The annual parade from Sydney’s Martin Place to the Sydney Opera House has been cancelled for this year, according to The Greek Herald‘s sources.
A wreath laying ceremony will still be held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Martin Place on March 28, with numerous dignitaries, politicians and His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia set to attend.
A number of Greek Orthodox schools in Sydney will also be holding small celebrations in lieu of the march, showcasing the history of the Greek Revolution through dancing, singing and poetry.
Numerous Sydney councils, such as Randwick City Council, will also be holding events to mark the 200th anniversary of the 1821 Greek Revolution.
The cancellation of the march will come as a disappointment to Sydney’s Greek community, with over 10,000 people typically turning up for the march every year.
Sofia Vembo was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 1950s. She became best known for her performance of patriotic songs during the Greco-Italian War, when she was dubbed the “Singer of Victory.”
To mark the occasion of her death on this day in 1978, we take a look back at her incredible life achievements.
Early and Personal Life:
Sofia Vembo, who’s real name was Efi Bembou, was born on February 10, 1910 in Gallipoli, Eastern Thrace. After the Asia Minor catastrophe, her family moved to Tsaritsani in the prefecture of Larissa and then to Volos, where her parents worked as tobacco workers.
She started her artistic career by chance in 1930, singing in a patisserie in Thessaloniki to contribute financially to her home.
Three years later, Sofia went to Athens where she was hired by businessman, Fotis Samartzis, from the Kentrikon theatre to participate in the revue “Parrot 1933.”
Sofia signed her first contract with the Columbia record company.
At the same time, she signed her first contract with the Columbia record company, performing love songs of the time and due to her special bass voice, the recognition did not take long to come.
All these years, Sofia maintained a relationship with the writer and lyricist, Mimi Traiforos, and finally married him in 1957.
Greco-Italian War and Theatre Work:
With the declaration of the Greco-Italian war in 1940, Sofia became a major inspiration to Greek soldiers at the battlefront with her performances of patriotic and satirical songs. At the same time, she offered 2,000 gold pounds from her own fortune to the Hellenic Navy.
Following the German invasion and occupation of Greece in April 1941, she was transported to the Middle East, where she continued to perform for the Greek troops in exile.
Sofia became a heroic symbol of the nation and was described as the “Singer of Victory.”
Sofia became a major inspiration to Greek soldiers at the battlefront.
After the war in 1949, she acquired her own theatre, the ‘Vembo Theatre,’ in the Metaxourgeio neighbourhood of Athens. At the same time, she laid the foundations of a new era for Greek song – “archontorebetiko.”
In 1959, Sofia starred in the movie “Stournara 288,” where she plays a famous singer who was forgotten by her fans and worked as a piano teacher. She later acted in the 1955 classic, “Stella,” and “Prosfygopoula” in 1938.
During the 1960s, she began to perform less and less, before finally retiring in the early 1970s.
In the period 1967-1974, she participated in the anti-dictatorship struggle. On the night of the Polytechnic Uprising, she opened her house and hid students, whom she refused to hand over when security knocked on her door.
Death and Legacy:
Sofia died on March 11, 1978 and her funeral turned into a rally.
Because of her role in the war and her efforts during the Axis occupation, she was awarded the rank of Major in the Greek Army.
James Psaltis, a Greek Australian student from St Peter’s College in Adelaide, has received an inaugural South Australian Governor’s Award for his fantastic results in the International Baccalaureate (IB)
James received 44 out of a possible 45 score for his IB (the equivalent of the maximum possible 99.75 Australian Tertiary Entrance Rank) and was ranked first at his school, alongside Thomas Gaertner.
Speaking to The Advertiser at the time, James said he had applied to study medicine at Adelaide or Flinders University. He also aimed to bolster his volunteer work.
South Australia’s top International Baccalaureate diploma graduates: James Psaltis is pictured front row, third from right.
“I manage my own social enterprise operations, in partnership with United Way Australia,” James told the newspaper. “I aim to improve literacy rates in at-risk children.”
SA Governor’s awards for excellence have been presented annually since 2012 to high achievers in the SA Certificate of Education (SACE).
Last year, a graduate of Walford Anglican School for Girls, Jasmin Manetta, wrote to the Governor Hieu Van Le suggesting IB students should also be recognised.
The SA Governor’s Award recipients. James Psaltis is third from right. Picture: Morgan Sette.
The Governor agreed and said it was a pleasure to extend the awards to the top student from each IB diploma school. In fact, he was also particularly impressed the Year 12 alternative had a focus on intercultural respect.
“As a proud advocate for cultural diversity in our state and our nation, I am pleased to see that the IB considers these skills as essential for young citizens of the 21st century,” Governor Hieu Van Le said at the award ceremony.
The IB is an international school-leaving credential. It has fewer in-class assessments and about 80 percent of a student’s result is based on the final exam.
In South Australia, there were among 222 students who sat the IB instead of the SA Certificate of Education this year.
Greece, represented by Stefania Liberakakis, have released their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
ERT premiered the 18-year old Dutch-Greek singer’s entry, Last Dance, on Wednesday and it takes listeners back to the 1980s, while throwing in a nod to ancient Greek mythology for good measure.
“Last Dance is a very up-tempo track, but it manages to maintain the sensitivity and melody that are usually lost in very dynamic songs,” Stefania told local media.
The Eurovision entryis written by a team of Eurovision veterans including Dimitris Kontopoulos (You Are The Only One and Shady Lady), Greek production team Arcade and Sharon Vaughn (Scream and Waterline).
Many are calling it a ‘successful return’ to the competition after Stefania’s performance of Superg!rl for last year’s Eurovision was called off after the cancellation of the contest due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our whole team believes a lot in our song that we have this year. A prediction does not make sense. We put all our efforts to have an excellent stage presentation and we want Greece and the Greeks wherever they are to feel proud of the result they will see,” Stefania says.
Greece will take part in the first half of the second semifinal. Up until 2016, they had always qualified for the final. However, both Argo and Yianna Terzi failed to make the cut. Can Greece return to their fortunes?
The next round of exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey will be held on March 16 in Athens, the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The press release did not provide any more details.
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish media reported that the discussions will be held on March 16-17. The reports also said there would be political consultations between the Greek and Turkish deputy foreign ministers alongside the talks.
This latest round will bring the total tally up to 62 rounds. The previous round was held in late January.
A man who drove into pedestrians on Flinders Street in Melbourne, killing an elderly grandfather, has lost an appeal for an early release from jail, according to a 9News report.
Saeed Noori, 37, is serving a minimum 30 years prison for the murder of Antonios “Anton” Crocaris just days before Christmas in 2017. He appealed for an early release from prison which was today denied by a judge.
Noori drove down the busy street on December 21 of that year and injured 15 people, including a four-year-old boy, during the rampage. Antonios “Anton” Crocaris, 83, died from head injuries sustained during the attack. During his initial sentencing Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said it was fortunate the father-of-three did not hurt or kill more people during the incident.
Noori pleaded guilty to one count of murder, 11 counts of recklessly causing serious injury and five counts of conduct endangering life in 2019.Justice Hollingworth said Noori’s motivation for the incident was based on the belief he was being spied on by ASIO, telling police the Australian government was racist.
For more than three decades, on the first Sunday of every month, South Australia’s Pontian community get together to share a meal, socialise, share stories and celebrate their common roots.
The most recent lunch was held on Sunday, March 7 at the Pontian Brotherhood of SA’ new building in Pennington, Adelaide.
“Our Sunday lunches are used to create a connection between our heritage and traditions, through food, dance and music. These gatherings of our extended Pontian family are symbolic, as we strive to keep the gap between generations small with our youth and community elders all get together in a familiar family setting.
(L) President of the Pontian Brotherhood of SA, Nazareth Nalpantidis Chisholm. Picture: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa
“We want to grow our community and invite all to come along because this is their home, built for the greater Pontian community,” President of the Pontian Brotherhood of SA, Nazareth Nalpantidis Chisholm, tells The Greek Herald.
Established in August 1958 SA’s Brotherhood is the second Pontian community in Australia and the second oldest outside of Greece and events like this have pulled the community members together throughout the years.
Picture: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa
“This is a massive team effort from all that have supported the Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia from its creation to date and it’s all driven for the love of Pontos, our Motherland,” says Nazareth.
“It’s our duty to keep the stories alive”
A member since she was a child and for the last four years the Brotherhood’s Treasurer, Sofia Varvaris says it’s important to keep the traditions alive.
Both her maternal and paternal grandparents migrated to Australia from Trapezounta in 1922.
Treasurer of the Pontian Brotherhood of SA Sofia Varvaris. Picture: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa
“It’s our duty to keep the Pontian history and culture alive and pass on the stories to future generations,” Sofia says.
“Pontos does not exist. We can go back but we know we are not welcome there. The Brotherhood and our ancestors’ history is all we have left and it’s encouraging that in our dancing groups we have so many young people.
“When they dance, they dance with their souls and not with their feet,” Varvaris concludes.
The Theriso revolt (Greek: Επανάσταση του Θερίσου) was an insurrection that broke out in March 1905 against the government of Crete, then an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty.
The revolt was led by the Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos, and is named after his mother’s native village, Theriso, the focal point of the revolt.
The revolt stemmed from the dispute between Venizelos and the island’s ruler, Prince George of Greece, over the island’s future, particularly over the question of Cretan union with Greece. The conflict’s origin can be traced to 1901, when Prince George dismissed Venizelos from the government.
The hostility between Venizelos and the prince was precipitated by the latter’s attitude toward foreign relations and by his refusal to engage in dialogue with his advisers over the island’s internal affairs. After a prolonged political struggle, Venizelos and his followers decided upon an armed uprising, with the goals of uniting Crete with Greece and ushering in a more democratic government for the island.
The Theriso revolt not only established Venizelos as the leading politician in Crete, but also brought him to the attention of the wider Greek world. His reputation would lead in 1909 to his call to Greece, where he became Prime Minister.
A proposed $6m city bikeway will endanger schoolchildren and other pedestrians, especially elderly churchgoers, The Advertiser reports.
Following a decision by Adelaide City Council to consult the public about the East-West Bikeway from Franklin Street to Hutt Street, The Greek Orthodox Community of SA and St Mary’s College commissioned the report to traffic consultant Melissa Mellen.
In her report, Ms Mellen said the two organisations had legitimate concerns about the impact of the bikeway on public safety and access to a school, two churches and a bingo hall.
The consultant said “a number of factors had not been addressed” with the proposed bikeway route, which featured a dog-leg between Flinders Street and Wakefield Street.
“Disappointedly, the safety of vulnerable road users other than cyclists is a key consideration that has been omitted from the assessment,” Ms Mellen said.
Other safety threats were posed to people attending church services, weddings, funerals and christenings at the Cathedral of Archangels Michael and Gabriel Creek Orthodox Church, along with hundreds of predominantly elderly people who played bingo in an adjacent hall.
Greek Orthodox Community president Bill Gonis said public safety near the bikeway had to become the paramount consideration for the council.
“During the so-called consultation period, Adelaide City Council have not been able to provide any solutions to the concerns which have been raised,” he said.
From her side, Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor mentioned that public consultation on the bikeway closed last month.
Furious residents say their homes have been left “unsellable”, with one saying his property’s value plummeted from $11 million to only $1 because of proposed land zonings surrounding the new western Sydney airport, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Theo Koutsomihalis says under the latest zonings proposed, his entire 10 acre Luddenham property would be designated as green space – wiping millions from its value after it had previously been zoned as enterprise land.
He said planning firm Urbis had initially valued his land, then zoned as enterprise, at $11m.
The Berejiklian Government has wiped out millions of dollars in value from people’s family properties in Luddenham. Residents like Theo are right to be outraged. Their lives have been thrown into disarray. #nswpol Airport turns $11m home into $1 field https://t.co/UVodWNxISrpic.twitter.com/FEE4KkeBIM
However, proposed plans by the State government have designated his entire property as green space – with the firm updating him the property would now be “unsellable” with a value of $1.
“I’m stuck now with a property worth $1 for the next 20 or 30 years, if it ever sells,” he said.
“The other day I literally had to pull the car over and have a panic attack for 45 minutes.
“My kids’ future is gone.”
Mr Koutsomihalis drew the largest cheer at a public meeting of about 200 concerned locals at Luddenham Showground on Tuesday with state politicians and councillors from Liverpool and Penrith.
