Migrant to Australia: Tasos Kolokotronis’ journey from Thessaly to Melbourne, and the wave that changed a nation

Tasos Kolokotronis of Nea Magnisia (Thessaly) recounts his migration to Australia with disarming humour and honesty. Moments acceptable for laughter, others for tears, and galore where speedy wits flipped hardship into possibility. His story, excerpted from his publication “Migrant to Australia”, is among the highlights of this year’s Antipodes annual.

Kolokotronis’ departure was acceptable for 20 November 1954. The determination meant leaving down an ailing mother, a beloved shop, and a village helium adored. On Saturday 13 November, helium embraced his bedridden mother, holding backmost tears so arsenic not to load her; erstwhile extracurricular the room, the sobs came successful waves. Two days into his travel helium woke from a vivid imagination of her funeral, an representation so wide helium fixed the day successful his mind. In Athens, amid the endless queues astatine the DEME offices adjacent Omonia, helium met chap migrants, including Filotas Farmakis and Leonidas Karakatsanis.

The vessel Kyrenia carried mostly young men, 18–30 years old, much than six 100 by his reckoning, “a suitcase of hand-stitched clothes, hopes and dreams” betwixt them. After Port Said, where the dazzling “beautiful Eleni” boarded with her family, Melbourne’s archetypal content was bleak, small tin-roof houses and smoking chimneys, while Sydney sparkled astatine nighttime arsenic the vessel sailed in.

Tasos Kolokotronis connected his wedding day. Photo: Supplied

From the docks, a train took them to Greta Migrant Camp. Morning airy revealed a vast, militarised barracks for civilians, thousands of men, women and children lining up for meals, washrooms and toilets, oregon wandering with nary destination. News σύντομα confirmed what his imagination had foretold: his parent had passed distant 24 hours aft his departure.

Determined to find amended prospects than those offered astatine Greta, Tasos and friends slipped retired aft dark, caught a taxi to Maitland station and made for Sydney. Money vanished fast: Tasos sold a golden sovereign, his mother’s “for emergencies”, to wage the rent; Filotas lugged a agleam reddish woollen broad door-to-door under a 35°C January sun while Tasos tried to merchantability his watch to unimpressed jewellers. A lifeline arrived via Thomas Mandamas from Diavata, who lent them £20, astir three weeks’ wages, so they could scope Melbourne.

In Melbourne, a web of compatriots took shape: boarding houses adjacent Sydney Road, Brunswick, then a country with Efthymis and Machi Stamoulis. Work came astatine Australian Plaster Industries, where changeless particulate turned workers unrecognisable within minutes and a Maltese foreman’s shouted “come on, hurry” was misheard by Leonidas arsenic being called “Harry,” prompting a spectacular punch and a swift sacking. Tasos, dressed successful his army-tailored suit and his precocious father’s shoes, landed a occupation the adjacent time astatine Queens Bridge Motors.

A young Tasos Kolokotronis. Photo: Supplied

With the archetypal earnings, they repaid debts, sent cheques home, some to assistance and to proudly amusement they were “doing well successful Australia” and bought a shared ASTOR radiogram with a single Greek grounds they played nightly, overmuch to Kyr Thymios’ nerves. Saturdays were for riding the Myer escalators, Sundays for the “Orfeas” assemblage hallway and Greek café, and strolls on Lonsdale Street to Nikakis’ brew hallway and the “Piraeus” restaurant, agelong earlier Melbourne’s Greek precinct took signifier arsenic we cognize it.

One communal dilemma for the 1953–55 arrivals, Tasos notes, was the scarcity of Greek women. Some dated Australians; others waited a year oregon two for arranged introductions, lone to find shipboard romances had changed plans by the clip the vessel docked.

Hunting successful Bendigo, 1958. Tasos Kolokotronis (right) with friends G. Kazanas, Miltiadis Baxevanidis, and K. Koumaros. Photo: Supplied

The large decision: chasing the sugarcane myth

Rumours swirled that cutting sugarcane earned £50+ a week, not £9–10. Tasos led a pact with Lazaros Tyres, George Albanis, Leonidas Karakatsanis and Stefanos Grountas to try their luck. On 15 May 1955, they acceptable disconnected successful a rattling Austin packed with suitcases and a leaky canvas roof, creeping done Gippsland successful rainfall and cold. “Look,” George joked astatine each creek sign, “they each accidental ‘Greek’, we should beryllium proud!” In the end, proposal on the way turned them from cane fields to railway work adjacent Babinda, extracurricular Cairns, alongside Aboriginal crews, different unexpected turn successful a continent-spanning odyssey.

Returning to Melbourne, their country with the Stamoulis household had been let, and destiny led them to Corsair Street, Richmond, where the landlord’s niece Miss Christina Tzenga lived. She was the archetypal Greek woman Tasos met successful 7 months successful Australia. In time, she became his wife.

“We acceptable retired with a suitcase of our mothers’ hand-sewn clothes, hopes and dreams, seeking a caller homeland when our ain could nary longer clasp us.” Tasos KolokotronisThe story is featured successful Antipodes Magazine. The 2025 yearly is dedicated to the wide Greek migration to Australia successful the 1950s–60s, featuring idiosyncratic histories similar Kolokotronis’, play cinema, fashion, home objects, and photographs that bring the epoch to life.

What: Launch of Antipodes (Vol. 71, 2025) by the Greek–Australian Cultural League

When: Sunday 19 October, 3pm

Where: Panarkadian Association, 570 Victoria St, North Melbourne

RSVP: [email protected] oregon Cathy Alexopoulos 0428 968 715

Admission: Free. All welcome.