Sydney’s Greek community is invited to attend a commemoration day and Greek barbeque fundraiser this Sunday, June 20, at the historic Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Paddington.
The church is known as the first Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, and it has even been given State Heritage Status by the New South Wales Government.
The Cathedral’s hall was also a popular venue for the afternoon Greek schools dating back to the late 1920’s, and it was used by the then-Consul General Dr Emil Vrisakis to collect warm clothes and footwear to send to the Anzacs and Greeks who were defending Greece during WWII.
This weekend’s intergenerational Greek barbeque is being held for people to witness the restoration work which has been carried out at the Cathedral to date, including the cleaned interior and a plaque made from Pentelic Marble and donated by Euromarble.
The Greek Herald‘s sources say up to $900,000 has already been spent to restore the Cathedral, but about $150,000 is still required to replace the corroded steel windows with authentic period materials and improve the internal lighting.
If you’d like to see the restoration works, the barbeque is being held at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral on the Corner of Napier Street and South Dowling Street in Paddington from 12pm on Sunday, June 20.An earlier liturgy at 8am will also be held on the day.
Greek composer and bouzouki master, Stelios Vamvakaris, was one of the first musicians to deal with the common roots of rebetiko and blues.
On this day in 2019, Stelios passed away at the age of 72. To mark the day, we take a look back at his inspirational career.
Early Life and Music Career:
Stelios Vamvakaris, the second son of the pioneer of rebetiko Markos Vamvakaris, was born in Piraeus on March 2, 1947. He started playing music at the age of 12, with his father.
Stelios Vamvakaris is the second son of the pioneer of rebetiko Markos Vamvakaris.
During the many years of his artistic career, Stelios collaborated with important rebetiko musicians, such as Giannis Papaioannou, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Stratos Pagioumtzis and Stelios Perpiniadis, as well as with big names in folk, art and rock music, such as George Zambetas Gray, Vicky Moscholou, Lefteris Papadopoulos and George Dalaras.
In 1988, he recorded with the American blues player Louisiana Red the album ‘The Blues meets Rebetiko’ with 8 pieces of blues performed with bouzouki and baglama. In 1994, he wrote music for the album ‘Romantic Violators – Fantasy in Power,’ which stood out for its special sound.
During his career, he gave many concerts abroad performing his songs but also songs of his father.
Stelios passed away on June 17, 2019, at the age of 72.
Legacy and Death:
The artistic value of his particular style of music was also recognised by the international blues community. At a festival in Fallon, Sweden, he co-starred with John Lee Hooker and in 2003, at a London Blues Festival with Taj Mahal and Cesaria Evora. In 2010, he appeared at the Balkan Trafik Festival held in Brussels.
Apart from songs, Stelios also composed music for the cinema, as in the film of George Panousopoulos ‘One day at night,’ but also for plays. Many remarkable songs by him have not found their way into the discography.
Stelios passed away on June 17, 2019, at the age of 72.
The Centre for the Greek Language has announced the new period of the distance training program ‘Routes in Teaching Greek as a Second/Foreign Language’ for teachers in Greece and abroad.
The course begins on Monday, September 6, 2021 and lasts 10 months. Registrations are open from April 12, 2021 until June 30, 2021.
The program consists of the following eight modules, which cover all thematic areas of interest for the teacher of Greek as a second/foreign language:
Lesson planning, Classroom Management and Learning Strategies.
Teaching Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation.
Teaching Languages to Young Learners.
Language Performance Assessment.
Computer Assisted Language Learning.
Aspects of Language (Language diversity, genres, and literary discourse).
Bilingualism: Language and Thought of the Bilingual Speaker.
When Cultures Converse at School: Intercultural Education Issues.
The program, which was first implemented in 2007, was awarded with the European Language Label. It is constantly updated and improved, while it offers flexibility in participation, since it is implemented entirely by distance learning and asynchronous teaching.
The participants enjoy 24-hour access to the material and discussion forums, in order to communicate with instructors and fellow participants, to exchange ideas, and engage in constructive dialogue.
One or two webinars take place in each unit, in real time, offering immediate live communication with the team of instructors.
Innovative features of the program include:
Three, at least, specialised instructors in each unit, who possess years of experience in the field, teach and supervise the participants and provide answers to their questions.
Implementation of the principles of distance learning.
The participants write essay papers in each unit under the guidance and support of the team of instructors.
Upon completion of the program, trainees are invited to an online teacher community, offering opportunities for continuous cooperation and exchange of information.
The program is addressed to anyone involved and/or interested in teaching Greek as a second/foreign language in Greece and abroad, provided he/she is a B.A. holder from departments of Greek philology, foreign language philologies, pedagogical studies, theological studies or other departments of Greek or equivalent foreign universities.
Candidates who have not completed tertiary education may also be admitted on certain conditions.
The Program “Routes in Teaching Greek as a Second/Foreign Language” is recognised as a distance training program (Government Gazette 862/Issue B/ 8-4-2014) and provides a 450-hour certified specialisation in teaching Greek as a second/foreign language.
Trainees who successfully complete the program can work in public and private institutions worldwide (indicatively, teaching centers, schools, universities and research institutes) that specialise in teaching Greek as a second/foreign language.
For all relevant information, such as registration and cost, please visit the registration website: www.greek-language.gr/routes.
On a cold, rainy night in Cromer, Sydney Olympic FC secured their spot in the FFA Cup Round of 32, nailing a convincing 2-0 victory against Manly United FC on Wednesday.
Both sides grabbed late wins in the NSW NPL on the weekend, with Olympic edging over the Sydney FC Youth NPL side and Manly claiming a 2-1 win against APIA Leichhardt. The teams are also separated by only two points in the competition.
Olympic lined up almost identically against Manly, replacing only Nicola Kuleski with Brendan Cholakian in the midfield.
Both teams looked strong out the gate applying strong defensive pressure, yet neither side sent any dangerous threats towards goal.
Sydney Olympic reach the round of 32 in The FFA cup. Photo: Steve Trikoulis @trikoulisphotography
The slow start to the game was turned around in the 18th minute after Tom Whiteside delivered a near-perfect ball, from his own box, to Mohammed Adam who was through on goal. The in-form striker shot it from the edge of the box, yet only after he was grabbed by Manly captain and defender Jimmy Oates. Oates received a red card for his error and Manly were brought down to 10 men.
Olympic made expert good use of the red card and free kick from outside the opposition’s box, delivering a set piece spectacle straight from the training ground onto Cromer Park.
Former Manly man Brendan Cholakian delivered a through ball to Fabio Ferreira, who was waiting unmarked beside the opposition’s defensive wall, who sent it straight past the keeper and into the back of the net.
Olympic’s second goal wasn’t too far away, with Monge taking the ball down the line with a pass from Ferreira. Monge laid it off to Adam who shot it towards goal, hitting a defender and deflecting into the net.
Sydney Olympic reach the round of 32 in The FFA cup. Photo: Steve Trikoulis @trikoulisphotography
Entering the second half with an extra man over their opponents, Olympic remained in control for the remaining minutes of the match. Olympic still had to deal with the individual talents of Dejan Pandurevic and Jack Fulton, who set up and sent some dangerous shots towards Olympic keeper Nicholas Sorras, yet the shot-stopper was determined to keep his good run of form.
A deflection potentially stopped Manly from claiming a much-needed goal, which had already wrong-footed Sorras, yet the ball rolled past the post. Manly’s best chances in the match came from corners, where Olympic struggled to clear the ball early, earning eight to Olympic’s three.
Olympic showed their commitment to victory, and hefty aggression, after finishing with six yellow cards. Both sides finished the match with four shots on target.
Ferreira was one of Olympic’s top performers on the night, sending multiple shots at the Manly keeper and ultimately claiming one goal. Whiteside also performed well to keep the Manly attackers from getting off any easy shots against Sorras.
Sydney Olympic will now move onto the FFA Cup Round of 32. The Belmore side has only reached the Round of 16 twice since 2014.
The six finalists in the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award 2021 were announced on Wednesday night and among them is debut Greek Australian author, Andrew Pippos, with his novel Lucky’s.
Pippos’ book was inspired by his own family story: his ancestors came out from Greece and operated a Greek-Australian cafe in the small town of Brewarrina, NSW, for more than 80 years.
He tells The Australian that being a finalist for the literary award is a “dream.”
Andrew Pippos, left, author of Lucky’s, and Robbie Arnott, author of The Rain Heron. Credit: Belinda Rolland.
“I feel fantastic! I spent years writing this book and I didn’t even know if it would be published. To be short-listed for a big award is a dream,” Pippos told The Australian.
Pippos is among a relatively left-of-field shortlist for Australia’s most famous literary prize. He joins Aravind Adiga nominated for Amnesty, Robbie Arnott for The Rain Heron, Daniel Davis Wood for At the Edge of the Solid World, Amanda Lohrey for The Labyrinth and Madeleine Watts for The Inland Sea.
The six books on the 2021 Miles Franklin shortlist.
“In various ways each of this year’s short-listed books investigate destructive loss – of loved ones, freedom, self, and the environment,” State Library of NSW Mitchell Librarian and judging panel chair, Richard Neville, said after the announcement.
“There is beauty and joy to be found, and decency and hope, largely through the embrace of community but, as the shortlist reminds us, often community is no match for more powerful forces.”
Longlisted novelists Gail Jones, who has been on the award’s longlist or shortlist six times, and previous Miles Franklin winner, Sofie Laguna, missed out this year.
The winner of the award will be announced on July 15.
A contentious labour reform bill that has sparked nationwide protests and strikes was carried through Parliament on Wednesday by the center-right government’s majority, with 158 votes in the 300-seat House.
The bill’s ratification came after three days of acrimonious debate that culminated in a heated exchange between Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and leftist opposition chief, Alexis Tsipras, on Wednesday.
“Ten bold changes are included in this bill, changes that will finally help the Greek economy and society to meet the fast pace of the rest of Europe, as well as of our times,” Mitsotakis stressed.
A contentious labor reform bill was carried through Parliament on Wednesday.
“When governments come to loggerheads with the vast majority of society and its interests, its days are numbered,” Tsipras warned from the dais after the Prime Minister dismissed criticism that the bill seeks to abolish collective bargaining and the eight-hour workday, while also weakening unions and the Labor Inspectorate.
The center-right government says the legislation will modernise antiquated labor laws that in some cases were written more than a century ago. It argues the law would allow for more flexibility in the working week, expand paternity rights, make it easier for employees to report workplace harassment and provide greater safeguards and rights for many workers.
Protesters wearing protective face masks take part in rally outside the Greek parliament, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.
The government also says the new regulations on strikes will prevent single unions from severely disrupting essential services such as garbage collection and public transportation.
Wednesday’s strike was the second in two weeks. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Athens in the morning, while around 2,000 more marched in the capital in the afternoon. A police helicopter circled overhead.
The strike affected all modes of public transportation, including ferries to and from the Greek islands. Organisers exempted teachers involved in university entrance exams so as not to disrupt the process for students.
Connie Leamon is a first-generation Greek Australian migrant who spoke with National Seniors Australia about her journey to Australia.
She was just 3-years-old when she left Greece with her family to join her father in Australia.
Her father, Con, had emigrated to North Queensland a-year-and-a-half earlier to cut cane and had finally saved enough money to bring Connie, her mother, and baby brother out to Australia after he found a job as a sewerage pipe inspector.
Con was one of many migrants who left their families behind to migrate to a foreign country for new work and opportunities.
“He came here not knowing a single soul and not speaking a word of English,” she says.
“He was only 23 at the time and had worked on his father’s farm since the age of 11. His family wasn’t well off and he didn’t receive much of a formal education, but he was a clever man and an extremely hard worker.”
Connie’s father Con arrived in Australia to work as a cane cutter (Photo: Cane cutters in the Burdekin Shire, Queensland, in the 1960s) (Credit: Burdekin Cane Farm Stay)
The family shared a small house in west Brisbane with another migrant family.
“My father worked very hard but my mother worked incredibly hard as well,” Connie recalls.
“She was a self-taught seamstress and made all our clothes. She did whatever small jobs she could to make money and taught herself to speak English.”
“Really, you have to take your hat off to these women. Imagine being here alone with no family, raising babies and working your guts out to put food on the table and pay the rent.”
“Most people treated them like second-class citizens. We were just ‘bloody wogs’.”
Connie says she will never forget her parents’ plight to Australia.
“My parents are no longer with us but they will always be my heart and my heroes,” she says.
“I think back to some of the stories they told me about the poverty they grew up with and the way people treated them when they came here, and really they must have had serious post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“I’m fairly sure my mother had mental health issues that went untreated her whole life because you didn’t go to the doctor unless you were dying, back then.”
“Their sacrifice meant my brothers and I were able to receive good educations and live in a truly lucky country.
“I look at the way we treat refugees and immigrants now and think, has anything changed? I don’t know.”
Alexander, aged 6, was diagnosed with a rare brain disorder at a young age.
His mother, Greek-Australian photojournalist Jennifer Polixenni Brankin, has decided to kickstart a new film to document his journey with the condition as part of her promise to him: to show him the world.
Alexander’s journey
What do you do when your five-and-a-half-month-old is diagnosed with a rare condition that you’ve never heard of?
Better yet, having to support your newborn living with this condition as a single parent?
These were the predicaments that Jennifer Brankin found herself in around six years ago.
Jennifer Brankin found herself in tough predicaments six years ago (Source: ABC)
She was pregnant with her first child but developments in her pregnancy gradually started to worsen.
Her son Alexander was the size of a 28-week old when Jennifer was 35 weeks pregnant.
“The consultant who came to speak with me said there was something very wrong with my baby and that, ‘This wouldn’t end well,” she recalls.
Brankin was rushed in for an emergency C-section after Alexander stopped moving.
Plenty of time in ICU care, multiple surgeries, hospitalisations and many testings later and Alexander was diagnosed with Joubert Syndrome.
Joubert Syndrome is a rare condition that affects brain development and body function in young children.
Brankin says she “wanted the ground beneath [her] to crack open and swallow her whole” but has helped Alexander live with the condition.
“After living for a decade in America, I knew that Alexander was lucky to be born in Australia, to have access to our excellent health care system,” she says.
Alexander’s condition meant that he had to be fed through a g-tube at one point.
“A Greek mothers dream come true, come on, who doesn’t want direct access to their kids stomach to feed them the latest creations to come from the kitchen?!,” Brankin writes.
‘Expecting the Unexpected’ documentary will follow Alexander’s journey
Midwives have their work cut out for them as it is, but capturing an emergency C-section with their patient’s D-SLR camera?
That idea would only come from a photojournalist and it’s this footage that will compose a new documentary to be released this year about Alexander’s life journey.
Jennifer (right) with her son Alexander (left) (Source: GoFundMe)
Brankin has enlisted the help of industry colleagues to bring the film into fruition in the hopes of sparking conversations about navigating complicated health conditions like Joubert Syndrome.
Brankin says she didn’t want Alexander’s time in hospital to be his “only memories” and so she made a little promise to him: to show him the world.
Jennifer Brankin was once facing the likely prospect of having a stillborn baby and now travels and lives with her son Alexander.
A migrant from the Greek island of Kefallonia, Christina Giannakis, recently celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at the South Australian aged care home where she currently lives.
“I am over 100. I was born on Christmas day in 1920 but my parents didn’t register my birth until a few months later,” Mrs Giannakis tells The Greek Herald, as she reminisces her life and migration journey to Australia along with her youngest son, Chris Giannakis, 62.
Resilience and hope: Rebuilding a life after devastation
One of five kids, Christina lived her childhood and early adulthood during the Great Depression, the Second World War and later on between 1944-1949 the Greek Civil War, the twentieth century’s most brutal.
“Her parents had to feed the kids and couldn’t afford to help her study but she was happy working at the family’s vineyards and olive groves,” says Chris Giannakis.
Christina was in her early 30s when on August 12, 1953 a catastrophic earthquake that struck the island of Kefalonia caused the death of almost 600 people and reduced the town to rubble.
Τhe Kefallonia earthquake in 1953, caused the death of almost 600 people
“I remember this day. I hid under the kitchen table and this is how I stayed alive,” Mrs Giannakis says.
Among the survivors was young Haralambos, who had lost his wife and was left to bring up two kids. A 2-year-old-girl and a 6-month-old boy.
Chris Giannakis (front row, second from R) with his siblings in Kefallonia, 1962.
“This earthquake would change our lives. My mother, Christina, is my father’s second wife and I am the youngest of the two children they had together,” says Chris.
“My mother brought us all four up and treated us equally.”
The quest for a better life in the Antipodes
In 1972, almost two decades after the earthquake and having a daughter who had already migrated to Australia, Haralambos travelled Down Under to attend his daughter’s marriage.
“The marriage was an excuse. He had a one-way ticket and we knew he went to Australia to stay. He was in his early sixties, working hard but was still unable to make ends meet in Greece,” says Chris Giannakis.
L to R: Christina’s first photo in Australia, 1974 and with her late husband Haralambos
Two years later, in 1974, his wife and three kids joined him in Whyalla, an industrial city in SA’s Eyre Peninsula which was then home to almost 120 Greek families.
“I loved Australia and although I couldn’t speak the language everyone was helping us. Even the locals. We were helping each other. Life was better here than it was in Greece,” says Mrs Giannakis.
Christina and Haralambos Giannakis with friends
“When we arrived, we were particularly supported by the Vlachoulis family and for this help we will be forever grateful,” adds Chris.
A Greek legacy that continues through generations
Although five decades in Australia, Christina never learned English and managed to return to her homeland only once.
She doesn’t mind, she says. Because she has four children, eight grandchildren and four grandchildren (one due in August) to be proud of.
Christina with one of her grandchildren
“Kids make me happy. I have love for everyone,” she says.
I ask her what the secret to longevity is and she replies without much thought.
“My faith is what gives me strength. I am healthy and health is wealth,” says Mrs Giannakis and her son, Chris, nods in agreement.
“I feel really fortunate that we have Greek heritage. It’s our history, language and faith that I’m proud of,” he says, as he holds his mother’s hand to accompany her to lunch.
Centenarian Christina Giannakis with her son Chris.
*For her 100th Birthday Christina Giannakis received congratulatory letters among others from Queen Elizabeth, the Governor-General, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, State Leaders and Greek Australian MPs Steve Georganas and Tom Koutsantonis.
Michael Tassis’ new riverfront Greek restaurant and bar Opa Bar & Mezze in Brisbane is being described as a “Mediterranean escape” by reviewers.
Mr. Tassis opened Opa Bar & Mezze in April as his fifth restaurant along the riverside of Brisbane’s bustling Eagle Street Pier precinct.
“There’ll also be a lot of lamb on the menu and we’ll have over 30 bottles of high end pinot noir because lamb and pinot is always a good match,” said Mr. Tassis.
Opa is Tassis’ first Greek restaurant and describes it as “Brisbane’s best Greek restaurant”.
Mr. Tassis is the same owner behind restaurants George’s Paragon, Rico, Fatcow, and Massimo, some of which are Latin and Italian restaurants.
Michael Tassis is the same owner behind restaurants George’s Paragon, Rico, Fatcow, and Massimo, some of which are Latin and Italian restaurants (Picture: Josh Woning)
Opa boasts a monstrous menu offering breads and dips, fresh and raw dishes like sand crab with taramasalata, and large plates including moussaka, spanakopita, and stifatho.
It boasts a 21-strong mezzedes menu, with a dedicated mezze hour from 3 pm – 5:30 pm daily and special soul events every Friday to Sunday.
It offers a selection of Greek wine and cocktails named for the Greek gods.
The Courier Mail’s Alison Walsh describes the eatery as “aesthetically pleasing” and “…evocative of something you might stumble across on your Greek island sojourn.”
It’s a flashy 5-star restaurant filled with white booths, arched windows, and u-shaped lounges, decorated with plates patterned with cracks and a copper pepper mill.
