The 1950s and 1960s were the peak periods of post-war migration of Greek migrants to Australia, with around half settling in Victoria. Greek-language newspapers became part of the staple diet of most Greek households with the obituaries section being very popular with readers.
The obituary contained important information about the deceased. It included their year and place of birth down to the village level.
Dr Nick Dallas has analysed more than 15,000 obituaries in order to determine the demographic origins of post-war Greek migrants. Who were more numerous, the Peloponnesians or the Macedonians? At the prefecture level, were there more Messinians or Floriniotes. The answers are not as straightforward as they may appear.
BIO
Dr Nick Dallas arrived in Melbourne in 1971 on board the legendary migrant ship, the Patris. He is a graduate of the University of Melbourne where he has completed Bachelor of Science, Arts and Commerce undergraduate degrees and a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
He works in educational publishing and since 2012 has been a director on the Board of Management of the Greek Community of Melbourne, the Chair of its Education Committee and the Convenor of its seminars program.
Since December 2024 he has been a PhD candidate at the University of Macedonia’s Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies in Thessaloniki where he’s researching Greek political exiles that arrived in Tashkent in 1949 after the Greek Civil War.
Event Details:
When: Thursday 28 August 2025, 7pm
Speaker: Dr Nick Dallas
Seminar: How Can Obituaries Inform Us About Post-War Migration to Australia – The Case of the Greeks of Victoria
Where: The Greek Centre, Mezzanine Level, 168 Lonsdale St., Melbourne
With a road fatality rate 37% above the EU average, Greece continues to grapple with one of its most persistent problems: traffic accidents. In 2023 alone, 646 people lost their lives, equal to 62 deaths per million residents. The Ionian Islands and the Peloponnese recorded the highest rates, at 118.7 and 89.9 deaths per million respectively.
While Greece struggles, other countries are introducing creative solutions. Australia, for example, has implemented illuminated road markings designed to improve night visibility and reduce crashes. These solar-powered lines absorb energy during the day and glow after dark, offering safer navigation on poorly lit routes.
According to unboxholics, the technology was first tested on a high-risk road in New South Wales, notorious for frequent accidents. The results were striking: nighttime crashes dropped by 67%, and 83% of drivers reported feeling safer, particularly when driving at night.
This innovation highlights a potential path forward for Greece, where dimly lit rural roads and highways remain hazardous. Adopting similar measures could help reduce the country’s high road death toll and bring it closer to EU safety standards.
The Australian example raises an important question: could such forward-thinking technologies be part of Greece’s answer to improving road safety and saving lives?
Greece has joined its Mediterranean neighbours in offering extra virgin olive oil through vending machines, a trend already established in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Croatia, according to tovima.com.
The initiative comes from Ahaean Land, a company named after Achaia — a region in the northwestern Peloponnese with a long olive-growing tradition. After seven years of development, it launched its first four vending machines in January 2025. Located in Athens, Edessa, Ptolemaida, and Amyntaio, the machines sell premium olive oil under the brand “Oelia Terra,” packaged in 250 ml, 500 ml, and 750 ml metal containers.
Co-founder Kostas Kamberos explains, “This vision blends tradition with technology, giving more consumers easy and quick access to authentic Greek olive oil of top quality, wherever they are, and at competitive prices.”
Previously, Ahaean Land exported about 90% of its production to Germany, the UK, and France. With vending machines, it is now strengthening its domestic presence and preparing to expand into Bulgaria and the U.S.
The first months of operation have shown strong consumer interest, encouraging the company to install 150 additional machines in major cities by 2027. Thessaloniki is set to receive at least four units in early 2026, while Athens, which currently hosts one, will see 15 more placed in locations such as Plaka, Nea Makri, and Koropi.
Further expansion is planned for Patras, Crete, Agrinio, and Ioannina by 2026, extending access to more regions.
Ahaean Land cultivates around 10,000 olive trees in Achaia, producing 50 to 60 tons of olive oil annually. The project reflects the founders’ deep ties to the land and their commitment to merging heritage with innovation.
A simple day at the beach in Greece is becoming increasingly out of reach, as the cost of sunbeds and umbrellas has surged to unprecedented levels this summer, according to tovima.com. Rising prices are a key factor behind reports that half of Greeks will not take a holiday this year.
In Vouliagmeni, one of Athens’ most sought-after seaside spots, a front-row set of two sunbeds with an umbrella now costs up to €235 on weekends. Once parking and minimum consumption requirements are added, the total can soar to €340 for just one day.
“It will cost us around €50–60 just for today,” one beachgoer said. Another commented, “If you eat, drink, and spend the whole day here, you’ll easily pay €100.”
The trend extends beyond Vouliagmeni. In Glyfada, a similar set costs about €140, while even in Marathonas — seen as a budget-friendly option — weekend rates reach €50.
Families with children face even heavier expenses, making seaside leisure increasingly unattainable. Critics argue these charges far exceed the average household income, transforming a once-accessible pastime into a luxury reserved for the few.
For many Greeks, the only option left is the free beach. With a towel, a personal umbrella, and no extra charges, swimming remains one of the last affordable escapes.
The Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales (GOCNSW) shined a spotlight on the Greek Civil War with a lecture from visiting academic Dr Michail Bakogiannis, assessing the significance of the event and the enduring influence it has on Greek literature.
The lecture, titled ‘The Greek Civil War in Greek Prose’, was organised in partnership with the Department of Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies at the University of Sydney, as part of an important initiative led by Professor Anthony Dracopoulos. It was held at the Greek Community Club in Lakemba on Thursday evening (21 August).
Professor Anthony Dracopoulos. Dr Michail Bakogiannis.
Dr Bakogiannis, an Associate Professor of Modern Greek Literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, highlighted this significant period in Greece’s history and the academic and artistic literature that has been produced in relation to it.
Associate Professor Bakogiannis said he considers it “a pleasure and honour to come here when I can and to take part in events organised by the Community”.
Addressing the subject of his lecture, Dr Bakogiannis stated: “This topic is of interest because it has to do with a very difficult historical event in Greece that is still felt by Hellenes around the world. Wherever there is a Greek community there is a sense of trauma linked to this event.”
He stated that people born in the generations following the Civil War still feel the trauma, as evidenced by how it has and continues to inspire literature.
“People in Greece still write about the Civil War. They still discuss it both academically and artistically,” Dr Bakogiannis said.
“Therefore, it is not a topic that just pertains to the past, but also to present day.”
Among those in attendance was the newly appointed Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Giorgos Skemperis, who attended the lecture less than 24 hours after arriving in Sydney.
The Consul General expressed enthusiasm over continuing the strong relationship between the Consulate and the Community that has been cultivated over the years.
“I know that the Consulate has a very good corporation and relationship with the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, and I am very glad and excited to continue on this path and be as close as possible with the Community and the Greeks in Sydney,” the diplomat said.
“I think we will be able to do very important things with the Greek Orthodox Community for the benefit of Greek Australians and our mother country of Greece.”
Following the lecture, the GOCNSW treasurer Chris Belerhas presented Dr. Bakogiannis with a gift as a token of appreciation for his contribution.
In an era of excessive teenage social media use and pressure to succeed in the Higher School Certificate, Dr Diana Adis Tahhan’s work is making a difference in guiding teenagers to make more informed life decisions.
Dr Diana is a multidiscipline therapist and founder of Sydney Healing and Research Centre who is devoting her career to help young people find calm by better managing their social media use and the pressure of a results-driven high school environment.
As a therapist she observes the life of our current generation of teenagers and sees they are lacking a strong foundation with phones and social media occupying their attention.
“Teenagers are having trouble understanding who they are and what their true purpose is because of the noise of the world,” Dr Diana told The Greek Herald.
“Device use occupying time, time spent on social media, poor habits, phones at night watching YouTube and being on Facetime in bed.”
Social media and teenage stress
Dr Diana has clients experiencing stress because of poor learned habits over their child to teenage years.
“Young people come to me in a high state of stress and a lot of this has to do with poor habits that they may have unintentionally developed over the years,” Dr Diana said.
She expressed social media and device use is having a detrimental effect on the teenage mind and quality of life.
“Their use of social media and other apps is creating a mind-numbing effect permeating areas of their lives,” she said.
Her approach is to help teenagers respond to their body’s physical reactions, and she is teaching methods to help ease stress. She provides tools to set healthy habits by reducing social media and phone use and bring in simpler ways of living each day.
“Part of my approach to help young people is to teach about our bodies stress response and help them find ways to relax and calm. One way I do this is to help them get out of fight flight and access their relaxation response,” she explained.
“I give them a variety of tools that helps them become mindful and intentional in their daily life and help them establish new habits and daily patterns. Critically understanding and detoxing from social media and phone use becomes a natural part of this process.”
“What kind of cyberworld am I entering which is not allowing me to relax,” is one of the critical questions she raises during her sessions. “Where is this world taking me to? What is it taking me away from? What is it numbing me from?”
She helps young people experiencing the challenges of adolescence to have a more basic life and question the world’s standards of physical beauty and attractiveness.
“My advice to young people experiencing challenges would be to try to have a more basic life and a critical lens to understand the world and its distractions,” she said.
“Learning to be more critical of what the world says is successful and alluring, and beautiful brings an important perspective and helps us find meaning and connect with a greater purpose.”
Dr Diana is author of The Truth About High School, published in 2024.
Teenage nutrition and chemical intake
Dr Diana approaches her sessions with teenagers in a multifaceted way, looking at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components of their health.
She encourages teenagers to be critical of their diet and improve nutrition by developing an awareness of chemical content in foods and energy drinks whilst stressing the need to increase physical activity and change sleep patterns.
She focuses a lot on critical thinking and helping teenagers make more informed life choices.
“I teach teenagers to become more critical because they have become numb to things going on around them,” Dr Diana said.
“Teenagers need to also ask themselves: Am I moving? Am I active? What am I allowing into my body? What chemicals are coming into my body? How am I using my body? Are the thoughts I am allowing harming my body?”
HSC pressure
Dr Diana is aware of the stress teenagers have in Year 12 in a results-driven environment and helps them to realise alternate pathways available.
“I am aware of the pressure and burden put on teenagers with the HSC and worrying about choosing the right subjects and achieving a high ATAR,” she said.
“I see the emotional, physical and mental toll this takes and it is important teenagers know there are various pathways to success.
“Having a healthy approach to life changes teenage years, but also has changes that will reverberate into the future.”
Dr Diana is passionate about her therapy, describing it as a labour of love helping her teenage patients develop better habits to find greater purpose and increased joy.
Dr Diana is author of The Truth About High School, published in 2024
The event, held on Sunday, August 17, followed a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy presided over by His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia.
A Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was presided over by His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia.
The Philoptochos Association hosted the fundraiser in the Community Hall, creating a lively family atmosphere.
Parishioners enjoyed food lovingly prepared by Nektaria Arvanitis, supported by the tireless work of the Philoptochos ladies under Vice President Anna Patnioti.
Excitement built as the raffle prizes – donated by generous local business owners – helped the event exceed expectations.
The Parish expressed gratitude to all contributors and supporters, including the Philoptochos Association, George Fokas and family, Mark Williams of Williams Jewellery Store, and parish members George Raftis, Dr Vasilios Kalyvas and Theodoros Potiris.
The new season of My Kitchen Rules (MKR) premieres on Monday, September 1, with a fresh line-up of passionate home cooks from across Australia.
Leading the charge in heritage and flavour are Victorian mother-and-daughter duo Anne and Maree, proudly representing Greek cuisine. Cooking from a cherished handwritten cookbook passed down by Anne’s late mother, their dishes celebrate love, family, and the enduring traditions of Greece.
Anne, who has waited a decade for this moment, exclaims: “I am Greek, very Greek!” For her, food is more than nourishment: “It means family. I want you to feel part of the big Greek family.”
Known affectionately as “The Gourmet Greeks,” Anne and Maree will bring warmth, humour, and authenticity to the MKR kitchen. They join a diverse 2025 line-up including Queensland’s Lol and Lil, Michael and Rielli, and South Australia’s Maria and Bailey.
Co-hosts Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge will once again travel nationwide to meet contestants, but it’s the Greek team’s flavours, flair, and family bond that are set to make a lasting impression this season.
The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia opened its extraordinary session on Thursday, August 21 under the presidency of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
In a statement following its proceedings, the Holy Synod expressed “joy and satisfaction” at the favourable outcome of a protracted legal case concerning the ownership of an icon of Saint Andrew the Apostle.
According to the statement, the Archdiocese had been forced to pursue the matter through both the Australian civil courts and the Greek criminal justice system after the sacred relic was unlawfully claimed by another party.
Both jurisdictions ruled in favour of the Archdiocese and its Consolidated Trust, confirming them as the rightful custodians of the icon and ordering its return.
The statement publicly thanked the Archdiocese’s legal counsel, Stylianos Katselis, for his “responsible, coordinated, and successful handling” of the case.
The Synod described the decision as a blessing for the faithful across Australia, noting that the victory coincides with the current Synodal sessions and the Fifth Theological Symposium of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College, commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council.
The icon of Saint Andrew will be placed for public veneration on Sunday, August 24, at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Redfern, Sydney during the Synodal Divine Liturgy, which will also conclude the anniversary celebrations organised by the Archdiocese and St Andrew’s Theological College.
The 30th Greek Film Festival of Sydney, proudly presented by Benchmark Greek Law, has announced a special collaboration with the Athenian Association of NSW to welcome renowned Greek director, writer, and actor, Renos Haralambidis.
Haralambidis will be visiting Sydney from October 24th to 27th, 2025, for a dedicated retrospective celebrating his remarkable body of work. All five of his feature films will be screened at various venues throughout Sydney during the festival, which runs from October 14th to 26th.
Haralambidis is a pioneering Greek filmmaker known for his playful and contemporary films that blur the lines between reality and fiction. With a career spanning nearly three decades, he is celebrated for introducing digital technology to Greek cinema with his acclaimed 1997 debut, No Budget Story. This film, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, earned him a state award for first-time director and the FIPRESCI international critics’ award.
Prior to his directorial success, Haralambidis honed his craft through a variety of media roles, including acting in stage productions like Oedipus Rex and Greek television shows. He received an acting award for his role in The Adventures of a Young Man Who Is Looking for Advice on his First Date (1994) and starred in numerous short and feature films, including the popular Paterfamilias (1997).
His subsequent directorial features, such as the timeless Cheap Smokes (1999) and the romantic comedy-cop caper The Heart of the Beast (2005), have been met with critical and popular acclaim. His film Four Black Suits (2010) represented Greece at the European Academy of Cinema and won the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival.
Haralambidis’ films resonate deeply with Greek audiences by realistically portraying the lives of contemporary Greek men struggling with career and cultural challenges, often infused with sharp wit and humour. His work captures the simple pleasures of life, transforming fragmentation into a unified tale of possibility. His fifth feature film, Athens Midnight Radio (2024), is set to close the 30th Greek Film Festival of Sydney on Sunday October 26th, 2025.
Nia Karteris, Chair of the Greek Festival and the Greek Film Festival of Sydney, commented on the significance of the visit: “To host Renos Haralambidis is to welcome a true visionary of modern Greek cinema to our shores. His retrospective is a testament to the enduring power of his storytelling, and we are honoured to share his unique cinematic universe with Australian audiences.”
Cathy Valis, President of the Athenian Association of NSW, expressed her committee’s enthusiasm for the collaboration: “It is an honour and a privilege for the Athenian Association of NSW to be part of this venture. We deeply appreciate this opportunity to celebrate our culture and deepen the roots of Hellenism here in Australia. We are so lucky to have such an esteemed Athenian join us, and we are thrilled to support this beautiful collaboration.”
When asked about his upcoming visit and the retrospective, Haralambidis shared a heartfelt statement.
“My films are being shown on the big screen for the first time, so far from where they were shot — the heart of Athens and, in a few cases, the surrounding region of Attica. I’m moved to be talking about the mythical southern hemisphere, beyond the horizon. The capital of New South Wales, the city of Sydney, feels to my childlike imagination like an ancient Greek colony of brave Ionian seafarers who arrived on their triremes, alongside the dugout canoes of the indigenous seafarers,” he said.
“I’ve caught myself thinking of Sydney as the “other side of the world,” where something deep connects me. The time has now come for “the other side of the world” to become the centre of my cinematic universe. I hope the audience of my films in Sydney will see Athens on the big screen not as a corresponding “other side of the world” but as some otherworldly centre of Sydney, since the authentic Greek world resides in people’s hearts and is always a centre, never a side, no matter which hemisphere it is in. Greece has always existed beyond geography. As has cinema.”
The 30th Greek Film Festival of Sydney invites all cinema lovers and members of the community to join in this special celebration of Greek culture and film.
Event Details:
What: Retrospective and visit of Renos Haralambidis as part of the 30th Greek Film Festival Sydney
When: 24th – 27th October 2025
Where: Palace Cinema Norton St, 99 Norton St, Leichardt, NSW 2040 & Palace Cinema Moore Park, 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park NSW 2021
