From May 20-26, hundreds of Greek immigrants coming from Castellorizo will gather together in Perth, Australia from all over the continent for the 100th anniversary of the Castellorizian Association of Western Australia.
Inhabitants of Castellorizo are about 400, but in Australia, people of Castellorizian origin are 30,000!
Among the many distinguished Greeks of the Castellorizian Community are former Governor of Western Australia and also former rector at Perth University Cominos Michael, as well as ex-Minister Nikos Bolkas.
Migrants from Castellorizo first arrived in Australia in 1890, but the mass arrivals followed World War I. They worked as woodcutters, having a pretty tough life. “There were no other jobs,” says Yannis Yannakakis, member of the association, “but our ancestors never stopped setting up higher targets.”
And they achieved them all; little by little, they moved to city centers and ran their own businesses. The first Greek stores were greengrocer’s and fishmonger’s shops, but later Greek Diaspora got involved with investments, too. They worked hard to provide their children good education opportunities. “This may be a reason why there are many scientists in the Greek Community,” adds Yannakis.
The latter is going to deliver a speech to his compatriots about the racism that migrants faced. “They did not even speak Greek in front of others, and of course, there was great prejudice,” adds Yannakis.
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