An Adelaide grandfather has set a new standard for grandparent gifts by purchasing a 1960s-built home for his grandchildren at auction. The property, located at 96 Gage St, Firle, sold under the hammer for $1.275 million earlier this month, with over a dozen bidders vying for the corner-block residence, according to selling agent Peter Kiritsis of Ray White Woodville, realestate.com.au has reported.
A local buyer, a mature gentleman, purchased the home for his family, aiming to secure their future. “He was saying his kids and grandkids would benefit from this home. They are very fortunate to have someone like him,” Kiritsis added.
“It was a great auction. We had 11 registered bidders, and it was the same family that had owned the property since it was built in the 1960s,” Kiritsis said.
The home’s vibrant 1970s-era wallpaper was a highlight for many buyers during the campaign. The four-bedroom house, adorned with lively-colored wallpaper, left many in awe as soon as they entered.
Mr Kiritsis add the home would have been “state of the art” when it was decorated in the early seventies.
“So it was really interesting just getting people’s reaction when they walked in,” he said. “When little kids were coming in, they’d take two steps inside and their mouths would just drop and they were like, `where am I? What is this place?’ … so there’s no question, this was a very special home to sell.”
The 2024 Henley Passport Index rankings were released on Tuesday, and Greece is found in spot 6 in the same place with Poland and above the USA.
Greece’s passport continues to be among the strongest in the world.
According to ABC, Australia now comes in fifth place — alongside Portugal — for the world’s most powerful passports, jumping up from its number six spot last year, and eighth place in 2022.
The annual index has been curated by British consultancy Henley & Partners based on official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 2006.
It places 199 different passports according to the number of destinations out of 227 their holders can travel to without prior requirement of a visa.
Greek and Australia passports. Photo: marksabout.com
In fifth place, Australians can now travel without a VISA to 189 destinations, up from 186 last year.
Singapore retained its first place as the world’s most powerful passport, continuing to be the only holder of the top spot for two years in a row, and setting a new record with 195 visa-free travel destinations.
In second place were Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, with a score of 192.
Six Greek high school students excelled at the 65th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Bath from July 11-22, securing a gold, two silver, and three bronze medals, as announced by the Hellenic Mathematical Society (HMS).
According to amna.gr, the competition saw participation from 108 countries, featuring 609 high school competitors, including 81 female participants, according to the IMO site. The first math Olympiad, which changes location annually, took place in 1959 in Romania with seven countries participating.
The six Greek students were selected through a national math competition organized by the Society since 1934. This year’s competition involved 12,000 contestants from high schools across Greece. The winning team included students from the following schools: Moraitis (1 gold); Elliniki Paideia and 3rd General High School of Pyrgos in the Peloponnese (2 silver); Anavryta, Experimental School of the University of Thessaloniki, and General High School of Kanithos in Evia (3 bronze).
The team was led by HMS President and Professor Emeritus at the National Technical University of Athens, Anargyros Fellouris, and University of Crete Assistant Professor Silouanos Brazitikos.
“The Hellenic Mathematical Society prepares and supports the efforts of these students, always on a voluntary basis, in the context of its aim to upgrade mathematical education and training in Greece,” the Society said, congratulating the students and thanking the Ministry of Education & Religions for its contribution.
The Race (Genos) of Hellenes, both within its ethno-linguistic geographical boundaries and in the Diaspora, for three thousand years now, has been intensely religious. Through religion emerged literature, poetry, drama (tragedy and comedy). Our ancestors honoured their gods with magnificent monuments, statues, myths and hymns. They established religious struggles and sacred associations (Delphi, Delos, Bassae, Dodoni, Eleusis).
The priests did not lead, they did not shepherd the Ancient Greeks. There was never in ancient times a class of clergy, priesthood (there were classes of aristocrats, oligarchs, a class of sages, teachers, artists, sophists, philosophers).
Along with the religious attitude of the Hellenes, during the same period the Greeks remained highly politically aware. They bequeathed to the world community the idea of popular sovereignty, of democracy, where the politician functioned only as rapporteur and proposer, leaving to the people the right to decide. They also introduced the institution of political “punishment” worldwide.
Religion and Politeia were the two fundamental regimes of values, which guided the evolution of Hellenism, highlighting over time a parallel dual power, but without this dual power becoming or evolving in the classical period, into diarchy or even synarchy.
In Greek antiquity, the dual relationship of coexistence did not have a dualistic sign, and this is because the priesthood did not function at that time, as a social order of power, and most importantly the priests were not successors of any God, but their servants. With the prevalence of Christianity, an outcome of Asian theology, a religion based on succession, dualism, as a model of power, brought the regimes of religion and politics, sometimes as forces that were inherent and co-existent, and sometimes as opposing each other.
The Greeks of the Diaspora joined the state status of their host countries as equal citizens; however, maintained their socio-cultural devotion to the two national centers of power of Hellas, both to their national delegation and to the Archdiocese, especially after 1908, when the Church of Greece handed over its expatriates to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This decision of 1908 institutionalized the diarchal loyalty of Hellenic Diaspora to the two centers of power, the Greek and Cypriot, but also the Ecumenical Throne with His representatives. Both centers were hierarchical: Greece with an elective parliamentary monarchy, and the Greek Orthodox Church with a strictly conservative administration based on the rule of the Episcopos (Bishop).
Since then, the State and the Church have remained inseparable and often allies, but sometimes opponents and rivals, wounding the cohesion of Hellenism in the Diaspora. Self-cantered and arrogant church leaders often abused and exploited Greece’s weaknesses by imposing coercion and harassment against dissenting diplomats, representatives of the two national centers, as well as community leaders in the Diaspora.
On the other hand, weak national representatives accepted the assumption by the Church of policies that exceeded and offensively surpassed the jurisdictions of ecclesiastical spiritual authority and potentially called into question the competence of the State over its expatriates in the Diaspora.
Thus, we had a constant conflict, a tug-of-war between prevailing ecclesiastical egoism and ethnic arrogance and a weak state diplomacy, which attempted, on the one hand, to preserve the credibility of a European country and the Balkan leadership and, on the other, the desire of diplomats to maintain good relations with the primate hierarchs who might decide on their professional development.
The representative Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne since 1924, and the career national delegation since 1926, in Oceania, saw their role, each on their own behalf, as sovereign leaders forming their own alliances (clergy-oriented, consular-oriented), even their own prayer temples, forming their own outreach cadres, their own courtiers, often overlooking or even defying the authority of the other, with the aim of each claiming sovereignty over expatriate Greeks and Cypriots, motivated by self-interest and personal interest, often, indifferent to the cohesion and unity of Hellenism.
Both, directly or indirectly, pretended or arbitrarily claimed to be the legitimate representatives of Hellenism of the Diaspora. Both called each other’s authority into question. Some plagued Hellenism in long-lasting civil ruptures that led to schisms and regimes of unsociability, dragging their followers into division and courts. It was an exterminating struggle for power and colonization of the Hellenism of the Diaspora.
This state of division caused by the dualism of power experienced a temporary decline in the years that followed due to the wars (1939-1949) but was exacerbated after 1959. The appointment of the fourth Metropolitan, Ezekiel Tsoukalas, had the consent of both the Karamanlis Government and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Averoff, in the policy and program of weakening the influence of historical Communities by establishing ecclesiastical Communities/Parishes under the control of the Metropolis.
The unification of the historical Communities into a Federation gradually led to a rupture and Schism, resulting in the declaration of the ceremonial mysteries of the Federation of Communities void and invalid, with tragic legal and social consequences for the Diasporic Diaspora. However, despite the initial consent of the Greek state, its national representatives, who were living through the schism, mostly sided with the Communities. Archbishop Ezekiel, in response, asked for the help of the dictatorial government and the Cyprus Church in order to recall Greek diplomats.
Finally, with the restoration of democracy, the Archbishop was recalled, to be elected as his successor, Archbishop Stylianos Harkianakis, the Difficult. The dualism of power continued in various phases from then until 2019, with the death of the Archbishop, who valued the authority he enjoyed, as absolute, and given by God. He declared that his jurisdiction and suzerainty over the flock, it was not only spiritual, and that he was primarily the Ethnarch of Hellenism, as in the stone years. Any of the national representatives who questioned his absolute and monosemantic authority, was treated by the Archbishop with solitary social confinement and public profiling, even exclusion from Holy Communion (Ambassadors Konstantis, Veis, Xydas to mention a few).
Greece maintains a decadent and inadequate care for the approximately five million expatriates and hundreds of thousands of Philhellenes, doing injustice to its historical role as a diasporic nation, with the most important settlement history in the world over the last 3000 years. For tourism, economic betterment, foreign policy, the Metropolis rightly and confidentially invests millions in money and makes tireless efforts to win investors, tourists, markets and allies.
The role of the Orthodox Church in preserving the national identity and the social cohesion and solidarity of expatriate Hellenism has been and remains, invaluable over time.
However, the lack of clearly delineated institutional structures, the incoherent, soft and undefined dualism of State-Church power, the loose or even non-existent, state (Constitutional) definition of responsibilities and relations between the National Metropolis and the Greek Diaspora, causes obvious dissatisfaction and chronic rupture regarding who is nationally, politically the competent and mandated body for expatriate Hellenism in the Diaspora.
The historical communities of Greeks that functioned were basically ethnocentric and religious centers with the aim of preserving the ideologies set and shaped by the pioneering post-war immigrants. The ecclesiastical-centric communities that followed after 1957, and which were then transformed into Parish Communities (1978-2024) and eventually evolved into Parishes with appointed councils and Church-controlled roles and duties.
After 1980, with the emergence of the middle bourgeoisie, coinciding with the end of Greek immigration to Australia, the fourth type of organization of the Greek communities was founded, the secular/popular (secularist) with socio-economic and cultural goals. The new organisations, moving to the wider spectrum of Australian society, detached from the Australian state roles and services aimed at the social welfare and care of migrant groups, which ensured them economic self-sufficiency and therefore duration and stability.
*Professor Anastasios M. Tamis taught at Universities in Australia and abroad, was the creator and founding director of the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora and is currently the President of the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies (AIMS).
The Greek Language and Culture Schools of the Greek Community of Melbourne organised, in July, a series of school activities of remembrance and honor to mark the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
On July 20, 1974, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus and occupied 37% of the island, leading to 175,000 Greek Cypriots becoming refugees. Thousands lost their lives, and to this day, over 1,000 individuals remain missing.
Key participants in the school activities were grandparents of the students who experienced the tragic events of the invasion. With tears of nostalgia, they spoke of their Cyprus—the courtyards with jasmine and lemon trees, the churches, town squares, and festivals. They shared memories of their own grandparents, the hardships of displacement, and their journey to Australia.
The students were profoundly affected by the personal stories, captivated by their straightforward yet vivid narratives, the lovely Cypriot dialect, and the island’s rich cultural heritage and history.
The children presented their own creations about Cyprus, performed traditional songs, and danced Cypriot dances. The school halls were filled with images, music, and aromas, offering an immersive and enlightening history lesson for all.
Sheikha Mahra, a Dubai princess known for her Spartan heritage, has made headlines with her recent divorce from billionaire Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed Rashid bin Mana Al Maktoum.
According to protothema.gr, the public revelation of her husband’s infidelity has led her to start divorce proceedings under Sharia law, potentially entitling her to a significant portion of his fortune.
Married for just one year and with a two-month-old child, Sheikha Mahra took to social media to announce her divorce, posting the phrase “I divorce you” three times, a decisive action under Sharia law. This move has not only ended her marriage but also sparked widespread speculation and discussion about the future implications for her and her ex-husband’s substantial assets.
Sheikha Mahra, a well-known Dubai influencer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, has a personal fortune estimated at around $300 million. Her father, a prominent figure with substantial resources, provides her with additional financial support. Unlike her other siblings, she appears to enjoy a more Western lifestyle and is considered a favored child.
Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed Rashid bin Mana Al Maktoum. Photo: protothema
Her ex-husband, Sheikh Mana, leads a vast business empire including GCI Real Estate Development, MM Group of Companies, Dubai Tech, and AlBarada Trading. His net worth is estimated between $1.5 billion and $40 billion, with more reliable estimates placing it around $6 billion.
Born in 1994, Sheikha Mahra has long been recognized for her philanthropic efforts and advocacy for women’s empowerment. Her Greek heritage, from her mother Zoe Grigorakou, and her Emirati royal lineage, contribute to her distinctive identity. Frequently visiting Greece and maintaining fluency in both Greek and Arabic, she embodies a blend of cultures and enjoys a close relationship with her mother.
80 years after the final phase of the Holocaust in Greece, the Jewish and Hellenic communities gathered at the Sydney Jewish Museum on Tuesday, July 23 to remember those so unjustly lost. The sombre and deeply moving commemoration was a partnership between the Sydney Jewish Museum, Youth HEAR, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney.
Keynote speaker Vic Alhadeff OAM presented the near extinction during the Holocaust of one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe: the Romaniote and Sephardic Jews of Greece. Alhadeff eloquently told the harrowing story, weaving it through his family’s story, part of Rhodes for five centuries.
On 23 July 1944, the entire Jewish population of the Aegean islands of Rhodes, Leros and Kos – almost 1,800 men, women and children – were shipped to Piraeus. On 3 August, they were deported by train to Auschwitz, arriving ten days later. 1,604 were murdered in that death camp; 151 survived.
Amongst the deportees were many Alhadeffs, including Vic’s grandparents and teenage aunts. His grandparents Chaim and Fortunee were murdered at Auschwitz. His aunts survived the torment of that and other camps.
Julia Sussman, CEO of the Youth HEAR organisation, recently visited Rhodes, the island one branch of her family called home for centuries. During an emotional and deeply personal address, Sussman reflected on her journey of discovery. With tears in her eyes, she described what it felt like to walk past the family home in Rhodes’ Old Town – dilapidated and abandoned. What it felt like to walk in her ancestors’ footsteps for the first time, re-discovering her duty to them and to herself.
Julia, Vic and the other descendants of Jewish Hellene families in the auditorium reminded the Orthodox Christian Hellenes present of the diverse fabric of Hellenism, of its deep connections with the Jewish people.
Sussman underscored this with a special thank you to the Macquarie University Greek Association for the OXI Day Commemoration last October, held in cooperation with Youth HEAR. The solidarity expressed that evening remains with those present to this day.
Delivering the Vote of Thanks, the Chair of the Holocaust Commemoration Committee of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Dane Stern, extended special thanks to Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Yannis Mallikourtis for his support of the event and of the community as a whole since his arrival in Sydney.
Trade Commissioner of Greece in Sydney, Chrysoula Prokopaki.
The musical segments of the commemoration were similarly emotive. Listening to The Ballad of Mauthausen (a poem by Iakovos Kambanellis with music by Mikis Theodorakis) being sung in Hellenic by a Jewish singer was a most poignant way to open the commemoration.
As tradition, the event included the National Anthems. Singing the Ode to Freedom (the Hellenic National Anthem) in the Sydney Jewish Museum was indeed a very special moment.
It was in July 2014 that the first such commemoration was co-hosted by AHEPA NSW Inc.
As mentioned by Alhadeff, the next Jewish-Hellenic event will be on Sunday, September 15, another joint project with the Consulate-General of Greece in Sydney. Save the date!
Zachor is the Hebrew word for ‘remember’. In Hellenic tradition, the phrase ‘Eternal be their memory’ is often spoken. Such events are reminders that the only way to keep memories alive is to actively remember. To remember those lost and to learn from that loss to create a better future.
The seventh NRLW season is just around the corner and Newcastle is gunning for a third-straight premiership, but the Roosters have dominated in a list of the top 50 players in the game.
Knights fullback Tamika Upton is the best player in the NRLW after winning last year’s Dally M Medal, while the Titans and Broncos are rising the ranks in most stacked squads in the women’s comp.
After a historic three-game State of Origin series some of the games biggest stars have dropped down the pecking order, while a shock return of a retired star has shaken up the rankings.
Pamela Whaley and The Daily Telegraph have ranked the bigger stars and Jess Sergis is placed in top 5.
She is 26 and she is playing in the centre, participating in 28 games in the season.
The 2019 Dally M Medalist has maintained a remarkable consistency heading into her seventh season of NRLW, where she’s regularly the best player on the field at any level of the game.
Significant progress is being made on the construction of a second bridge connecting Turkey and Greece, with preparations for the construction tender set to begin soon after final project approval, a senior official announced on Monday.
This new bridge over the Maritsa (Meriç) River aims to enhance transportation and infrastructure between the two nations, reflecting a period of improved relations despite occasional political tensions.
The bridge will connect the Ipsala border gate in Turkey with the Kipi border gate in Greece.
“Following the approval of the projects, we will start preparations for the construction tender. This bridge will contribute to further easing transportation and increasing trade between the two countries,” Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in a written statement.
Uraloğlu highlighted that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Athens on January 22, 2004, to collaboratively build a new highway border crossing bridge at the Ipsala-Kipi border crossing. Significant steps have since been taken to enhance bilateral relations and cooperation.
He explained that under this MoU, Greece agreed to undertake the bridge project on June 10, 2006, with project works now nearing completion.
Project completion by Greece is expected within the year, as discussed during the 9th Meeting of the Joint Planning and Monitoring Project Committee held in Thessaloniki on April 17, 2024. Following project approval, construction tender preparations will commence.
He also emphasised the strategic importance of the bridge for both Türkiye and Greece, as well as the broader region.
The bridge will enhance Turkey’s connectivity to the Pan-European Corridor and Balkan countries via the Egnatia Motorway.
Uraloglu noted that the 841-meter-long (2,759.19-feet-long) extradosed bridge over the Meriç River is designed to accommodate the increasing traffic, unlike the old bridge built in 1958. The new bridge will be a four-lane structure.
The Hellenic Initiative Australia (THI Australia) celebrated a decade of transformative work with friends, supporters, honorary council members and its partner charities in Athens, Greece on 23 July 2024.
The intimate reception generously hosted by Australia’s Ambassador to Greece, Alison Duncan, was a testament to the impact of THI Australia’s efforts in Greece.
Ambassador Duncan congratulated THI Australia and the Greek Australian community for their unwavering support of vulnerable communities across Greece. Drawing from her own volunteering experiences with THI Australia’s partner charities, Boroume Saving Food Saving Lives and Emfasis Foundation, she spoke passionately about the impact of their work.
“We are grateful for the strong and supportive relationship THI Australia has enjoyed with the Australian Embassy in Greece,’ THI Australia Director, George Giovas, said.
(L-R) Mr Tsomokos, Mr Giovas, Ambassador Duncan, and Mr Kailis.
His speech highlighted the organisation’s critical achievements over the past decade, made even more special by the presence of representatives from all partner charities.
To mark the occasion, THI Australia announced two new grants to Desmos Non-Profit Foundation (AU$65,000) and Protes Yles Theatre Group (10,000 euro). The grant to Desmos will support their Palliative Care Program delivered by Nosilia.
Desmos, one of the first charities in Greece that THI Australia partnered with, was represented by Lena Papalexopoulou, Vice-President, Desmos, who expressed immense gratitude.
“THI Australia’s significant assistance allows us to keep providing free of charge, holistic relief care at home to hundreds of vulnerable patients suffering from chronic and life-threatening diseases, while helping their families too,” Ms Papalexopoulou said.
“We are truly grateful for this support, which brings us one step closer to the goal of enabling every patient in Greece to receive the healthcare support that they need.”
Ambassador Duncan, THI directors and Honorary Council members.
The grant to Protes Yles, marks the introduction of THI Australia’s new Arts & Culture category, and will support the production of two theatrical plays, “The Mirror” and “The Sea Wall.”
As Greece’s arts sector continues to recover from the economic crisis, THI Australia’s commitment to fostering cultural growth and employment opportunities for artists provides hope and renewal.
“THI Australia’s generous support will make a significant difference to our productions. Equally important is the opportunity for beneficiaries of THI Australia’s programs to enjoy these performances,” Christos Lygas, Artistic Director of Protes Yles, said.
THI Australia looks forward to celebrating this milestone with all its friends at its Gala Dinner on 25 November 2024, at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney.
