Konstantinos G. Tsiros

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


Among the resourceful businessmen that the Greeks of Australia have to show, Mr. K G. Tsiros occupies a notable place. Mr. Tsiros comes from Sparta, in Lacedaemon, and has fared gloriously in trade in Brisbane, Queensland.

While still extremely young, he left his birthplace to move to America, where, full of determination and daring, he pursued the fulfillment of his ambitious plans. Wild fortune, however, did not favour him as much as it should so energetic a man, who was so devoted to betterment, and it compelled him two and half years ago to pursue the fulfillment of his ambitious aspirations in the capital of Queensland, Brisbane.

Once arrived in Brisbane, Mr. Tsiros, commencing from the lowest ranks of trade, within an extremely short time of his arrival, formed a partnership with Mr. V. Syrmis, who also hails from Lacedaemon. However, this partnership did not endure long. Mr. Tsiros,driven on by his unconquerable nature, towards wider activity, opened the first, and most splendid, establishment in Brisbane of the type. Bearing the name Elissos, it has become well known to the international community of Brisbane.

The extraordinary increase in Mr. Tsiros’ trade and the subsequent lack of suitable space in his first establishment compelled him, after a period of exactly six months, to combine the splendid building standing next to his first building. This later he opened most magnificently, giving it the name of Garden of Roses, that is, The Paradise of Flowers.

All the expenses for both the establishments came to £ 12,000. We also mention in passing that the number of staff reaches 80 in total, who work with unexampled efficiency, under the unsleeping and severe supervision of the manager, who is also the brother of the owner, Mr. Theodoros G. Tsiros. The annual worth of the materials consumed in these establishments of Mr. Tsiros exceeds £ 3000, whilst about 20,000 visit these princely and original establishments.

Ice-creams of select quality and other types of comestibles are prepared by means of electrically-driven machines, under the supervision of Mr. Tsiros. A enormous oven, whose value comes to £ 500, is employed solely for the preparation of various types of pasta and the well-known pies of Mr. Tsiros.

In a word, this significant amount of real estate is the creation of the remarkable and enterprising ability of Mr. Tsiros. It does great honour not only to the inventiveness and enterprise of the Greek business spirit abroad, but also to the international community of Brisbane.
It is particularly flattering to the community, which has in its midst a man of such rare talents and of a such a character as Mr. Tsiros.

Deeply rooted within Mr. Tsiros, however, are patriotic instincts and, whenever a suitable occasion arises, Mr. Tsiros gives practical proof of this.

Such then, incidentally, is Mr. Tsiros, head of this establishment, promising and full of commercial brio. He has earned the undying love and respect of the Greeks of Brisbane and, indeed, of the whole international community of the great city of Brisbane.

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.