As a finalist in the inaugural Australia Cyprus Achievement Awards, Neophytos Stavrou represents a generation whose contributions were built quietly – through faith, perseverance and service rather than public recognition.
Now in his nineties, the Cyprus-born Sydney businessman, philanthropist and senior cantor reflected on his life in a recent interview with The Greek Herald, tracing a journey shaped by hardship, migration and an enduring commitment to community.
“Our history has shaped us,” he says. “Our failures are our stepping stones to success.”
From Xylotymbou to the Church
Stavrou was born in Xylotymbou, near Larnaca, into a large Cypriot family. The third of five children, his parents were Stavros and Ekaterina, with elder brother Andreas and sister Kyriakou, followed by Anastasia and Antonis. He was named Neophytos after being born on St Neophytos’ feast day, January 21.
“At the age of seven, I was given to my mother’s sister Hagi Erini and her brother Anthimos in Oroklini,” he recalls. “Hagi Erini never married and uncle Anthimos became a monk in his later years. The church became my life.”
His uncle Anthimos proved a formative influence.
“He taught me discipline, how to raise crops, how to think about work, how to endure,” Stavrou says. “Everything I learnt started there.”
Removed from formal schooling, he worked the fields by day and immersed himself in hymn books at night. Daily visits to the village church of Profitis Ilias shaped his spiritual grounding.
Sacred music became his anchor. Sent to Larnaca as a young boy to study Byzantine chant under Kouchapas, the lead cantor of Agios Lazaros – the ninth-century church dedicated to Saint Lazarus – his faith deepened.
“I was entrusted with divine books and I studied all the time,” he says. “The church and the fields; that was my world.”
Australia, 1951: Poverty and possibility
Stavrou arrived in Australia in 1951 as part of the early wave of Cypriot migration.
“I came with nothing,” he says simply.
Cousins who had arrived earlier helped him find work and shelter. He worked in a milk bar in Rose Bay, then as a kitchen hand, before securing employment at the IXL factory. Like many migrants of the era, he lived in overcrowded accommodation in Woolloomooloo, sharing space with other young men trying to find their footing.
“We couldn’t speak good English, so we helped each other,” he says. “At night, we would talk about our experiences – positive or negative – and learn from each other.”
The Cypriot community proved crucial. Arestidis, a leading community figure at the time, helped newcomers find accommodation through the kafenion until they could establish themselves.
The Panayis Vasili family in Redfern took him in when he was just 19.
“They treated me like their own,” he says. “I never forgot that, and I always held the utmost respect for Panayi and his wife Zinou.”
During this period, he began chanting at Agia Sofia in Darlinghurst with his cousin George Lazaris, their voices echoing through the surrounding streets. Through chanting at weddings and church services, he met the love of his life, Yiannoula.
Marriage and partnership
In 1955, Stavrou married Yiannoula Iraklithiou, originally from Omodos, Cyprus, with family roots in Iraklion, Crete.
Yiannoula had studied business and bookkeeping, skills that proved invaluable to the couple’s future ventures. Their first business was a café at Taylor Square, Darlinghurst – then the heart of a thriving Greek and Cypriot precinct.
“It was all there,” Stavrou recalls. “Kapsalis, Serafim, Koumis, Lazaris, Baveras, Spanos – everyone knew everyone.”
When transport routes changed and trams stopped running, the business became unsustainable. Once again, adaptation was necessary.
Building a business
Determined to support Cyprus economically, Stavrou began importing Cypriot and Greek wines, initially through Hatzipavlou. In 1961, he secured a liquor licence.
“It was very hard,” he says. “Australians didn’t know these wines and spirits.”
Undeterred, he travelled extensively across Australia — including Darwin, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Rockhampton – building wholesale networks from scratch. He later secured Achaia Clauss wines from Patras and expanded into exclusive French wine houses, introducing cognac and rosé from Portugal to the Australian market.
Agencies were secured through handwritten letters sent to Europe, requesting representation rights for wines, spirits and cognacs.
A turning point came with the introduction of Wine of the Crusaders: Cyprus Commandaria to Australia.
“That was a turning point,” he says. “Australians loved Commandaria.”
Believing deeply in the product, the family made a significant sacrifice.
“We sold our home in Kingsford to fund the business,” he says. “You can’t build something without sacrifice.”
Faith, loss and giving back
Despite commercial success, Stavrou has consistently avoided public recognition. His philanthropy to churches, charities, schools and individuals has been carried out quietly and without fanfare.
“I don’t need medals,” he says. “Those who deserve medals are our heroes who lost their lives for us.”
In 1974, during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, his family suffered a devastating loss. His nephew Pavlos Georgiou Pavlou – the 19-year-old son of his sister Anastasia — was killed at Bellapais. His remains were identified in 2023 and honoured with a full military ceremony.
“Our levendes made the ultimate sacrifice to defend the innocent,” Stavrou says. “That pain never leaves you.”
A quiet achiever
Throughout his life, Stavrou has served on the Greek Chamber of Commerce and walked alongside prime ministers, consuls and dignitaries, always promoting his heritage with humility.
“You cannot buy respect; it needs to be earned,” he says. “Treat people with respect.”
From Agia Sofia, he continued chanting at the Archdiocese Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady and across Sydney – including Kogarah, the Resurrection of Christ, Our Lady of the Myrtles and St Elesa – marking more than 70 years of chanting in Australia.
Still, he remains reserved about attention.
“What matters is the work,” he says.
Stavrou is among the finalists to be recognised at the inaugural Australia Cyprus Achievement Awards, an initiative honouring individuals whose lives reflect service, contribution and enduring connection to Cyprus and its diaspora.
True to form, he remains reluctant to focus on accolades. For him, recognition is secondary to faith, effort and responsibility – values he continues to live by, guided by the words he was raised with: “If it is God’s will. Αν είναι το θέλημα Θεού.”
Words he dedicates to his late wife, Yiannoula.
The winner of the Australia Cyprus Achievement Award will be announced at a formal presentation ceremony in February 2026, recognising individuals whose work has strengthened cultural, intellectual and community ties between Australia and Cyprus.
Event details
- Venue: The Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney
- Date: Thursday, 26 February 2026
- Time: 6.30 pm
- Bookings: www.thecyprusclub.org.au/awards
