Fender Katsalidis’ Merdeka 118 is set to become the world’s second tallest building upon its completion next year.
The firm said their priority was for the building to “enrich the social energy and cultural fabric of the city”.
“In addition, the achievement of creating the second-tallest building in the world celebrates the years of planning, problem-solving, collaboration and human endeavour required to realise a building of this complexity,” the firm’s cofounder Karl Fender said.
Fender cofounded the firm with Greek Australian architect Epaminondas ‘Nonda’ Katsalidis in 1996.
Nonda Katsalidis and Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis (Photo: Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files)
Eleni Cassimatis is a theatre, film, television, and voice actress who loves each medium equally.
“I fall in love with whatever I’m doing at the time,” Cassimatis tells the Greek Herald.
“I have a very big spot for Shakespeare, I love performing Shakespeare.”
Cassimatis has performed in several Shakespeare plays, something that involves “delightful, nerdy digging” and text analysis.
“The stories are pretty epic. Once you let the words do the talking, it just becomes musical. There’s something contagious about it,” she says.
“Shakespeare was the first one to put pen to paper and capture what it means to be human.”
Cassimatis first fell in love with acting in kindergarten as the daughter of a cafe owner in Orange.
“I always wanted to be an actor,” she says.
“It was always what I was planning on doing but being over in London and seeing shows (during my gap year in 2013), I was like, ‘I need to get back to Sydney.’”
“…it gave me the jolt into action to just go, ‘If I want this bad enough, I just need to work my butt off.’”
She hit the ground running by moving to Sydney in 2014 and taking up every acting course she could enter.
Two weeks ago, she was cast in her first mainstage theatre production as Player Queen, Osric, and Second Gravedigger in Bell Shakespeare’s production of Hamlet.
Hamlet has been on hold since the beginning of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“They had about a week of shows and then the pandemic hit and the show got cancelled,” she says.”
“I got to watch the show two years ago before it got shut down.”
“Some of the cast members have already had an experience doing this show on stage and then some of us are new that have stepped into these roles.”
She says it presented a unique opportunity for the cast to be able to grow with their characters.
“Every time you have a life experience, that changes what you’re going to bring to a character, and going through two years of lockdown will only inform what everyone brings to these characters,” she says.
Eleni Cassimatis in ‘Icarus’ (by Mark Bolotin) (Photo: Supplied)
“Hamlet is a play about longing, grief, losing ones you love and being separated versus being together.”
“All of that is going to be really interesting to explore.”
Cassimatis and her cast-mates will also play in Bell Shakespeare’s In A Nutshell, which debuts during her time in Hamlet.
“We’ll be working on one show at night and working on another show during the day,” she says.
“It will be an interesting process and not something I’ve done before but nothing we can’t manage.”
She says playing three different characters in her debut at the Sydney Opera House will be “a huge” but “super exciting” challenge.
“It will be my first time (performing at the Opera House) and it is an absolute dream come true,” she says.
She says the biggest crowd she’s performed for was an outdoor audience of about 400 school students in Hong Kong.
“I just remember a sea of young people in front of us and then everyone piled out from their classrooms up the top to watch over the balcony too,” she says.
She describes the nerves she gets before a show as a muscle to be trained.
“It’s healthy, in a way. It’s your body’s way of preparing itself to go do the thing it needs to do,” she says.
She also has two director’s credits under her belt, including a short film in 2015 she also starred in.
She sees lots more work in theatre, film, and television in her future.
“I would love to, one day, do some work in the (United) States but we’ve got so much on offer (here in Australia) at the moment,” she says.
The silver lining to an unpredictable two years of a pandemic, she says.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will headline Team Greece at the ATP Cup in Sydney Olympic Park in January.
The world No. 4 will lead the team, which includes his brother Petros, Michail Pervolarakis, Markos Kalovelonis, and Aristotelis Thanos.
Tsitsipas is among eighteen of the world’s top 20 men’s players set to contest the third instalment of the game.
World No. 4 Novak Djokovic and Australia’s top-ranked player Alex de Minaur are among the other big names committed to play.
“The playing group enjoy representing their countries and to see 18 of the world’s top 20 players commit to the event is testament to that,” ATP Cup Tournament director Tom Larner said.
“The event shows off the passion the playing group have for this format and we look forward to welcoming all 16 teams to Sydney later this month.”
The competing ATP Cup nations are split into four groups, with Greece drawn to face Poland, Argentina, and Australia in Group D.
Only the winner from each of the groups will progress.
The annual event is being held from January 1 to 9 and offers more than $14 million in prize money across the 16 countries.
A coronial inquest into Australia’s deadliest aged care COVID-19 outbreak at St Basil’s nursing home in Fawkner has taken a turn.
The home’s operators have asked the coroner to excuse them from giving evidence on the grounds they might incriminate themselves.
Kon Kontis and Vicki Kos were due to give evidence next week into the deaths of 50 residents at the home last year.
That is until a barrister for the pair asked on Tuesday that they be excused on the grounds they might incriminate themselves.
It is expected the application will be opposed by families who lost loved ones in the outbreak.
Coroner John Cain will hear submissions from the interested parties before making a ruling.
(Photo: Daniel Pockett/AAP)
The inquest has already heard evidence St Basil’s management wasn’t happy with a state government decision to replace the entire staff with an agency workforce early in the outbreak.
Replacement worker Heleni Bagiartakis told the inquest she was surprised when Ms Kos said she wouldn’t accept phone calls regarding the clinical care of residents after she was stood down.
“I don’t recall the exact words,” Ms Bagiartakis told the inquest.
“The message though was, ‘It wasn’t our decision, we don’t agree with the decision, therefore it’s not our problem’.”
John Atzarakis’ 77-year-old mother Fotini, who was only meant to stay at St Basil’s for a fortnight of respite care, died in the outbreak.
He says management owes the community an explanation.
“If people are allowed to be excused, we’re going to get half the story and we’re going to get a select story and that’s not what a coronial inquest is about,” he said.
John Atzarakis says families are still navigating trauma and grief as the coroner investigates last year’s deadly outbreak (Photo: ABC News/Joseph Dunstan)
Mr Atzarakis said his 83-year-old father was struggling with the loss of his life partner.
“He’s not coping with it, he takes all the blame,” he said.
Mr Atzarakis said it was “shameful” that the operators of the home were trying to avoid what he believed was their responsibility to give evidence.
“These people [the residents] were elderly, these people were weak, they were at the mercy of the staff and management,” he said.
“The staff and management were accountable for their lives, they need to take ownership.
“I lost my mother because of that. And they owe everyone an explanation.”
Spiro Vasilakis lost his elderly mother, Maria, in the COVID outbreak at St Basil’s (Photo: ABC News/James Hancock)
Spiro Vasilakis, whose 81-year-old mother Maria died during the outbreak, said he wanted to hear directly from those who ran St Basil’s.
“The families would be outraged, absolutely outraged, that they have not got the decency and the honesty to front up and face the questioning,” he said.
”Give us your story, from your mouth.”
The five-week coronial inquest will continue hearing from dozens of witnesses, including nurses and centre managers.
As The Greek Herald first announced in November 26, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has arrived in Athens and is set to meet with Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias.
The discussions, expected to be held on Wednesday December 8, at 12pm (Greek time) will focus on the strengthening of bilateral cooperation, on the coordination between the two countries in International Organizations, on developments in Greece’s broader neighbourhood and in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as on the Greek Diaspora in Australia as a link between the two states.
Θα υποδεχτώ αύριο, Τετάρτη (8/12), την ΥΠΕΞ της Αυστραλίας @MarisePayne@GreeceMFA. Θα συζητήσουμε για την ενίσχυση της διμερούς συνεργασίας 🇬🇷🇦🇺 σε ένα ευρύ φάσμα τομέων. (1/2)
According to The Greek Herald‘s sources, Ministers Payne and Dendias will also discuss the double taxation agreement between both countries which is expected to be finalised by 2022.
The extended talks will be followed by joint statements later in the afternoon.
Australia & Greece share an enduring friendship, based on common values. 🇬🇷 Foreign Minister @NikosDendias & I discussed our interests in open & resilient #IndoPacific & #EastMed regions, #UNCLOS & our shared commitment to protecting the world's oceans. pic.twitter.com/b9xlLESyj2
Earlier this year, Minister Payne held her first telephone conversation with Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias. The talks held in October between the two top officials focused on their shared commitment to the International Law of the Sea, to the protection of the environment and to regional developments.
After her visit in Athens, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne will meet with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Brussels.
Greece has agreed to strengthen its cooperation with Israel and Cyprus at the eighth trilateral summit in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Israel’s Naftali Bennett, and Cyprus’ Nikos Anastasiades confirmed the cooperation in a joint statement.
“Israel, Greece, and Cyprus view the energy sector, and in particular, natural gas and renewable energy, as a solid foundation for cooperation in the region, based on international law…,” the leaders say.
They also noted their respect for each to exercise their respective sovereign rights.
“The ongoing turmoil in our region has triggered unprecedented migratory flows that pose challenges and can only be met by multilateral, multifaceted action,” they said.
“We express the importance of respecting sovereignty and sovereign rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and to preserve the stability in this region.”
The leaders also reaffirmed plans to connect their countries with a 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable.
The leaders signed an agreement to speed up the construction of the EuroAsia Interconnector (EAI) project in March.
All three say they remain committed to their cooperation with the US under the 3 + 1 scheme.
They also reiterated their “full and unwavering support” to settling the Cyprus problem – an everlasting dispute between Cyprus and Turkey including over territorial rights in the Aegean Sea and energy exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
The next trilateral summit will be held in Cyprus in the latter half of 2022.
The Hellenic Society of the University of New South Wales (Hellsoc UNSW) held their annual ‘Hellsoccer Day’ on Saturday and raised over $500 for the Heartbeat of Football foundation.
Over 70 people attended the annual event which saw seven soccer teams, made up of university students, play against each other for a chance to make the grand final.
In the end, players from team ‘3rd Times the Charm’ came out victorious against the Sydney University Greek Society (SUGS) team and claimed the Vageli Siaflas Shield.
Photos supplied.
The winning team.
The Shield has been named in honour of beloved Hellsocian, Vageli Siaflas, who tragically passed away in 2009 but will always be remembered for his love of soccer.
Throughout the day, spectators and players were also treated to a traditional Greek barbeque of souvlakia and Greek music was on repeat.
Souvlakia were on offer on Hellsoccer Day. Photo supplied.
Peter Kougias from the Heartbeat of Football foundation was among the crowd and thanked Hellsoc UNSW for their generous donation, which would go towards installing working defibrillators on soccer fields all around Sydney.
The President of Hellsoc UNSW, Antigone Sarlas, told The Greek Herald after the event that everything “exceeded” her expectations on the day.
“The fact we could do it all to give back is what the day is all about!” she concluded.
The committee of Hellsoc UNSW with Peter Kougias from the Heartbeat of Football foundation.
Students from Oakleigh Grammar School have actively participated in and received excellent results in various competitions organised by different Greek community organisations throughout the year.
Junior School students had the opportunity to participate at the annual Greek Public Speaking Festival organised by the Modern Greek Teachers’ Association of Victoria. The students had to recite a Greek poem dedicated to the Greek Revelation of 1821.
Oakleigh Grammar students won the following awards at the Festival: In Year 3-4 Category, 2nd Prize – Mikaela Thomaidis and 3rd Prize – Eva Bakali. In Year 5-6 Category, 1st Prize – Paul Makris and 2nd Prize – Vasia Kosmas.
The Organisational Committee for Greek National Day, under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and in conjunction with the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, also hosted a state-wide student and youth competition titled “Ambassadors 200.”
The aim of this competition was for the youth of Victoria to have the opportunity to actively participate in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution. Participants were asked to explain what 1821 means to them.
Each participant had the opportunity to present their views through an essay, a poem, a drawing, a PowerPoint presentation, a poster, an interview, a song, a painting or an object.
From Oakleigh Grammar, 111 students submitted some amazing projects and 64 of those students won and achieved the title “Ambassador” for 2021.
Further to this, students from Year 5 to Year 9 had the opportunity to participate in the annual competition called “Student Competition for Pontian Hellenism and the Greek Genocide.”
The aim of this competition is to give students the opportunity to conduct their own research to learn, describe, comment and illustrate an understanding of topics relating to the Hellenic presence that existed in the East, the reasons why communities were forcibly uprooted from their ancestral lands, and the aspects of their culture and identity that survived.
Students submitted some amazing work and the winners were:
“We would like to congratulate all students who took part and represented Oakleigh Grammar in these state-side competitions, presented such remarkable projects and achieved some outstanding results,” Natasha Spanos, the Acting Head of LOTE and the SRC & Hellenic Culture Coordinator, said in a press release.
“We would also like to warmly thank all the community organisations that conducted these competitions.”
