The daughter of prominent Australian painter Carl Plate, Cassi Plate, will host an online lecture next week.
The event is entitled after her new biography on the friendship between ‘sacred monster’ Costas Taktsis and her father Carl.
The book, ‘Monster & Colossus: Letters between Greek writer Costas Taktsis & Australian artist Carl Plate & their families in cosmopolitan post-war Sydney’, was released in July.
Read more about their lives, who Dr. Plate is, and how to attend the event below:
Dr. Cassi Plate will present an online lecture entitled Monster & Colossus: Letters between Greek writer Costas Taktsis & Australian artist Carl Plate & their families in cosmopolitan post-war Sydney, on Thursday 16 September at 7.00 pm, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.
Costas Taktsis (Κώστας Ταχτσής), arguably the most important post-war Greek writer, referred to himself as a Sacred Monster. He called his life-long friend, Sydney artist Carl Plate, a committed internationalist and key figure in the post-war Australian modern art movement, the Colossus of Woronora. After Taktsis was banished from Australia, the friendship of these inveterate travellers – the writer and the artist – was kept alive through decades of correspondence.
Dr. Cassi Plate will talk about the poet and writer’s experience of Australia during the post-war wave of immigration. For Taktsis, Australia was a place of innocence, a new stage on which to reinvent himself, and the form of the Greek novel. On the contrary, Carl Plate (1909-1977) saw Australia as a prison from which he sought to escape, but a prison that enabled him to keep painting. Claimed as the first modern Greek novel, The Third Wedding, written largely in Australia, was dedicated to Carl and Jocelyn Plate.
Dr. Cassi Plate is a curator, writer, and former ABC broadcaster (Triple J, Radio National). She has taught and researched at UTS, the University of Newcastle, and the University of Western Sydney. Her previous book ‘Restless Spirits’ was the pilot for a ‘Thesis to Book’ initiative of the University of Sydney and publisher PanMacmillan. Her latest book Monster & Colossus was published by Australian Scholarly Publishing in 2020.
You don’t need an account to watch the live broadcast with any of the above services. However, if you want to participate in the Q&A at the end of the seminar you’ll need an account with the equivalent service in order to post your question in the comments/chat.
Darwin has a very special place in Georgia Politis’ heart. The 27-year-old photographer was born and raised in the capital city of the Northern Territory, she is heavily involved with the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia (GOCNA), and it’s where her passion for photography began from a very young age.
“I became addicted… to making progress [through photos] and realising how important it was, especially to my community because we didn’t really have someone to be at the events often and capture people when I was younger,” Georgia, who also works at Charles Darwin University, tells The Greek Herald.
Georgia Politis. Photo supplied.
“That was my dream – to be one of those people for them and give them a voice through photography.”
From this passion grew the Darwin DiverCity Series where Georgia will photograph people from multicultural communities across Darwin, including the Greek, Indigenous, Indian and Zimbabwean communities. Her three-part series will also feature multicultural first responders and other frontline workers.
Fotini Gerakios.
Aviana McElwee.
“Darwin’s really different. We’re not segregated up here, we’re quite mixed in… and I’m trying to remind people about that because obviously, as the years go by, people might go to their groups and start forgetting how diverse Darwin is,” Georgia explains.
“Certain cultures might have amazing backstories of where their clothes came from or their traditions and it’s just about reminding them about that.”
Panayiotis Kyriacou OAM.
Kim Mowaey.
For Georgia, the one person who has been her favourite to photograph so far is her own grandmother, Sevasti Famelos. Georgia says Sevasti and her late grandfather, George Famelos, inspired the Darwin DiverCity Series.
“They’ve gone through so much in life and they’ve taught us so much. My grandfather, who I’m named after, gave me my first job when I was young and taught me the very first basics of business, which is why I’ve got a business today,” she says.
“My family [also] lost a lot of their photos in Cyclone Tracy so my grandmother tells me the stories through her words and as a kid, I could always try and imagine what it was like… but she didn’t have anything to show because they lost them. So, you know, they learnt to appreciate the value of photographs.”
Graham McMahon.
Georgia’s yiayia, Sevasti Famelos.
It’s for this reason, Georgia hopes the Darwin DiverCity Series will bring some joy to other cultures who want to share their stories as well.
“The purpose of the project is pretty much, in simple words, to never forget where you came from and how you got here and to appreciate it,” Georgia concludes.
“The elderly are not always going to be there and I think it’s time we start saying thanks to them.”
Anastasia Kastellorizios.
Mihalis and Nektarios Kazouris.
Nikitas Kardoulias: Surviving Darwin’s Cyclone Tracy and life in Central Africa:
Nikitas Kardoulias, and his wife, Helen, also featured in Georgia Politis’ Darwin DiverCity Series and the minute I saw their photographs, I instantly knew I needed to share their story.
Nikitas was born in 1951 on the Greek island of Kalymnos. He lived on the island with his mother as his father had migrated to Darwin in the Northern Territory and was working as a painter to support the family. But in 1965, at the tender age of 14, Nikitas joined his father in Darwin, quickly learnt English at night school and then began to work with him as well.
“Life was difficult when he came. He was a small kid. Australia wasn’t like it is now where it has all these amenities. At first, he would live in the homes of strangers with his dad, he would wash his own clothes… Darwin was like a village. It’s not like how it is now after 40 years,” Helen Kardoulias tells The Greek Herald.
‘We will rebuild’:
It was during this time that Nikitas and his family also lived through Cyclone Tracy, which was a tropical cyclone that hit and devastated Darwin from December 24 – 26, 1974. Nikitas tells The Greek Herald it was one Christmas he will never forget.
Nikitas Kardoulias.
“We didn’t expect the cyclone to be so big but as the days passed, things were getting worse. I was with my mum and dad at the time in our house… which was very close to the ocean, maybe 100 metres, and the wind was very strong,” Nikitas says.
“At around 1am to 1.30am, our roof had completely blown away. I took my mother and father and we left to find a safer place to stay because it was dangerous. When I was driving, marinas were flying, wood was flying, rocks were flying, everything. We couldn’t even see.”
Eventually, Nikitas and his family reached a police station, where other people had also gathered, and stayed there until the morning after the cyclone had passed over Darwin.
“When I returned home, there was only the floor left and one standing wall. It was difficult [to see] but I had my parents with me and I didn’t want to show them I was scared. I told them, ‘Don’t be upset, we will rebuild it’.”
The family moved to Sydney for a while and stayed with some cousins before they returned to Darwin and started rebuilding their home.
Years later, Nikitas visited Kalymnos and married Helen. The couple returned to Australia after they married and had a daughter but eventually went back to Kalymnos and lived there for about ten years. Nikitas was ‘boomeranging’ between Greece and Australia at the time, as he was working to support the family.
The Kardoulias family.
Helen and Nikitas Kardoulias.
“He was leaving and returning for the best of the children so maybe they would stay in their homeland. Australia is great, but every father wants their children to grow up in their homeland, to learn the language, culture and traditions.”
Living in the Congo during the dictatorship:
In the end, the Kardoulias family couldn’t stay in Kalymnos long term, but they still had an exciting stint overseas. In fact, Nikitas and Helen, along with their daughter and son, also lived in the Congo in Central Africa for a short time.
Helen says they opened a supermarket there for a few years, but life was difficult as they had to live under the Mobutu dictatorship.
“At some stage, people revolted against the government and they started to damage shops, they lit fires… we were impacted,” Helen explains.
Helen and Nikitas with a photo of their wedding day.
“All the women and children had to leave so my brother, to save us, sent us away and we left the Congo at night-time, and we went to South Africa where it was quieter… Nikitas, my brother and my uncle stayed behind to see whether they could salvage any of our belongings.
“I was eight months pregnant at the time… It was difficult because we left and we didn’t know what would happen to the men.”
The women ended up staying in South Africa for a month before they, along with the men, returned to Kalymnos. After giving birth to another son and indulging in the Greek village life for a little bit longer, the family made their final journey back to Australia in 1993.
Helen says it was the right time to return and now they’re retired and happily reflecting on their incredible life.
“We’ve been together for 43 years now. We’re happy and fruitful. Two of our children are married, we have six grandchildren… so we are looking after our grandchildren now,” Helen concludes with a smile.
Michael Constantine, the Emmy-winning actor from the 1970s sitcom Room 222 who later portrayed the Windex-spritzing father of Nia Vardalos’ character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, has died. He was 94.
Constantine died on August 31 in his home in his native Reading, Pennsylvania, his family announced. He had been ill for some time, they said.
The son of Greek immigrants, Constantine is warmly remembered for his turn as Gus Portokalos, the husband of Lainie Kazan’s Maria Portokalos, in the unlikely box-office smash My Big Fat Greek Wedding and its 2016 sequel.
Michael Constantine, the dad to our cast-family, a gift to the written word, and always a friend. Acting with him came with a rush of love and fun. I will treasure this man who brought Gus to life. He gave us so much laughter and deserves a rest now. We love you Michael. 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/PV0sIBtaUX
The first installment, made for $5 million and released in 2002, grossed nearly $370 million worldwide.
On Wednesday, Vardalos paid tribute to the man who played her boisterous Greek father on Twitter, writing:
“Michael Constantine, the dad to our cast-family, a gift to the written word, and always a friend. Acting with him came with a rush of love and fun. I will treasure this man who brought Gus to life. He gave us so much laughter and deserves a rest now. We love you Michael.”
Sydney’s hospitality kings, Bill and Mario Gravanis, have struck a $50 million deal to buy the Oakwood apartment hotel in Brisbane from Singapore real estate giant, Mapletree Investments, The Australian Financial Reviewreports.
The acquisition of the 11-storey building – overlooking the Brisbane River and perched at the entrance to the city’s Storey Bridge – follows the Gravanis brothers buying Long Island in the Whitsunday’s in May for about $20 million, with plans to redevelop the resort.
The Gravanis brothers bought Long Island for $20 million.
Oakwood Hotel & Apartments Brisbane at 15 Ivory Lane offers 162 serviced units as well as amenities such as a gymnasium, business centre, restaurant, and swimming pool.
It will add to an already substantial portfolio of accommodation assets owned by the Gravanis brothers including Novotel hotels in Sydney and Wollongong, alongside one of NSW’s biggest pub portfolios.
Stay-at-home orders for adults who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be lifted from the Monday after NSW passes the 70 per cent double vaccination target, under the roadmap to freedom released today.
The roadmap is subject to further fine-tuning and health advice if circumstances change drastically or if cases within a designated area remain too high.
This comes as NSW recorded 1,405 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 today and five deaths.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said we are well on the way to hitting the 70 per cent double dose milestone which will allow the state to open up for those who have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I cannot stress enough how important it is for people to get vaccinated – if you have not had both doses of the vaccine by the time we hit the 70 per cent milestone, you will not be able to take advantage of these freedoms,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Gladys Berejiklian announced the roadmap today.
Only fully vaccinated people and those with medical exemptions will have access to the freedoms allowed under the Reopening NSW roadmap.
The freedoms for vaccinated adults will come into effect on the Monday after NSW hits the 70 per cent double dose target and include:
Gatherings in the home and public spaces:
Up to five visitors will be allowed in a home where all adults are vaccinated (not including children 12 and under).
Up to 20 people can gather in outdoor settings.
Venues includinghospitality, retail stores and gyms:
Hospitality venues can reopen subject to one person per 4sqm inside and one person per 2sqm outside, with standing while drinking permitted outside.
Retail stores can reopen under the one person per 4sqm rule (unvaccinated people will continue to only be able to access critical retail).
Personal services such as hairdressers and nail salons can open with one person per 4sqm, capped at five clients per premises.
Gyms and indoor recreation facilities can open under the one person per 4sqm rule and can offer classes for up to 20 people.
Sporting facilities including swimming pools can reopen.
Restaurants will be able to reopen.
Stadiums, theatres and major outdoor recreation facilities:
Major recreation outdoor facilities including stadiums, racecourses, theme parks and zoos can reopen with one person per 4sqm, capped at 5,000 people.
Up to 500 people can attend ticketed and seated outdoor events.
Indoor entertainment and information facilities including cinemas, theatres, music halls, museums and galleries can reopen with one person per 4sqm or 75 per cent fixed seated capacity.
Weddings, funerals and places of worship:
Up to 50 guests can attend weddings, with dancing permitted and eating and drinking only while seated.
Up to 50 guests can attend funerals, with eating and drinking while seated.
Churches and places of worship to open subject to one person per 4sqm rule, with no singing.
Travel:
Domestic travel, including trips to regional NSW, will be permitted.
Caravan parks and camping grounds can open.
Carpooling will be permitted.
Domestic travel will also be permitted.
Non-vaccinated young people aged under 16 will be able to access all outdoor settings but will only be able to visit indoor venues with members of their household.
Employers must continue to allow employees to work from home if the employee is able to do so.
There will be revised guidance on isolation for close and casual contacts who are fully vaccinated, with details to be provided closer to the reopening date.
Masks:
Masks will remain mandatory for all indoor public venues, including public transport, front-of-house hospitality, retail and business premises, on planes and at airports.
Only hospitality staff will be required to wear a mask when outdoors.
Children aged under 12 will not need to wear a mask indoors.
Maria Sakkari has become the first Greek player into the semi finals of the US Open after she defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-4 this morning.
The game ended in less than 1.5 hrs.
The 26-year-old never faced a break point and won all but eight of the 49 points on her serve. That includes a remarkable 24 of 26 first-serve points won, a torrid 92% clip.
“I trusted my serve, but now I’m going to trust it even more,” Sakkari said in a post match interview.
After having never made it past the fourth round in 20 appearances at major tournaments, Sakkari reached the French Open semis in June and has matched that showing in Queens.
Sakkari now advances to a showdown with British qualifier, Emma Raducanu, tomorrow night for a place in Saturday’s US Open women’s singles final.
Greek Australian, Ann Margulis, had an uninterrupted view of the 9/11 terror attacks 20 years ago as she was doing a yoga class.
“It was unbelievable, traumatic to say the least,” Margulis told The Daily Telegraph about witnessing the two planes hit the Twin Towers on that fateful day in 2001, killing roughly 2876 people.
Margulis, along with her husband Les, were later evacuated from their apartment opposite the New York Stock Exchange in the shadow of Ground Zero because of the poisonous clouds that filled the air.
Poisonous clouds covered New York for months.
“The air was dreadful. We could smell the fires, they didn’t go out until February, many months later, and the air quality was terrible, it smelt like burning plastic,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
But the Environmental Protection Agency said the air was safe to breathe despite it stinking as the site continued to burn.
Sixteen months later, Margulis suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so the couple returned to Sydney and then moved to the Blue Mountains.
She has still not been able to escape the cancers caused by the toxic fumes.
In 2005, she contracted thyroid cancer and then four years later, stage four stomach cancer. After a legal fight, she proved her illnesses were caused by the toxic air and she received a settlement from the 9/11 Victim’s Compensation Fund.
Policemen and firemen run away from the huge dust cloud caused as the World Trade Center’s Tower One collapse.
There are more than 43,000 people who were in the vicinity of Ground Zero after the attacks, including emergency personnel, who reported 9/11-related illnesses and 3000 have died with 68 different types of cancers linked to the gases.
Margulis has been cancer free for a number of years now but still has ongoing health issues as a result. She speaks about that day back in 2001 so that “hidden” victims, including the families and friends of those who died, will not be forgotten.
“I find carrying hatred achieves nothing. I feel really sad, sadness for all the people this has affected and all the families and friends and survivors,” she said.
Vespers will be performed at the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in New York, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, for the first time in 20 years.
This news was confirmed by the General Hierarchical Vicar of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Father Alexandros Karloutsos, to the Sputnik news agency.
“On September 10, the Vespers will be officiated by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. This is our contribution to the anniversary of 9/11,” Father Karloutsos added.
The church will be lit the next day.
The next day, the church will be lit, along with other buildings in the area, in blue to honour the memory of the victims of the terrorist attack.
The domed shrine, which is covered in the same type of marble used to build the Parthenon in Athens, is supposed to appear as if it’s glowing from the inside.
The shrine will then go dark again for the next few months.
A year ago, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said the shrine would be finished by this fall. Archbishop Elpidophoros, who heads the church in the US, said “it will be completed and open to all people, on the 20th anniversary” of 9/11.
The exterior of the church is expected to be completed by November 2.
But Michael Psaros, the vice chairman of the Friends of St Nicholas, told euronews the exterior of the church is expected to be completed by November 2, when the doors will be opened in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Mr Psarros added that work on the interior of the church will continue until April 2022, with the hope that it will be finalised by Holy Week and Easter of the same year.
“The church will be inaugurated on July 4, 2022, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,” Mr Psarros concluded.
The body of revered Greek composer, Mikis Theodorakis, was heading to its final resting place on the island of Crete on Wednesday after lying in state at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral for three days.
Theodorakis, whose musical score for the 1964 movie “Zorba the Greek” helped foster a carefree image of Greece abroad for millions, died on September 2 aged 96.
Thousands of mourners of all ages laid flowers and sang his songs over the three days that his casket was on public display in the chapel of Agios Eleftherios beside the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral.
A farewell ceremony on Wednesday drew officials and ordinary Greeks, who gathered in a light autumnal drizzle outside the cathedral.
Greek President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, delivered a brief eulogy during a memorial service held in the main church, describing the late composer as a “teacher and a paradigm.”
“He will always be with us, rooted in our collective memory,” Sakellaropoulou said.
Leader of the Greek Orthodox church, Archbishop Ieronimos, leads the farewell service of Theodorakis at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, Greece, September 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters / Alkis Konstantinidis.
“His music was a call to rise above the personal and commune with others; a code that transcended circumstances, standing for resistance, hope, camaraderie and collective struggles.”
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of citizens gathered at Piraeus port as well to bid farewell to Theodorakis, as his remains departed on a ferry for Crete ahead of his burial on Thursday. The ship containing the hearse and late composer’s coffin departed gate E2 shortly before 7 pm.
As his remains were being taken onto the ship, Piraeus Brass Band played some of the late composer’s music.
Theodorakis’ remains are on the way to Crete. Photo: InTime News.
The ferry is scheduled to arrive in Crete at 7.30 am. His remains will then be carried to Hania Cathedral. At 1 pm, his body will be taken to the Church of Aghios Nikolaos in his paternal village of Galatas, where a funeral service will be conducted.
Theodorakis will be buried in the village cemetery beside his brother and parents, in accordance with his wishes.
Both the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the leader of the opposition, Alexis Tsipras, have announced that they will be in attendance.
Australians across the nation will today gather in person and virtually to mark R U OK?Day, a national day of action and a reminder that every day is a day to start a meaningful conversation with the people in our world.
Thousands of events and activities will be hosted by social and sports clubs, community groups, workplaces, schools and suicide prevention networks, championing the message “Are they really OK? Ask them today” which calls on all Australians to make asking “are you OK?”, a part of their everyday.
“The ups and downs of life can affect each of us differently. Sometimes it won’t be obvious that someone is struggling, but having the support of family, friends and close colleagues can help us better navigate the challenges that come our way,” R U OK? CEO, Katherine Newton, said.
“Don’t wait until someone is visibly distressed or in crisis before you ask. If you ask them in a genuine way, your support can make a difference whatever they are facing.
“In a time when so many of us are feeling fatigued by the pandemic, we want to remind and reassure Australians that there is something we can all do to support those in our world, and as those closest to them we are often in a position to do so.
“R U OK?Day is a reminder to think about how the people in our world are really going, find time to make a moment meaningful and have a conversation.”
This year has seen an increased demand from workplaces, schools and the public for practical tools on how to have an R U OK? conversation. In the last year R U OK? have seen a 32% increase in resource downloads from the website, compared to the same period the previous year.
R U OK? resources are now available in eight other languages and to support at risk demographics such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the LGBTIQ+ community and those living in regional and remote Australia.
