A warm Sunday afternoon in Melbourne saw many attend the launch of the Greek Australian Cultural League’s (GACL) periodical magazine Antipodes.
First published in 1974, it is the longest published bi-lingual Australian periodical. The 2025 Antipodes is the 71st volume and features stories about post-war Greek migration to Australia.
Approaching the Panarcadian Association for the launch, I was greeted by a delicately crafted window display of 1950s teacups, magazine covers, suitcases and other household items.
Launch attendees were transported back to the era of post-war migration when entering the foyer and seeing an ‘immigration department’ registration table where they could write on a name tag the year they arrived in Australia and the name of their ship. Many elderly Greeks in the line for this registration were fondly and emotionally sharing their stories of migrating to Australia.
Walls of the room were also covered in old photographs of Greek migrants in Australia.
Celebrating the 71st volume of Antipodes, GACL President Cathy Alexopoulos presented an extremely well-organised afternoon of speeches, a screening of the short film Two Migrant Boys and an entertaining fashion runway of 1950s-1970s clothes which was curated by the talented Ourania Papageorgiou.
Closing the launch with the fashion show had attendees buzzing, especially when boubounieres were handed out as a bride and groom walked the runway.
The launch was hosted by Anthea Sidiropoulos and opened with footage of the Patris ship arriving in Melbourne.
Speeches were delivered by Ms Alexopoulos, Secretary for the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) Marinis Pirpiris, and Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission Vivienne Nguyen. Migration is something all speakers connected to on a personal level and shared their own journeys.
Former Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou officially launched the 2025 Antipodes. She made a particularly interesting point when she noted that the migrant stories in Antipodes don’t have a sense of victimhood, but are rather recounts of resilience in a time of uncertainty. Post-war Greek migrants established themselves in an unknown country with little understanding of the language and culture, and managed to build their lives from scratch.
In attendance at the launch were Dr Mary Elizabeth Calwell, daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth Calwell, former chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission George Lekakis AO, and Moira Triantafyllou, Education Officer for the Greek Consulate.
Sponsors of the event were Andronas Conservation Architecture, Toorak Law, ADK Insurance Brokers and the Ithacan Philanthropic Society.
Ms Alexopoulos told The Greek Herald, “We are at a point in our society that these sort of events which honour or are dedicated to that first mass migration… should be do[ne] in a different light… We need to pull our resources together and get that second and third generation involved… to do something that is outside the square.”
Regarding the future of GACL, Ms Alexopoulos said they hope to grow their team with new people and they will continue with their 2026 plans to produce another periodical, host their bi-annual book award and annual literary competition.
It was heartwarming to see smiles in the crowd when they heard memories shared by the launch speakers. Mr Pirpiris shared a memory of sitting around the fireplace when he was little and listening to his family’s stories. Later, excited whispers flowed through the crowd when they saw familiar streets of 1960s Melbourne in Two Migrant Boys.
Georgia Tragas attended the event with her family and was touched to relive her experience migrating to Australia.
She said the evening brought back many memories for her of “how we came to Australia in ’65… how we raised our children, how we worked hard. How we sent our children to English school and of course also to Greek school so they could learn the Greek language, our tradition, our culture.”
It was especially touching for Georgia to see footage of the Patris screened at the launch, a reminder of how she had arrived on that ship to Melbourne where her new life began.
97-year-old Anastasios ‘Tasos’ Kolokotronis’ story was one of the many featured in Antipodes. His story follows his first months arriving in Australia, attempting to find work in Sydney before moving to Melbourne.
He said, “we started our life here… it was difficult, without the language, without money, but we managed and tried different jobs. Finally, I found a good job… as an automotive and aircraft engineer.”
In his piece, Tasos speaks about his experiences in Australia and impressions of the country. He shares light-hearted stories alongside the darker aspects of migration. Attending the launch with pride, Tasos reflected on the event saying, “It brought back memories of the old days [and] I saw some friends here.”
The launch of this year’s Antipodes was a heartfelt tribute to Australia’s Greek migrants. The volume was thoughtfully compiled by the GACL team who understand that at the crux of Greek Australian culture is a story of a migrant who was just trying their best to create a better life.
 periodical magazine Antipodes. ){kind=link}