Despite being held online, last year’s Antipodean Palette was an outstanding success for the Greek-Australian Cultural League (GACL), and this year it will continue at Melbourne’s Duckboard Place, among other city locations.

The theme of Metamorphosis was chosen for a very different Antipodean Palette for 2021, which is dedicated to the Liberation of the Hellenes from Ottoman rule.

Work from selected artists will be displayed on posters with QR codes to access the work and artists’ statements on the GACL’s website.

Aphroditi Karalis, who is coordinating this year’s Antipodean Palette, in conjunction with Vasy Petros, says that the GACL’s positive adaptation to change is a tribute to the resilience of its President of 23 years, Cathy Alexopoulos, who encourages the arts-oriented committee to continually aspire to new ideas, and maintain the momentum in building a unique cultural and arts-focussed organisation that has relevance in today’s world.

See below for artworks from three of this years participating artists: Virginia Polendakis, Efrossini Chaniotis and Maritsa Micos.

The Greek-Australian Cultural League (GACL), is an organisation which has endured for more than 50 years, promoting, supporting and fostering the creative endeavours of Greek-Australian writers and artists whose work primarily reflect the confluence of the Greek and Australian cultures and contribute to the enrichment of Literature, the visual arts and the performing arts.

COVID-19 put a halt to many planned events last year, as members hunkered down in their homes shell-shocked with the global phenomenon. Even without events, Cathy Alexopoulos kept members informed behind the scenes, overseeing the annual publication of the bilingual periodical Antipodes, organising the annual Literary Competition and keeping the group together and motivated to look to the future.

Simultaneously, Vasy Petros established the Greek-Australian Art Register (GAAD) and Kids art classes. The first of its kind, the GAAD brings together Greek Australian artists past and present.

Racing NSW and Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys has lost the defamation case he brought against the ABC over an episode of 7.30 featuring graphic footage of horses being slaughtered at an abattoir in Queensland.

Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney said the program may not have portrayed Mr V’landys in a positive light but did not defame him in a judgment handed down on Friday afternoon.

The program, aired on October 17, 2019, was titled The Final Race and featured shocking footage of distressed horses being slaughtered at the Meramist Abbatoir, north of Brisbane.

A recorded interview with Mr V’landys was juxtaposed with the graphic footage throughout. The Racing boss alleged the program defamed him and damaged his reputation as a regulator.

He claimed he was denied procedural fairness because he was not shown hidden camera footage recorded in a Meramist abattoir before or during his interview.

The judge said the overall impression of the report was that the slaughter of thoroughbreds in knackeries was occurring because rules put in place by the industry were “inadequate and ineffective”.

The imputations alleged to have been conveyed included that Mr V’landys “callously permitted the wholesale slaughter of thoroughbred horses” and “ignored the cruelty to which thoroughbred horses were subjected to in a Queensland abattoir”.

Mr V’landys also argued the ABC and Ms Meldrum-Hanna acted with malice in publishing the story, but Justice Wigney said the evidence did not support any allegation of dishonesty or deceit on behalf of the ABC or Meldrum-Hanna.

In a statement, an ABC spokesperson welcomed the decision.

“‘The Final Race’ was an important and ground-breaking investigation, forensically and conscientiously reported, which exposed the cruel treatment and miserable fates of many of Australia’s retired racehorses in slaughterhouses and abattoirs,” the spokesperson said.

Sourced By: ABC News

Dr Leonidas Moiras will give a lecture entitled Ottoman Perceptions of the Greek Revolution, on Thursday 20 May, at 7.00pm, at the Greek Centre, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The outburst of the Greek Revolution consisted a major challenge for the Ottomans, since they had to suppress a “millet-wide sedition” of their subjects, who were claiming independence. The sultan, the central state elite and the intelligentsia tried to identify the reasons that triggered the “insurrection” of their subjects. The Ottoman administration responded to this challenge with the mobilization of her military power alongside several attempts to reincorporate the subjects back to the imperial order.

At the same time, the Greek Revolution became the main channel of transmission, through which the main ideas of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment entered the Ottoman mind and shaped decisively the imperial political thought and ideology. Through the intercepted documents of the Greek rebels, the Ottoman authorities tried to find the responses to the new challenges.  

“This paper is an attempt to investigate the Ottoman perceptions and reactions to the Greek Struggle of Independence,” Dr Moiras said in a press release.

“I will try to investigate how the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II., the central state elite and the intelligentsia experienced the Greek War of Independence and the “making” of the modern Greek state through the examination of the contemporary Ottoman sources and the terminology of the state elite.

“Also, I will discuss the reflection of the major events of the Greek Revolution, such as the Chios Massacre, in the Ottoman sources.”

“….The importance of the establishment of the independent Greek State and its impact on the Ottoman state has been underestimated, since we are not able to understand the history of the Tanzimat era without connecting it to the consequences of the Greek Revolution.”

Leonidas Moiras received his PhD in modern Ottoman history from the Democritus University of Thrace (2019).  Presently he is teaching History of the Ottoman Empire (15th – 18th cent.) and Ottoman Paleography at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is a participant in the research project Homeacross – Space, memory and the legacy of 1923 Population Exchange between Greece and Turkey the author of the book “The Greek Revolution through the Ottoman Eyes” (Athens, 2020). He has written several articles and publications in collective volumes and journals and  has participated in international conferences. His research interests include Ottoman Political and Intellectual History, Young Turk Revolution, Balkan Nationalisms, Ottoman Westernization and the Greek Revolution of 1821.

When: Thursday 20th May 2021, 7pm

Where: Greek Centre (Mezzanine Level, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne).

Speaker is based in Greece, event will be at the mezzanine but shown on the big screen while simultaneously being broadcast

Staying in business for 33 years is no easy feat, but Denis and Eleni Sakkas’ passion to keep Queanbeyan’s Melita Coffee Lounge afloat is reason enough to commit their professional lives to it’s survivability.

The restaurant was previously managed by a Maltese family for 17 years before the Sakkas family took over. Speaking to the Riot Act, Denis said it’s probably the oldest cafe in Queanbeyan.

However, assuming that the business doesn’t hold the Queanbeyan record, the Melita Coffee Lounge is unique in the sense that Denis’ 95-year-old Greek mother, Eleni Sakkas, continues to work alongside her son in the kitchen.

“Her ticker and engine are pretty good,” says Denis, adding that Eleni’s doctor marvels at how fit and healthy she is despite being just a few years shy of receiving a letter from the Queen.

“And the reality is, if she goes home, she has to hang out with Dad, who can be a bit annoying.”

Born and bred in Queanbeyan, Denis credits the love of food he inherited from his Greek parents for his enduring career.

“I was in my early 20s and was working part-time in my uncle’s takeaway, then did a bit of real estate and worked as a bank teller, but I wanted to try my hand at running my own business,” he says.

“I’d never cooked or worked in hospitality before, but having a Greek mum really helped. Things evolved from there.”

Far from following expectations and delivering a Greek-inspired menu, however, Denis describes the flavour at Melita as ‘eclectic’.

“A lot of people asked me why I don’t just do Greek, but I like a bit of a mishmash,” he says.

A message in a bottle from a Greek seafarer has reached the shores of Ninety Mile Beach, leaving a local New Zealander puzzled and bewildered.

Reported by Radio New Zealand, local fisherman Ken Fergusson found the washed up wine bottle on the shoreline and took it to his home to dispose of it properly, worried that someone may step on it.

“…Got home, went to throw it in the rubbish and I noticed there was a card in it,” Fergusson said.

He looked through the green glass and made out some phone numbers on a business card, only to reach a Greek woman who couldn’t understand any English. Unfortunately for Fergusson, he didn’t know any Greek.

Fergusson tried sending an email and, a couple of days ago, a reply from Captain John Karavolos arrived.

“I thought it was pretty cool actually,” Fergusson said.

According to the Captain, the Greek pushed the card into the bottle, put the cork back on, and turfed it out to sea about a year ago, during a trip between Australia and China. NIWA oceanographer Dr Phil Sutton said the southern hemisphere is more likely than the northern.

“Anything that’s floating gets driven by the wind as well as the ocean currents. Actually, the hemispheres are fairly well separated.”

Captain Karavolos believes the date and location of the bottle’s send-off may be faintly written on the back of the business card. The Awanui School tamariki is expected to open the bottle in the coming days to find out.

Radio New Zealand also reports that treasures have been showing up on Te Tai Tokerau beaches for decades and many are cared for by Heritage New Zealand.