The Australian Greek Ex-Servicemen’s Association held a significant commemorative event on Saturday, October 19, at the Shepparton War Memorial, unveiling a bronze plaque that symbolically links ancient Greek valour with Australia’s ANZAC legacy.
The plaque is a replica of an ancient funerary stele honouring Athenian hoplites who fought and fell in battle in 447 B.C. near the Hellespont (modern-day Gallipoli).
A historic connection between Athens and Gallipoli
The original stele, housed at the National Epigraphic Museum in Athens since 1881, was once located in the ancient Athenian military cemetery known as the Demosion Sema in Kerameikos.
Its inscription commemorates the soldiers’ sacrifice: “Fighting beside the Hellespont, these men lost their shining youth. They brought honour to their fatherland, so that the enemy groaned as he bore the harvest of war, and for themselves they set up an immortal memorial of their courage.”
A plaster cast of the stele is also preserved at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where it was first displayed in the 1930s following efforts by C.E.W. Bean, Christopher Brennan, and Robert Innes Kay – three Australians who recognised the inscription’s deep resonance with the ANZAC spirit.
The replica unveiled in Shepparton is the first plaque in Victoria to bear both the original ancient Greek text and an English translation.
Ceremony and Participants
The day began with a memorial service at St George Greek Orthodox Church, Shepparton, officiated by Father Platon Derlis. Following the service, members of the Association proceeded to the War Memorial for the unveiling, conducted by Dr Panagiotis Diamadis.
Dr Diamadis, a Sydney-based historian and genocide scholar, spoke briefly about the inscription’s historical context and its connection to the ANZAC legacy. His research focuses on Australia’s humanitarian efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean during and after the genocides of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in the early 20th century.
Wreaths were then laid by representatives of community organisations and local authorities, including: Konstantinos Antoniadis, on behalf of Consul General Dimitra Georgantzoglou; Melissa Crosby, representing Kim O’Keeffe MP, Member for Shepparton; Mayor Shane Sali, City of Greater Shepparton; and a number of representatives from local Greek community organisations.
Honouring history and legacy
Following the ceremony, attendees gathered at the Sherburne Terrace Wyndham Hotel for the main lecture, where Dr Diamadis spoke in detail about the ancient inscription’s connection to both World Wars and his co-authored book From Genocide to Rebirth, which documents the photographic collection of George Devine Treloar – a Ballarat-born soldier turned humanitarian for the League of Nations who aided refugees in post-war Greece.
The event concluded with closing remarks by Nikolaos Makridis, President of the Australian Greek Ex-Servicemen’s Association, who thanked all dignitaries, guests, and members for their attendance and ongoing support.
