To mark the 80th Anniversary of the World War II battle, the Battle of Crete Memorial Committee (WA) (BCMC) will release its preferred design for a new memorial later this month.

The memorial, to be located within the Saw Avenue precinct at Perth’s King’s Park, will commemorate the courage, sacrifice and commitment of those who served and endured the battle. In particular, Australian service personnel with direct links to Western Australia and the people of Crete, who on so many occasions risked their lives to assist them.

In March 1941, the Australian 6th Division and the New Zealand 2nd Division were deployed from Egypt to mainland Greece to counter the threat of an invasion by Nazi Germany. When the invasion came, the Allied forces were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned by a modern war machine with total control of the skies. Amongst the Australian forces was the 2nd/11th (City of Perth) Battalion, made up predominantly of Western Australians. By late April 1941, the Allied forces were forced to evacuate Greece, leaving all of their vehicles and most of their heavy weapons and communications equipment behind.

Some of the Australian forces were withdrawn to Egypt, whilst others were landed on the Greek island of Crete. Under the command of the New Zealand Major General Bernard Freyberg VC, the Allied forces reorganised themselves as best they could and prepared for an imminent German attack. That attack came on 20 May 1941 with the Germans employing massed paratroop drops, supported by constant air attacks, in four locations.

All locations saw heavy fighting, but at the end of the first day, the Australians, had the upper hand in their sector around the airfield at Rethymno. However, the tide soon turned and on 28 May 1941, General Freyberg issued an order for Allied forces to evacuate Crete. Unfortunately, the order did not reach the Australians at Rethymno and by 29 May 1941, they were all but trapped. Having run out of ammunition and food, Major Ray Sandover, the Commanding Officer of the 2nd/11th Battalion, gave his men the option of either surrendering, or escaping into the hills and then to attempt to make their way back to Egypt by whatever means.

With the cessation of the evacuation by the Royal Navy on 30 May 1941, thousands of Allied troops were captured. However, there were hundreds seeking to evade the enemy in the mountains. Many of these were sheltered and fed by poor Cretan families, this they did knowing that they would be executed if discovered doing so by the enemy. Eventually small groups of Allied personnel made their way to the south of the island. Of these, a number were sheltered by the Monks of Preveli Monastery, these included Major Sandover and over 50 members of his Battalion, who later managed to escape to Egypt.

Recollections of the story behind the memorial may have dimmed over time, but its significance for the people of Western Australia and Crete remains strong.

Mr Bill Evangel, the President of the Greek Australian RSL and chair of the BCMC said, “This story of heroism, on and off the battlefield, is a reminder to us all, that of the generosity of strangers should never be forgotten”.

The proposed memorial has received support from the Commonwealth and the WA State Governments as well as the RSL(WA). In principle support for the project has also been received from the King’s Park Board. Prominent WA artists Smith Sculptors have been chosen to develop the design. The BCMC has also partnered with the National Trust (WA) and has commenced fundraising to make this memorial a reality.

To launch the memorial concept, the BCMC will be hosting an unveiling of the design on Thursday 27th May in Perth.

Despite being held online, last year’s Antipodean Palette was an outstanding success for the Greek-Australian Cultural League (GACL), and this year it will continue at Melbourne’s Duckboard Place, among other city locations.

The theme of Metamorphosis was chosen for a very different Antipodean Palette for 2021, which is dedicated to the Liberation of the Hellenes from Ottoman rule.

Work from selected artists will be displayed on posters with QR codes to access the work and artists’ statements on the GACL’s website.

Aphroditi Karalis, who is coordinating this year’s Antipodean Palette, in conjunction with Vasy Petros, says that the GACL’s positive adaptation to change is a tribute to the resilience of its President of 23 years, Cathy Alexopoulos, who encourages the arts-oriented committee to continually aspire to new ideas, and maintain the momentum in building a unique cultural and arts-focussed organisation that has relevance in today’s world.

See below for artworks from three of this years participating artists: Virginia Polendakis, Efrossini Chaniotis and Maritsa Micos.

The Greek-Australian Cultural League (GACL), is an organisation which has endured for more than 50 years, promoting, supporting and fostering the creative endeavours of Greek-Australian writers and artists whose work primarily reflect the confluence of the Greek and Australian cultures and contribute to the enrichment of Literature, the visual arts and the performing arts.

COVID-19 put a halt to many planned events last year, as members hunkered down in their homes shell-shocked with the global phenomenon. Even without events, Cathy Alexopoulos kept members informed behind the scenes, overseeing the annual publication of the bilingual periodical Antipodes, organising the annual Literary Competition and keeping the group together and motivated to look to the future.

Simultaneously, Vasy Petros established the Greek-Australian Art Register (GAAD) and Kids art classes. The first of its kind, the GAAD brings together Greek Australian artists past and present.

Racing NSW and Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys has lost the defamation case he brought against the ABC over an episode of 7.30 featuring graphic footage of horses being slaughtered at an abattoir in Queensland.

Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney said the program may not have portrayed Mr V’landys in a positive light but did not defame him in a judgment handed down on Friday afternoon.

The program, aired on October 17, 2019, was titled The Final Race and featured shocking footage of distressed horses being slaughtered at the Meramist Abbatoir, north of Brisbane.

A recorded interview with Mr V’landys was juxtaposed with the graphic footage throughout. The Racing boss alleged the program defamed him and damaged his reputation as a regulator.

He claimed he was denied procedural fairness because he was not shown hidden camera footage recorded in a Meramist abattoir before or during his interview.

The judge said the overall impression of the report was that the slaughter of thoroughbreds in knackeries was occurring because rules put in place by the industry were “inadequate and ineffective”.

The imputations alleged to have been conveyed included that Mr V’landys “callously permitted the wholesale slaughter of thoroughbred horses” and “ignored the cruelty to which thoroughbred horses were subjected to in a Queensland abattoir”.

Mr V’landys also argued the ABC and Ms Meldrum-Hanna acted with malice in publishing the story, but Justice Wigney said the evidence did not support any allegation of dishonesty or deceit on behalf of the ABC or Meldrum-Hanna.

In a statement, an ABC spokesperson welcomed the decision.

“‘The Final Race’ was an important and ground-breaking investigation, forensically and conscientiously reported, which exposed the cruel treatment and miserable fates of many of Australia’s retired racehorses in slaughterhouses and abattoirs,” the spokesperson said.

Sourced By: ABC News

Dr Leonidas Moiras will give a lecture entitled Ottoman Perceptions of the Greek Revolution, on Thursday 20 May, at 7.00pm, at the Greek Centre, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The outburst of the Greek Revolution consisted a major challenge for the Ottomans, since they had to suppress a “millet-wide sedition” of their subjects, who were claiming independence. The sultan, the central state elite and the intelligentsia tried to identify the reasons that triggered the “insurrection” of their subjects. The Ottoman administration responded to this challenge with the mobilization of her military power alongside several attempts to reincorporate the subjects back to the imperial order.

At the same time, the Greek Revolution became the main channel of transmission, through which the main ideas of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment entered the Ottoman mind and shaped decisively the imperial political thought and ideology. Through the intercepted documents of the Greek rebels, the Ottoman authorities tried to find the responses to the new challenges.  

“This paper is an attempt to investigate the Ottoman perceptions and reactions to the Greek Struggle of Independence,” Dr Moiras said in a press release.

“I will try to investigate how the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II., the central state elite and the intelligentsia experienced the Greek War of Independence and the “making” of the modern Greek state through the examination of the contemporary Ottoman sources and the terminology of the state elite.

“Also, I will discuss the reflection of the major events of the Greek Revolution, such as the Chios Massacre, in the Ottoman sources.”

“….The importance of the establishment of the independent Greek State and its impact on the Ottoman state has been underestimated, since we are not able to understand the history of the Tanzimat era without connecting it to the consequences of the Greek Revolution.”

Leonidas Moiras received his PhD in modern Ottoman history from the Democritus University of Thrace (2019).  Presently he is teaching History of the Ottoman Empire (15th – 18th cent.) and Ottoman Paleography at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is a participant in the research project Homeacross – Space, memory and the legacy of 1923 Population Exchange between Greece and Turkey the author of the book “The Greek Revolution through the Ottoman Eyes” (Athens, 2020). He has written several articles and publications in collective volumes and journals and  has participated in international conferences. His research interests include Ottoman Political and Intellectual History, Young Turk Revolution, Balkan Nationalisms, Ottoman Westernization and the Greek Revolution of 1821.

When: Thursday 20th May 2021, 7pm

Where: Greek Centre (Mezzanine Level, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne).

Speaker is based in Greece, event will be at the mezzanine but shown on the big screen while simultaneously being broadcast