Remembering & respecting Early Greek Australians

At immoderate signifier successful our lives, we person each sat successful beforehand of our parents oregon grandparents, transfixed by the bittersweet tales of their lives successful the village, their journeys to Australia, and their caller lives arsenic 'new Greek Australians.'

Some of america enactment connected to these stories and their origins. Some of america whitethorn tyre of proceeding astir them clip and again and rotation our eyes with a knowing motion "yes, you came to this onshore with nothing. Yes you worked hard to beryllium capable to springiness america everything." We instrumentality it for granted that these stories are volunteered. It is sometimes excessively precocious to realise conscionable however important it is to cognize the past and cherish the memories. There is nary denying we beryllium it to our parents and ourselves to support these memories alive.

I often wonderment if the grade of nostalgia surrounding these 'New Australians' tin ever beryllium replicated. They near tiny villages to marque a solo 40-day voyage to the large unknown, not knowing what their caller beingness would beryllium similar oregon if they would ever return. I bash not cognize the language, and sometimes, I bash not cognize however to work and write. Working tirelessly successful laborious jobs and creating families with spouses they did not cognize earlier their wedding day. I person ever been fascinated by this procreation of migrants, inspired by their bravery, humbled by their sacrifice, arrogant of their achievements,and influenced by their enactment ethic.

When I stumbled crossed the 'Early Greek Australians' Facebook page, I wasn't definite what to expect. I surmised it mightiness beryllium a hive of radical searching for names and sharing anecdotes. I was overwhelmed by what I uncovered. The page, which has implicit 10,000 members, is simply a treasure trove of achromatic and achromatic photos, akin to the ones that were a fixture successful our parent's/grandparent's houses, staring backmost astatine us, radical whose stances are stoic, with eyes that convey stories of simpler times, of innocence, of the meaning of family, and often of hardship.

Before I knew it, 3 hours had passed. I devoured each communicative similar an anxious historian. I was amazed astatine however elaborate the stories were, with members going to large lengths to bash their relative’s plight justness by including arsenic overmuch accusation arsenic possible. In immoderate cases, each that could beryllium shared was a photograph, asking the radical if they could shed immoderate airy connected the radical oregon places. They included scanned rider lists, men moving the fields, weddings, christenings, and treasured household photos taken successful the village.

The cases wherever members person been capable to lick unanswered questions person been fascinating, specified arsenic providing the names of long-lost co-workers astatine assorted factories, reuniting radical who travelled connected the aforesaid ship, filling successful the blanks astir mill locations, opus titles, voyages connected antithetic vessel liners, and however these migrants adapted to their caller lives.

You would beryllium hard-pressed to find a radical of radical truthful helpful, lukewarm and supportive. Expressing gratitude for stories shared, searching for aged photos for the payment of different members wanting to spot their loved ones, agreed successful their myriad sentiments ranging from excitement, nostalgia, καημο and uncovering comfortableness successful the experiences of others, which are either akin oregon nonstop to their own.

I noticed the page's founder, Vicky Varitelli Danas, was salient successful the remark threads, and I wanted to find retired much astir wherefore she created the leafage and her thoughts astir however it has evolved.

“Black and achromatic photographs prompted maine to make the Early Greek Australians Facebook page,” she tells me. “Photographs incorporate idiosyncratic beingness events that whitethorn lone past for a moment, but the memories spell connected forever. It is past unfolding earlier us, a past dilatory fading and forgotten if not documented, truthful this is my tiny publication to revealing our parents' struggles for a amended beingness for themselves and their children. My cornerstone to each the past and aboriginal generations.”

“I was hoping to get answers to my queries from the faces that stared backmost astatine maine from aged photographs, which seemed intolerable astatine the time, but on the way, I recovered galore members shared the aforesaid tendency either to  pass oregon larn astir our parents' struggles successful this acold distant onshore and truthful the revelations poured into our radical and on the mode we person discovered a clip chartless to galore of america until now.”

Danas herself was 1 of the galore who made the voyage to Australia. Born successful Lesvos to parents from Polihnitos and Agiasos successful 1960, astatine the property of 6 months, she arrived successful Sydney with her mother, who was lone 17 years old. Her begetter had already settled successful Sydney and had saved capable wealth to bring them implicit by plane.

“Since I had nary recollection of my beingness earlier arriving successful Australia, increasing up successful the suburb of Redfern, Sydney and amongst truthful galore Greeks was the norm for me,” says Varitellis. “I attended Greek and Sunday schoolhouse and spent my afternoons playing and moving successful the streets and backmost lanes. There were hard times, particularly astatine school, arsenic we were abused and called names, but it made maine beardown and resilient and precise arrogant of my Greek Heritage.”

I asked Danas for her sentiment connected wherefore determination is truthful overmuch nostalgia. “How galore of america person sat and listened to our parent's and grandparents’ beingness journeys of a clip chartless to us, of a clip agelong earlier us?” she asks. “I judge it comes with property oregon becomes much of a longing for a location that nary longer exists. A location of cherished images, important radical that person shaped our lives, places and events that person moulded america into the radical we are today. Through these memories, we tin sphere the past of our past and bring it up to the contiguous by relaying those moments for the generations to travel similar a cloth that holds the threads of beingness together.”

Today, Danas’ imperishable residence is Pikermi,  Athens, and she besides spends clip during the twelvemonth connected the islands of Samos and Lesvos with her family. Like truthful many, Vicky’s parents decided to instrumentality the household to Greece successful 1976 to spot their homeland. “That is erstwhile my caller beingness started,” says Danas. “I met my husband,  had 3 boys, and person 2 adorable grandchildren today. I ne'er forgot Australia, my 2 sisters and my mother, arsenic I often question for visits, but today, Ellada is the lone spot I privation to be.”

*facebook.com/groups/278166612576484/

Gina Mamouzelos

Gina Mamouzelos is simply a 2nd procreation Greek Australian who grew up immersed successful her Greek heritage, including the language, traditions, civilization and listening to her grandparent’ mesmerising tales astir beingness successful Greece. Passionate astir ensuring the Greek connection is not forgotten among the younger generations, successful 2002 she became a sheet subordinate connected the SBS Greek vigor amusement ‘Let’s Talk Openly.' She graduated with a Media and Communications grade from the University of Sydney and has enactment her lifelong passionateness for penning to usage moving successful societal media, nationalist relations and advertising. Gina present joins GCT's squad arsenic a writer.