australia, the shipment of books and supporting material and financial support for the teachers. His request for free books was granted through the efforts of the Australian Greek Association in Athens which successfully organised the first shipment of educational books to Australia for the educational needs of Community schools. A teaching grant from the Greek Government was also approved in July 1948 and funds were made available at the start of the new school year of 1949. The problem with the appointment of teachers from Greece to the Australian Greek community schools was essentially a financial one: community institutions were unable to take responsibility for

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30 The only Greek afternoon school in Melbourne in 1947. Teachers Alexandra Vrachna (first from left), Nina Mavrokefalos (back) and Stathis Raftopoulos are seen here with their students celebrating Greek National Day.

the salaries and maintenance of these teachers. With the financial difficulties of the early postwar years, both the Communities and the Church appeared cautious about undertaking responsibility for the ever-increasing salaries of the transferred teaching staff. For this reason the Communities were prudently constrained to employ only teachers who had already immigrated to Australia. In 1978, however, the Greek Government finally decided to introduce in Australia the institution of Education Advisors and one year later appointed hundreds of transferred teachers to all capital cities to serve in Greek community ethnic schools. Their contribution was substantial as they managed to revive Greek language teaching in many remote country towns, while they reinforced with their high language competence the ethnic school environment, assisting their Australian-born colleagues. Until the 1970s the system of the afternoon Greek schools was ailing. The number of operating schools was minimal and the organisation sub-standard, while children and parents showed the same indifference towards Greek language education and an unwillingness to

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attend consistently. In Sydney, for instance, the community was running eight schools with a total of 600 students for the needs of 40 000 settlers. The long distances that they had to cover to access their ethnic schools and the tiredness of children at the day school, the costs to families, and the discouraging policy of the Australian Government were some of the reasons for the indifference. Furthermore, the attendance at school was not consistent as some parents used their children as interpreters, while ignorant mainstream teachers openly discouraged students of Greek from attending in preference to sport. The lessons of the afternoon school were until 1969 exclusively for primary school level. Certain problems emerging from the weekly teaching program included the variety of age groups and grade levels, and the disparity between the orality and literacy level of the students. The passion and force of the ecclesiastic–Community confrontation further augmented these problems. The hierarchy of the church maintained close relations with successive conservative Greek governments that held power after World War II, ensuring the marginalisation of their Community opponents. Such antagonistic and acrimonious behaviour was detrimental to the development of educational programs. Even though Australians’ interest in the teaching of the Ancient Greek language was expressed as early as 1814, with the operation of the school, Reverend Henry Futon’s Classical Academy, in Sydney the teaching of Modern Greek was introduced into the educational system only from the 1970s. The introduction of Modern Greek at New England University (1969) in the country town of Armidale, New South Wales (NSW), drew favourable comments from the leaders of Hellenism in Australia who felt that the study of the language of the Greek migrants was a significant cultural achievement. A short time later, the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne (1974) followed the example set by New England University. The idea for the establishment of Greek Orthodox Daily Schools, under the supervision of the Communities, was suggested initially by Metropolitan Timotheos Evangellinides in 1934, but became the Archdiocese’s official goal in 1961 when Ezekiel proposed it at the All Clergy–Laity Congress. Having a good knowledge of the American school education system, Ezekiel regarded the afternoon schools as ‘schools of need, where our children would be taught the basic elements of a Greek Orthodox education’. After 1970, when the community organisations managed to clear their initial debts, they moved towards the purchase of buildings, which could be used primarily as afternoon schools and later as daily schools. On 21 August 1972 the

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31 Students of the Aristoteleion High School in Brunswick parade as part of the celebrations marking the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Karamanlis (1982).

Community of North Carlton in Melbourne bought the old Jewish School building to accommodate its afternoon primary school and its high school, giving it the title St John’s Greek Orthodox College. The same building would later accommodate the first Greek Orthodox bilingual school of Hellenism in Australia (1978). The successful implementation of the institution of Greek Orthodox daily schools, initiated by Archimandrite Kourtessis in 1978 in Melbourne, was followed by the establishment of daily schools under the authority of the church Communities in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, based on the concept of bilingual schools which would maintain the Orthodox tradition enriched with elements of Greek culture and traditional values. However, the main provider of Greek language education, throughout the second half of the twentieth century remained the ethnic schools, administered by the Greek Communities, the church and a consortium of independent individuals, settled primarily in Melbourne.

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32 Teacher Anna Kovaiou with her students at a Greek School in Melbourne (1971).

In 2004 there were approximately 40 000 students of the Greek language attending classes organised by 11 providers. It was estimated that almost 26 per cent of those students were of non-Greek language background. Most of them (82 per cent) attended government and independent daily schools. There were 194 government and 27 independent schools offering classes in Greek across the country. Courses in Greek language, culture and civilisation were introduced as tertiary disciplines in the Universities of Notre Dame, Adelaide, Flinders, Darwin, Melbourne, La Trobe, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Macquarie, Sydney and NSW, attracting approximately 1000 tertiary students. La Trobe University in 1997, emerged as the most ‘Hellenised’university of the Diaspora, establishing in addition to the Greek Studies Program, the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research (NCHSR). The mission of the latter is to disseminate the Hellenic culture and civilisation and propagate research and cultural activities related to Hellenism in Australasia. Incorporated Societies of Friends of the NCHSR were established in Perth, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane to disseminate the objectives of the Centre and to assist with the implementation of its goals. RMIT University also administers an Archival Centre for the Greek community.

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Greek has been classified as one of the nine priority languages of wider use in Australia and is taught in all states and territories in a variety of systems and levels of education. Network analysis shows the importance of family networks in maintaining the core culture among members of the Greek community. The overriding attitude towards education and culture dictates maintenance of Greek as a medium of communication or as a social symbol of identity. Standard Greek is the result of a synthesis of two formally competing varieties: a Demotic or commonly spoken Greek and Katharevousa, a superimposed purist and essentially written variety which, prior to 1976, enjoyed the status of the official language of the Greek State. Tamis and Gauntlett (1993) have argued that the significance of Greek for Australia derives principally from the established presence of a vast number of Greek speaking residents (estimated at 320 000) and of many more thousands of Australians with ancestral, sentimental, professional, cultural and intellectual ties with Greece and Greeks. Greek remains the sole modern descendant of the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages, in which the fundamental texts of western civilisation and Christian scripture were formulated and transmitted through the ages. The vitality of the Greek language in Australia is determined by a variety of factors including the disposition of Greek community members towards it and their desire for continued distinctiveness as a group. Sociocultural factors include the existence of a large number of speakers, the creation of broad functional areas and an adequate community network that will develop language use outside and beyond the group-controlled areas of home, church and ethnic school. Also important are the promotion of Greek to the broader society, the perceived prestige of the language, the ability to rally institutional support from the government, education policy, industry and media support, and demographic characteristics such as residential concentration, the birth rate, the rate of exogamy and the interactional dynamics of the Greek community. Greek Australians, at the beginning of the twentyfirst century, display the strongest degree of ethnolinguistic vitality of all ethnic groups in Australia. Of all ethnic groups in Australia, Greek settlers and their children exposed to the Greek language show the strongest language loyalty, at an intergenerational level, to the language of the ethnic group. The shift to English (currently 8 per cent among the second generation) is determined by the steady decline in the intake of Greek migrants from Greece since 1974, the interethnic marriage patterns especially in areas with low concentrations of Greeks and the

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attenuating affects of multiculturalism, which, although it promotes the maintenance of diverse cultures, compels the use of one common language among the various ethnic groups. Greek serves many purposes in Australia from the strictly utilitarian (communication for domestic and professional purposes) to cultural and ethnic identification. Some of these are open to both Greeks and non-Greeks. Thus in the educational context, objectives can include acquisition of practical fluency skills, knowledge of the cultural context of the language, developing a sense of cross-cultural tolerance or simply the development of the student’s intellectual and linguistic capacity. As well as being a community language used by members of the Australian Greek community to communicate with one another and symbolise their Greek identity, Greek is a second language of socioeconomic and political significance for Australia, and the modern sequel to the tradition of Hellenic Antiquity, which is perceived to have particular cultural significance for Australia and the West as a whole. Other factors conducive to the retention of Greek include the social isolation of large numbers of Greek immigrants and the Greek experience in Diaspora. Greek culture is different from Anglo-Australian and tends to insulate Greek immigrants, even when their children have socially integrated into the mainstream society. Recent evidence (Tamis, 2001) suggests that approximately 30 per cent of Greek immigrants do not mix socially with any other ethnic group in Australia. They form relationships more readily with southern Europeans with whom they share similarities in culture. Large proportions of the world’s Greek-speaking population have been living outside the Greek nation-state since antiquity and thus have a long tradition of loyalty to Greek language and culture. Greek is not just a medium of communication for expatriate Greeks, but a social symbol and a key ingredient of ethnic identification. The vast majority of Greek settlers (96 per cent) believe that people of Greek descent living in Australia should have knowledge of Greek. Reasons closely linked with preserving the heritage, culture and ethnic identity account for almost 61 per cent of the responses, whereas practical and linguistic reasons comprised 34 per cent. Second generation respondents proportionally outnumbered their first generation counterparts in suggesting cultural values as the main reason for language loyalty to the mother tongue. Since the late 1950s a number of Greek words related particularly to food and entertainment have entered Australian English. Words such as spanakopita, fetta, souvlaki, fyllo, kalamari, bouzouki,

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taramas, saganaki, zorbas and zorbaic have been transferred from Greek and now constitute part of the vocabulary of many Australians. However, English influences Greek in almost all linguistic subsystems. The communicative norm of Australian Greeks can be termed an ‘ethnolect’, a substandard form adopted and used by an ethnic community in a language contact situation. Although the total impact of English on Greek cannot be precisely measured, it can be argued that there is attrition at the intergenerational level. The attrition is not prompted by any apparent desire for assimilation or simply by any weakening of the linguistic feeling of Greek Australians, but is the result of the contraction of the generally accepted norm of standard Greek. The term ‘contraction’ is used to indicate its temporary status and to argue that an expansion to its original standard Greek norm is still possible. The degree of the contraction depends on attitude to language use, the broadening of the functions of Greek, its acceptability by the community and its stability of form. Over the last thirty years children of Greek ancestry have been given more opportunities to express themselves in Greek in public settings. The sense of inferiority experienced by early migrants and their children speaking their native tongue has faded away. The Greek Orthodox Church might be expected to be the primary institution that provides Greek settlers with a justification for the use of their language. However, since the beginning of the 1990s there has been a strong tendency to employ English in liturgy and pastoral care, in an attempt to attract the younger generation into the congregation. Furthermore, many clergymen in Australia promote the concept of a Pan-Orthodox congregation without ethnic affiliation, in order to make its doctrines accessible to more Australians and to ensure that the other homodox ethnic groups are not disadvantaged on linguistic grounds. The establishment of a higher institution for clergy and lay teachers, providing them with instruction in the Orthodox Faith has been the aspiration of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitans since 1934. Metropolitan Timotheos had the initial vision but neither the resources nor the community support. Archbishop Ezekiel, thirty years later, proposed the establishment of a preparatory seminary in Australia ‘so we can have local clergy who, apart from anything else, would be in a better position to understand the country we live in, the environment and the attitude of our Australian-born children’. He envisaged the seminary as being initially an institution equal to a high school, so that its graduates would be able to attend the Theological Ecclesiastical

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School of Thessaloniki, Greece. He also regarded as necessary a twoyear retraining course for priests who came from Greece so they could adapt to the way of life of Hellenism in Australia. Ezekiel established a foundation account and collected the initial funds for the implementation of his vision. However, it was his successor, Archbishop Stylianos Charkianakis who moved in 1981 for the immediate realisation of the project and the establishment of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College. This tertiary establishment, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, commenced its operation in February 1986, as a member institute within the Sydney College of Divinity of the University of Sydney. Its students thus were provided with the opportunity of concurrently attending courses at the University of Sydney. Even with its multicultural complexion, Australian society via its political and ecclesiastic agencies does not encourage active crosscultural initiatives and the enhancement of any other ethnic group but the dominant Anglo-Australian. This type of multicultural environment is essentially expressed via monolingualism. Thus, in 1981 there were over ninety ethnic languages used in various language domains, including the home. By 2030, the linguistic environment of Australia is expected to be mainly monolingual. This tendency towards monolingualism is further reinforced by the prevalence of English as the commercial tool of the international market and the Internet. With the termination of migration in 1975, the future of the ethnolinguistic maintenance of the Greek colony could be assessed on the basis of its organisation and its ability to rally the support of its financial and social institutions, currently administered by the second and subsequent generations. The main challenge for cultural survival remains its determination to break the insulatory intracommunity barriers, encouraging the mainstream society to access and cherish the Hellenic civilisation. Conversely, commercial and social activities that thrust their members into closer contact with the Australian society, accelerate the process of integration. Thus, it is only legitimate to argue that by the year 2025 Greek will remain a robust medium of communication at home as well as in the Greek clubs and the Orthodox Church.

The cultural contribution of the Greeks Greek settlers became active culturally and artistically in spite of Australia’s hostility and xenophobia prior to World War II. Commencing from 1916, and despite the anti-Greek sentiment, which was

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building as a result of Greece’s delay in entering World War I on the side of the Allies, Greeks formed their first theatrical groups, orchestras and sporting clubs. They staged amateur theatrical plays, performed concerts and organised dances. The proceeds from these activities were invested in charities and the social welfare of their community members. The arrival of thousands of Greek migrants after 1947 made the need for improving the cooperation between them imperative. In contrast to their compatriots who had arrived before World War II, the new migrants were coming to Australia for permanent settlement. Most, lacking capital and language, worked in factories in the major industrial cities. This ‘class’ difference between the prewar and postwar Greek settlers produced a different attitude to matters of community organisation. The old settlers believed that the desired socioeconomic position of Greek settlers could be achieved with the transfer of their wealth and professional security to their children, while the new settlers guided their children towards education as a way towards economic enhancement and social development. There were also serious ideological differences among the settlers who arrived after World War II. Leftist migrants and intellectuals expressed the view that all workers regardless of ethnic background must be bonded together with common objectives, while the conservatives, led by the Orthodox Church emphasised the importance of keeping their Greek identity and culture intact. The latter view was adopted later by the Australian nation, a choice reflected in the restructuring of the official government policy of multiculturalism with the consent of all Australian political parties. The ideological differences between Greek compatriots often caused friction over the control of the organised Greek communities, a situation that almost always disadvantaged the working class. The initial hardships in the large urban centres created by the unemployment crisis between 1960 and 1965 did not seriously affect the willingness of migrants to settle permanently. Their understanding was that their generation was living in a transitional period, which favoured their chances of permanent settlement. Therefore structures to secure their smooth transition from the uncomfortable position of a migrant to the credibility of a citizen with equal rights had to be created. The educational wellbeing and social advancement of their children was equally important, as was the need to maintain their ethnic and cultural identity via their active involvement in the maintenance and development of Hellenic culture. Greek literary personalities and

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intellectuals from within the community often voiced their conviction that their cultural creativity was robust enough to claim that Australia’s Hellenism constituted a ‘new Hellas’. The status of women among the members of the Australian Greek community was substantially improved over what it was in Greece. Yet, female adolescents during the 1970s and 1980s were kept in seclusion, mainly within the circle of Greek friends. Greek girls were not allowed to stay overnight in a classmate’s home, but school principals obtained parental permission for school excursions and away-from-home functions. Unlike women of other cultural groups, Greek women rarely worked outside home, and Greek girls were subjected to stricter disciplinary rules than their male siblings. Greek parents often complained that Australian laws prevented them from handling in a ‘Greek way’ their insubordinate sons and daughters and alleged that their children in fact ‘had been spoiled by Australia’. Progressively, during the last twenty years of the twentieth century, Australian Greek women excelled in all vocational disciplines, eradicating the customary discriminations of the past, when matrimony was almost the only option open to them.

The theatre, cinema and performing arts Greek artistic presence in Australia was rich perhaps because it usually went hand in hand with philanthropic objectives. As early as 1916 Australian Greek amateur actors appeared on stage collaborating with Australian theatrical companies. In 1916, Haralambos Florias from Ithaca, who was managing Bob’s Caf´e in Flinders Street in Melbourne and his compatriot Ioannis Raftopoulos were the first actors from the Greek community to take part in an Australian theatrical performance. In 1919, the Greek Friends of Drama Society was established in Sydney and generated considerable activity, at the same time helping the community’s fundraising efforts to support war victims in Greece. The members of the society included D. Zalokosta, D. Servetopoulou and Th. Makris. In 1922, a Greek theatre group consisting of Nezer, Pofantis, and Kourouklis came to Australia to present a series of performances at Sydney’s auditorium, including the tragedy of Oedipus the King. In Melbourne from 1924 there was a noticeable increase in interest in theatre and cinema, giving rise, after 1934, to an influx of travelling theatrical companies that significantly contributed to the artistic input of Hellenes to Australia. The first play performed on stage was The

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Indiscreet Visitor, written by an honorary Greek consul and medical practitioner in Melbourne, Konstantinos Kyriazopoulos. The play was performed in the hall of the Orpheus Greek League and was a great success. In 1931, G. Paizis established the Greek Theatre Group of Australia, which had its own orchestra directed by O. Palmistras, in Sydney. This group worked closely with Australian theatrical groups and received awards for its remarkable performances. In 1931, during a theatrical competition, the Williamson Theatrical Company in Sydney won an award for its production of Frank King’s play Carrion Crow. After 1932 makeshift and ephemeral theatrical groups were established in Melbourne and Perth, performing plays by Greek and foreign playwrights. During World War II the theatrical activity of the Greek community slowed down. Some plays were staged with only limited success. In 1946, Krinio Papas and Spyros Mousouris’ Greek Theatre Company visited Australia for a series of performances; they did not manage to attract large audiences and the company was compelled to return to Greece in heavy debt. In 1943, Ithacan Stathis Raftopoulos established in Kew, Melbourne the second Greek printing shop and pioneered the importation of Greek films to Australia. The first film, The Voice of the Heart, with Aemilios Veakis was presented at the Nicholas Theatre, Melbourne. Soon after, following the enormous success of the initiative, imported films began to be shown in hired cinema theatres around the country. The projection of these films became a major source of revenue for the newly established Greek communities and schools, as the proceeds were used to pay the teachers and cover the development of resources. The films were projected in Melbourne and Sydney exclusively on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, Raftopoulos used to rent his imported films for £15 to community groups across the country, reaching Wagga Wagga, Orange, Newcastle, Parkes, Queanbeyan, Adelaide, Mildura, Renmark and Berrie and much of Queensland. In 1956 he purchased the Victoria Theatre in Richmond and a new era began for the industry. In partnership with Panayiotis Yiannoudis and Andreas Papadopoulos, he formed Cosmopolitan Motion Pictures in 1968, based in Elgin St, Carlton, and began to acquire twelve cinema theatres in Melbourne. In 1974 the first professional theatrical school in the Greek language under the name Gefyra (The Bridge), operated in Melbourne under the directorship of Nicholas Skiadopoulos. Gefyra attracted many young, talented, bilingual actors who attended special courses, conducted in Greek. Although Gefyra was compelled to cease its

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operations fifteen years later, because of a lack of financial support, its students have succeeded in organising various theatrical schools, such as Laiki Skini (Popular Stage). In the meantime, some theatrical directors and film actors settled in Australia and became active in organising new theatrical troupes. Director and actor Dimitrios Katsoulis came to Australia in 1972 and was the first to introduce the Karagiozis folkloric puppet show to Melbourne. Director Michalis Nikoloudis, together with local actors, organised the Elliniko Theatro Afstralias (Greek Theatre of Australia), a group that represented a diversity of artistic currents. The League of Greeks from Egypt and the Middle East remained the artistic group which resisted the innovation created by the impact of massive immigration and continued to stage Greek playwrights exclusively. The Pontians of Melbourne, under the directorship of Theodoros Antoniadis established the Australian Pontian Theatre in 1992, and performed plays in the Pontian dialect. In 1984 the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne established a cultural office, inviting leading Greek actors who were visiting Australia to contribute to the improvement of Greek-Australian theatrical groups. In the same year Nicholas Skiadopoulos made his reappearance as a director and actor, with the establishment of Theatro Technis (Theatre of the Art). He, together, with Helen Madden and actress Shandell Koundouris, successfully put on stage the tragedy Medea by Euripides and the classical comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes. During the early 1990s Skiadopoulos managed to produce with enormous success Shakesperian plays, including King Lear and Hamlet and other prominent classical works. In 1985 Sakis Dragonas and George Manis established the Peiramatiko Theatro Afstralias (Experimental Theatre of Australia), increasing the number of Greek theatrical groups in Melbourne to six. In March 1986 Thiasos Laikis Skinis Melvournis (Popular Stage Company of Melbourne) under the directorship of Michael Nikoloudis and Sakis Phidoyiannis visited Canberra with their theatrical group. In 1989, a talented theatrical director, Hara Economopoulou, attracted young people and established the Spartan Amateur Theatre of Canberra. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, at least five theatrical groups appeared in Sydney performing plays authored by local, Greek and international playwrights. Steve Economides has been the artistic director of the Hellenic Art Theatre, while Petros Printezis was in charge of the Comedy Theatre, Costas Strafiotis of the Greek Artists’ Group, Costas Pinakis of the Take Away Theatre and Vangelis Kalyvas of the Paraskinia Theatre Group.

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A substantial number of Australians of Greek descent reached prominence in the field of visual and performing arts. George Miller (Milionis) made an excellent career as a film director, as did Anna Kokkinos and Nadia Tassopoulou, while Shandell Koundouris became a leading actor with an international reputation and Alex Dimitriades won renown as a protagonist in the film The Heartbreak Kid. Zoe Carides distinguished herself as a multimedia actor, while Mary Koustas, George Kapiniaris and Nick Giannopoulos were popular in comedy. Mary Kostakidis, John Mangos and George Donikian are well known as longstanding presenters in commercial and government television; while Philip Kafkaloudis and Anastasia Salamastrakis distinguished themselves as television reporters. Lex Marinos is internationally acclaimed in film, radio, television and theatre. The most talented authors whose plays were performed by prestigious theatrical groups in Australia and internationally, however, were Theodoros Patrikareas, Sophia Ralli Catharios and Koula Teo. Among the most important plays produced by Sophia Catharios were Preferably Gardenias (1989), Crossroads (1991), Iphigenia South of Capricorn (1991), Transit (1992), Route 343 (1992), Marionettes (1993), Flesh and Germ (1998) and Orestis (2001). Theodoros Patrikareas wrote a large number of plays, five of which were in fact performed in Sydney, Melbourne and Greece by prestigious theatrical companies. His plays, Throw the Harmonica Pepino and The Uncle from Australia, were the first to be written about Greek migrants.

The painters and sculptors Australia’s Greek community produced a rich stock of creative artists, talented designers and painters, especially among the Australian-born generation. Some have earned international acclaim for their contribution to art. Greek-Australian art matured in the 1980s with the emergence of over two hundred painters, sculptors, designers and creative architects. Most of them made a successful career in Sydney and Melbourne, while a smaller number became known internationally, exhibiting their works and winning prizes. During the prewar era most painters continued the traditional styles, insisting on line, composition and severity; their art concentrated on naturalistic expression, portraits, rural and urban landscapes, icons and spoke eloquently of their homeland. There were only a limited number of artists who worked, produced and taught in local schools. The most prominent painter of Australian Hellenism during this period was Vlase (Palassis) Zanalis (1902–72), whose

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contribution has been the subject of research and publications. His artistic career commenced when he opened his own studio as a portrait artist in 1920 in Perth; he concentrated heavily on landscapes, hagiography and aboriginal themes. He also worked in Adelaide, Sydney, far north Queensland and the Northern Territory. Zanalis was a very idiosyncratic artist, working between the Greek Orthodox and Aboriginal cultures, despite the fact that he abandoned Orthodoxy and criticised Albert Namatjira, the ambassador of aboriginal art. His influential contribution to Greek Australian culture is manifested in the Byzantine decoration of churches in Perth, Bunbury and Geraldton in Western Australia, in Adelaide, in St Sophia’s Cathedral in Sydney and in Innisfail, Queensland. Since 1958, when the first Greek-Australian art exhibition took place in Melbourne with 120 exhibits representing twenty painters and sculptors, more than seventy painters have contributed to Greek Australian culture. Greek Australian painting is best represented in the contemporary work of Nikos Kypraios. Nikos immigrated to Australia in 1972. His work initially illustrated the notion that members of the Diaspora feel as estranged from the homeland as from their new environment. In his later work he expanded two complementary themes: the devastation of industrial landscapes and flight or vigil among the impassive elements of a possibly benign universe. During the ’nineties, Nikos exhibited his new work in Europe, based on Byzantine influences and the Greek Island landscape. Greek-Australian painting is also represented in the contemporary work of the expressionist George Mihelakakis from Sydney, who deviated from the traditional patterns of colour and composition by using curtain materials. A new dimension has also been given to the art of painting by Melbourne artists Leonidas Roubos, Antonios Sindikas, and Frixos Ioannidis, who have exhibited their work nationally. Ioannidis is also known for his interest in serigraphy. Western Australians Leonidas and Costas Kalamaras are sculptors; Queensland engraver Nikos Nedelkopoulos makes an impressive contribution as does Apostolos Laspandges from Melbourne. Alexis Sindikas and Georgia Metaxas from Melbourne have both made an original contribution to the art of photography. Well-known artists representing the early 1950s included Orpheas Arfaras and the cartoonist Tony Raftopoulos (Rafty) both from Sydney. The latter became world acclaimed in the ’seventies for his contribution to the art of caricature. Nicholas Tsoutas, an artist and gallery director is perhaps one of the most important figures in art, an internationally known ambassador of Australian art. Canberra-born

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Niki Savvas organised numerous solo and group exhibitions, both nationally and internationally, including New Zealand, Hong Kong, and London. Her work has been reviewed in art journals and publications. The work of Niki Savvas is characterised by minimalist forms, structures and materials and is strongly influenced by Hellenic culture and Byzantine architecture and art. During the closing years of the twentieth century a number of Greek Australians artists excelled in the fields of painting, photography, metal work and sculpture. In the area of metal sculpture, Euthymios Kontos, an immigrant from Northern Epeiros, who was employed for many years as an industrial labourer in Melbourne, managed to work with iron, bronze and steel to produce high quality artifacts portraying metaphysics and the genesis of the Earth. Nikos Nomikos, a well-known poet and philosopher excelled as a creative painter with his important and unique contribution of mystic and idiosyncratic paintings depicting ‘a world beyond the world’. Working with pastels, ink and watercolors his main theme is man and his ideas beyond man. Stelarc (Stelios Arcadiou) uses medical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems and the Internet to explore, extend and enhance the body’s parameters. Elizabeth Gertsakis, a charismatic lecturer in art history and theory studied Fine Arts and English at the University of Melbourne. Her artistic practice ranges across different media from photography to metal work, stone, found objects and images. Gertsakis’ art creates formal aesthetic statements about social issues (class, ethnicity and gender) as well as political matters (race, racism and identity). She is also a writer, curator and art historian. Gertsakis has organised many influential exhibitions, including Reading for Origin (1987), A Glamorous Private History (1989), Sentimental City (1993), Beyond Messolonghi (1995) and Column (1998), some of which, however, have been banned, for example, Sex and the Stamp (1997). Phillip George’s work from Sydney ranges from painting to interactive installations, new media and post-photographic explorations. Eugenia Raskopoulos studied Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts and Photography in Maine, USA. Andrew Arnaoutopoulos, has been exhibiting in solo and group exhibitions since early 1967. His work, mainly on floors and walls, is a random application of layers of paint, with an element of control, plus partly concealed marks or graffiti. The inventive laminex constructions of Costanze Zikos opened up new possibilities for art and design at the end of the century. With a longstanding interest in decoration and unconventional use

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of materials, Zikos has caught the attention of international critics. The Sydney-born Vicki Varvaressos, focusing on abstraction, began exhibiting her paintings in the 1970s. She quickly gained a reputation for her gestural, colourful images examining the portrayal of women in the mass media. Her later work is more concerned with the feeling of human experience. She questioned social values and cultural attitudes throughout her career, providing powerful alternatives to the vacuous lifestyle. Canberra-based artist Dimitri Porgazian, fascinated by the unique form of the Australian landscape, studied visual arts and since 1976 has organised exhibitions nationally and internationally. Melbournian Andrew Kasapidies developed his idiosyncratic style of artwork, using mixed painting materials including inks and oil, while Anastasia Becou became prominent with her popular art in the style of Theophilos, illustrating images of migration. Dionysios Paraskevatos is a wellknown master craftsman of boat replicas, working on wooden model ships. An expert and charismatic craftsman, Paraskevatos has modeled ancient Greek bireme and trireme ships as well as medieval and contemporary boats, exhibiting his models locally as well as internationally.

Music and choreography Greek music and language arguably represent the most direct ingredients of Hellenic culture. In the music of contemporary Greek Australian composers, musicians and song writers can be observed the struggle for the retention of Hellenic identity and heritage. Their creation blends elements of traditional folkloric and popular music with the classical. The influence of Australian music (country and Aboriginal) can be seen in the work of composers like Themos Mexis from Sydney, Tassos Ioannidis, Stelios Tsiolas, Yiannis Apeitos, Betty Exindaris, Loucas Michaelides and Kostas Tsikaderis from Melbourne, as well as Spyros Randos from Brisbane. Almost all have composed themes for films and have set to music poems by Greek Australians. Thymios Stathoulopoulos and the Rebetika Company have concentrated on rebetika, the ‘Greek blues’ of the prewar era. During the ’nineties a number of artists excelled as conductors and classical music composers: Christos Ioannides and Panayiotis Mousafiriadis were distinguished as composers and conductors, while Betty Exindaris composed classical music and conducted a number of orchestras and choirs amalgamating the Greek and Australian cultures. Achilleas Yiangoulis was instrumental in establishing the classical quartet Ilios, performing his own compositions.

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33 Florinian girls of Melbourne in their traditional costumes during a dancing exhibition (1969).

In a move to attract the younger generation, recent composers have put special emphasis on children’s music. Christos Ioannidis, Stelios Tsolias and Tassos Ioannidis have set bilingual poems to music. Tsolias is generally considered to be a composer of avant-garde music. John Tikis from Sydney made an international career as a singer, while Kelly Poniris from Darwin is a rising singer with great charisma. New generation musicians and composers include Andreas Koikas, a prolific organ player, Euripides Euripidou and Leonidas Michaelidis who have already earned the respect of the critics. A few individuals, such as Aliki Katsikas and Michalis Christophoridis have made their mark as composers of classical music, while others such as Stella Axarlis, Irini Kassimatis, Trudy Kapulitsas, Liana Kanellopoulos and Elli Krizou are acclaimed as sopranos and Kostas Phillipatos as a baritone. Olympia Zygouras and Georgia Rekaris from Melbourne are pursuing an international career as sopranos singing in the New York, London, Sydney and Paris operas. Internationally acclaimed Nick Politis from Melbourne has developed a very rich career as a clarinet and jazz player and composer. He has performed in many American and European cities, becoming a source of inspiration for many young Greek Australians. Soprano Elena Xanthoudakis emerged at the beginning of the twenty-first century as the most promising Greek Australian singer.

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Born in Melbourne in 1979, Elena won forty-six prizes in 2001, including the Music Society of Victoria’s Armstead Scholarship. Xanthoudakis, along with her two brothers, who play saxophone, clarinet and trombone, had a distinguished music education and they are emerging as a major force in Australian opera and classical music.

The literary presence of the Greeks Since the publication, in Melbourne, of what has been recorded as the first Greek book, by Ioannis D. Kominos (1916), more than 300 books representing approximately 120 authors have appeared in Australia. Most of them have been written in Greek and have been published in Australia either on the printing premises of Greek newspapers or universities. Although all types of literature (poetry, prose, drama, and theatre) are represented, poetry predominates, with approximately 100 collections having been published. Greek writers of Australia have been honoured with significant distinctions and their works translated into English. During the ’seventies, the literary production of Greek Australians increased with the financial encouragement of the state and the growing acceptance of community languages at various levels of society. A number of Greek Australians have been widely acclaimed as major Australian poets. Dimitris Tsaloumas, following the bilingual edition of Observatory in 1983, was awarded first prize by the National Book Council. In 1985 his bilingual poetry collection, The Book of Epigrams, received similar recognition and he was subsequently appointed writer-in-residence at Melbourne and La Trobe Universities. Similarly other Greek poets and prose writers, among whom the most prominent are Stylianos Charkianakis, Nikos Nomikos, Antigone Kefalas, Alekos Angelidis, Erma Vasileiou and Dina Amanatidou have been awarded prizes. A number of writers gained prominence as satirical and comedy writers, for example, Panos Georgiou, while Dimitris Tzoumakas, Yiannis Liaskos and Michalis Karakatsanis were creative as surrealist prose writers and Andreas Triantafyllopoulos as a writer of sonnets. Since 1984 the formal study of Australian-Greek literature by means of seminars and lectures on the writings of the Greek Diaspora has been undertaken at the University of Melbourne. During the last ten years, historians and academics have published substantial volumes on the history of Greek migration in Australia. The works of H. Gilchrist, G. Kanarakis, M. Tsounis, John Yiannakis and

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A. M. Tamis received international recognition and are being taught in Greek, European and American universities. It is worth noting that the work of a number of Greek Australian poets and prose writers became the subject of thorough research and teaching by departments of Hellenic studies in Australia. During the period 1991–2001 an increasing number of books and articles authored by Greek Australian scholars appeared in Australia as well as in Europe. The works of Michael Tsianikas, Vrasidas Karalis and Eustathios Gauntlett attracted the interest of Greek publishing companies, which produced a number of books on Greek Australian prose writers.

Greek language media Australian governments, under the pressure exerted by certain elements of power, especially the bureaucracy, implemented regulations aimed at formulating a cohesive society, with a unique socio-political and linguistic face. They imposed limitations in the education system and the press, defining English as the only permissible medium, thus establishing an Anglo-centric mode of life. The governments, particularly from 1860 to 1968, adopted restrictive practices to control the large ethnic groups, Germans, Italians and Greeks and Chinese Asians. Australia’s secret services also banned the publication of papers assessed as anti-British or unpatriotic, treating their editors as agitators and elements of social destabilisation. With strategies to control the social and linguistic behaviour of immigrants, successive governments aimed to lead the ethnic groups towards linguistic assimilation and socioeconomic integration. The compulsory use of English in the ethnic press as early as the 1890s and the imposition of scrutiny and censorship implemented by the Publication of Newspapers in Foreign Languages Statutory Rules 1934 (Cth), applied firm control over editorials and articles reacting against the policies of assimilation. During the period of the Cold War and the anticommunist fever (1946–70) a number of Greek newspapers were banned. Their editors were placed under surveillance and their activities were outlined by secret service agents in their reports. Despite the restrictions and the prevailing anti-migrant attitudes, which were more apparent during the period 1880–1935, a great number of Greek language newspapers circulated in Australia, after 1956, particularly in Melbourne. Since 1913, according to recent research studies, approximately 210 Greek language newspapers and magazines were published in every Australian capital city, excluding Hobart and Darwin. A small number

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of newspapers was published in smaller urban centres of the vast hinterland of the continent, for example in Renmark (SA). According to the type and breadth of readership, the published newspapers fall into two major categories: those with a given ethnospecific character or specialised area and thus restricted readership; and those with a broad and panhellenic readership usually motivated by commercial incentives. The Greek language press in Australia is characterised by the ephemerality of its publications and by its pluralism. Most newspapers have been short-lived mainly because they served ephemeral political and socioeconomic objectives, while their editors were inexperienced real estate agents, printers and businessmen who made a bad judgement for quick profits. Most of the doomed newspapers offered journalistic services irrelevant to the concerns, interests and visions of their readers and only a handful of their publishers controlled the advertising market. Many socioeconomic and demographic characteristics led to the pluralism of the Greek language newspapers. Given an estimated 160 000 Greek language newspaper readers in Australia, it was always tempting to prospective editors to produce their own publications. The insertion of the English language supplement, in theory at least, was intended to attract readers over this threshold, that is to attract the wider Hellenic community, estimated at 490 000, and especially the Australian-born. A sense of improvisation among the Greeks and loyalty to particular traditions rather than a panhellenic attitude were other influences. The existence of over a thousand registered organisations (communities, brotherhoods, associations, social and sporting clubs) generated not only an organisational pluralism but also numerous publications. Another driver towards pluralism was the turbulent political and social history of Greeks in Australia and continuous intracommunity strife, which produced numerous publications aimed at ensuring the dominance of one group over the others. That clergymen published and circulated twenty-six newspapers and journals, including the oldest Greek language newspaper, The Tribune (To Vema), which was acquired by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia (June 2001), manifests just that. In addition, the tendency of the Greeks to be involved in politics and of publishers to compete with on another triggered the circulation of a significant number of newspapers. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Ethnic Publications Group owned by Dimitrios Gogos was publishing the prestigious Neos Kosmos and Nea Ellada in Melbourne, the newspapers with the largest circulation, while the group controlled the advertising market almost

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exclusively. The resourceful Theodoros Skalkos in Sydney was firmly in control of the Foreign Language Publications Group. He published the only daily newspaper of the Hellenic Diaspora, the Hellenic Herald and the weekly magazine Ellinis. Spyros Stamoulis and the Greek Media Group in Melbourne, published the newspaper TA NEA, and operated the radio station 3XY. During the postwar period (1945–2001), the tensions in intercommunity relations, particularly amongst the various organisations, created severe ideological conflicts and led to the appearance of many newspapers. With regard to their credibility, worthy as well as unreliable newspapers, catering for a broad or limited readership, appeared. Their variety of themes, from Australia, Greece and the world, and their layout varied. Most of them were published in tabloid size, adopting the printing and typesetting techniques utilised by the mainstream press. Most newspapers were political and socioeconomic in their theme and presentation. Unionists, student groups, sporting clubs, clergymen and other specialised entities (Tamis and Katsigiannis, 2001) were all represented as publishers of a significant number of newspapers. The Greek language media played a decisive role in the evolution of the Hellenic communities in Australia and substantially contributed towards the integration of Greek settlers. The characteristic subject matter of the newspapers was the ecclesiastic crisis, which due to a shortage of other important activities until the end of the 1970s, remained the centre-point of interest for the organised Greek community. The policies of the publications were determined by ideology or self-interest. The leaders of Hellenism became carried away by their strong feelings during the ideological crisis of the times and their emotionally charged responses drove the Greek newspapers to ‘see ghosts’ where there weren’t any. The newspapers were the protagonists in the dispute and, to a point, they were responsible for the tension and passions of the split. This was especially so during the tense period of the Cold War (1946–70) and the period of the dictatorial r´egime in Greece (1967–74), which threatened the cohesion of the Greek community. The newspapers with conservative inclinations felt an economic squeeze, not only from the drop in their circulation figures but also from a dramatic fall in advertising revenue. Neos Kosmos in Melbourne and Hellenic Herald in Sydney almost monopolised the advertising market of that time. By contrast the conservative newspapers Pyrsos and Phos failed dismally. The campaign for the salvation of these newspapers, organised by people from within the conservative circles, had a short-lived effect, as the huge financial problems could

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not be solved. Consequently, the newspapers fell into the hands of the receivers and finally went bankrupt and out of circulation. During the last ninety years, a number of significant issues have come to prominence because of the role played by the Greek language press. During the same period, more than 500 settlers circulated their own newspapers or were occupied as editors, journalists and reporters (Tamis and Katsigiannis, 2001). Only a handful of them were journalists by profession or had studied disciplines relevant to media. After 1980, an increasing number of Greek language newspapers inserted English supplements to cater for those readers with insufficient Greek language competence. Australian-born journalists created and prepared the English language supplements, with an impressive presence of female editors and reporters (68 per cent). After 2000, the supplements began to increase in size seriously threatening the Greek language section of their newspapers. Practicing journalists of the Greek press readily joined the Australian Journalists Association. In December 1995, during the assembly of the World Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE), they formed a collective body entitled ‘Federation of Journalists of Greek Media Abroad’. In October 1997, the Federation became the Union of Journalists of Greek Media Abroad (ELOMME), electing Michalis Mistakides, the editor-in-chief of the Hellenic Herald, as its founding President. In July 2001, Greek journalists associated with the Australian union, The Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance, established their own branch, The Greek Media Alliance and elected journalist Kostas Nikolopoulos as their founding President. In November 1913, the Mytilinian Eustratios Velis published the first and longest circulated Greek newspaper entitled Australia in Melbourne. In 1922, the rector of the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney, Rev. Dimitrios Marinakis and his brother Nikolaos bought it out. The Marinakis brothers continued the publication of the weekly newspaper in Sydney changing its name to Ethnikon Vima (National Tribune). During the Second World War Thanos Nikolaides bought it, with co-owners Nikolaos Marinakis, Christos Kalogeras and Archimandrite Metrophanis Nikolaides. The paper adopted a conservative policy. It supported the Metropolitan and later the Archdiocese and thus maintained its popularity into the twenty-first century, when it was acquired (June 2001) by the Greek Orthodox Church under the name Vima tis Ekklisias (Church Tribune). In 1914 Georgios Nikolaides in Adelaide brought out the newspaper Oceanis, which moved offices to Sydney the following year. Its publication was short-lived due to

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lack of financial support. In November 1922, Ioannis Golessis published the National Trumpet, which was purchased in October 1923 by Nikolaos Kolios after he secured financial support from Greek shop and restaurant owners. The parish priest in Melbourne, Archimandrite Erineos Kassimatis, controlled this newspaper almost entirely. In Sydney in November 1926, Ioannis Stilsos and Georgios Marsellos circulated an eight-page weekly newspaper entitled Panellinios Keryx (Panhellenic Herald). It aimed to disseminate community ideology. In 1931, Demetrios Lalas and Alexandros Grivas bought it and adopted a more flexible approach. This paper stubbornly supported the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney as an institution, proposed the establishment of a Federation of Communities so that the power of the Church would be harnessed, introduced the idea of an all-Communities Council, and guided the leadership of the Sydney Community. Theo Skalkos purchased the newspaper during the mid 1960s, later turning it into the first daily newspaper of Australian Hellenism (1988). In 1931 the newspaper The Herald of Queensland was published in Brisbane, but it ceased circulation a year later because of the recession. Other newspapers too were short-lived because of financial difficulties; they were usually published either temporarily for a specific purpose or to respond to the demands of some stop-gap coalition. In 1934 Omeros Regas moved from Sydney to Adelaide, where he published Faros (Lighthouse), a radical weekly with a clearly anti-ecclesiastic and anti-consular policy. Three years later this publication was also discontinued. In 1936, I. Ch. Panagiotopoulos published the most conservative Greek newspaper titled Phos (The Light), which played an important role in community affairs in Melbourne until its closure in 1974. A relatively positive feeling of financial wellbeing was evident immediately after the end of World War II, and this encouraged many financially robust community individuals and organisations to produce their own publications. In September 1944 Georgios Tollis applied for a licence to publish a four-page newspaper called the Australian Greek to be printed in 3000 copies. His application was rejected because of his known left-wing activities. Tollis ignored the rejection and published the newspaper, which was distributed by hand through the members of the Workers’ League ‘Demokritos’ at social functions and Greek caf´es. The persistent efforts of Tollis and Demokritos, which supported the publication financially, bore fruit in 1949 when the licence was finally granted. The circulation of Afstraloellin (The Australian Greek) was

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interrupted in 1957, when Demetrios Gogos took over its control and renamed it Neos Kosmos. This newspaper developed to become the biggest newspaper of Australian Hellenism. The monthly pictorial magazine called Oikogeneia (The Family) was first published in 1946 in Melbourne by G. Giannopoulos. The publication was purchased in the early 1960s by Zoes Economou and remained in circulation until 1974. The appearance of the first Greek language paper in Canberra was delayed until February 1969 when the Cypriot Christos Alexandrou published the first monthly commercial newspaper entitled Tahydromos (Postman). The newspaper was of tabloid size and was printed on quality paper. In April 1990, Polyglot Publications brought out the first monthly Greek-Australian magazine in Canberra. It was entitled Themata (Issues). The editor was Antonios Loukataris, an employee of the Greek Embassy. Despite the original commercial support it received through advertisements, it too, proved short-lived. Georgios Diamantoulis circulated the second Greek language commercial newspaper published in Canberra – Nea Epohi (New Epoch). It was first published in December 1992 but temporarily ceased operating after twenty-five editions and did not resume until April 1994. It was a bi-monthly paper of tabloid size incorporating twenty pages of news, local reportage and in-depth reporting. In August 1951 K. E. Koutoupas published in Melbourne the monthly periodical Greek Australian Review. This was a thirty-twopage periodical of leftist orientation with rich social, literary and political content. Two years later its circulation was interrupted by the Australian secret service, which accused the publication of contravening certain Immigration Department laws. The periodical continued its publication for a while, however, on an underground basis, changing its name into Philological, Encyclopedic and Literary Review. In 1958, the weekly newspaper Torch (Pyrsos) was published in Melbourne incorporating new technology and modern techniques. In March 1959, G. Tollis published in Melbourne the weekly Nation (Ethnos), explaining to his readers that this ‘was a non-communist newspaper, loyal to Australia, and to the official policy of the Greek Government’. In 1961 this newspaper was elevated to a bi-weekly publication and finally ceased its circulation three months later. In 1959 the short-lived weekly newspaper Paroikos (Community Member) was published. On 2 November 1961 a group of editors decided to publish the weekly tabloid newspaper Ta Nea (The News) which became a

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progressive newspaper for almost ten years. Three other ephemeral newspapers were published in Melbourne, during this period: the weekly Elliniki Phoni (Hellenic Voice) in 1962, the bi-weekly Simera (Today) in 1963 and the Metanastis (Immigrant) in 1963. On 6 May 1961 Theodoros Tantaroudas published the fortnightly magazine Xenitemenoi (Settlers) in Melbourne, while in May 1964, Thanos Stavrou established the Organisation of Hellenes Abroad in Melbourne and published the ephemeral newspaper Odigos (Guide) because ‘the Greek sperm is fading away unprotected in Diaspora’. In 1962, following the initiative of Rev. Antonios Amanatidis, a group of Macedonian Greek migrants from Kratero, Florina, published in Melbourne the largest and most popular Macedonian Greek newspaper, the weekly Makedonikos Keryx (Macedonian Herald). On 16 September 1963, the longest-running and most impressive satirical newspaper Spheka was published in Melbourne. Initially it was published as a tabloid. Three more conservative newspapers circulated in Melbourne during the late sixties: Empros (Forward), Hronika (Chronicles) in 1967 and Alitheia (Truth) in 1968. In 1971, the satirical weekly journal Kampana (Bell) was published in Melbourne to be added to a number of newspapers already in circulation. In 1977, journalist Dimitrios Papageorgiou published his twelve-page tabloid Gargalata, incorporating satire and melodrama. In October 1970 members of leftist organisations, intellectuals and labourers, published in Melbourne the monthly Ellinoafstraliani Epitheorisi (Greek Australian Leftists Review), incorporating articles from communist countries. In April 1950 in Brisbane Dionysios Koutsakos published the Greek Australian News. In Adelaide, I. D. Kotarides and I. P. Lymperopoulos published the weekly Ellinika Nea (Hellenic News) incorporating news from the entire continent. Theodore Skalkos established, initially in Sydney in 1966, the tri-weekly Nea Patrida (New Country). This very successful publication was soon printed and circulated in Melbourne and in Adelaide, until June 2003 when its circulation was terminated. In 1978 the monthly Nea Poreia (New Route) was published in Sydney for almost a decade, while Sotirios Ressitis circulated in 1984, in the same place, the short-lived tabloid Patriotika Nea (Patriotic News). Although the first printed newsletters were circulated in Western Australia as early as 1912 by the Kastellorizian Brotherhood, the publication of ordinary Greek language newspapers was delayed until 1971. The first commercial newspaper, the Mediterranean Voice (I Phoni tis Mesogeiou), was published in December 1971. This was a multilingual

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newspaper, presenting news in Greek, English, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, Maltese and Italian languages, published fortnightly. The publisher was Efthymios Toutountzis and his chief-of-staff Theodosios Economou. Six months later Economou decided to proceed with the publication of the fortnightly Greek language newspaper entitled Ellinismos (Hellenism), which continued until 2000. In 1973, journalist Kostas Alexiadis published in Melbourne a weekly newspaper under the title Ellada (Greece), which almost ten years later was sold to Dimitris Gogos and commenced to appear every Saturday as Nea Ellada (New Greece). The publication of the monthly newspaper Protoporos (Pioneer), which appeared in January 1980 in Melbourne, was also ephemeral, as was the tabloid O Tsolias (The Euzone) three years later with Athanasios Menas and Katerina Kazana as their editors. Journalist D. Papageorgiou published the weekly tabloid Neoi Dromoi (New Ways) for a short period of time, while teacher Speros Liolios circulated the monthly independent newspaper Phos (Light). Georgios Iakovidis published in March 1984, the bi-weekly Hronos (Time), and Alfred Kouris on 3 July 1985 republished The Torch under the title Neos Pyrsos (New Torch). This was a weekly newspaper of tabloid size, which survived until the end of 1994. The Cypriot communities in Australia published two major newspapers, with limited circulation and duration. In September 1970, the Federation of Cypriot Communities of Australia published the Kypriaki Echo (Cypriot Echo), under the editorship of Harry Siamaris. In 1981, Siamaris circulated on behalf of the Cypriot Community of Melbourne the monthly Kypriaki Phoni (Cypriot Voice), while ten years later he introduced a Cypriot supplement for Neos Kosmos, which continued later almost independently by businessman, Dinos Toumazos. In August 1971, Athanasios Stavrou published in Melbourne the fortnightly publication Advertiser (Diafimistis), with real estate and travelling news and advertisements. Leftist students of the University of Melbourne published their own newspaper in 1981, entitled Foititis (Student). On 3 June 1958, K. G. Antoniades published, in Melbourne, the first Greek language sporting newspaper Athletika Nea (Athletic News). This paper continued its circulation, initially as a weekly, later fortnightly, until it ceased its operation two years later. In March 1962, L. Anezakis, N. Kyriakopoulos, E. Poulakakis and A. Stavrou published the eight-page Athletiki Floga (Athletic Flame) on Wednesdays, while during the same period Petros Petranis published

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in Melbourne the Athletiki Echo (Athletic Echo). The latter has been the longest and most successful Greek language newspaper, as it continued its publication uninterrupted well into the third millennium. Since 1963, a large number of ephemeral sporting newspapers have emerged. For example, Thanos Stavrou and Speros Loutas published the monthly O Philathlos (The Fan) in 1963, Gerasimos Kateforis circulated the newspaper Hercules (1968), while in 1983 the tabloid Athletika Hronika (Athletic Chronicles) was published. In November 1953 P. Simos and N. Fiambolis published the Imerologio tou 1954 (Calendar of 1954) in Melbourne, encompassing satire, news and poetry. In October 1961 A. A. Stavrou published, following almost fifty years of silence, the Ellinikos Odigos Afstralias (The Greek Golden Guide), including the names of businesses, enterprises, professionals, communities and churches and public services ‘without any assistance or support’. Following the difficult years of the Greek Civil War (1946–9), Greek settlers in major cities began to publish their own ideological organs identifying with leftist or conservative parties. For example, the publication O Ellinas (The Greek) was circulated as the official bulletin of the Anti-Communist Struggle in Australia, while the socialist organisation Atlas in Sydney published the Demokratiko Deltion (Democratic Bulletin). During the last decade of the twentieth century, Melbourne became again the centre of a massive production of mainstream newspapers, as well as newspapers representing a large number of regional Greek organisations, and sporting, educational, ecclesiastic, advertising, satiric, patriotic and regional newspapers (Tamis and Katsigiannis, 2001). From the circulation point of view, the most important mainstream newspapers of this period included: The Ethnos, published by the Macedonian businessman Angelo Bouzis in Melbourne in 1996, Eleftheros in Melbourne (1998), Elliniki Phoni in Melbourne (1996), Ellinikos Kosmos, Melbourne (1990), Themata, Canberra (1990), Melbourni, Melbourne (1999), and Ta Nea by Spyro Stamoulis in Melbourne (1990) while mainstream newspapers Paroikiakos Stohos (1991), Paroikiaka Chronika (1993), Simera (1993), Nea Paroikia in 1996, and Eleftheros in Melbourne (1998) were short-lived. With the arrival of large numbers of new settlers, many ethnospecific brotherhoods commenced publishing their own periodicals and newspapers, recording their own activities and thus promoting their contribution to their new country (Tamis and Gavakis, 2002). A number of newspapers with patriotic overtones were also published during the last decade of the twentieth century, almost

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exclusively in Melbourne. The most widely circulated newspapers published in Melbourne included Mikrasiatikes Mnimes (Asia Minor Memories) in 1993, Olympia (1996), Ellinika Themata (Greek Issues) in 1998, and Glossa Diethnis (International Language) in 1999. Other publications included some regional newspapers published in Renmark, South Australia entitled Paroikiako Vema (Community Tribune) in 1993, and Alitheia (Truth) in Rye, Victoria in 1997. The first Greek language radio programs began in 1951 in Wangaratta, a country town in Victoria. The motive for the broadcasts was the promotion of commercial products. Three years later, G. Giannopoulos established another hourly commercial broadcast in Greek in Melbourne in a specific timeslot on the popular radio Station 3AK. In addition, after 1973, there was a constant demand for ethnic broadcasting services. Migrant groups, particularly in Melbourne, pressed the Commonwealth Government to recognise the need of postwar migrants for access to the nation’s airwaves. As a result of the mounting pressure by the various ethnic communities, including the Greek Community of Canberra, ABC management decided to establish an access station in Melbourne for minority groups excluded from the mass media. This is how Radio 3ZZ was born in Melbourne in June 1975. At about the same time, the Commonwealth Government established 2EA in Sydney and 3EA in Melbourne. By the middle of the 1980s, however, with the dominance of the philosophies and policies of deregulation, economic rationalism and privatisation, most of the gains made in the area of multiculturalism began to erode. The Greek community leaders in Australia put up a vigorous fight to avert the process of decline. The Greek community strongly protested in September 1986 when the R. J. Hawke Government announced its decision to amalgamate the nation’s two state-owned broadcasting networks, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), and to abolish English as a Second Language and the Multicultural Education Program as well as the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs. During the 1990s three additional radio stations were broadcasting Greek language programs thus catering for the Greek-speaking clientele in Canberra. Greek language programs in Western Australia commenced in July 1963 broadcasting from radio stations 6PM and 6AM. Spyros Stamoulis, however, established the most well-received radio station, in 1994. Radio Hellas 3XY attracted a large audience and substantial advertisements. Incorporating news from Greece and

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Australia, as well as local community and social segments, 3XY managed to secure its position as the leading radio station of the Hellenic Diaspora. In 1997, another Greek businessman, Angelo Bouzis, obtained a radio licence and operated a second Hellenophone radio station named after his initials 3AB. This station, which transmitted programs of high quality, was, however, short lived. Bouzis was compelled in 1999 to sell his radio station to a Sydney businessman, Dimitri Skouloudis, who was also forced by April 2000 to surrender the licence of the station and three months later to cease the publication of his two newspapers in Melbourne, namely Kosmos and Melbourne. In Sydney, Theodore Skalkos continued to broadcast through his radio station Antenna, in collaboration with the robust Antenna Radio and Television station of Greece. In 2000, Stamoulis bought a large time slot in the community television station Channel 31 of Melbourne and began televising his Greek language segment entitled TV Hellas. The affluent Greek community has the resources to maintain the ethno-linguistic and cultural identity of its members in Australia. Greek settlers and their children do not perceive themselves as an ‘ethnic’ group minority but rather as an ‘ethnotic’ community. They do not claim a distinct socio-political or sovereign allegiance to Greece, but intellectual, linguistic, cultural and sentimental loyalty to the Hellenic civilisation. Most of them consider themselves fundamentally different from the Grecian Greeks both in attitude and perception and see themselves as a coherent part of Australian society. As Australian Greeks their children take pride in Greek culture. It is this culture that their community leaders wish to preserve and develop, and they have both the centuries-old experience of survival in the Diaspora and the financial resources. It requires the commitment of their leaders to establish vigorous institutionalised networks, mainly preschools and childminding centres, bilingual schools, research and resource centres where the Greek language and culture will play a prominent role. Via those institutions the ethno-cultural values of Hellenism will become accessible to the broader Australian society and thus they will become the objective of the society rather than the goal of an ethnic community. The Greek community has the resources to reinforce its creative presence in Australia to avoid marginalisation in the twenty-first century. Australian Greeks can boast of an impressive level of financial accomplishment, which, if properly utilised, will enable them to negotiate convincingly issues of cultural survival, as well as matters vital to the broad ethnotic survival of the Greek community and its

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participation in the discourses of the new century. A large number of Australians of Greek ancestry have emerged in the last ten years as prolific writers and journalists in the mainstream media, attracting favourable reviews for their contribution. Among them, George Megalogenis has excelled as a writer and journalist, along with Jason Koutsoukis, Stathis Paxinos, Anthony Spanos and one of the pioneering journalists, Niki Savvas.

7 FR OM MIGR ANTS TO CITIZENS

The years of marginalisation and integration The history of Greek migration and settlement in Australia represents the massive transplantation of approximately 300 000 Hellenes during a period of more than a century (1850–1974). During this period, Greek and Cypriot settlers arriving as migrants to Australia, progressively transformed into citizens with an enhanced social presence, consolidated their economic and cultural status, and overcome restrictive immigration policies and attitudes. The Greek community remained without consular representation and community organisation during the first fifty years after the arrival of the first pioneer immigrants to Australia. The Greek state, during the early period of Greek migration, did not display any substantial interest in providing such representation due to the distance and the geographical isolation, the lack of efficient communication and the lack of support in any trading alliances. According to a report from the Greek Ambassador in London in 1895: In any case, the need for a Consulate or any other Consulative Authority in Australia does not arise at all. The large number of Greek traders in Australia are not in any position to develop important trade relations between Greece and Australia, nor could the appointed Consuls to various cities in Australia be able to contribute to this cause. (Ambassador A. Gomanos’s Report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Greece, no. 87, F1895/49/25/9, March 1895, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

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34 The Norwegian steamship Skaugum anchored at Fremantle outside Perth. Greek migrants photographed at the pier.

Trade with Greece was restricted, with some success, to the importation of raisins until approximately 1910 when local production started in Mildura. Robert Curtain was appointed to Australia in 1888 as the first Honorary Consul of Greece based in Melbourne, while in 1926, the first Greek career diplomat, Consul Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos was appointed in Sydney. Until 1975, Greek migrants did not consider their presence in Australia as permanent nor did they consider their role as settlers equal to that of the Anglo-Saxons. They did not claim positions of prestige in the political system of the country and did not adapt easily to the structure of their new environment. On certain occasions the mainstream society saw them as ‘scab’ labour or strike breakers. Being generally unskilled, they formed a pool of labour the employers could draw upon, earning the hatred of unionists. Often, however, they were simply resented as foreigners. In this climate of uncertainty and upheaval, the xenophobic attitude prevailing in the wider Australian community exacerbated the migrants’ feelings of impermanence and intrusion. The pre-World War II concepts regarding migrants were based on racism, fear, prejudice and ignorance. During the difficult years of settlement (1895–1935) Greeks maintained a low profile. Despite their generous contributions to charity

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and fundraising activities for the Australian Army, hospitals and disabled children, the generous funds provided by Greek business people to schools and pious institutions and, most importantly, their mode of behaviour as law-abiding and peace-loving citizens, they were not accepted as equals. The tolerance of British settlers towards Greek migrants improved when Greece became an ally in World War I, although this history of tolerant relations was sometimes interrupted by xenophobic riots against defenceless shopkeepers, or sometimes by government reports devaluing Greek migrants. For example, in June 1916 the Federal Information Bureau based in Melbourne conducted a secret study and produced a ‘file’ on all Greek migrants in Australia because Greece was delaying its entrance into the war with the Allies, due to the Germanophile King Constantine. Greece was temporarily proclaimed an enemy country and the names and addresses of all Greek migrants and the distance of their residence from the capital of each state where they resided was recorded, as well as the details of all the functioning Greek community associations. The study showed that Greek migrants were dispersed throughout every town and city of Australia and concluded that they remain dedicated to the Allied Forces. Of the 2200 people who were on record, only seven were found to be Germanophiles. In December 1916, when an attempt by AngloFrench troops in Piraeus to dethrone the King and reinstate Venizelos as Prime Minister failed, the Australian media presented the temporary victory of the King’s troops as ‘treason’, resulting in an increase in discrimination towards the Greeks of Australia. Youth gangs, soldiers returning from the war on leave and conservative Anglo-Saxons inflicted violence on isolated individuals and attacked Greek shops in large provincial towns and cities, including Boulder, Kalgoorlie, Broken Hill and Sydney (Gilchrist, 1994; Tamis, 1994, 1997a, 1997b). Some were robbed and shot, and others had their shops and houses destroyed before the inefficient police forces could intervene. In 1925, the Ferry Report was published in Brisbane, examining the consequences of migration for the population and the growth of Queensland. Its findings were anything but complimentary to Greeks, triggering a strong reaction by the Anglican Church and prominent personalities in the country against the report (Tamis, 1997a, 1997b). In 1934, following an incident between an Italian hotel owner and an Australian footballer which resulted in the death of the latter, the Anglo-Saxons of the goldmining towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder revolted against the ‘foreigners’, setting shops and houses owned by Greeks and other southern Europeans on fire and forcing them to seek

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asylum in Perth, where community leaders and Greek residents of that city offered them a safe haven (Tamis, 1997b). After 26 October 1940, and especially following the presence of approximately 17 000 Australian troops in Greece until May 1941, the Australian people’s attitudes towards Greeks underwent a major reversal. Joint appeals were organised and processions took place in the main streets of the city centres, where students and adult women participated with national costumes and carried Greek flags. The returning veterans of World War II told stories of self-sacrifice and self-denial on the part of Greek citizens who even went short of food and risked the lives of members of their families to save Australian soldiers from capture by German occupying forces. During World War II (1939–45) the community councils concentrated mainly on fundraising activities concerned almost exclusively with the care of Greek refugees and orphans in Egypt and the Middle East. With the approval of the constantly travelling Metropolitan, amounts of money accumulated from functions and fundraising activities were sent to families of Greek servicemen in the Australian Army as well as to the Greek schools. In the same period (1943) the Union of Greek Women was established, having as its basic objectives the relief of the destitute families within the community and the provision of materials to the Australian Army. The contribution of Greek settlers to the welfare and social objectives of the broader Australian community was notable. Generous amounts were offered annually to the Royal Children’s Hospitals, the Australian Red Cross, even to the children that had fallen victims to the German bombing of London. Great benefactors such as Antonios Lekatsas, Grigorios Kasimatis and other prominent Greeks were consequently honoured by the Australian and British governments. During the global economic crisis (1929–34) the Kassimatis brothers in Hobart supported over 200 destitute Australians on a permanent basis, and also provided milk and cheese to all Tasmanian primary schools so that the students were well sustained. During the war the brothers’business funded the Australian Red Cross on a monthly basis, while their assistance to the war victims in Greece amounted to thousands of English pounds. In November 1940 the Kassimatis brothers urged the Governess of Tasmania Lady Cowrie, the Premier, and the Mayor of Hobart Sir Ernest Clark to conduct an appeal throughout Tasmania for the fighting Greek Army, and on 23 December 1940 the Greek Appeal Day took place. Advertising posters were distributed to all towns and thousands of proclamations invited Australians to give

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35 It is estimated that approximately 3000 Greek Australians took part in World War II with the Australian Imperial Army. J. Valtazanos served in the Australian Army as an officer and later on was appointed Harbour Master during the war (1944).

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generously to the brave fighting Greeks. The brothers established a full nursing home for the elderly and a hospital on their island home Kythera, as well as donating to the Greek Community of Hobart the land on which the Church of St George and the community club were erected. During the war the Australian press, the political leadership and the ecclesiastic authorities of the country could not hide their enthusiasm for Greece. The Australian newspapers carried long articles and stories describing the ‘Glory that is Greece’. For it was Greece alone among the European nations that defied the Axis forces and victoriously repulsed the fascist armies of Mussolini. Back home, Australian Greeks, under the guidance of the Greek Consul General Aemilios Vryzakis, organised the Greek Day appeals and sent more than 300 000 pounds to occupied Greece to relieve those in need. More than 1500 Greek Australians participated gallantly in World War II with the Australian forces; fifteen were killed, five died as prisoners of war in Malaya and approximately ten were wounded in action. Another thousand men and women served in various labour companies and services assisting the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF). The contribution of the Australian Red Cross was considerable. Included in this organisation were dozens of Greek women, spouses of prominent Greek leaders, who offered their services to war-torn Greece until 1949. Representatives were sent out to Greece and took an active part in the programs of the United Nations Relief Aid (UNRA) and the British Economic Assistance Scheme which operated mainly in Macedonia, Greece (Tamis, 1997b). The integration of fragmented and predominantly rural Australian Greeks and their gradual incorporation in a complex process of urban economic, political and social reform and rationalisation necessitated major restructuring practices and a move towards modernity. The change from a relatively static, agrarian and ‘proletarian’ social structure with limited expectations to a more dynamic one with the creation of an urban middle class after 1975 represented one of the most intense social shifts experienced in this country. For almost two generations (1945–85), Greek immigrants and their institutions were left in Australia without a middle class leadership and the ability to assess the social changes and developments or to understand their society’sinternal dynamics and structures, its distinctive cultural code, its specific mechanisms of integration, conflict and change. During the 1950s and 1960s, Greek migrants in all major Australian cities experienced the trauma of rejection, expressed in a number of riots and employment

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restrictions against them. Even during the early 1970s, the delegates of the 1974 Migrant Workers Conference were told that almost 50 per cent of all industrial workers and 60 per cent of female industrial workers are post-World War II migrants, overwhelmingly of non-English origin. Next to Aboriginals, migrant workers were generally the lowest paid, most exploited and alienated section of the Australian working class, subject to great pressures to forego their culture and their language. (Minutes, 1974, Migrant Workers Conference, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

Greek migrants were also segregated during social activities in public places. Australian girls, who defied the prejudice and danced with Greek youths, were themselves ostracised. On the other hand, the consolidation of the Australian Greek community in this country was made possible via multiculturalism and the process of citizenship. Contemporary Greek settlers possess the highest percentage of naturalised citizenship of all ethnic groups and most of them are competent bilinguals and play a role in the economic, political and social life of Australia. The percentage of Greek Australian students in the universities is one of the highest in the country, while a healthy number of industrialists, merchants, professionals and technocrats are of Greek descent. The challenge, therefore, is to strive for the establishment of mechanisms through which the voice of Hellenism will be more effectively heard. Hellenic youth, if given the opportunity it deserves, may play a key role in this new Hellenic presence. With the establishment of the organised Greek Communities the pioneer community leaders aimed to nurture the immigrants’ ethnoreligious foundations and to reinforce their ties with liberated Greece. It was no mere coincidence that when the third Annual General Assembly of the Greeks of Melbourne decided on 11 September 1898 to purchase land to erect the Church of Evagelismos it was to be placed ‘under the protection of the liberated corner of the Greek Nation’.They also deliberately severed their coalition with the other ethnic Orthodox people and undertook, as Greeks by birth, the entire responsibility for maintaining the church during the first years of hardship, despite their small number. During wartime the Communities of Melbourne and Sydney organised appeals on a national level (10 October 1906) for the support of victims of Bulgarian attacks in Macedonia, and during the period of the Balkan Wars (1912–13) thousands of English

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pounds were amassed for the support of the Greek Army, and many community members travelled abroad and volunteered their services. During the postwar period the Greek community of Australia retained its emotional and cultural ties with Greece, while in periods of crisis for the people in Greece the community organisations in Australia and the Archdiocese conducted fundraising appeals, applied pressure on the Australian Government for support and issued statements of solidarity. The mass destruction wrought by earthquakes in the Ionian Islands at the beginning of August 1953 dragged the Greek community out of their inactivity and stagnation, which had been created by ideological polarisation. Under the guidance of their political, communal and ecclesiastic leaders and with the collaboration of the Australian Red Cross, individual citizens were encouraged to help, resulting in the collection of thousands of pounds and much-needed clothing which were sent to the Ionian islands. The contribution of the Greek community to the appeal for the earthquake victims of Epiros in May 1967 was also great. The Archdiocese and Communities worked together for an appeal under the name Greek Earthquake Fund. The funds collected from the donations were sent to the Greek Government of the time through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nonetheless, Australian security forces had organised systematic investigations of Greek Australians, eliciting information about their activities and informing government departments. Relying mainly on Greek informants, the security services registered pro-Communist activities in Greek community organisations, naming community leaders and members. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, a number of important events of a serious nature affected the way that the Greek community assessed its social role and its political standing in Australia. These events revealed startling details of the operations of certain government ministries in their dealings with both the Commonwealth Police and the Greek community, which was perceived to be one of the most influential ethnic groups in the country. The Greek community leaders defended the integrity of their community and reacted against those who were plotting ‘conspiracies’against their status and probity. In 1979, the fiasco of the Kolpo (trick) health fraud conspiracy, attributed by the Commonwealth Social Services Department to a number of prominent members of the Sydney Greek community, caused anger and dismay among the Greeks of Australia. The extraordinary thing in this regrettable case, which seriously damaged

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the standing of senior Liberal Party politicians in the Greek community was that it was referred to as the ‘Greek conspiracy case’. According to the five Crown prosecutors, a Greek secret society known as Kolpo and headed by a ‘godfather’ by the code-name ‘Demos’, evolved over many years to defraud the Commonwealth of vast sums of money in sickness and invalid pensions. According to the prosecutors the ‘conspiracy’ involved as many as 1400 people, doctors, specialists and patients who concocted case histories of illness to apply for pensions and sickness benefits. The committal proceedings in which finally 148 people were charged with conspiracy against the Commonwealth commenced at Sydney’s Central Court of Petty Sessions (26 March 1979). Approximately eighteen months and millions of dollars of public money turned the hearing into a picnic for the legal profession, with not one of the Greek defendants being ever convicted of conspiracy or anything else. The farce involved several government ministers, senior public servants, members of the Commonwealth Police and a so-called undercover agents of Greek descent. Phones were illegally tapped and conversations recorded. Pardons were granted and huge sums of money promised to a person whose name and evidence were not known to many of those doing the granting and the promising. In addition, the proceedings exposed a chronicle of incorrect ministerial statements to Parliament, splits between ministers and their departmental advisers and abuse of power by the Commonwealth Police. Finally, an embarrassed Commonwealth Government, apologising to those who were brought to Court, dropped the charges. The Pine Gap affair was another incident that cemented feelings of unity among the members of the Greek community. In March 1985, it became public knowledge that the United States Government had repositioned a CIA satellite controlled from Pine Gap in central Australia so that it could spy on Greece and some other countries in the Mediterranean region. The satellite antenna of Pine Gap could intercept Greek communications, including microwave phone calls. The use of the satellite ground station in Australia for spying on a democratic country, a member of the western alliance and a traditional friend of the Australian people was fraught with difficulties for the governing Labor Party. A delegation of community leaders from all over Australia met with Prime Minister Bob Hawke and the Minister for Defence, Kim Beazley, in Canberra (9 May 1985). The Government came as close as possible to giving an assurance that the US–Australian joint facility at Pine Gap would not be used

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to monitor Greek communication. However, it maintained that ‘no activities would endanger the Greek State and will not be contrary to the interests of Greece’ (Tamis and Tsolakis, 1999). The obligations of the dual citizenship on the Greeks in Australia affected their lives in the areas of compulsory national service in the Greek military forces, pensions, and legal requirements, because of the different legal systems in Greece and Australia. The most immediate problem facing the Australian-born individuals in Greece was military service. Australia and Greece had never entered into a naturalisation treaty. Thus, the Greek Government refused to recognise a change of nationality, without its consent. Consequently, any person of Greek ancestry was subject to induction into the Greek armed forces. The Australian authorities viewed the treatment of its citizens in Greece as a crucial matter, while the Australian press frequently ran sensational stories of detained Greek Australians, blaming the Greek consular officials in Australia (Tamis, 2000). During the 1960s and 1970s, the Department of Foreign Affairs was besieged with persistent inquiries from Greek Australians wishing to be informed whether they were likely to be detained for compulsory military service if they went to Greece to visit their families. On the other hand, some of those who returned to Australia, after serving unwillingly in the Greek armed forces, brought back stories depicting a ruthless Greek officialdom. The obligation of national service caused severe difficulties, especially after 1968 when a large number of male Greeks returned to their native country permanently or for a visit. Dozens of Australian settlers who returned to their country of birth and stayed over the visiting time limit found themselves serving in the Greek armed forces. Many of them could not afford to buy out their national service. These problems faced by the Greeks abroad while they were visiting their country of birth forced the Greek Embassy and the Consulates in Australia to publish explanatory articles in the Greek press and also to use radio stations for this purpose. Attempts to explain the situation were also made in the Anglophone media, which reported the incidents regarding compulsory conscription involving Australian citizens in a very negative manner. In some cases, tourist conscripts managed to escape from the army camps where they were serving, abandoning their wives and children in Greece. This sort of incident made front-page news in the Australian newspapers and forced the Greek Embassy to provide explanations.

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More exasperating were the problems associated with matrimonial legalities and the rights of Greek Australians in Greece. For instance, many Greek Australians were ignorant of the need to declare their marriage in agencies and institutions of Greece in order to be legitimately and legally registered. After 26 January 1949, the day that British citizenship for Australians was changed to Australian citizenship, the marriage of Greek women with men of different ethnicity and nationality, especially Australian citizens also created problems. For these women, getting Australian citizenship meant that they lost their Greek citizenship and all the associated benefits, according to the Greek laws. However, if they were prepared to declare to their local Greek Consulate, before their wedding, that they wanted to maintain their Greek citizenship these associated benefits could be retained. The loss of their Greek citizenship created serious legal problems for Greek women in matters of civil rights, will and estate challenges and also for their return to Greece. Many reports and letters from Greece, written usually by relatives of victims with little knowledge of the Greek language or by their local priests, reveal tragic situations caused by Greek Australians who had left their wives and families in Greece with no assistance. Most of the letters were handwritten but some were typed and sometimes accompanied by photographs of deserted homes and abandoned wives with young children. The letters, usually addressed to priests, the Archbishop or prominent community leaders, tell stories of family abandonment in Greece, serious cases of gambling, hunger and poverty. Problems were exacerbated by the immense distance between the two countries, the lack of communication, the vastness of the country, and also by the inability to pinpoint certain persons due to the non-existence of any kind of identity certificate, which would have contravened a citizen’s voluntary isolation and privacy. Before World War II, the tyranny of distance, success in the business world, and the political and social stability enjoyed in Australia fostered among many Greek settlers a strong tendency to conform to Australian life. Greek immigrants were indebted to Australia for their welfare, respected the country’s laws and demonstrated high devotion to it. Their plea for citizenship demonstrated gratitude to the country that offered them the opportunity to prosper. Of course, there were many nationalists who opposed naturalisation on the grounds that it was not an Australian citizenship, but British, and those who claimed that it was after all against the interests of the needy motherland. Most

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Greek community leaders and the Greek press of the time perceived naturalisation as assimilation and even de-Hellenisation. There were also those Venizelists and republicans who refused to pledge their allegiance to a King or a Queen of the United Kingdom. The Greek community has been particularly active in raising the ethnic groups’ status within mainstream society. The striving for equitable representation in federal employment and the push for a more egalitarian society received priority among Greek community leaders. From the early 1970s they waged a strenuous campaign to consolidate their communities and to alleviate apparent disadvantages in education and employment opportunities for their members. Over the years, their representatives took part in government consultations on migration programs and multicultural policies, in an attempt to protect the interests of their members. For example, in September 1983, Greek community leaders commenced a campaign with the Human Rights Commission to alter crucial aspects of the Australian Migration Act, which appeared to discriminate against Greek immigrants. The chasm that was created by the lack of an organised secular Greek coordinating body with power and authority was evident throughout the entire body of Hellenism in Australia. Short-lived attempts were made from time to time without any substantial result. The realistic danger of some serious political crisis in Greece, for instance the overthrow of a government, the imposition of a dictatorship or a national issue of universal interest, revived the need to create such a body. Concerned educated Greek Australians and unionists, attracting massive support from mainstream Australian society and the Anglican Church, became active against the imposition of dictatorship in Greece (1967–74). They founded the Greek Australian Committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Greece and staged numerous protests against the Greek diplomatic representatives, boycotted Greek government appearances and activities, imposed sanctions on ships carrying the Greek flag in Australian harbors, and attracted substantial support. In June 1976 an idea had been suggested for the creation of a Greek Congress in Australia based on the prototypes of the Hellenic Congress in Canada and the Jewish Board of Directors in Australia. The movement found a stronger response in Victoria where the largest number of Greeks was settled. A constitutional council was established under the Presidency of Floros Dimitriadis and put forward the basic aims of the Congress. Five months later, in early December 1976, the Pan Hellenic Appeals Committee was formed with Alexander

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Komis as President and Floros Dimitriadis as Secretary General. Both the Pan Hellenic Appeals Committee and the Greek Congress were short-lived. Greek Australians perceived it as their primary role to support the territorial sovereignty, the national ‘issues’ of the mother country and to arouse the sympathies of influential Australian politicians, journalists and personalities in favour of their claims. They found it impossible to divorce themselves from the internal politics of Greece. Furthermore, being people with strong political inclinations they believed with passion that to improve their position as an immigrant group in Australia, they had to influence foreign and domestic policies, raise funds, hold public rallies and issue propaganda. In their campaign to become consistently influential, utilising their numerical strength and electoral power, they established in Sydney the Australian Hellenic Council (AHC) in 1992, a lobby group comprising businessmen, young professionals and scholars. The re-emerging idea of an umbrella organisation for Hellenes in Australia belonged to second generation lawyer, Costas Vertzayias, while the foundation members included George Karayiannopoulos and Alkis Haralampopoulos, also from Sydney, Costas Berbatis from Perth, Theodore Voudouris from Canberra and George Genimahaliotis from Adelaide. The AHC was instrumental in propagating the foreign policies of Greece in Australia and defending the ‘just claims of Hellenism’. In 1994 the AHC inaugurated their first Australia-wide conference and the following year they institutionalized the Niki Awards, honoring those Australian personalities who demonstrated loyalty to Hellenism. Prize winning personalities include former and current Australian Prime Ministers and State Premiers, such as Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, John Howard, Jeff Kennett and Bob Carr, as well as other parliamentarians and intellectuals. In 2004, the Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Theo Theophanous invited over 100 influential members of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne to found the Greek Australian Council (GAC), to concentrate as a matter of priority on overarching issues affecting the community. The Council identified as its primary purpose and objective the need to negotiate with governments and to prepare Hellenes to face the challenges of the future. The Greeks of Australia demonstrated powerful expatriate nationalism with demonstrations for Macedonia, Epirus and Cyprus. This was manifested in continual communication between the Greek Australian organisations and the Cypriot and Greek Governments.

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For example, the organised Cypriots and the leftist organisations of the Greek settlers protested strongly against the coordinated Greek and United States governments’ intervention in Cyprus, with a view to activating a Government of National Unity in Nicosia (collaborating with Grivas’s supporters), surrendering the imported arms on the island to the forces of the UN and expressing their support for Makarios (24 February 1972). Their leaders spoke at functions organised at the Melbourne Club of Cypriots to express support for Makarios and at a protest rally supporting Makarios organised for 20 March at the picture theatre Kinema where Australian politicians also addressed the crowd. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus (July 1974) caught the Greeks in Australia totally unprepared. There was no specific coordinating system for the community forces in operation, so the communities of organised Hellenism had to improvise. However, immediately after the news of the Turkish invasion representatives of community organisations and clubs met in all state capitals to examine ways of facing the crisis. From the outset it was apparent that a combined coordinating body for the Cypriot struggle was needed, as well as a Panhellenic club bearer. The establishment of the Coordinating Committee for the Cypriot Struggle (SEKA) was somehow achieved without serious complications, no doubt because there was an acute crisis which had to be immediately addressed, although certain past attempts for a collective presence of the Greek community had failed dismally. Among the first Greek Australian groups to launch a campaign in support of the territorial aspirations of Greece were the immigrants from northern Epirus, the contested area between Greece and Albania. Many of these immigrants had their families living there, and some of them had returned earlier to Greece ‘to assist in the liberation of their brothers from the Albanian rule’ (Petranis, 2004). These Epirotes, led by competent leaders and assisted by well-presented newspapers and periodicals, applied pressure to the large number of their compatriots to continue with their struggle to educate the broader society ‘of the rights of their Christian brothers under the tyranny of an atheist r´egime’ (Petranis, 2004). Their leaders, including T. Lillis, S. Stamoulis and P. Petranis, lost no opportunity to remind their compatriots in Australia that it was the Epirotes who contributed a good deal to the contemporary Greek state and its culture: Arsakis left his fortune for the education of Greek girls, Zappas founded schools and a museum, Zografos established a college and a hospital in Constantinople, Averoff

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donated a cruiser, Stournaras founded the Polytechnic Institute in Athens, while Rizos founded the theological seminary in the National University of Athens. After 1943, when the Macedonian controversy erupted in Australia, as a result of the ethnogenesis of the Macedoslavs following the establishment of the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as part of Yugoslavia, Greek Australians entered a period of fierce ethnic rivalry with the Macedoslavs and their institutions. The conflict generated numerous organisations on both sides, emerging from competing national ideologies and provoked tensions, passionate demonstrations and intrafamily rifts. Over one hundred Greek Macedonian organisations were established during the last fifty years of the twentieth century, triggering the publication of numerous newspapers, periodicals and books, and the organisation of musical and folkloric festivals and dancing groups. The most prominent Australia-wide Greek Macedonian organisations initially were the National Macedonian Organization (1968–71), the Pan-Macedonian Union of Australia (founded 1971) and the Australian Institute for Macedonian Studies (founded 1986), while the most successful newspaper was the Macedonian Herald (1962–8), founded by Rev. Antonios Amanatidis and the leaders of the Kratero Association of Florina. Support for Greek claims and aspirations for Macedonia and Cyprus also came from a large segment of the Australian society, mainly academics, politicians, high ranking clergymen, members of the judiciary and journalists. For example, in Western Australia (WA) in 1984, politicians, educators and intellectuals established the Society of Friends of Cyprus, under the leadership of Liberal and Labor politicians including Paul Filling, Alan Rocher, Kim Heymes and Alan Cadman, while the Victorian Government under Jeff Kennett openly supported Greek rights in the Macedonian controversy. The minutes of the Australian Parliament attest that during the last quarter of the twentieth century Australian parliamentarians almost unanimously passed resolutions in support of Cyprus against the Turkish invasion of the island. Thus Greek Australians had the satisfaction that the Australian Governments consistently considered the Greek claims just. Greece did not create adequate service agencies and institutions to assist Australian Hellenism. The foundation of the Directorate of the Greeks Abroad in the Department of Foreign Affairs, and later the function of the General Secretariat of the Greeks Abroad, were inadequate institutional resources to justify the long-term existence

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of the Greek nation as a people of Diaspora. The foundation of the Centre of Macedonians Abroad (KAM) in Thessaloniki (July 1967) which aimed to inform and create awareness about matters of interest for the benefit of Greeks from Macedonia and to organise excursions, congresses and conventions, was also short lived, as it was finally abolished in 2001. Greek Macedonian expatriates in Australia as early as 1929 formed their own organisations, promoting their historical and cultural legacies. Relations between Greece and Australian traders and industrialists of Greek descent were not especially strong. From the end of the 1960s a significant number of investors arrived in Athens to implement investment programs which were successful in Australia, taking advantage of the prevailing conditions and incentives for investment, outlined by the dictatorial government of Athens. Traders in meat, wool, fishing products, industrialists in food processing and packaging, printers and real estate agents, all appeared with impressive programs. The trading and economic opportunities were good since the Government gave incentives to future investors through the National Bank of Greece, sometimes against the interest of the nation. The World Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE), established in 1989 by the Greek Government as an integral part of the General Secretariat of Greeks Abroad within the Greek Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has been instrumental in the organisation of the Hellenes of Australia. The main areas of interest include the cultural activities of the Hellenes in Diaspora, women’s issues, the Greek language and culture and youth issues. Under the organisational structure of SAE, reinforced by the Greek Government’s direct interest, various organisations of the Hellenes in Australia underwent serious changes. Australian women’s associations were formed at a federal level, together with cultural and youth oriented organisations, aiming to improve their intra- and inter-group relations, attracting pointlessly the disapproving reaction of the local Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. The SAE of the Oceania region organised national conferences on women, Australia-wide sporting and literary competitions and cultural events, promoting the need for a collective and coordinated effort. The Oceania delegates elected as the inaugural president of their region Elias Rallis (1995–7), followed in December 1997, by another legal advocate, Costas Vertzayias. The Greek Communities of Sydney and Adelaide, excluded from SAE for almost ten years by the Greek governments, because of differences on matters of ecclesiastic canonicity with Archbishop Stylianos, were finally admitted in December 2003.

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36 The President being welcomed enthusiastically (March 1982).

Relations between Greece and Australia Despite the large number of Greek migrants who arrived during the postwar period (1952–74), the excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries and the friendly climate for Greeks which was created by the veterans of the Australian Army returning from Greece, there were no significant trade, financial, educational or cultural bilateral agreements between the two countries. After 1974 the Australian Government reduced its diplomatic presence in Greece by closing its Consulate in Thessaloniki, and significantly decreased the import/ export trading between the two countries. On 31 January 1972, the McMahon Government decided to allow the payment of pensions to migrants who had returned to their country of origin. The announcement was made personally by the Australian Prime Minister during his speech to the Italian Community on Australia Day. However, no regulatory solution has been found despite substantial bilateral discussions up to 2004. In October 1979 the first agreement of educational cooperation was signed between Greece and Australia in recognition of the contribution of the Greek migrant community to the shaping of life in Australia. However, that amounted to no more than a eulogy; it was a political move consisting of eleven

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37 The President of the Hellenic Republic Constantinos Karamanlis accompanied by the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser (on his right), and the Premier of Victoria, Lindsay Thompson (1982).

articles encouraging cooperation in areas of culture, civilisation, science, education, the mass media, youth and sport, without any significant proposals for the realisation of this cooperation. The agreement remained without any significant return until 1982, the year of the visit by Constantine Karamanlis, then President of Greece, to Australia. The visit of Karamanlis resulted in the realisation of some parts of the agreement and the beginning of certain exchange programs for researchers (Australian Government Scholarship Award), academic personnel and experts (Greek Presidential Exchange Award), and also resulted in preliminary discussions aimed at establishing cooperation between university institutions. These led to the declaration of sister cities; Melbourne and Thessaloniki in 1984, Brunswick and Sparta in 1986, and Kastoria and Wanneroo in 1992. The discussions also led to the signing of the agreement for student and academic exchange between La Trobe University in Melbourne and the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki, the University of Ioannina and the Victorian University of Technology, the University of Ioannina and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Sydney University and La Trobe University.

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The leadership of Hellenism in Australia tried to create an understanding in the Greek Australian society, within the framework of its social adaptation that matters of wider interest also concerned the Greek community. Community organisations participated in appeals for Australian hospitals and public institutions. They organised dances and sporting events to raise funds for needy Australians suffering from natural disasters such as floods and fires, to which the continent is prone. Many organisations and private citizens gave free dinners and arranged soup kitchens for the poor and needy during the Easter and Christmas Holidays. From the beginning of the 1920s, old and new community organisations decided to allocate the profits from their social functions to welfare institutions, such as the Children’sHospital, hospitals for the treatment of cancer, spastic children’s institutions, central hospitals in state capital cities, the Red Cross and The Salvation Army. Greek branches were also established and operated within Australian political, medical, paramedical and philanthropic organisations. For example, since the 1970s Greek branches of the Australian Red Cross have operated in Melbourne and Sydney, the Hellenic Heart Health Committee was established in Melbourne and Greek branches of the Freemasons and the Australia Labor Party and Liberal Party have been active since the 1960s. The deficiencies of the communities in cultural and social areas necessitated the establishment of independent, secular collective Greek institutions, which would fill the gap. The establishment of cultural groups outside the community structure satisfied the cultural needs of the Greek community through the formation of theatrical groups and theatrical schools, educational committees, cultural groups and writers’ groups. The second generation of migrants, most of whom had achieved professional qualifications, realised the magnitude of the social problems and the lack of any substantial social and welfare programs offered by the communities, and from 1972 undertook the responsibility of organising themselves progressively, though reluctantly, within clubs and associations, setting up social support programs for persons with psychological problems, for the unemployed and for drug addicts. They also worked to solve the problem of homelessness among the elderly and to establish clinics for the elderly, youth centres and sporting facilities. The vast majority of settlers did not participate in the organised communities because of the strong socioeconomic pressures, which took first priority in their new environment. A few well-organised settlers, however, took on the task of fighting to protect the social and

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political stature of the community defending themselves against the various expressions of xenophobia from the Anglo-Celts, and also taking over and securing community organisations from the hands of the ecclesiastic authorities. In addition to these difficulties, mostly created by ideological differences, mass immigration introduced new and serious problems for the survival and incorporation of new migrants into the broader Anglo-Australian society. Greek immigrants settling in Australia as early as the 1920s brought with them memories of the homeland that were difficult to erase. However, upon their settlement they adopted new thoughts and found opportunities to develop in their own individualised fashion. Although the union movement was restricted to British subjects, some Greeks joined mainstream leftist organisations and gained access to militant unions, driven by both their passion and determination. By 1926, many Greek immigrants, inspired by Communist political legacies joined the most militant maritime unions in the harbours of Melbourne, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong and Sydney. Available evidence attests that most of them were under constant surveillance by the Australian security services, initially by the Ministry of Justice and later on by the Special Branch while their leaders were subjected to imprisonment and persecution. The Australian secret services continued their surveillance on Greek immigrants, their newspapers, clubs, and community organisations, reporting on their legacies and ideologies. The Australian agents, taking advantage of the difficult intra-community ideological tensions as a result of the Greek Civil War (1946–9) and the years of dictatorship (1967–74) and using devoted informants from within the Greek community, were indiscreetly reporting on the activities of Greek individuals and collective bodies. However, their overall assessment about the Greeks in Australia, even during those thorny years, could be well summarised in the short report of the following secret agent from Brisbane: The number of anti-British Greeks and Cypriots who have come to Australia would far outweigh the number of Greek immigrants who have been indoctrinated in communism since their arrival. In North Queensland we have a large number of Greeks working in the cane fields and various pastoral occupation. On the whole they are good workers and do not cause any trouble . . . (ASIO series A6119183, Item 1434, 1963, s. 43, July 1963, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

From the beginning of World War II more than forty Greek vessels dropped anchor in Australian ports, following a directive from the

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British Naval Command. Their crews were placed under requisition by the Australian Wheat Board to transport wheat and corn in the ports of Newcastle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Whyalla. In September 1942, approximately 500 Greek sailors adopted the motion of their leader, A. Vasilopoulos, establishing in Australia the only Greek labour union, the Greek Seamen’s Union. This was a branch of the Communist Seamen and Harbour Workers Union, based in Piraeus, maintaining branches in Cardiff, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Durban and Alexandria. The unionists of the Greek Seamen’s Union elected A. Vasilopoulos as Secretary of their Union, Stamatis Valentzas as Organiser and Georgios Pentrantis as Co-organiser and commenced a harsh campaign claiming improved conditions and better remuneration. In October 1942, the Greek union members, having secured the support of the Australian maritime unionists, provoked riots in Newcastle, Melbourne, Sydney and commenced a struggle with continuous strikes, leading to the imprisonment of Anastasios Vasilopoulos in Long Bay Prison (30 November 1942). Vasilopoulos was freed with the mediation of the Australian Maritime Union leader, E. V. Elliot in February 1943 and settled in Newcastle where he affiliated the Greek Seamen’s Union under the umbrella of the Australian Trade Union. However, the continuous strife emerging from the strikes, the blockages and the militant campaigns alerted the Australian secret services to demand the deportation of ‘the Greek agitators’. In the meantime, the application of the Greek Seamen’s Union to publish their own Greek language newspaper was declined by the Department of Foreign Affairs (7 January 1944) and the editor of the prestigious Hellenic Herald, Alexander Grivas accused them, among other serious misdemeanours, of coercion and extortion. The two leading personalities Vasilopoulos and Velentzas were finally compelled to return to Greece (June 1946), while three years later the Australian Government deported after a short imprisonment a third union leader, Dimitrios Gelis. On 12 February 1949, the Department of Immigration decided in association with the Greek Consulate General to deport five Greek immigrants, leaders of the Greek Seamen’sUnion employed in the harbor of Sydney. The Secretary of the Department, A. L. Nutt defended the decision of his Government to deport Dimitrios Gelis, Constantinos Moros, Speros Vourakis, Yianni Karroussos and George Mavris in the Federal Court (11 April 1949), arguing: ‘. . . The above named persons are all Greek ex-seamen who are continually causing unrest among crews of Greek vessels in Australian ports. The Minister has directed that these men are to be

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prosecuted under Section 5 of the Immigrant Act and the necessary action should be taken with a minimum of delay. If difficulty is experienced in locating these men the Greek Consulate General or the Commonwealth Investigating Service may be able to furnish information as to their present whereabouts . . .’ (Letter A. L. Nutt, 22 February 1949, Australian Archives, Series A6122/38 and 39, Item 1439, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

Finally, Dimitrios Gelis was condemned to six months imprisonment for not having resolved legally his entry into the country. However, three weeks later, the President of the Greek leftist organisation ‘Atlas’, Dimitrios Moutsopoulos and the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney, George Komino bailed him out, until his deportation. With the influx of Greek immigration increased after 1952, a substantial number of Greek immigrants realised the importance of citizenship, the value of joining the union movement and the need to improve their social, political and economic status by contributing to the mainstream society. Pioneer trade union movement activists and crusaders for the restoration of democracy in Greece during the Junta (1967–74) included in Melbourne George Zangalis in the railways, and in Sydney, George Gotsis in the Maritime Union. Other prominent unionists included J. Raftopoulos in the liquor industry, S. Retiniotis, George Filopoulos and Costas Georgiou in the clothing trades. The Australian Greek leftist movement failed to attract large and active membership from within the Greek community and was unsuccessful in its attempt to gain the trust of community members. It was ineffective with the Greek community organisations and was alienated by the Greek Orthodox Church and its agencies, producing considerable conflict. However, leftist leaders were instrumental in developing issues that benefited the entire community. They successfully formed parameters of resistance and mechanisms of defence and freed the Greek community from social and political segregation and stagnation. Their contribution was in four main areas: politics; integration; mentoring; and resistance. They formed appropriate political and partisan environments from which, twenty years later, more than thirty Australian Greeks emerged as parliamentarians, ministers and senior party leaders. They were the first to mould interpersonal relations on behalf of the Greek community with the mainstream society via sympathising humanitarians, leftist intellectuals, socialist unionists and influential clergymen. In the absence of the middle class, leftist

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leaders and their organisations emerged as the minders and mentors of the Greek community on cultural, immigration issues, employment and social justice, particularly during the periods of serious economic strife (1961–7). They demonstrated strong resistance against the Junta of the Greek Colonels (1967–74), the colonial r´egime in Cyprus and was instrumental for the introduction of Modern Greek language and culture in government schools. However, they were reluctant in supporting the rights of the Greek minority in Albania and allied with the communist branch of the Macedoslav community on the Macedonian issue, causing the bitter reaction of the Greek community. Most members of the working class having failed to win the control of the Greek organisations, which were in the hands of the male smallbusiness class, following considerable conflict, turned to mainstream leftist and socialist organisations, developing strong party identification and involvement. Difficulties experienced in the kind and form of employment coupled by social injustice led many to openly support radical political organisations. Many Greek immigrants joined the Australian Labor Party and enrolled in its local branches. By 1969, the first Greek speaking branches of the ALP began to emerge in the inner suburban areas of Adelaide and almost concurrently in Northcote, Melbourne, Collingwood and Richmond, producing by 1977 their first parliamentary representative, activist Theo Sidiropoulos. He was a left-wing Pontian immigrant from Katerini, Macedonia who played an important role in the local government, before being elected Mayor of the city of Collingwood in the early 1970s. Sidiropoulos was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the ALP member for Richmond, a post that he held for three subsequent elections, passing his seat eleven years later to his successor, Dimitrios Dollis. The latter was the son of an indigenous left-wing Kastorian, who arrived in Australia aboard the Patris in 1971. Dollis demonstrated charismatic skills as communicator, convincing his colleagues to elect him Victorian Deputy Leader of the ALP. In 1997 he was elected founding President of the World Parliamentarians of Greek Descent, while in 1998 he resigned his Richmond seat in Melbourne to repatriate to Greece where he was subsequently appointed General Secretary for Greeks Abroad. The successful engagement of the progressive Greek immigrants into the Greek-speaking branches of the ALP in Melbourne and Sydney encouraged those from the conservative section of the Greek community to join the Liberal Party of Australia. Alfred Kouris attempted in 1976 to gain the seat of Brunswick as a candidate for the Liberal Party, however, it was Peter Katsambanis who was elected the first Liberal

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Party parliamentarian of Greek ancestry for the Monash Province in Melbourne in 1995. His successful career was followed in September 1999 by the election of another Greek immigrant from within the Australian Liberal Party, Nicholas Kotsiras as the Member for Bulleen in Melbourne. By the late 1960s, Greek Australians motivated by political developments in Greece and Cyprus, the absence of social justice in the job market and the lack of social mobility joined the socialist left faction of the ALP. During the same period, professional members of the Australian-born generation formed their first secular social welfare associations in defence of their community. The active involvement of a significant number of Greek and Cypriot migrants in the union movement was important in the shaping of strong party identification. Similarly, the emergence of the first Greek Australian professionals, children of migrants who had settled before World War II was of decisive importance in establishing the Australian Greek Welfare Society in Melbourne. Unconfirmed reports claimed (Tamis, 1994) that as early as 1926, Vasileios Blades, an immigrant from the village of Vythos in Western Macedonia, was the first Greek settler to be elected President of a Shire in the wider region of Geelong, Victoria. Blades was a flamboyant type of settler with strong cosmopolitan attitude and connections with the Australian community. In the local newspaper Pentalofos of the Kozani district, the editor B. Tsaknakis, reporting the arrival of Blades’ son, Evangelos, in Macedonia after thirty years in Australia, adds yet another dimension to the legend of Blades: It should be noted that his father, Vasileios Blades, was a pioneer, the first explorer of those lands, New Zealand, Australia, Uruguay and other parts of the world, over the Pacific, a man with an anxious and everlasting spirit, like another missioner who explores the unknown lands. . . . (Pentalofos newspaper, p. 4, 14 April 1956, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

At least thirty-four Australians of Greek ancestry or matrimonial links were elected in Australia as parliamentarians, while fourteen assumed ministerial duties or were elected parliamentary secretaries. Precursors of the Greek Australian participation in party politics were the controversial George Georgouras (Georges) in the Senate and Peter Montiades (Morris) in the Federal Parliament as Minister for Transport. The first female Greek Australians to be elected in the Federal

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House of Representatives in 2001 were both from Victoria. Maria Vamvakinos, a schoolteacher with a deep knowledge of education matters, having served in several ministerial offices, emerged as the ALP preference, while legal practitioner Sophia Panopoulos, an enthusiastic young Liberal was elected with the conservatives. Three other female parliamentarians of Hellenic background, emerging from different generations, shared common political experiences in Perth, Melbourne and Canberra. Katina Thomas, of Greek ancestry migrated from Adelaide to Perth in 1987 and worked as an executive officer of a boating industry before entering the WA Parliament in 1996, representing mixed ethnic communities in the north metropolitan seat of Carine. Jenny Mikakos, entered Parliament in September 1999, representing culturally diverse constituents in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, while Helen Cross was elected in 2002 in the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), initially with the Liberal Party, however, she later stood as an independent. A number of Australian politicians of Greek ancestry reached prominence and succeeded as leaders of their political parties and Governors. Andrew John Julian Barlett born in Brisbane (August 1964) publicly revealed his Greek ancestry and supported cultural diversity. Following his graduation and practice as a social worker he was elected President of the Australian Democrats in Queensland (1996–7) and appointed national campaign Director of this Party from 1998. Barlett was chosen initially (October 1997) to represent Queensland in the Senate and in October 2002 was elected Leader of the Australian Democrats. Alex Andrianopoulos was the first migrant from a nonEnglish speaking background to be elected Speaker of the Victorian Parliament (1999–2003), while Dimitri Fouras was the first Speaker in Australia of Hellenic descent, presiding over the Queensland Parliament. Andrianopoulos arrived as a ten-year-old immigrant accompanied by his parents from Tripoli in 1965, settling in St Albans, a workers’ suburb in the west of Melbourne. He was elected councilor in the city of Keilor (1980–4) and was elected to Victorian Parliament in 1985 to closely collaborate with his compatriot Theo Sidiropoulos. A charismatic Greek Cypriot immigrant, Theophanes Theophanous, who tutored politics and sociology at La Trobe University, was first elected to the Victorian Parliament in 1988. Theophanous’s political talent and frankness earned him popularity within the Greek community, and in 1991 and 2003 he was appointed Minister for Consumer Affairs and Energy and Resources respectively, and Leader

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of the Opposition in the Victorian Legislative Council (1993–9). In August 2004, Theophanous was elected Vice-President of the World Parliamentarians of Greek Descent. At least ten politicians of Hellenic ancestry served in the Commonwealth Parliament, succeeding, most of them, in key positions as party leaders, ministers and parliamentary secretaries. They were Andrew Bartlett, Leader of the Australian Democrats, Nick Bolkas, Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Petros Georgiou, George Georgouras, Peter Montiadis, Minister for Transport, Theo Montiades, Dr Andrew Theophanous, Parliamentary Secretary on issues of immigration, Maria Vamvakinos, Steve Georganas and Sophia Panopoulos. These politicians constituted, to a large extent, the second and consequent generations of Greek Australians to become part of the Australian scene and to identify with the Australian policies. Born into families with strong parental and national ties, and thrust into a society that could not clearly understand cultural diversity, often they faced a bewildering and frustrating experience. In politics, more than any other social arena, loyalty to Australia and devotion to cultural identity, are constantly under scrutiny and doubt. In politics, election to office is often taken to mean a reward for services rendered instead of a trust and responsibility. The elevation of Greek Australians in the state and federal parliaments strengthened the ties with the mother country and reinforced philhellenism in Australia, bringing respectability with the accomplishment. The passion of Greek immigrants for politics, the serious social problems related to employment and equal treatment, their intracommunity upheavals emerging from the community–church conflict and their determination to become a well-integrated part of the Australian society, led them and their children to join the political parties and seek their preselection in parliaments. Victoria has been consistently the state from which most parliamentarians of Greek ancestry emerged in both the State as well as the Commonwealth Parliaments. Alex Andrianopoulos, Speaker of the House in the Victorian Parliament, Dimitri Dollis, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Panagiotis Katsambanis, Nicholas Kotsiras, Thelmo Languilla, Jenny Mikakos, John Pantazopoulos, Minister for Tourism, Theo Sidiropoulos, Theo Theophanous, Minister for Energy and Resources and Murray Thompson were elected in Victoria. Michael Costa, Minister for Transport, John Hatzistergios, Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs, Takis Kaldis, Milton Orkopoulos, Michael Photios, James Samios and George Souris

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38 Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visits the Melbourne Town Hall where the Greek community organised a rally in his favour in 1975.

entered the Parliament of NSW, Anastasios Koutsantonis and Michael Xenophon were elected in South Australia (SA), Katina Thomas in WA, Helen Cross in ACT, Nick Dontas, Minister for Community Development and Costas Vaskalis, Minister for Education in the Northern Territory (NT), while Dimitrios (Jim) Fouras, was elected Speaker of the Queensland Parliament. Despite their different ideological affiliations, Greek Australian politicians share a special common bond on issues of ethnic identity and their loyalty to the Greek community. Most of them, particularly those in Victoria, demonstrate pride in their cultural and linguistic heritage, serving in a balanced fashion their electorates. In 1998, their eagerness to serve their common Greek culture convinced most of them to establish and join an international consortium of parliamentarians of Greek ancestry. This worldwide collective entity, incorporated in Greece, brought together over 200 politicians of Greek background serving in over thirty countries of the Diaspora. The international incorporation of parliamentarians identifying with the Hellenic culture was significantly influenced by the stability of democracy in Greece and the modernisation of its institutions. In the past, the

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political r´egimes of Greece have alternated between parliamentarianism and dictatorship in varying combinations with a monarchical or republican form of government. The traumatic experience of the military dictatorship in 1967–74 is interpreted as the result of the failure to modernise and democratise the political system in a period of fast growth and to the special role of the army within the state as a consequence of the challenges that confronted Greece in the wake of World War II and the 1946 Civil War. A significant number of Greek settlers and their children assumed positions of prestige and power within public administration, influencing political decisions and the process of governing. Athanasios Synodinos, the son of Kephalonian immigrants who arrived in 1953, was born in Newcastle and after graduating in Economics entered the public service, becoming a ministerial and Prime Ministerial advisor. Synodinos, who served as President and Treasurer of the Greek Orthodox Community of Canberra (1978–2002), was appointed Chief of Staff of Prime Minister John Howard (2000–4). The mainstream press portrayed Synodinos as the most influential (number one) covert power player in Australia’s political system, during the period 2001 to 2005, while Prime Minister Howard attributed to Synodinos his election victory and success in government in 2001. Diplomat and legal expert on international affairs, Christos Moraitis has been instrumental in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and for his role as a advisor of the Minister, Alexander Downer. Nicholas Manikis has been a key advisor to the Chief Minister on ethnic issues and represented the ACT government in community organisations. Manikis was also responsible for the ACT government publications promoting the profile of his government both locally and internationally. Other high-ranking members of the Australian administration included George Papadopoulos and George Lekakis who served as the Chair of Multicultural Affairs in ALP governments in Victoria, substantially influencing government policies on ethnic issues. John Anictomatis has been the only Greek migrant to assume the highest post of a Governor, when he was appointed the seventeenth Administrator of the Northern Territory (31 October 2000). Anictomatis, who arrived as a ten-year-old accompanied migrant from Piraeus in 1955 at age of 10, maintained his office at Government House until the end of October 2003. In 1968, this charismatic migrant served with the Ninth Battalion in Vietnam and after his retirement from the army he established a successful family business as a residential, industrial and commercial developer. In 1991 John

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Anictomatis was appointed Honorary Consul of Greece, providing caring service to the robust local Greek community of Darwin. He has been active with many organisations, including the Resource and Settlement Centre of the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory University Foundation and the Museum and Art Gallery, receiving honours from the Queen, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Greek Government and the Holy Ecumenical Patriarchate. Founders of the Australian Greek Welfare Society were medical practitioner Speros Moraitis, law lecturer George Papadopoulos and musician Nicholas Politis. During the following years, this organisation acted as the source of inspiration for many other Greek and Cypriot welfare entities and community groups. The trio alerted by the severe social welfare, financial and linguistic inadequacy facing Greek migrant workers began in 1969 public discussions to form a secular organisation to act as the social shield of the community. Strong opposition emerging from the Greek Orthodox Church and some community groups, which perceived the establishment of the Society as a threat to their own functional jurisdiction, delayed the establishment until 1972 (Tamis, 2000, 2002). Nevertheless, the need for the operation of welfare groups administered by the children of Greek immigrants proved most successful. Members of the second generation were attending institutions of higher learning in impressive numbers. University graduates were no longer a rarity. The Greek press continued to represent the sentiments of the older generation, those whose seminal years had been spent in a traumatic Greece, ignoring the needs of the second generation. The Greek Church was encouraging the formation of rival organisations. Australian social and medical authorities were reporting serious welfare problems for the average Greek immigrant. In certain high-risk cases, medical specialists could not produce a diagnosis in Greek patients, simply because the available interpreting services were nonexistent. Interpretation was very difficult today as we did not have our regular interpreter and had to rely upon a barely English speaking, Greek chef. I therefore did not make any attempts to try and rationalise her analgesia as this stage . . . (Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute’s letter to Dr S. Moraitis, 24 July 1991, Archives, NCHSR, LTU)

During the nineteenth century a substantial wave of philhellenism developed in Australia with a remarkable impact on the immigrants drive for transition from the colonial era to nationhood. The romantic

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legacies expressed by the fathers of Australian Federation (1860– 1900) were considerably based on the principles of classical Greek ideals. The notion of philhellenism was also implanted into the Australian society with the substantial contribution of the arriving pioneer Greek immigrants. Philhellenism grew among certain sections of the Australian society, particularly among the politicians, the clergymen, the intellectuals and the progressive elements of the union movement, while the country’s political leadership in an expression of gratitude named towns, mountains, rivers, streets, squares and ships after Greek places and prominent Greeks. For example, honouring the input of the Greek wife of the founding British Governor of Queensland, Diamantina Roma, the state of Queensland named after her a large city in Queensland, a large river, a central road artery in Brisbane and a vessel of the Australian Navy. Townships with Greek names began to appear by the end of the nineteenth century, including Arcadia in Victoria, Pella and Lemnos in New South Wales (NSW) and Florina in the Northern Territory. Even earlier, two mountains, Mount Ossa and Mount Pelion, were named in honour of the Greek classical period. The contributions of Spartan immigrant John Doskos from Perth and of prominent altruist Kostas Liaskos from Adelaide are commemorated in street names of those cities. Zealous philhellenes included prominent politicians, members of the judiciary, academics, clergymen, artists, intellectuals and businessmen. The contribution of the new settlers to the large industrial city centres of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide was to modernise them through injecting new ideas into the economic, social and political life of their new environment. The involvement of the settlers in Australian political parties during the decade from 1950–60 benefited the social and professional development of their children. From about 1980 these second-generation migrants occupied a high percentage of senior and influential positions in the administrative and political structures of Australia. The central role of the Greek Australian family is much greater than on an average Australian family or families of immigrants from other developed countries. The dominant family type is the nuclear family the married couple and their children living in their own residence and often in the same area with grandparents and or their extended relatives. Thus, solidarity and mutual support between close kin continue to have a very important place in family organisation and is expressed in the exchange of goods and services, in daily contacts and communication, financial assistance, help in finding a job or during illness.

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Today the Greek community, together with the Italian, is regarded as the most organised community in Australia, and the Greek settlers are fully accommodated socially and financially in their new environment. Their relations with Greece and the national issues that preoccupy the Greek people around the world remain very important and are vigorously pursued. Scientific organisations and institutions promote Greek interests via highly political action and pressure groups that exert influence on the Australian centres of decision making, while media networks capable of the mass mobilisation of Hellenism are operating in the large urban centres around the country giving, rightly, the impression of a consolidated organised community with massive potential. Migration has been the most characteristic event of Greek life for almost 100 years (1875–1975). It is estimated that more than two million Greeks left the country primarily for economic and family reasons for overseas destinations, causing an aging population structure and the depopulation of rural areas. By 1999, about 850 000 Greek emigrants, mainly from central Europe, Africa and Latin America and to a lesser extent from Australia had repatriated. The repatriating Pontian Greeks from the former Soviet Union are not included in these figures. In the 2000s the number of emigrating and repatriating Greeks stabilised at around 4000 people per annum. In the early 1970s Greece became an attractive destination for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from the Asian and Eastern European countries. Following the large inflow of illegal foreign workers without residence or work permits and the refugees estimated at 1 200 000, the Greek Government in 1997 commenced a legalisation procedure for their regularisation, issuing them a special identity card (Green Card). By the late 1970s, the returning Greek Australian migrants had re-established their own colonies in Athens and Thessaloniki, closely collaborating with the Australian Embassy in Athens and its consular representatives in Thessaloniki. Initially, repatriated Australian Greek migrants in the early 1940s had founded in Athens the Greek Australian Association, printing their own journal and effectively influencing Greek community life in Australia. Their publication Afstraloellin (Greek Australian) played a key role in the elevation of the then rector of the Orthodox in Melbourne, Archimandrite Theophylaktos to the ranks of Metropolitan in 1947; its editors also supported mutual trade relations between Australia and Greece. Since 1975, approximately 35 000 Australian Greeks have returned to Greece, establishing four associations and publishing two newspapers. The

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repatriated Australian Greeks claim for themselves a separate Grecian identity, with strong Australian characteristics. In 2005, the Greek Australian community was waging a strenuous campaign to mobilise its second and third generation to take an active role in communal affairs. This is hardly surprising considering the sharp aging of Greek migrants, who by the year 2020 will comprise less than 5 per cent of the total Greek Australian community. Without any hope of another Greek migration, Greek Australians rely on their Australian-born generations to maintain the Greek cultural identity, manifested through the Greek Orthodox faith, the Ancient Greek world, and the strong influences of the European and Oriental worlds. They have taught them the art of political lobbying, mobilizing Australian public opinion behind domestic policies affecting their community in Australia as well as the old country. They have taught them to realise the power of the vote, to be strong through education, influential through business, effective via public rallies and via their own individual and communal affluence. The aspiration of Greek settlers arriving in Australia immediately after World War II was to establish their families, socially and politically, in a stable environment, to win Australian public approval through citizenship and the cooperation of influential segments of the society, to maintain a vigorous stand on issues affecting the mother country, and to substantially contribute to the welfare and development of their new country, the future of their children being their main concern.

F u rt h e r R e a d i n g

Allimonos, Costas, Pre-World War II Greek Community Organizations in Australia, Unpublished Dissertation, Melbourne, La Trobe University, 2002. Appleyard, Reginald and John N. Yiannakis, Greek Pioneers in Western Australia, Perth, University of Western Australia Press, 2002. Bailey, K. H., ‘Public Opinion and Population’, in F. W. Eggleston et al. (eds), The Peopling of Australia: Further studies, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1933. Bottomley, G., After the Odyssey (A Study of Greek Australians), St Lucia, University of Queensland Press, 1979. Clogg, Richard, A Concise History of Greece, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992. Dicks, Brian, The Greeks, How they Live and Work, London, David and Charles, 1972. Dimitreas, Yiannis, Transplanting the Agora – Hellenic Settlement in Australia, Sydney, Allen and Unwin, 1998. Finley, George, A History of Greece, Oxford, Yale University Libraries, 1877; reprinted New York, AMS Press, 1970. Galbally, F., Review of Post-Arrival Programs and Services to Migrants, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service, 1978. Gilchrist, H., Australians and Greeks: The Early Years, Volume I, Sydney, Halstead Press, 1995. Gilchrist, H., Australians and Greeks, Volume II, Sydney, Halstead Press, 1998. Gilchrist, H., Australians and Greeks, Volume III, Sydney, Halstead Press, 2004. Hassiotis, Ioannis, A Concise History of the Hellenic Diaspora, Thessaloniki, Vanias Press, 1993.

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Further Reading

Jupp, J. (ed.), Ethnic Politics in Australia, Sydney, Allen and Unwin, 1986. Jupp, J. (ed.), The Australian People, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001. Kanarakis, George, The Greek Press in the Antipodes (O Ellinikos Typos stous Antiopodes), Athens, Gregoris Publications, 2000. Kanarakis, George, In the Wake of Odysseus: Portraits of Greek Settlers in Australia, Melbourne, RMIT University, 1997. Kapardis, A. and A. M. Tamis (eds), Hellenes in Australia, Melbourne, River Seine Press, 1988. Michael, M. and A. M. Tamis (eds), Cyprus in the World, Thessaloniki, Vanias Press, 2005. Petranis, P., The Epirotes in Australia, Melbourne, NCHSR, LTU, 2004. Price, C. A., The Southern Europeans in Australia, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1963. Price, C. A., Greeks in Australia, Canberra, Australian National University Press, 1975. Saloutos, Theodore, The Greeks in the United States, Boston, Harvard University Press, 1964. ‘Save Australia’s British Culture’, The Age, 31 May 1984. Sherington, G., Australia’s Immigrants: The Australian experience, Melbourne, 1989. Tamis, A. M., Unlocking Australia’s Language Potential, Vol. 8, Modern Greek (Contributor author, E. Gauntlett), Canberra, National Language Institute of Australia and Department of Education, Employment and Training, 1993. Tamis, A. M., The Immigration and Settlement of Macedonian Greeks in Australia, Melbourne, La Trobe University Press, 1994. Tamis, A. M., The History of Greeks in Australia (1892–1954), Volume I, Thessaloniki, Vanias Press, 1997a. Tamis, A. M., An Illustrated History of the Greeks in Australia, bilingual edition, Melbourne, Dardalis Archives, 1997b. Tamis, A. M., The History of Greeks in Australia (1958–1975) Volume II, Melbourne, Ellikon Press, 2000. Tamis, A. M., The Greek Language Education in Australia and New Zealand, Relhymnon, University of Crete, 2001. Tamis. A. M., The Greeks in South America, Nicosia, Kyroepeia and Athens, Sideris, 2005. Tamis, A. M. and E. Gavakis, From Migrants to Citizens: Greek Migration to Australia and Canada, Melbourne, NCHSR, LTU, 2002. Tamis, A. M., and K. Katsigiannis, Greek Press in Australia, Athens, National Centre of Research, 2001. Tamis, A. M. and D. Tsolakis, The History of Greeks in Canberra and the Surrounding Districts, Canberra, GOC of Canberra and the ACT Government, 1999.

Further Reading

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Theophanous, A. C., Understanding Multiculturalism and Australian Identity, Melbourne, Elikia Books, 1995. Tsingris, D., Ecclesiastic Conflict and the Greek Communities in Sydney, Sydney, Unpublished Dissertation, Sydney, 2000. Tsounis, M., ‘Greek Communities in Australia’, in C. A. Prize (ed.), Greeks in Australia, Canberra, Australian National University, 1975. Yiannakis, John, Megisti in the Antipodes: Castellorizian Migration and Settlement to WA, Victoria Park, Hesperian Press, 1996. Yarwood, A. T., Asian Immigration to Australia, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1974. Ware, T., The Orthodox Church, Ringwood, Penguin, 1973.

Inde x A.B.C. (Australian Broadcasting Commission) 162 A.B.S. (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 63, 64, 127 A.C.T. (Australian Capital Territory) 126, 189, 191, 193 Adelaide 40, 49, 52, 62, 72, 77, 80, 84, 85, 89, 92, 99, 104, 124, 126, 134, 137, 145, 148, 156, 157, 159, 177, 180, 185, 187, 189, 194 Adelaide University 138 Advertiser (publication) 160 Afstraloellin (newspapers) 157, 196 Agia Sofia, Cathedral of 69 Agia Triada (Holy Trinity), Church 69 Alexander the Great Club 36, 125 Alexandria 3, 13, 35, 39, 105, 185 Aliens Legislation 41 Alitheia (newspapers) 159, 162 All-Community Congress 111 A.L.P. (Australian Labor Party) 38, 41, 173, 183, 187, 188, 189, 192 Amanatidis, Rev. Antonios 87, 159, 179 Amanatidou, Dina 152 Amvrosios of Eleftheroupolis, Metropolitan 94 Andrianopoulos, Alex 189, 190 Andrianopoulos, Andreas 124 Andronicos, Nicki 102 Angelidis, Alekos 152 Angelodemos, Steve 124 Anictomatis, John 125, 192, 193 Annunciation of our Lady Church 44 Antiochean Orthodox Church 85 Antoniades, K. G. 160 Antoniadis, Theodoros 146 Appolon (sports club) 102 Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand 81, 89, 90, 91, 94, 95 Aristarchos, Bishop of Mareotis 92, 93, 94 Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki 182 Asia Minor 20, 21, 59, 119 Athena Soccer Club 104 Athenagoras, Archbishop 81

Athens 3, 4, 11, 16, 22, 23, 24, 27, 39, 46, 51, 52, 58, 82, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 94, 97, 100, 105, 107, 109, 113, 134, 180, 195 Athens University 109 Athletika Hronika (newspaper) 161 Athletika Nea (newspaper) 160 Athletiki Echo (newspaper) 161 Athletiki Floga (newspaper) 160 Atlas League 77 Atlas Socialist Organisation 161 Australia 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 28, 31, 32, 33, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 99, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 119, 120, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 158, 160, 161, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196 Australia (newspaper) 156 Australian Greek (newspaper) 157 Australian Greek Association 134 Australian Greek Welfare Society 93, 188, 193 Australian Hellenic Council 177 Australian Institute for Macedonian Studies 179 Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs 162 Australian Migration Act 176 Australian Pontian Theatre 146 Australian Red Cross 168, 170, 172, 183 Bartlett, Andrew John Julian 189, 190 Beazley, Kim 126, 173 Betinis, Archim. Nikandros 107 Bolkas, Nick 190 Bonegilla 52, 126

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Index

Bouzis, Angelo 161, 163 Brisbane 43, 62, 73, 77, 80, 100, 125, 134, 138, 150, 157, 159, 167, 184, 189, 194 Brotherhood of St Nicholas 11 Calwell, Arthur A. 47, 120 Canada 19, 21, 23, 66, 109 Canberra 52, 82, 88, 104, 120, 123, 125, 126, 138, 146, 148, 150, 158, 161, 162, 173, 177, 189 Carides, Zoe 147 Cathedral of St Sophia 109 Charkianakis, Archbishop Stylianos 84, 94, 95, 96, 97, 115, 142, 152 Christodoulou, Georgios 79 Christophoridis, Michalis 151 Christophoros, Archbishop 72, 75 Chrysanthopoulos, Leonidas 69, 166 Chrysostomos of Myrini, Bishop 113 Church of Evagelismos 171 Church of Greece 8, 45, 91, 106 Church of St George 170 Church of the Holy Trinity 109 Civil War 23, 51, 77, 112, 161, 184, 192 Clayton 125 Clayton, Community of 97 Clergy–Laity Congress 110, 136 Club of Cypriots 178 Combined Clergy–Laity Management Committee 82 Commonwealth Immigration Act 62 Communist Party of Greece 26, 27 Communities Council 157 Communities of Melbourne 171 Communities of the Archdiocese 87, 91 Communities of Victoria 88 Community (various) 44, 51, 52, 69, 71, 72, 73, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 107, 110, 111, 134, 137, 146, 156, 157, 160, 162, 170, 177, 192 Conomos, John 131 Constantinople 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20, 35, 45, 64, 82, 85, 88, 90, 91, 94, 97, 105, 107, 113, 178 Consul 69, 73, 75, 77, 79, 88, 166, 170, 193 Coordinating Committee for the Cypriot Struggle 178 Cosmopolitan Motion Pictures 145 Coustas, Mary 147 Crete 16, 19, 22, 33, 46, 65 Cyprian Community of Melbourne and Victoria 44, 160 Cypriot Community of Apostle Andreas 86 Cypriot Community of Saint Andrew in Sunshine 86, 92

201

Cyprus 7, 8, 9, 13, 18, 24, 26, 32, 44, 47, 61, 62, 78, 86, 91, 130, 132, 133, 177, 179, 187, 188 Daicos, Peter 104 Dardalis, Zissis 125 Darwin 43, 47, 64, 74, 82, 125, 126, 151, 153, 193 Demetrios, Patriarch 95 Demetriou Andrew 104 Demokratiko Deltion (publication) 161 Demokritos League 77, 157 Diamantopoulos, Michael 101 Diamantoulis, Georgios 158 Diamond, Michael 102, 104 Dimitriades, Alex 147 Dionysios, Bishop of Nazianzos 87, 90, 91, 113, 150, 159 Dollis, Dimitri 187, 190 Donikian, George 147 Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia 107 Economides, Steve 146 Economou, Theodosios 160 Economou, Zoes 158 Efkarpides, Tim 104, 125, 126 Efkarpides, Tom 104, 125, 126 Egypt 3, 16, 25, 47, 62, 104, 146, 168 Elefantis, Demetrios 88, 89, 91, 92 Eleftheros (newspaper) 161 Ellada (newspaper) 160 Ellinika Nea (publication) 159 Ellinika Themata (newspaper) 162 Elliniki Phoni (newspaper) 159, 161 Elliniko Theatro Afstralis (Greek Theatre of Australia) 146 Ellinikos Kosmos (newspaper) 161 Ellinikos Odigos Afstralias (publication) 161 Ellinis (magazine) 155 Ellinismos (newspaper) 160 Ellinoafstraliani Epitheorisi (publication) 159 Empros (newspaper) 159 Epirus 16, 17, 18, 19, 33, 149, 172, 177, 178 Ethnikon Vima (newspaper) 156 Ethnos (newspaper) 158, 161 E.U. (European Union) 26, 28, 29, 132, 133 Europe 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 28, 47, 59, 78, 127, 130, 148, 153, 195 Evagelismos (Annunciation), Church of 68 Evagoras Brotherhood 44 Evangellinides, Archbishop Timotheos 72, 110, 136

202

Index

Faros (newspaper) 157 Federation of Cypriot Communities of Australia 160 Federation of Greek Communities 82, 85, 86, 88, 111, 157 Ferry Report 167 Flinders University 138 Florina 43, 65, 159, 194 Foititis (newspaper) 160 Fokas, Serapheim 45, 106 Fotios, Koumidis 87 Fouras, Dimitrios 189, 191 Fraser, Malcolm 177 Gargalata (newspaper) 159 Gauntlett, Eustathios 139, 153 Gavakis, E. 41, 43 Gazas, Theodore 5 Gefyra (The Bridge – theatre group) 145 Georgiou, Panos 152 Georgiou, Petros 190 Gerassimos, Patriarch of Jerusalem 105 Germanos, Archimandrite 44 Gertsakis, Elizabeth 149 Giannopoulos, Nick 147 Gilchrist, H. 31, 152, 167 Glossa Diethnis (newspaper) 162 Gogos, Dimitrios 154, 158, 160 Greece 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 36, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 100, 102, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 116, 119, 120, 125, 129, 130, 132, 134, 139, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 155, 160, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 185, 186, 187, 188, 191, 193, 195 Greek Artists’ Group 146 Greek Association of Northern Queensland 73 Greek Australian Association 195 Greek Australian Chamber of Commerce 129 Greek Australian Council 177 Greek Australian News 159 Greek Australian Review 158 Greek Embassy 79, 158, 174 Greek Friends of Drama Society 144 Greek Hostel for the Elderly 125 Greek Macedonian Club 36 Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs 79 Greek Orthodox 9, 11, 12, 19, 28, 33, 45, 51, 52, 53, 67, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 99, 104, 105, 107, 109, 110,

112, 114, 129, 136, 137, 141, 146, 148, 154, 156, 157, 192, 193, 196 Greek Orthodox Church of Melbourne 68 Greek Orthodox Daily Schools 136 Greek Theatre Group of Australia 145 Greek Unity of Western Australia 72 Greektown 32 Grigorios VII, Patriarch 107 Grivas, (Digenis) Georgios 24, 178, 185 Hawke, R. J. 162, 173 Heidelberg United 104, 125 Hellas Soccer Club 104 Hellenic Art Theatre 146 Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 130 Hellenic Business Forum 130 Hellenic Chamber of Commerce 129 Hellenic Club of Canberra 97 Hellenic Herald (newspaper) 69, 155, 156, 185 Herald of Queensland, The 157 Hercules (newspaper) 161 Hercules (sports club) 102 Hobart 82, 104, 126, 153, 168 Holt, Harold 51 Holy Trinity Church 44 Howard, John 177, 192 Hronika (newspaper) 159 Hronos (newspaper) 160 Iakovidis, Georgios 160 Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and Greece 89 Iliou, Archimandrite Germanos 60, 71, 133 Imerologio tou 1954 (publication) 161 Immigration Department 47, 52, 158 Inter-Governmental Committee of European Migration (I.C.E.M.) 48 Ithaca 33, 60, 65, 144 Ithacans’ Association 68 Kampana (journal) 159 Kapiniaris, George 147 Karamanlis, Constantinos 24, 26, 27, 82, 182 Kasimatis, Grigorios 74, 168 Kassimatis, Archimandrite Erineos 157 Kassimatis, Irini 151 Kassimatis, Syd 74 Kassimatis, Vasilios 74 Kastellorizian Brotherhood 71, 75, 159 Katsambanis, Panagiotis (Peter) 187, 190 Kavadas, Archbishop Athenagoras 80, 112 Kefalas, Antigone 152 Kennett, Jeff 177, 179 Knitis, Metropolitan Christophoros 45, 107 Kokkinos, Anna 147 Komninos, Athanasios 33, 36

Index

Komvopoulos, Metropolitan Vasilios 109 Kontos, Euthymios 149 Kosmos (newspaper) 163 Kostakidis, Mary 147 Koundouris, Shandell 146 Kouris, Alfred 160, 187 Kouros, Yiannis 101, 104 Kourtessis, Archimandrite Ierotheos 87, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 115, 137 Koutoufides, Anthony 104 Koutsoukis, Jason 164 Kratero Association of Florina 179 Kypraios, Nikos 148 Kypriaki Echo (newspaper) 160 Kypriaki Phoni (newspaper) 160 Kythera 33, 39, 60, 65, 73, 74, 120, 170 La Trobe University 57, 125, 138, 152, 182, 189 Laiki Skini (Popular Stage) 146 Lazaridis, Stan 102 Lekatsas, Andreas 31, 33, 36 Lekatsas, Antonios 68, 75, 119, 125, 168 Leventia, Greek Rowing Club 100 Liberal Party 173, 183, 187, 189 Lillis, T. 178 London 13, 16, 62, 81, 149, 151, 165, 168 Loukaris, Patriarch Cyril 11 Lowy, Frank 104 Macedonia 3, 4, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 35, 46, 65, 77, 103, 125, 170, 171, 177, 179, 180, 187, 188 Macedonian Herald (newspaper) 159, 179 Macquarie University 138 Makarios, Archbishop 24, 86, 91, 178 Makedonikos Keryx (newspaper) 159, 179 Makedonska Ickra (newspaper) 77 Mangos, John 147 Marinakis, Rev. Dimitrios 156 Marmaras, Thesseus 51, 103 Mediterranean Voice (newspaper) 159, 179 Melbourne 16, 32, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 52, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 73, 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 93, 99, 100, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 112, 119, 124, 125, 129, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 166, 167, 171, 177, 178, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 194, 195 Melbourne University. See University of Melbourne Melbourni (newspaper) 161 Menas, Athanasios 160 Metanastis (newspaper) 159

203

Metrophanis, Archimandrite 44 Michael, M. 44 Michaelides, Loucas 150 Michaelidis, Leonidas 151 Michalakopoulos, Andreas 22 Michelides, Michalis 36 Michelides, Petros 36, 119 Mikakos, Jenny 189, 190 Mikrasiatikes Mnimes (newspaper) 162 Miller (Milionis), George 147 Montiades, Peter 188, 190 Montiades, Theo 190 Moraitis, Christos 192 Moraitis, Speros 193 Nation (newspaper) 158 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens 182 National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research (N.C.H.S.R) 36, 39, 57, 79, 125, 138, 165, 171, 184, 186, 188, 194 National Compatriot Assembly (Synagermos) 86 National Macedonian Organization 179 National Tribune (newspaper) 69, 156 National Trumpet (newspaper) 157 Nea Ellada (newspaper) 154, 160 Nea Epohi (newspaper) 158 Nea Paroikia (newspaper) 161 Nea Patrida (newspaper) 159 Nea Poreia (publication) 159 Neoi Dromoi (newspaper) 160 Neos Kosmos (newspaper) 154, 155, 158, 160 Neos Pyrsos (newspaper) 160 New Democracy Party 26 New England University 136 New South Wales (N.S.W.) 31, 32, 36, 60, 63, 64, 120, 126, 127, 136, 194 New Zealand 46, 82, 91, 92, 107, 112, 149, 188 Newcastle 52, 80, 82, 85, 145, 184, 185, 192 Nicolades, Ion 120 Nicolaides, Andreas 119 Nikolaides, Archimandrite Metrophanis 156 Nikolaides, Georgios 156 Nikolaides, Thanos 156 Nikolopoulos, Kostas 156 Nomikos, Nikos 149, 152 Northern Territory (N.T.) 64, 148, 191, 192, 194 O Ellinas (publication) 161 O Philathlos (newspaper) 161 O Tsolias (newspaper) 160 Oceanis (newspaper) 156

204

Index

Odigos (publication) 159 Odysseus Association 68 Oikogeneia (magazine) 158 Olympia (newspaper) 162 Olympic (sports club) 102 Olympic Games 4, 58, 100, 101, 104, 120 Olympic Soccer Club (Canberra) 104 Olympic Soccer Club (Sydney) 104 Organisation of Hellenes Abroad 159 Orpheus Greek League 145 Orpheus Panhellenic Association 68 Orthodox Church 5, 53, 55, 60, 67, 69, 71, 85, 95, 105, 109, 142, 143, 186 Oxford University 45 Panellinios Keryx (newspaper) 157 Panhellene (sports club) 102 Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) 25 Pan-Macedonian Union of Australia 179 Panopoulos, Sophia 189, 190 Pantazopoulos, John 190 Panteleimon, Bishop of Theoupolis 94 Papandreou, Andreas 26 Papandreou, Georgios 23 Papasavvas, Savvas 103 Paraskinia Theatre Group 146 Paroikiaka Chronika (newspaper) 161 Paroikiako Vema (newspaper) 162 Paroikiakos Stohos (newspaper) 161 Paroikos (newspaper) 158 Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople 81, 90, 113, 115 Patrinakos, Archim. Nikon 73 Patriotika Nea (newspaper) 159 Peiramatiko Theatro Afstralias 146 Pentalofos (newspaper) 188 Perth 31, 36, 37, 40, 43, 44, 60, 67, 71, 73, 75, 81, 85, 93, 94, 104, 119, 124, 133, 137, 138, 145, 148, 168, 177, 189, 194 Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute 193 Petranis, Petros 160, 178 Petristsis, Deacon Ezekiel 89 Philippousis, Mark 101, 102, 104 Philological, Encyclopedic and Literary Review 158 Phos (newspaper) 155, 157, 160 Pittakos, Greek Evening School 72, 133 Platon League 77 Plessas, Aikaterini 33 Politis, Nicholas 125, 151, 193 Polytechnic Institute in Athens 179 Pontian Greeks 195 Protoporos (newspaper) 160 Publication of Newspapers in Foreign Languages Statutory Rules 153

Queensland 32, 33, 37, 39, 44, 60, 64, 73, 134, 145, 148, 167, 184, 189, 191, 194 Queensland Hellenic Association 73 radio stations (Greek) 155, 162, 163 Raftopoulos (Rafty), Tony 148 Raftopoulos, Ioannis 144 Raftopoulos, Stathis 145 Rebetika Company 150 Regas, Omeros 157 Rentzis, Elias 91 Revis, Anastasios 124 Roma, Diamantina 194 Royal Children’s Hospitals 168 Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 138, 182 St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College 115, 142 St George Church 11 St Georgios, Church of 72, 73 St John’s Church 81 St John’s Greek Orthodox College 137 Saint Mary’s Cathedral 115 St Sophia’s Cathedral 148 St Stephen’s Church 32 Saint Theodore (Agioi Theodori), Church of 74 St Vincent’s Hospital 125 Saints Constantine and Helen, Church of 72 Samaras, Yiannis 104 Samos Island 30, 60, 75, 107 Savvas, Ken 125 Savvas, Niki 149 Savvoulides, Demetrios 120 Simera (newspaper) 159, 161 Skalkos, Theodoros 155, 157, 159, 163 Skiadopoulos, Nicholas 145, 146 South Australia (S.A.) 38, 60, 127, 154, 162, 191 South Melbourne Hellas 104, 125 Spartakos League 77 Spartan Amateur Theatre of Canberra 146 Special Broadcasting Service (S.B.S.) 162 Spheka (newspaper) 159 Stamoulis, Speros 124, 155, 161, 162, 163, 178 Stavronikita (Monastery of ) 109 Stelarc 149 Sydney 16, 31, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 52, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 74, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 91, 93, 94, 99, 100, 102, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110, 113, 124, 129, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 142, 144, 145,

Index

146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 155, 156, 157, 159, 161, 162, 163, 166, 167, 171, 172, 177, 180, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 194 Sydney University. See University of Sydney Ta Nea (newspaper) 155, 158, 161 Tahydromos (newspaper) 158 Taksiarhes, Church of 72 Tasmania 33, 60, 64, 74 Tassopoulou, Nadia 147 Teo, Koula 147 Theatro Technis (Theatre of the Art) 146 Theatro, Elliniko 146 Themata (magazine) 158, 161 Theophanous, Dr Andrew 190 Theophanous, Theo 177, 189, 190 Theophylaktos, Archbishop 44, 79, 80, 109, 110, 111, 112, 134, 195 Thessaloniki 20, 22, 27, 39, 52, 180, 181, 182, 195 Thiasos Laikis Skinis Melvournis 146 Timotheos, Archbishop 72, 73, 110, 111, 136, 141 To Vema (newspaper) 154 Torch, The (newspaper) 158, 160 Troodos Brotherhood 44 Tsaloumas, Dimitris 152 Tsamisis, Ambassador Vasilios 88 Tsianikas, Michael 153 Tsikaderis, Kostas 150 Tsoukalas, Archbishop Ezekiel 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 112, 113, 114, 115, 136, 141, 142 Tzanavaras, Archbishop Iakovos 89, 90, 91 Tzoumakas, Dimitris 152 Union of Greek Women 168 Union of Greeks from Egypt and Middle East (E.E.A.M.A.) 104 Union of Journalists of Greek Media Abroad 156 Union of the Australian Macedonian People 77

205

University of Ioannina 182 University of Melbourne 93, 136, 149, 152, 160 University of N.S.W. 138 University of Sydney 136, 138, 142, 182 Vamvakinos, Maria 189, 190 Varnavas of Kitrous, Metropolitan 94 Vasileiou, Erma 152 Venizelos, Eleftherios 18, 19, 20, 21, 167 Vertzayias, Costas 177, 180 Victoria 31, 32, 44, 60, 64, 66, 87, 100, 120, 124, 127, 145, 162, 176, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194 Victoria Theatre 145 Victorian University of Technology 182 Vima tis Ekklisias (newspaper) 156 Vrachnas, Alexandra 44 Vryzakis, Aemilios 77, 170 Western Australia (W.A.) 33, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 60, 63, 64, 69, 119, 120, 148, 159, 162, 179, 191 Whitlam, Gough 177 World Council for Greeks Abroad 8, 156, 179, 180, 187 World Parliamentarians of Greek Descent 187, 190 World War I 16, 20, 60, 69, 99, 143, 167 World War II 16, 24, 27, 28, 38, 41, 43, 47, 53, 54, 59, 61, 62, 65, 67, 73, 75, 78, 79, 81, 99, 110, 129, 130, 136, 142, 143, 145, 156, 157, 166, 168, 170, 171, 175, 184, 188, 192, 196 Xenitemenoi (newspaper) 159 Xenitevmenos (newspaper) 60 Xenophon, Michael 191 Yankos, Charlie 102, 104 Yiannakis, John 152 Zanalis, Vlase (Palassis) 147 Zenon Brotherhood 44