Melbourne’s Cypriot community came together on Sunday, April 2 to honour the EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) heroes and heroines who struggled against British colonial rule from 1955 to 1959.
EOKA was an underground nationalist movement of Greek Cypriot freedom fighters dedicated to ending British colonial rule in Cyprus and to achieving the eventual union (Greek enosis) of Cyprus with Greece.
These freedom fighters were honoured at a memorial service at St Andrews Greek Orthodox church in Sunshine, Melbourne on Sunday.
The memorial service was presided over by Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta in the presence of a number of official guests. This included the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia, Antonis Sammoutis and the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis.
A number of students from St John’s College, and representatives of local Cypriot and Greek associations, were also present.
All of these attendees later moved outside the church to an epitaph where they laid wreaths in honour of the EOKA freedom fighters.
