Both the Greek and English versions of a book detailing the history of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) will be presented at an event in Athens, Greece on Thursday, September 5.
The book, titled The Embodiment of a Distant Homeland: the history of the GOCMV from its founding to 1972, was written in Greek by Georgia (Juliana) Charpantidou and published in late 2022.
Sydney-based translator Petros Alexiou has since translated the book, with an English version published recently.
The book focuses on the GCM as the oldest institutional representative of a Greek community in Australia. It follows the GCM’s historical course as it emerged from the late nineteenth century until the early 1970s.
Research was based on primary sources – the Minutes and Archives of the GCM, the National Archives of Australia, the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora at Latrobe University, and Greek and English language newspapers of the time in Australia.
Both the Greek and English versions of the book were published by Themelio Publications in Athens, a notable company with 60 years of experience in the world of books.
A book launch will be held at the Themelio bookstore in Athens, Greece on September 5 at 7pm to celebrate the publication.
The event will be opened by Australian ambassador in Athens, Alison Duncan, while both author and translator, Ms Charpantidou and Mr Alexiou, will be there to field questions.