Bright Ballarat morning welcomes gathering for George Treloar memorial service

The sun shone propulsion connected a crisp, agleam greeting successful Ballarat to welcome the gathering to the yearly commemorative work held astatine the Treloar Memorial successful Ballarat’s Sturt Street past weekend.

The work is the sixth yearly work since its unveiling successful 2019 and ten years since fundraising began to erect the memorial to 1 of Australia lesser known but important exile workers, Major George Devine Treloar.

Attendees had travelled from adjacent and far, from beyond Victoria and Melbourne to articulation with Ballarat locals successful this commemoration of George’s work helping implicit 108,000 Christian refugees fleeing their homes arsenic a effect of the Asia Minor catastrophe successful the aboriginal 1920’s. Readers will beryllium alert that earlier this year Australia’s Ambassador to Greece, Alison Duncan, honoured George’s work by visited Thrylorio successful bluish Greece, 1 of the villages established under George’s enactment for the refugees to statesman their caller lives each those years ago.

Jim Claven with Pontiaki Estia President Yiannis Pilalidis. Photo: Jim Claven

The yearly work is organised by the George Devine Treloar Memorial Committee with the assistance of the Pontian women’s welfare organisation Merimna Pontian Kyrion of Oceania, the Pontiaki Estia and Ballarat City Council. The work was conducted by the Committee’s Penny Tsombanopoulos successful the relation of maestro of ceremonies. A fig of addresses were made, including by Litsa Athanasiadis connected behalf of the Committee, Cr Samantha McIntosh connected behalf of Ballarat City Council and St Patrick’s College School Captain George Charles.

Cr Samantha McIntosh delivers her code astatine the service. Photo: Jim Claven

Litsa said it is ever a large time to travel and spot our beauteous Memorial again, standing proudly successful Ballarat’s avenue of statues. “Many will retrieve however we gathered ten years agone to start connected our travel to spot George’s efforts appropriately honoured successful his birthplace”, she said.

She besides made notation to Lemona – the sanction fixed to the young miss statue which sits arsenic portion of the memorial, protected by George. For Litsa this has a very idiosyncratic connection. Not lone is Lemona the sanction of a moving Pontian τραγούδι but besides the sanction of her grandmother’s sister who fled her location successful Trebizond successful Pontus and reached information successful Greece. “Lemona so symbolises each those refugees who suffered so overmuch but survived owed to the assistance they received from George and the League of Nations 1 100 years ago”, Litsa said.

Litsa Athanasiadis (right) delivers her code with Efthimia Kranitis (left). Photo: Jim Claven

Councillor Samantha McIntosh, representing Ballarat City Council, who attended the unveiling of the memorial successful 2019 and is simply a regular attendee astatine the yearly service, said that Ballarat was arrogant to big this memorial, the work of overmuch dedication and fundraising by the Hellenic Australian community. She besides pointed to the information that the memorial is the lone 1 successful Sturt Street designed and created by a pistillate sculptor, the well-known Lis Johnson.

All welcomed the keynote code by Eleanor Lacey representing the Treloar family. In her code she shared cardinal insights into George’s beingness some successful Australia and overseas, particularly his exile work successful Greece. She besides talked astir the beingness of George’s wife Kathleen who was portion of his work successful Greece. She described her aboriginal life, clip successful Constantinople and her gathering and marrying George successful Constantinople’s Crimean Church arsenic well arsenic their clip together successful bluish Greece. This was well received by the audience. It is important that we retrieve the partners of those we commemorate who besides marque sacrifices oregon supply vital support to those we honour.

Vicki Kyritsis lays flowers astatine the Memorial connected behalf of the Greek Community of Melbourne. Photo: Jim Claven

This was followed by the speechmaking of a special tribute to George and his work by the Committee’s Efthimia Kranitis. She had written this portion successful the signifier of a missive to George, thanking him for his exile work. The speechmaking was met by warm applause.

The lawsuit then proceeded to the laying of floral tributes. This year was a special 1 with the Committee providing bouquets of special flowers which besides turn successful the Pontus portion of Asia Minor from where galore of the Christian refugees had fled. The floral tributes were laid by a fig of organisations represented astatine the work including the Consul of the Hellenic Republic, the Greek Community of Melbourne & Victoria, the Ballarat City Council, the Ballarat Greek Community, Merimna Pontion Kyrion of Oceania, St Patrick’s College Ballarat, Central Pontian Association of Melbourne & Victoria Pontiaki Estia, the Ada Eimes Pontian Elderly Association, the Society of Kalamata 23rd March, Hellenism of Anatolia Educational Institution, the Greek Orthodox Inter-communities Parish Council of Victoria arsenic well arsenic of people the George Treloar Memorial Committee.

The Committee’s Litsa Athanasiadis with George Treloar descendent Eleanor Lacey. Photo: Litsa Athanasiadis

The work concluded with a show by the Pontian dancers and musicians from Melbourne’s Pontiaki Estia, which was warmly received by the attendees. As a motion of designation and thank you, Litsa together with Cr McIntosh then handed retired bouquets of the flowers to each if the dancers and St Patrick’s students present. Finally Litsa thanked each for their attendance and congratulated Penny Tsombanopoulos for her behaviour of the lawsuit and untiring efforts successful support of the Committee and its work. As the work concluded a beauteous Ballarat sun shone successful the Memorial.

On a idiosyncratic enactment it was besides large to spot Mick Moran again attending the service. A Ballarat local, Mick is the son of Ballarat’s Lieutenant Henry Moran who served with the 2/8th Battalion successful the Greek Campaign, serving connected the frontline from bluish Greece astatine Vevi successful April 1941 each the way to the defence of Crete successful May 1941. I person written astir Henry’s work earlier and assisted Mick successful his donation of Henry’s Greek run archive to our ain State Library of Victoria successful 2016.

The Pontian dancers of Pontiaki Estia execute astatine the service. Photo: Jim Claven

Jim Claven OAM is simply a trained historian, freelance writer and published author. He is simply a laminitis enforcement subordinate of the George Treloar Memorial Committee. He began his probe into the George Treloar implicit ten years ago. His astir caller work is From Imbros Over The Sea and helium is Associate Producer of the caller 1941 Greek run documentary, Anzacs The Greek Chapter. He tin beryllium contacted via email – [email protected]