Greece’s Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, John Chrysoulakis, has sent his congratulations to the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Bill Papastergiadis.
Congratulations were in order after Moray & Agnew Lawyers Melbourne, which is headed by Mr Papastergiadis, was ranked amongst the leading firms in this year’s Legal 500 Asia Pacific Directory.
Moray & Agnew was recognised as a leading firm in Asia Pacific and ranked from top 10 to top 25 in four major areas of practice – Construction, Insurance, Real Estate, and Labour and Employment.
“Warm congratulations to a great friend and the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Bill Papastergiadis, for the important distinction of his law firm…” Mr Chrysoulakis said in his statement.
Bill Papastergiadis.
“I am particularly happy because a leading Greek expatriate from Australia with a great work ethic, both in the professional arena and in the Greek community, received this high distinction. I wish him success always!”
For his part, at the time of the announcement last week, Mr Papastergiadis said he was “delighted that so many of our lawyers and practice groups have been applauded as the great lawyers they are.”
“This continued recognition firmly places our firm amongst Australia’s leading law firms. This is a fantastic achievement by our dedicated staff,” he said.
Legal 500 is a leading directory of law firms in over 150 global jurisdictions, and annually ranks law firms based on independent feedback from thousands of corporate counsel and other law firm clients.
Throughout it all, the crowd were entertained by the Canberran’s usual antics. At one stage, he even flicked the ball between his legs to the Briton.
“Obviously I served… well today,” the hometown hero said with a smirk as the crowd roared its approval after the match.
There were concerns for Kyrgios ahead of his match after he contracted COVID-19 just last week. He admitted in his on-court interview that he was bedridden for two days.
Kyrgios’ on-court interview. Photo: Getty Images.
“I was concerned I wasn’t going to be physically ready to play. I took it day by day, looked at the bright side and took pressure off,” Kyrgios said.
“I was so excited to be here, first match of the year, my favourite court in the entire world.”
Kyrgios’ win will now see him play world number two Daniil Medvedev on Thursday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas claims straight-sets win:
Greek world number four, Stefanos Tsitsipas, put on a clinical show in his opening round match at the Australian Open on Tuesday, claiming a straight-sets win against Mikael Ymer of Sweden 6-2 6-4 6-3.
Tsitsipas broke Ymer seven times and hit 30 winners to seal the contest in two hours and 10 minutes in the final match of the second day at Rod Laver Arena.
Photo: Steve Trikoulis @trikoulisphotgraphy.
The Greek, however, was not happy with the 38 unforced errors he committed in the match.
“There were a lot of rallies, a lot of ball exchanges, he gave me a hard time, he was going after every single ball and stayed in the match for as long as he could,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview.
“I will be trying to decrease the amount of unforced errors, I think I had a few more than I usually have. I’ll be trying to keep the consistency and trying to attack a bit more, be a bit more daring in certain moments.”
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sweden’s Mikael Ymer shake hands after their first round match. Photo: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake / Reuters.
The French Open finalist showed no signs of discomfort from a right elbow issue that forced him to miss a number of matches at the end of last season and also did not allow him to play at full tilt at the start of 2022.
Ymer showed glimpses of his talent and had his chances but could only convert two of his 11 breakpoint opportunities. The frustration ultimately got to the Swede as he kept punching his towel-clad head repeatedly during a changeover.
The Greek will next meet Argentina’s 21-year-old Sebastian Baez, ranked 88th, for a place in the third round.
Greek MEP, Eva Kaili, was elected one of the European Parliament’s (EP) 14 vice-presidents on Tuesday.
Kaili, who was elected for the Movement for Change (KINAL) party and sits with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group, received 454 votes.
She came fifth out of nine candidates and was thus elected to the position in the first round.
Greek MEP, Eva Kaili, was elected one of the European Parliament’s (EP) 14 vice-presidents on Tuesday.
Kaili’s productive and intensely active presence in the EP in previous years contributed to her election. Her widely supported legislative work and the initiatives she took with the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Centre, but also her chairing of the Science and Technology Committee and the European Science and Media Centre, made her one of the most influential and popular MEPs.
Nikos Androulakis, leader of KINAL/PASOK, tweeted his congratulations to Kaili, saying it was the first time since 2014 that an elected member from their party held the position.
Συγχαρητήρια @EvaKaili για την εκλογή σου! Για πρώτη φορά από το 2014 το Κίνημά μας θα έχει Αντιπρόεδρο του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου. Καλή επιτυχία στα νέα σου καθήκοντα! https://t.co/ghMmfTV7uh
A third ballot will now be held to fill the last two vice-presidencies.
Dimitris Papadimoulis, a SYRIZA MEP who sits with the Left group, is one of five candidates for the last two positions.
Roberta Metsola, a Christian Democratic politician from Malta, was also elected president of the European Union’s parliament on Tuesday, taking over for a 2.5-year term following the death of Socialist David Sassoli last week.
The funeral for renowned Greek painter, Alekos Fassianos, who died on Sunday at the age of 87 after a long illness, was held in the Papagou cemetery in Athens on Tuesday.
“The public’s unexpected love for Alekos Fassianos is proof that despite the difficult times we are experiencing, we still have good feelings inside us,” Alekos’ widow, Mariza Fassianou, said at the funeral while thanking those who have expressed their support for the family.
Credit: Paris Tavitian.
Among those in attendance at the funeral were Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, as well as friends and colleagues of the painter.
“All the work of Fassianos, the colours that filled his canvases, the multidimensional forms that dominated his paintings, exude Greece,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a tribute following his death.
Η Ελλάδα δεν έχει πια μαζί της έναν μεγάλο καλλιτέχνη. Ο Αλέκος Φασιανός μάς αφήνει πολύτιμη κληρονομιά το έργο του. Μαζί με όλους τους Έλληνες αποχαιρετώ έναν φίλο. Μοιράζομαι τη μεγάλη θλίψη με την σύζυγο, τα δύο παιδιά του και τους δικούς του ανθρώπους. https://t.co/AljyMuIMDopic.twitter.com/yyzhRRRTZl
“Greece no longer has with it a great artist who lavished colour on its daily life,” the Prime Minister added.
Fassianos has been described by some as Greece’s Picasso and was a graduate of the Athens Academy of Fine Arts. He moved to Paris in 1960 to study lithography at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
He adopted a personal anthropocentric style, influenced by abstract art. Many of his works adorn public spaces, including a mural at an Athens subway station.
The traditional Blessing of the Waters was held in South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania over the weekend to much joy from the parishioners who attended.
Here’s our list of all the winners and events which were held in those states and territories:
South Australia:
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, District of Adelaide Glenelg:
On Sunday, January 9, 2022, the Blessing of the Waters ceremony took place at Glenelg Jetty for the 42nd successive year.
His Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinope, together with Adelaide’s Orthodox Christian clergy, led a procession onto the Glenelg Jetty for the annual event.
In attendance were a number of prominent dignitaries including the Minister for Trade and Investment, Stephen Patterson, representing SA Premier Steven Marshall; the Mayor of Holdfast Bay, Amanda Wilson; Tom Koutsantonis MP; Andrea Michaels MP; the Chair of SAMEAC, Adriana Chrisopoulos; and the President of the Inter-communities Council of SA, Dr Vladimir Devrelis.
All photos by Argyro Vourdoumpa / The Greek Herald.
They all watched in excitement as many swimmers, young and old, endeavoured to be the first to retrieve the Holy Cross which was thrown into the sea from the jetty.
Ultimately, Stelios Zacharakis (Στέλιος Ζαχαράκης), 20, who is in his second year at university studying dentistry, retrieved the Holy Cross. Stelios is from the Parish of Prophet Elias, Norwood and this year was the third time he dived for the cross.
Stelios Zacharakis.
“I feel very lucky and happy,” Stelios told The Greek Herald and encouraged more people to participate next year.
“Go for it. This is my third year. Third year is the charm. It’s all about life really.”
This Blessing of the Waters ceremony was followed by the traditional Glenelg Greek Festival which, for the first time this year, has taken place over two days on Saturday, January 8 and Sunday, January 9 at the grassed foreshore area in front of the Stamford Grand Hotel.
Greek Orthodox Community of SA (GOCSA), Henley Beach:
The Greek Orthodox Community of SA (GOCSA) honoured Epiphany in a scaled down Blessing of the Waters event held at the Henley Beach Jetty on Sunday midday.
The Community cancelled this year’s festival due to the increasing COVID cases in the state.
“It is our duty to protect the community. Health and wellbeing come first and we’ll gather next year to celebrate with a bigger event,” GOCSA President, Bill Gonis said in his speech.
All photos by The Greek Herald / Argyro Vourdoumpa.
Among the special guests and dignitaries were Matt Cowdrey MP representing the Premier Steven Marshall, Mark Butler MP Federal Member for Hindmarsh, Jayne Stinson MP, Mayor of the City of Charles Sturt Angela Evans, Deputy Mayor of West Torrens George Vlahos, Councillor of the City of Charles Sturt and new Labor candidate for the State Seat of Colton, Paul Alexandrides.
Nine people in total -among them two girls- dived for the Cross with first timer Hristos Likouras (Χρήστος Λικούρας), 30, being the winner.
“I feel overwhelmed,” he told The Greek Herald. “When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would retrieve the Cross but I tried regardless. If you have highs and lows in life just try and get through each day.”
ACT:
Canberra’s Greek community gathered together at Casuarina Sands on Sunday, January 9 to celebrate the annual Blessing of the Waters.
The event, which was organised by the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra (GOCCC), began with a Matins and Divine Liturgy service at the local St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
The liturgy was presided over by the Archepiscopal Vicar of Canberra His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis, with the assistance of parish priest, Father Petros Kipouros.
Photos: Facebook.
During a sermon, His Grace emphasised the importance of mirroring one’s life on St John by loving and trusting God and not being afraid to express one’s Orthodox Christian faith.
After the service, Bishop Bartholomew and the parishioners travelled to Casuarina Sands to witness the throwing of the Holy Cross into the water as swimmers attempted to retrieve it.
In the end, Emmanuel Papanikolaou, 18, who’s heritage is from Samos, was named the winner.
“It feels really good,” Emmanuel told The Greek Herald.
“It’s a good day out with the community and it’s really fun. I’m just glad it could go ahead because I thought it would get cancelled due to COVID-19. So I’m really happy.”
Tasmania:
The Greek community of Tasmania also held the traditional Blessing of the Waters at Sandy Bay Beach on Sunday, January 9.
Following a Divine Liturgy service, parishioners went down to the beach area and cheered as swimmers jumped in to retrieve the Holy Cross from the water.
Photos supplied.
The service was presided over by Father Dimitrios from Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and Father Matthew from St George Greek Orthodox Church in Hobart.
20-year-old Yiannis Anagnostis from Hobart successfully retrieved the cross this year after many years of entering the race.
“We weren’t expecting anything flash. We were just coming out for a better life,” Angelos Zissis, 71, tells The Greek Herald as we sit down for our exclusive chat.
‘Nothing flash’ is exactly what Angelos and his family were faced with when they first migrated to Australia from Greece in 1954 and ended up at the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre.
Bonegilla was the official employment office through which about 15,000 assisted Greek migrants were processed in what was called ‘the ICEM Greek Project’ between 1953 and 1956.
Greek migrant next to the Bonegilla sign. Photos by Vogiazopoulos.
Greek dancing at Bonegilla.
On arrival at the centre, Greek migrants were allocated a hut and issued with eating utensils, crockery, towels and bedding. The living conditions were very basic and as Angelos remembers, it definitely wasn’t a five-star resort.
“It was like an army camp,” Angelos, who was five years old at the time, says.
“But obviously all the Greeks stuck together because they could speak the language.”
Angelos Zissos (bottom row, centre) at Bonegilla. Photo supplied.
Of course, newcomers could choose to attend language classes where they were taught survival English and something about Australian ways, including weights and measures, hygiene standards, history and geography.
But still many Greeks weren’t able to get used to other aspects of the camp, such as the British-style meals which were served in the cafeteria.
“Coming from a Greek background, the Greek cuisine was very different… so [the food] was pretty tasteless to them initially,” Angelos explains.
Julia Fragopoulos, who’s dad stayed in Bonegilla when he migrated to Australia with his family in 1957, couldn’t agree more.
Julia Fragopoulos’ parents on their wedding day (centre). Photo supplied.
She shares how her dad’s mum was so ‘fed up’ with the ‘bland food’ at Bonegilla that she took matters into her own hands.
“My grandma went picking for radikia (dandelion greens) in the field and then went to the local chemist to buy some oil to cook them,” Julia says with a little laugh.
Others, such as Lambis Englezos who migrated to Australia in 1954, saw Greek migrants ‘catch rabbits’ at a nearby lake and cook those for dinner.
People in Bonegilla hunted for rabbits. Photo by Vogiazopoulos.
Ultimately however, many didn’t have to suffer the unsavoury food for long as Bonegilla was an in-between place, a transition zone.
Within a number of weeks, Greek migrants usually left Bonegilla to undertake two years of labour of the Australian government’s choice.
Many ended up working on construction sites and with the railway in remote areas, before they were free to make their own way in the country.
Lambis Englezos’ family left Greece and ended up in Bonegilla. They didn’t regret their decision.
Many never looked back.
“We didn’t leave Greece with my grandmother’s blessing, but my father told me he never regretted the decision to come out to Australia. It was very difficult making the change but he didn’t regret it,” Lambis concludes.
A sentiment echoed by many who passed through the gates of Bonegilla and moved onto a better life Down Under.
On Wednesday, South Australian tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis recorded his first back-to-back match win on the ATP Tour since 2019 and stunned No.4 seed Frances Tiafoe to reach the Adelaide International quarterfinals.
“To play in front of friends and family, and to be playing at home there’s nothing better,” Kokkinakis said on court post-match.
His triumphant comeback has lit up not only his home city of Adelaide but also his family and the Greek community around the country.
“I feel proud not only for his latest successes but mostly for the resilience and the strength of character he showed to come back and get his tennis career on track,” Kokkinakis’ father, Trevor (Tryfon) told The Greek Herald ahead of tonight’s match.
“The last five years he has been through a lot with injuries and the mental battles forced on by those injuries. But he persisted and we are all proud of him.”
Thanasi Kokkinakis (centre) with his family, January 2014. Photo: David Caird, News Limited
Apart from his tennis skills the 25-year-old tennis player is popular for his natural sense of humour, sportsmanship and the fact that with every chance he gets he acknowledges the people who have supported him in this journey, especially his immigrant parents, Trevor and Voula, older siblings Christina and Panagioti, his trainers and coaches.
According to his father, the values Thanasi often exhibits on and off court are due to his upbringing.
“We brought up our children with the values we inherited from our migrant parents. Respect, the importance of family and love for each other,” he said.
“We are very proud Australians of Greek heritage and we appreciate this country that accepted us and gave our families a chance.”
Asked how he would like to see his son in the future, Trevor Kokkinakis refers to morals rather than victories and scores on billboards.
“Sincere, with manners and respect for people around him.”
“The career path he chose puts him in the spotlight. However, this doesn’t make him superior from someone who works in a factory or out in the fields,” he said admitting that it takes a village to… raise an athlete.
“Athletes have more pressure than all of us. They need strength of character and they need to be role models for others.”
Tonight, Trevor Kokkinakis will watch from the player’s box at the Memorial Drive Centre Court as his son takes on Mikael Ymer.
With a Greek village behind him for support, we are certain that Thanasis has what it takes to win his first ATP Tour-level quarterfinal and certainly a bright future ahead.
The exploding omicron cases are causing unprecedented disruption to Australia’s food distribution industry, with many suppliers forced to scale back operations because their staff are falling sick or isolating.
One of these suppliers is George Sofanios, who is the owner of Newcastle-based food distribution company, Red Funnel.
Mr Sofanios told ABC News how he was forced to shut his doors for eight days over Christmas after he had two positive COVID cases in his night-shift staff. It meant the rest of the staff on that shift became close contacts and couldn’t work.
The closure came at a cost of somewhere between $1 million to $1.5 million in sales, and it was the longest Mr Sofanios’ business had ever been closed since his family started operating in 1933.
“Disaster might be the right word in terms of staff shortages,” he told the national broadcaster.
“It was quite a shock to the business after 86 years to close for that period of time, especially in the busiest time of year.”
Since then, National Cabinet agreed to relax close contact rules, with a close contact now defined as a person you live with or have been with for four hours or more in a household or household-like setting in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
The period of time people must isolate has also been cut from the initial 14 days to seven days for people with COVID, if they are symptom free and seven days for close contacts, with a negative test result.
But Mr Sofanios said the close contact rule has still become redundant, given that more than 90 per cent of adult Australians have received two COVID-19 vaccinations.
“I don’t think you need to have a close contact rule. When people are sick, they don’t come to work,” Mr Sofanios told The Australian.
Other food distributors across the nation agree with Mr Sofanios and believe state governments need to come up with different solutions to help businesses stay open.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has reintroduced several COVID-19 restrictions today amid hospitals across the state buckling under the pressure of the Omicron outbreak.
From tomorrow, elective surgeries will be paused, and singing and dancing will be banned in hospitality venues, entertainment facilities and major recreation facilities.
This prohibition will not apply for weddings.
Major events may also be subjected to risk assessments from health authorities and could be postponed at their discretion.
The Premier also announced that a new reporting system will allow people to log positive rapid antigen test (RAT) results with Service NSW. This will be made available next week.
The government will also extend vaccination mandates to include booster shots, this includes in sectors such as healthcare, police and teachers.
Photo: AAP / Bianca De Marchi.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard in a statement said for those particular settings, workers will only be classified as fully vaccinated after receiving their third shot.
The changes are the latest in COVID-safe policies rolled back since December 15, when the government removed several restrictions to pre-pandemic levels.
Premier Perrottet labelled the changes as “minor” and “proportionate” changes as the state moves through the next phase of the outbreak.
NSW reported 38,625 new cases and 11 deaths today. Hospitalisations in the state have also grown exponentially with another 129 patients admitted for COVID treatment, bringing the total to 1,738.
Cases also continue to grow across Australia, with Victoria recording 21,728 cases and six deaths; the ACT reporting 1,246 new cases; Tasmania recording 1,489 new cases; Queensland recording 10,953 new cases, South Australia reporting 3,707 new cases; and the Northern Territory reporting 412 new cases.
From humble beginnings five years ago, Muscle Nation’s co-founders Chris Anastasi and Nathaniel Anthony now hope to build their activewear and supplements business into a $70 million empire.
Chris, 37, and Nathaniel, 31, started their business in 2016 from a spare room in Nathaniel’s grandma’s house and now they sell more than 1000 different activewear, supplements and snack products online to customers around the world.
In July last year, they also signed a huge deal to supply more than 830 Coles stores in Australia with their new range of custard protein bars and powders.
Chris and Nathaniel signed a huge deal with Coles last year.
According to The Daily Telegraph, this success saw Muscle Nation notch up $51 million in revenue in the past financial year and is aiming for a 25 to 30 percent growth spurt in 2021/22.
Chris told the newspaper the key to Muscle Nation’s growth was its 2 million plus online community of like-minded people who are “passionate about health and fitness.”
“The best form of marketing is word of mouth and building a strong relationship with our customers, which is undoubtedly how we have built the brand to where it is today,” Chris said.
The 37-year-old Greek Australian added that he’s excited for the future of the business and plans to continue evolving.
“We actually feel like we’re just getting started,” he concluded.
