A cheque recently unearthed by British paper, The Observer, sheds new light on Lord Byron‘s generosity and commitment to the Greek War of Independence.
In the cheque, Byron stipulates that £4,000 – roughly £332,000 today – be paid to Giovanni Orlando, a representative of the provisional government that, alarmed by the way the war was going, had approached the British for funds.
The money was to go towards emergency needs – notably financing a fleet to defend Missolonghi from besieging Ottoman Albanians. Both sides agreed it would be repaid against a much bigger loan to be raised in London where Orlando was headed.
Dr Christine Kenyon Jones, who studied many of the poet’s manuscripts, toldThe Observer that “because of his fame, Byron was much forged.”
The cheque recently unearthed by British paper, The Observer. Photo: General State Archives of Greece.
“But it looks as if this is an original signature attached to the script of a clerk, which he seems to have impatiently corrected. Byron’s handwriting, like his personality, was fast and free, so there’s a contrast between the clerk’s careful hand and his own confident signature with its bold, open ‘B’ and characteristic flourish on the ‘n’.”
Ms Jones said it was extraordinary that the document should have lain unnoticed in Greece’s archives for so many years.
The cheque that helped create modern Greece:
From the outset, Byron used his fame to internationalise the Greeks’ fight for liberty, inspiring a motley crew of foreign Philhellenes to rally to the cause – both on and off the battlefield.
“Byron helped the revolution resolve itself in the way it did, creating what at the time would be a progressive… modern nation state,” Roderick Beaton, emeritus professor of Modern Greek studies at King’s College London, told The Observer.
Lord Byron used his fame to internationalise the Greeks’ fight for liberty.
But Byron’s willingness to part with such a large slice of his personal fortune also had an immediate impact – one that Mr Beaton believes helped change the course of events.
“His financial contribution was crucial,” said the academic whose book, Byron’s War, is regarded as the definitive account of the poet’s involvement in the revolution.
“No historian of the war has really paid attention to this fact but the Ottoman Albanian troops who were besieging Missolonghi suddenly disappeared as soon as word got out that Byron had lent this money and the fleet was sailing out of Hydra and Spetses.”
Byron’s loan, combined with a loan later raised in London, had the effect of “tipping the scales crucially in favour of the elected Greek government and against the warlords.”
The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has announced the implementation of a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the preservation of the wooden shipbuilding art behind traditional Greek boats known as Kaiki.
The Vocational Training and Apprenticeship Program in Carpentry was revealed during a teleconference held by Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, along with Professor Andreas Papasalouros, the President of the Department of Mathematics at the University of the Aegean, Dr Costas Damianidis, a researcher of the history of carpentry, and Willy Fotopoulou, the Head of the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of Greece.
“The organised apprenticeship structure will contribute to the preservation and promotion of the art of carpentry, to the creation of new jobs, specialised staff, to the social and economic development of local communities,” Ms Mendoni said during the teleconference.
Το #ΥΠΠΟΑ αναλαμβάνει τον σχεδιασμό & την υλοποίηση ολοκληρωμένου και βιώσιμου σχεδίου για τη διαφύλαξη της ξυλοναυπηγικής τέχνης και των παραδοσιακών σκαφών. Δρομολογείται με @uaegean Δομή Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης και Μαθητείας στην Ξυλοναυπηγική 👇https://t.co/ZppF6REIoZpic.twitter.com/j6tfad0qvh
— Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού (@cultureGR) April 19, 2021
“The rescue of woodworking art and tradition and its rebirth in a modernising context is directly intertwined with the cultural identity of a naval nation, such as Greece.”
Carpentry, as a “living” traditional art, has been practiced for centuries in Greece. Guided by its preservation, the Ministry of Culture and Sports included the art form in the National Index of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.
But one of the factors that seriously threatens the art of carpentry is the European Union’s policy of offering Greek fishermen compensation if they give up their fishing boats and licenses, in an attempt to reduce overfishing.
In the last 25 years alone, about 11,000 boats have been lost, many of which were monuments of popular traditional shipbuilding.
Photo: K. Damianidis, Samos, 1990.
How will the new education program work?
The new Apprenticeship and Vocational Training program will operate based on the framework recently established by the Ministry of Education, alongside the post-secondary educational model, in collaboration with the University of the Aegean’s School of Sciences, based on the island of Samos.
The Department of Mathematics, headed by its President Professor Andreas Papasalouros, will undertake the design and editing of the necessary educational manuals, as well as the preparation of the new curriculum.
The Faculty of Sciences of the University of the Aegean already participates scientifically in the project due to the creation and development of the Museum of Shipbuilding and Maritime Arts of the Aegean, in Ireo, Samos.
“The first application of the study program can be done in the boat maintenance laboratory of the Museum, as provided by the museological study approved by the Museum Council of the Ministry of Culture,” a statement reads.
“In several countries in Europe, but also in Turkey and Qatar, there are Carpentry Schools with excellent results.”
At the same time, the Greek Culture Minister is also forming an inter-ministerial working group with other relevant ministries such as Finance, Education and National Defence, to plan a further coordinated response to the preservation and revival of the carpentry art.
The Defence Ministries of Greece and Turkey have confirmed that a fourth round of talks will take place between both countries to discuss confidence-building measures.
In a statement released on Monday, Greece’s Defence Ministry said “the date and other details of the upcoming meeting will be decided soon.”
This announcement comes after Greek government spokeswoman, Aristotelia Peloni, said on Monday that Greece wants to keep channels of communication with Turkey open but it expects its Aegean neighbour to abide by international law.
Greek government spokeswoman, Aristotelia Peloni, said on Monday that Greece wants to keep channels of communication with Turkey open.
“Greece seeks [to maintain] open channels of communication with Turkey and the consolidation of a positive atmosphere that will allow the easing of tensions and the adoption of a positive agenda,” Peloni said during a press briefing, adding that Athens recently submitted a proposal to Turkey outlining 15 areas of possible economic cooperation.
Last week, the foreign ministers of the two countries clashed openly at a joint news conference in Ankara after a third round of meetings.
In an interview with Ekathimerini, Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, said although a solution to the issues dividing the two NATO allies is difficult, it is not impossible.
A quick Google search on Emeritus Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos from the University of New South Wales’ School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, uncovers what many consider her greatest achievements: She was one of Australia’s first female professors in chemical engineering and the pioneer of the Vanadium Redox Battery in the late 1980’s.
It’s these accomplishments which saw me reach out to Professor Skyllas-Kazacos for an interview. But from the moment we sat down for our exclusive chat, I could tell that there was also so much more to this dynamic woman, who credits much of her success to her supportive and close-knit Greek Australian family.
‘They wanted us to always be independent’:
Professor Skyllas-Kazacos was born on the Greek island of Kalymnos in 1951, but she, along with her parents George and Kaliopi Skyllas and younger sister Tina, emigrated to Australia in 1954 in search of a better life and opportunities.
Once there, Professor Skyllas-Kazacos, her sister and her two brothers, Michael and John, who were born in Australia, were encouraged by their parents to continue their education as a means of maintaining their independence.
“As a young Greek girl growing up, I was very fortunate to have parents who really valued education, especially for their daughters. They wanted us to always be independent and not dependent on a man to rule our lives. So they really pushed us and nurtured us, which was very unique in those days,” Professor Skyllas-Kazacos tells The Greek Herald.
Maria Skyllas-Kazakos is one of Australia’s first female professors in chemical engineering.
It was this nurturing and independence which then gave Professor Skyllas-Kazacos the freedom to become a professor in chemical engineering, even though she didn’t know that’s what she wanted to do when she was younger.
“I had initially put Law down as my first preference for my university entry applications,” the Professor says.
“But one day before the final deadline for making changes to your preferences, my father’s business partner and solicitor discouraged me from becoming a lawyer. So I changed my preferences and that’s how I ended up in engineering.”
Making waves in the chemical engineering field:
From that moment on, Professor Skyllas-Kazacos not only graduated with first class honours and the University Medal in industrial chemistry at UNSW, but she went on to complete a PhD in electrochemical studies of molten salts with Professor Barry Welch at the same university.
While still studying for her PhD, she also married the love of her life, Michael Kazacos, and they had three sons, Nicholas, George and Anthony. This newfound family life was something Professor Skyllas-Kazacos thought would impact her career at first, but her expectations changed quickly after a conversation with her PhD supervisor and male mentor, Professor Welch.
“My belief at the time was that once you start a family, a woman can’t really think beyond just having a part-time job. But my PhD supervisor said to me, ‘why should a family stop you from having a career? Just do it.’ It took him to actually tell me I could do it because I didn’t know that I could,” Professor Skyllas-Kazacos says.
And ‘do it’ she did. With the constant support of her Greek Australian family, Professor Skyllas-Kazacos was able to undertake overseas fellowships and sabbaticals at places such as the highly acclaimed Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, as well as attend overseas conferences where she could showcase her extensive research in energy storage and aluminium smelting.
Early Vanadium Battery research team (1988) showing (L-R) Franz Grossmith, Michael Kazacos, Maria and Rodney McDermott with first laboratory prototype vanadium cell.
Her big breakthrough came in the late 1980’s when her research team invented the vanadium redox battery, which is a rechargeable flow battery that employs solutions of vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store energy. The battery is regarded internationally as one of the most feasible energy storage technologies available to store renewable energy such as wind and solar, reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Dozens of companies around the world are now manufacturing and installing megawatt-scale vanadium batteries, the largest one being a 200 MW/800 MWh battery currently being built in China to store energy from a wind farm. Once completed, this will be able to power up to 50,000 houses.
Now, although many might think such a ground-breaking discovery from a female professor in chemical engineering might be overlooked, Professor Skyllas-Kazacos stresses how that wasn’t the case for her. In fact, she believes being female may have actually boosted the coverage her discovery received at the time.
“I was very fortunate to have some amazing people who worked with me… and some very good funding from various government bodies. Without that, we wouldn’t have been able do anything,” Professor Skyllas-Kazacos explains.
2007 V-Fuel Lab photo showing a 5 kW vanadium battery prototype with Michael and George Kazacos. Maria also featured in the photo.
“I think maybe the timing was right as well. Being one of the first young women in engineering, it might have helped me to obtain some of my early grants. I think they wanted to support me.
“Also, I always feel that maybe because I was a woman our project received a lot of media attention which in turn, led to early licensing by the Japanese companies Mitsubishi Chemicals and their subsidiary Kashima-Kita Electric Power Corporation in the mid-1990s.”
‘So many different paths to take’:
Almost four decades after Professor Skyllas-Kazacos’ ground-breaking discovery, she is still grateful for the support she received as a female in her field. She is also grateful for the opportunity to work in an area that has allowed her to play a small role in helping to solve one of the world’s greatest challenges – the need to cut our dependence on fossil fuels to reduce the impact of Climate Change.
But during our exclusive chat, it’s clear that over the years, her life has become more balanced and well-rounded. When she’s not sketching, reading and researching her family history (her husband is a Castellorizian), she cherishes the time she spends with her four grandchildren.
“We are currently babysitting our two youngest grandchildren two days a week, which I absolutely love,” Professor Skyllas-Kazacos says with a laugh.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Professor has stopped her research. Despite having officially “retired,” she volunteers two to three days of her time to continue to work with her chemical engineering PhD students at UNSW, with the hope of inspiring them to become leaders of the scientific field one day.
“My advice [to all young students] is to choose engineering because it is really one of the most versatile courses you can do. Not only do you study science, maths, engineering and computing, you also learn economics and project management and very importantly, problem solving and that’s why engineers are actually very sought after,” Professor Skyllas-Kazacos concludes.
“There are so many different career paths for women and men to take depending on their preferences. You also have the opportunity to solve some of the critical problems facing the world today and really make a difference to the future of the planet. It’s great.”
Wise words from a woman who deserves to be recognised for her trail-blazing work in the field of chemical engineering.
It was a big weekend of events in Melbourne as the local Greek and wider community gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Crete.
Commemorations kicked off with an official dinner dance on Saturday, April 17, at the Cretan Village in Wantirna South, which featured plenty of Cretan dancing and music.
The dance, which was hosted by the Pancretan Association of Melbourne and the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne under the auspices of the Cretan Federation of Australia and NZ, was attended by over 550 people.
A wreath laying ceremony was held at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.
This included a number of dignitaries and prominent members of the Greek and wider community such as the Very Reverend Father Evmenios, Archiepiscopal Vicar for the District of Northcote, the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, President of the Cretan Federation of Australia and NZ, Tony Tsourdalakis, President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Bill Papastergiadis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Oakleigh and Districts, Chris Damatopoulos, President of the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne, Michael Houdalakis, President of the Pancretan Association of Melbourne, Emmanuel Starakis, and President of Pontiaki Estia, Kostas Tseprailidis, among many others.
Everyone was treated to a number of traditional Cretan dancing performances on the night from the dancing groups of the Pancretan Association and Cretan Brotherhood, as well Cretan music from Sifis Tsourdalakis on the lyra, Paddy Montogomery and George Lerakis on the laouto, Tony Iliou on the guitar and the Δημοτική ορχήστρα- Δυο πατρίδες.
Church service and doxology presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
After the official dance, on Sunday, April 18, the local Greek and wider community gathered again at the Greek Orthodox Holy Archdiocese Cathedral of St Eustathios in South Melbourne for a church service and doxology, presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
This was followed by a wreath laying ceremony of over 50 wreaths at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, which was run by the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council to remember all those lives lost in action during the Battle of Crete 80 years ago.
His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
Consul General Kakavelakis.
Representatives from the army and Federal Government, such as Maria Vamvakinou (right) were in attendance.
Present at the ceremony were Archbishop Makarios of Australia and the Consul General, as well as a number of representatives from the Australian Defence Force, the Victorian and Federal Governments and the Victorian Opposition, among many others.
A brief ceremony was also held at the Australian Hellenic Memorial, which is dedicated to the Battle of Crete, and a number of speeches were given, including one by the Consul General himself.
A number of speeches were given at the Australian Hellenic Memorial.
The day’s official proceedings concluded with a luncheon at the Cretan House in Brunswick. Attendees at this event included, but are not limited to, Archbishop Makarios, His Grace Bishop of Dervis Ezekiel, His Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinope, the Very Reverend Athenagoras, the Very Reverend Father Evmenios, Maria Vamvakinou MP, Lee Tarlamis MP, David Davis MP, President of the Cretan Federation of Australia and NZ, Tony Tsourdalakis, and President of the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne, Michael Houdalakis.
In his speech on the day, Mr Tsourdalakis also made a public statement in support of Archbishop Makarios regarding the recent ABC investigation into the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
President of the Cretan Federation of Australia and NZ, Tony Tsourdalakis (left) with Archbishop Makarios.
Cretan youth in the national costume.
During the afternoon, the Battle of Greece and Crete Commemorative Council also honoured Peter Ford, son of an Anzac Cretan veteran, and Shirley Devery, daughter of an Anzac Cretan veteran, for their parents’ service during the Battle of Crete.
The event concluded with Cretan dance performances and music, which was enjoyed by all.
“I was very ecstatic at the turnout on Saturday and Sunday. We had a record crowd of over 500 people… and more importantly, we had over 200 Cretan youth attend the Sunday memorial service in national costume, which means we’re passing on our message and the baton for the younger generation to eventually get involved,” Mr Tsourdalakis tells The Greek Herald.
Chrissanthy Tsigolis has cut the service costs of her eastern suburbs childcare centre by nearly half in a bid to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while helping families afford to keep their children enrolled, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Ms Tsigolis, who has been in the childcare industry since 1995, dropped her service prices to as low as $75 a day in Rose Bay and $88 in Rosebery, to provide permanent financial relief for families after the free childcare and JobKeeper ended.
“I wanted to make childcare more attainable and affordable for those who had lost their jobs, their businesses, and could only resort to family to provide early childhood education,” Ms Tisgolis told the Daily Telegraph.
Chrissanthy Tsigolis with Mariella Sahda, 4, at her childcare centre, Bloombirds, in Rosebery. Photo: Justin Lloyd / The Daily Telegraph.
“Reducing my costs by changing the hours and not providing lunch, I could pass those savings onto my families. Our Rose Bay service has seen an increase in occupancy of 46 percent since we introduced the slashed fee.
“Childcare should not be a luxury item. It’s essential.”
According to the media outlet, parents around the eastern suburbs can pay anywhere from $110 to $150 a day before government subsidies, while fees in Sydney’s north shore are as high as $177.
However, attendance and enrolments across preschools and childcare facilities declined sharply in the first half of 2020, with 71 percent reporting decreased enrolments for at least one month between March and June.
Early Childhood Australia (ECA) CEO, Samantha Page, says affordability “is an issue” with childcare. Photo: The Daily Telegraph.
Early Childhood Australia (ECA) CEO, Samantha Page, said while centres are reporting that they have vacancies and capacity to take more children, “the issue is affordability.”
“Not all centres have the capacity to (reduce costs), but it is good that services are responding to the needs of families when they can,” Ms Page told the Daily Telegraph.
“Now that JobKeeper has ended and Jobseeker has been reduced, we anticipate there will be more families who will struggle to pay for early education and care.
“If the federal government invested more in early education and care right now it would benefit young children, parents – especially women – and secure the jobs of early childhood educators and teachers.”
Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, has told Ekathimerini on Sunday that Greece cannot ignore its differences with Turkey over territorial disputes in the Mediterranean and other issues but while a solution is difficult, it is not impossible.
The two countries are NATO allies but at odds over many issues, including competing claims over the extent of their continental shelves in the Mediterranean, air space, energy resources and ethnically-split Cyprus.
“It is not possible to hide under the rug issues where we have different views and approaches,” Dendias told Ekathimerininewspaper in an interview.
Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, met with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Thursday.
On Thursday, Dendias and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, clashed openly at a joint news conference in Ankara that began with hopes of improved relations, but quickly descended into acrimonious accusations from both sides.
It was the first visit by a Greek foreign minister to Turkey since 2015 in an effort to find common ground for a positive agenda of discussions with Ankara.
Dendias told the paper that while the climate during the talks was good, there was no convergence on many issues.
Greece and Turkey are at odds over competing claims over the extent of their continental shelves in the Mediterranean.
“The issue we face with Turkey is that there is no common denominator regarding the framework of resolving our differences,” Dendias told the paper.
He said Greece’s view is that demarcating its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf with Turkey in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean must be based on international law.
“I don’t see a toughening of Turkey’s stance on the issues concerning the Aegean and the east Mediterranean. But I do see fixed positions that are beyond international law, which makes resolution prospects difficult but not impossible,” he said.
Dendias said he has invited Cavusoglou to Athens to continue talks and this could help to prepare the ground for a meeting of Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan.
Israel and Greece have signed their biggest ever defence procurement deal, which Israel said on Sunday would strengthen political and economic ties between the countries. The two countries’ air forces also launched a joint exercise.
The agreement includes a $1.65 billion contract for the establishment and operation of a training centre for the Hellenic Air Force by Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems over a 22-year period, Israel’s defence ministry said.
The training centre will be modelled on Israel’s own flight academy and will be equipped with 10 M-346 training aircraft produced by Italy’s Leonardo, the ministry said.
The Israel & Hellenic Ministries of Defense have signed the biggest defense agreement to date between Israel and Greece. It amounts to around NIS 5.4 billion and includes the establishment of an International Flight Training Center for the Hellenic Air Force, by @ElbitSystemsLtdpic.twitter.com/TNulvgcZCN
Elbit will supply kits to upgrade and operate Greece’s T-6 aircraft and also provide training, simulators and logistical support.
“I am certain that (this programme) will upgrade the capabilities and strengthen the economies of Israel and Greece and thus the partnership between our two countries will deepen on the defence, economic and political levels,” said Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz.
The announcement follows a meeting in Cyprus on Friday between the UAE, Greek, Cypriot and Israeli foreign ministers, who agreed to deepen cooperation.
The announcement follows a meeting in Cyprus on Friday between the UAE, Greek, Cypriot and Israeli foreign ministers.
It is also a direct follow up of a security agreement reached by Greece and Israel in January to establish a flight training center and provide training aircraft to the Hellenic Air Force.
The Israeli and Greek air forces on Sunday launched a joint exercise in Greece, the Israeli military said.
In at least one past exercise over Greece, Israeli fighter planes practised against an S-300 posted on Crete. The Russian-made air defence system is also deployed in Syria and Iran, Israel’s foes.
A source in the Hellenic National Defence Command said the S-300 had not been activated in the joint exercise that began Sunday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Masters without dropping a set, beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday for his first title this year and sixth overall.
Fourth-seeded Tsitsipas was in dominant form as he edged 4-3 ahead of the sixth-seeded Russian in their career meetings, having also beaten him on clay last year in the French Open quarterfinals.
The 22-year-old Greek won his last title in February last year at the Open 13 indoor tournament in Marseille — just weeks before France went into lockdown for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Masters without dropping a set.
The 23-year-old Rublev was aiming for his second title of the year, his first at Masters level and ninth overall. He had produced an audacious display to defeat record 11-time champion Rafael Nadal on Friday, and further confirm why he is one of the rising stars of tennis.
After winning the ATP Cup with Russia, Rublev reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and then won the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam last month for his fourth title in seven months. Since Rotterdam, he’s reached four consecutive semifinals, including Monte Carlo.
“Let your dreams be your wings,” Tsitsipas said after the win.
But he couldn’t even get a break point against Tsitsipas.
“Let your dreams be your wings,” Tsitsipas said on social media after his win. “Monte-Carlo thank you for all the small things that add to the journey! Appreciation is a wonderful thing.”
Did You Know? Tsitsipas is not the first member of his family to triumph at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. His mother, Julia Salnikova, won a junior title at the venue in 1981.
Greek Australian stand-up comedian and actor Steen Raskopoulos will be one of many larrikins providing a night of laughs at the Sydney Comedy Festival 2021.
Born in Sydney, Raskopoulos debuted his first solo sketch show Bruce springSTEEN LIVE IN CONCERT at the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He was nominated for Best Newcomer, and won the same award at the Sydney Comedy Festival later that year.
Steen’s father, Peter Raskopoulos, is a former Sydney Olympic FC and Australian national team player. An Olympic Hall of Fame Member, Peter also became C.E.O in 2001, winning the 2001–02 NSL championship.
Steen is known as a “triple threat” of performance, material and charisma. He was personally chosen to support Conan O’Brien in Sydney 2019 and in won the Directors Choice Award at the Sydney Comedy Festival 2018.
Also performing at the festival will be Mary Coustas, performing her new stage show, ‘Better Out, Than In.’ Coutsas said right now, “we need a good laugh more than anything”.
After a year’s hiatus, the comedy festival will run from April 19 to May 16 with more than 180 stand-up, sketch, circus, family and musical comedy acts. Other acts include Adam Hills, Gen Fricker, Nina Oyama, Arj Barker, Joel Creasey, Fiona O’Loughlin, Tom Gleeson and Ross Noble.
