The Greek community of Sydney gathered on Wednesday night to enjoy the launch of Peter Prineas’ new book Wild Colonial Greeks at the Mytilenian House.
The book launch kicked off with a small introduction to the book by Associate Professor Nicholas Doumanis from the University of New South Wales, where he described ‘Wild Colonial Greeks’ as a “great pre-history” of the Greek community in Australia.
This introduction was followed by a conversation between Prineas, the Associate Professor and Dr Antonis Piperoglou, where the author described the research behind his new book.
READ MORE: Peter Prineas’ new book ‘Wild Colonial Greeks’ takes deep look into early Greek Australian history.
The book takes readers on a journey through colonial Australian history as Prineas looks to uncover the first Greek arrival to Australia.
One candidate, who is referenced multiple times throughout the book, is a Greek from Corfu named George Manuel, who was living in Australia in 1823. This was six years before the arrival of the seven pirate-convicts currently considered to be Australia’s first Greeks.
READ MORE: On This Day in 1829: The first Greeks arrived in Australia.
After the conversation, attendees, which included Greek consular official Mr George Lizidis and Dr Antonis Piperoglou, were treated to a lovely performance by Jim Tsolakis of the Hellenic Choir and Felicia Harris of the La Boite Perfoemance La Boite Performance Space.
Food and drink was also available for purchase through the night from the Mytilenian Brotherhood’s bar.
