Charalambos Pan. Koronis

This biography is part of a collection from "Life in Australia" :


Hailing from Kythera, Mr. Haralambos P. Koronis, having performed his military service in Greece, came to Australia, under the impetus of the desire to achieve his goal.

There here worked alongside various fellow Greeks as an employee for nearly two years, before founding an establishment in the country town of Charleville, in Queensland, which today belongs to him.

Although his business affairs were proceeding smoothly, encouraged by an Australian friend, he proceeded to purchase a hotel. Despite knowing nothing of this trade, nor even the English language, he became the first of the Greeks of Australia to engage in such a business. A year after the hotel was purchased, it was reduced to ashes by fire. It was, however, built, at Mr. Koronis’ expense, and is today regarded as one of the most splendid of such businesses in the area.

In partnership with an Englishman, Mr. Koronis has in the hotel a cinema, and the whole establishment is illuminated by electric light, produced by a machine brought from London for this purpose.

Mr. Koronis, despite his extreme youth – he was born in 1884 – and despite his short period of residence in Australia, has nevertheless made a name for himself as a powerful and excellent businessman. He is the first of the Greeks to have founded a hotel in Australia and the first, by the example of his persistence, to lead many others to this goal.
Ever distinguished for his patriotism and generosity, he had earned the esteem and love, not only of his fellow Greeks, but of his numerous Australian friends and acquaintances in Charleville.

Mr. Koronis came to Australia with his nephew, Dimitrios Koronis, with whom he has always worked together.

Very recently, he married Ms. Eftychia S. Phoca, one of the daughters of the Reverend Serafim Phocas.


This biography is part of a collection from "Life in Australia" published in 1916 by John Comino. It is an important book as it was one of the first Greek books published in Australia for the Greeks back in the homeland. If they needed any more convincing of the golden opportunities awaiting them in Australia, it probably helped create interest amongst young Kytherians and other Greeks. Each of the men portrayed in the book paid for the honour, which, considering their reputation for thriftiness, must have made the decision a hard one for many a Kytherian.

The Kythera-Family.net team, with the support of the Nicolaus Aroney Trust and other generous sponsors, has undertaken to transcribe the entire book for the website and to translate it into English for the non-greek-speaking diaspora community. We hope to also produce a printed version of the translation of Life in Australia sometime in 2005.

For valuable information about the historical background of the publication of Life in Australia, please read the entry by Hugh Gilchrist I ZOI EN AFSTRALLIA in the History, General History section.