International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year and is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights.
But why do we celebrate on March 8?
The UN began celebrating International Women’s Day in the International Women’s Year – 1975. In 1977, the UN General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.
In Australia, International Women’s Day has been informally celebrated since the early 1920s.
International Women’s Day rally, Melbourne 1975.
The first Australian IWD rally, organised by the Militant Women’s Movement of the Communist Party of Australia, took place on March 25, 1928 in the Sydney Domain.
IWD gained momentum in Australia around the time of the Second World War. Activists such as Jessie Street campaigned for women’s rights as workers because women at the time were often paid only 54 percent of men’s wages.
These days, International Women’s Day is marked in Australia with a diverse array of events including marches, rallies and fundraising events.
To mark International Women’s Day this year, The Greek Herald asked our readers to share with us who their female hero was. This is what they had to say:
Message by Kalli-Ann Sevaptsidis:
I am nominating my Grandma Anneta as my Unsung Female Hero. She has always supported me at home, school, community and everyday life. I’m very lucky that my Grandma Anneta lives on the same street as my family. I’m always welcomed by her and can visit her any time of the day. She is always happy to see me.
At school, she always encourages me to complete my homework and to help me with reading, writing and math. She volunteers at my school and is known by all the children at school as “Grandma Anneta.”
My religious, heritage and cultural background are Greek. I’m the second generation born in Canada and proud to be able to speak, read and write Greek. My Grandma Anneta is very proud of me and she is the one that takes me to Greek school every Saturday. When I was younger, I didn’t want to go but now realise that it is important to learn about the Greek language and culture. I’ve also developed some close friendships that I hope will last a lifetime.
My Grandma Anneta has not had an easy life. She came to Canada when she was 19 years old not knowing any English and arriving with only one suitcase that contained her belongings. She worked as a seamstress during the day and attended English classes in the evening.
Through my Grandma Anneta, I’ve also learned that it is also important to be a cheerful giver. We also volunteer within our community and help various organisations. Every year we participate in a walk/run fundraiser for the Kitchener-Waterloo Salvation Army. We’ve also participated in collecting food for the local Food Bank and collecting new books and toys for needy kids. It gives me a good feeling of being able to help people less fortunate. It makes you feel good when you are able to help others. If you go out and do good things, you will fill the world with hope, and therefore, you fill yourself with hope.
My Grandma Anneta has always and continues to be a very special person in my life.
My mum. My hero. By Kiki aged 14:
I guess mum learned nurture when she gave birth to my brother Dimitri and I. Then again, I have a feeling this endless sense of giving, caring, sharing was probably part of her very being before us.
During COVID lockdown a year ago, she opened a cafe. Massive career change from corporate to food, but she followed her heart. She wanted to share her knowledge of good, clean Mediterranean eating with a community who were hungry for it. Mum is even feeding the hard-working medics at the local hospital when she can.
Hellenism is at her inner core. In the cafe you’ll find it dotted around the place. Subtle but significant. She now curates art exhibitions every six weeks to help bring the community out of their shells. She also releases artworks from one lounge room into another when someone buys it. It’s amazing how art can help connect people. As does food. Mum thinks it’s a spiritual experience.
Southern Sydney’s most loved Greek Summer Festival is returning to Carss Park this year on Sunday, May 1 from 10am to 7pm.
The ‘Greek Summer Festival’ will be hosted by St Basil’s NSW/ ACT and is anticipated to be the largest of its kind in Australia with over 50 stalls already pre-registered for the event.
People are able to enter the festival for free and can expect to see a Greek style marketplace with product, information and food stalls spread across the waterfront park.
The organisers have promised the event will pay tribute to the Greek culture with a special emphasis on the participation of some of the most-loved Greek Australian brands.
Attendees will even be entertained by some of Australia’s most loved Greek artists, as well as a few extra surprises lined up. Activities to keep the children entertained will also be available.
The festival will be held in the presence of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios and many officials.
“With the challenges we’ve recently faced, it’s been a dream for many of us to experience a Greek summer,” a St Basil’s NSW/ACT spokesperson told The Greek Herald.
“With this kept in mind, the Greek Summer Festival will bring together the dynamic Greek culture in its true element through entertainment, food and product stalls, as well as showcasing our talented Greek Australians and Greeks abroad.”
Sydney’s State Theatre erupted in applause on Saturday night as popular Greek singer-songwriter, Yannis Kotsiras, took to the stage to perform many of his iconic hits.
Kotsiras was supported by his amazing band on the night which included a pianist, a bouzouki player, guitarist, drummer and a female singer.
Yannis and his band.
The performance was watched by an almost sold-out crowd made up of Sydney’s Greek community and prominent individuals such as His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia.
One young attendee, Petros, told The Greek Herald on the night that the concert was fantastic and he really enjoyed it.
Yannis Kotsiras.Singer Dimitra.
“The concert was so good! The bouzouki and violin were a great combo and Yannis was outstanding,” Petros said with a smile.
Kotsiras’ Sydney concert is the first of three across Australia, including one at the Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide on March 9, the Palais Theatre in Melbourne on March 12 and the Darwin Entertainment Centre on March 16.
The heavens opened to torrential rain last Wednesday but that didn’t dampen the kefi at Molo Wine Bar, Cowper Wharf, Woolloomoolloo where Molo became “Molo Hellene” to welcome The Real Greek Chef’s Sydney premiere.
Gianni is based in Adelaide but due to numerous requests from his many followers to come to Sydney, he accepted an invitation from Rob Rubis and Riccardo Bernabei to appear at their iconic location.
Michael and Martha from Married at First Sight attended the event. All photos supplied.Tommy Tsonis.
The Grecian mood was kicked off by the bouzouki talents of well-known, Tommy Tsonis, as guests sipped on bespoke cocktails such as Pegasour, Aphrodite’s Favours and Achilles Heel whilst perusing the impressive menu.
The anticipation of The Real Greek Chef’s dishes was well worth it.
The wine menu.
Guests were spoiled for choice with dishes such as The Real Greek Chef’s signature dish of slow roasted lamb and grilled octopus with fave. There was also seafood dolmadakia with turmeric and lemon, stuffed sardines with tomato and lemon, stuffed zucchini with crab, tomato, leek and bechamel, classic favourite bakaliaro with potato and carrot, and rock lobster spaghetti with tomato, cognac and bisque.
The verdict was echoes of “wow, oooh and yum.”
The evening’s crowning glory was a decadent galaktoboureko with subtle tones of orange blossom and a flavoursome Politiko topped with a delicately soft custardy cream.
“I’d like to thank from the depths of my heart all the people who embraced my wife and I with such enthusiasm during our visit to Sydney,” The Real Greek Chef told The Greek Herald.
People who attended the event.
“I especially would like to thank Rob Rubis and Riccardo Bernabei of Manta/Molo for their invitation to be guest chef for a week of Molo Hellene.
“As a chef, there’s no greater reward than people shaking my hand, telling me how much they loved the dishes I created for this special event.
“I’m looking forward to coming back to Sydney to catch up with friends we’ve made and to make new friends too. Love you Sydney!”
*Thank you to Christine Stavropoulos for this review and the photos.
On March 7, 1948, the Dodecanese islands entered a new chapter in history by becoming the last areas to join Greece after the War of Independence in 1821.
To mark the day, we take a look at the history of reunification.
Unification with Greece:
The fifteen main islands and 93 islets — not just twelve as their name suggests — of the modern Dodecanese island chain have always been known as a cultural and political crossroads.
British officers handing the Dodecanese to Greece. Ceremony on the island of Kalymnos. Photo: Keep Talking Greek.
Ever since antiquity, the islands have had many differing forms of government, even repressive military occupation.
In 1923, Italy annexed the islands under the Treaty of Lausanne and later, Mussolini began a policy of Italianization.
After the capitulation of the Italians in 1943, Nazi Germany took control and maintained its tight military grip on the islands all the way to the end of WWII.
Major General Otto Wagener surrendering the Dodecanese Archipelago to British forces in May of 1945.
After Germany’s defeat, the islands passed into British hands and in 1947 a Treaty of Peace between Italy and the victorious powers finally transferred them to Greece, along with $105 million in reparations.
The handover ceremony of the Dodecanese to Greece by the British authorities took place on March 31, 1947 in Rhodes in a festive atmosphere.
The official ceremony of integration took place on March 7, 1948 and in 1955, the Dodecanese became a prefecture with Rhodes as its capital.
A joint investigation by 60 Minutes Australia, The Sydney Morning Heraldand The Age has shed light on Bill Papas’ new life in Greece as he avoids fraud allegations by Westpac in Australia.
The 60 Minutes episode, which is titled ‘Half A Billion Dollar Bill’ and aired on Sunday night, showed Papas living the high life in Athens as dozens of victims in Australia have been left to deal with the mess he left behind.
One small business owner, Deb Roberts from Quantum Transport Solutions, shared how Papas’ Forum Finance group left her with a damaged credit history and $180,000 out of pocket.
Meanwhile, McGrathNicol partner and Forum liquidator, Jason Ireland, described Papas’ alleged fraud as the biggest he’s ever seen.
In a statement, sent to 60 Minutes by defamation lawyer Rebekah Giles, Papas said: “I do intend to address the matters raised at an appropriate time but for now, my primary focus is my health.”
Fresh details have emerged following the shock death of Australian cricket legend and the greatest leg-spinner of all-time, Shane Warne, aged 52.
Warne’s long-time manager told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the cricket star was found unresponsive in his hotel room at a resort in Koh Samui, Thailand by his friend Andrew Neophitou.
Neophitou, who was also an executive producer on Warne’s recently released documentary, went to check on the cricketer prior to a planned dinner and “realised he wasn’t well.”
Shane Warne has died at the age of 52.
“[Neophitou] tried to give mouth-to-mouth, tried to resuscitate him, he had no heartbeat, the ambulance came 20 minutes later and an hour and a bit later he was pronounced dead [at the Thai International Hospital],” Warne’s manager, James Erskine, told the newspapers.
Paramedic Anuch Han-iam, who was one of the first on the scene, added that when he arrived Warne’s friends “were desperate.”
“I think one was crying. They were really stressed and panicked. They kept trying to wake him and I heard someone saying, ‘Come on, Shane. Come on, Shane’,” Han-iam told The Herald Sun.
Authorities inspecting the room of late cricketer Shane Warne in Koh Samui. Picture: Royal Thai Police via Matichon online.
Warne is said to have suffered a massive heart attack.
His friends, including Neophitou, accompanied his body on a ferry to Surat Thani Hospital on the Thai mainland on Sunday.
Warne’s family gave the green light for an autopsy to be conducted in Thailand rather than waiting until he returned to Australia.
Warne’s body is expected to return home to Australia on Tuesday ahead of a State Funeral in Victoria.
A Ukrainian official says a second attempt to evacuate civilians from a southern city under siege for a week has failed due to continued Russian shelling.
Most people in the port city of Mariupol are sleeping in bomb shelters to escape more than six days of near-constant bombardment by encircling Russian forces that has cut off food, water, power and heating supplies, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
Scenes of destruction from the city of Mariupol, March 5, 2022. Photo: Osinttechnical / Twitter.
Evacuations were scheduled to begin at noon local time during a 10am to 9pm local ceasefire, but Interior Ministry adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, said the planned evacuations along designated humanitarian corridors were halted because of an ongoing assault.
In response, Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, said on Twitter that he has contacted his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, requesting authorities’ assistance in ensuring the safety of the Greek Consul General in Mariupol and in opening the humanitarian corridor for evacuation.
I contacted #Ukraine counterpart @DmytroKuleba requesting the Ukrainian authorities’ assistance in ensuring the safety of the 🇬🇷 Consul General in #Mariupol and in opening humanitarian corridor for evacuation.
These halted evacuations come as Greece successfully completed Operations ‘Nostos 3’ and ‘Nostos 4’ over the weekend.
A convoy of around 30 vehicles evacuating dozens of Greek expatriates, diplomats and journalists from the war zone of Mariupol crossed into Moldova on Friday.
Greek convoy has crossed into Moldova. Photo: Reuters.
Meanwhile, another 25 people were evacuated from Odessa on Saturday and successfully crossed the borders between Ukraine and Moldova with the help of Consul General Dimitrios Dochtisis.
According to Greek police data, a total of 3,780 Ukrainian refugees, including 1,146 minors, have also arrived in Greece since the start of the Russian invasion.
Nicholas Sorras has returned to his NPL home at Sydney Olympic after finishing up a short stint in the A-League men’s.
Sorras joined Perth Glory’s Isuzu Ute A-League squad on a short-term injury replacement contract in the NSW NPL off-season.
Consistent performances by the Greek Australian has seen Sorras become one of the most promising goalkeepers in the NSW NPL.
Sydney Olympic Goalkeeper Nicholas Sorras. Photo: Supplied
In a previous interview with The Greek Herald, he listed playing in the A-League, as well as being selected for the Australian national team, as one of his dreams for the future.
“I think this is the best thing for a footballer. Of course I would like to play in Greece in the homeland of yiayia and papou,” Sorras said, adding that he also dreams of playing in England.
Sorras added that Olympic has a team with the potential to win the NPL championship.
“It’s a fantastic team with good players and a strong board. I believe that we are capable of winning the championship.”
Sydney Olympic play Rockdale City Suns on Sunday, March 13 at 4pm.
