Christos Stratigiou

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


Mr Christos Stratigiou, who hails from Kollina, near Mantinea, is very closely linked with commercial progress in Australia.

He is the first and only storekeeper to be noted for and gain a reputation for his expertise, taste and elegance in his setting up of his establishments. From all over Australia visitors come to see his princely business establishment, to take it as an example and, at the same time, to congratulate Mr. Stratigiou, a rare and very special type of shopkeeper.

After a stay of some years in Athens, he came to Australia in 1907. Quickly understanding the ways things functioned and the tempo of different types of work, he proceeded to engage in business. And so, in 1912, in a partnership based at Manly, a seaside suburb of Sydney, he founded the establishment so renowned for its style and beauty. It is the crown of all other businesses of this type and its photograph decorates the pages of numerous local magazines.

Furthermore, Mr. Stratigiou is distinguished for his pure patriotic sentiments, as well for his inexhaustible generosity, which he gladly offers, when any national, holy or noble aim is at stake.


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.