Nikolaos Dam. Andronikos
This biography is part of a collection from "Life in Australia" :
One of the monuments to Greek ability and progress abroad is the establishment, of three storeys, owned by Mr. Nikolaos Andronikos, from Mylopotamos on Kythera. It was built by Mr. Andronikos in 1912 in a central location in Sydney. Mr Andronikos, following the flow of migrants that holds sway in Greece, came to Australia in 1897. Completely unknown to all, he found work at the side of Greeks, deciding to work hard for his living and to overcome any obstacles that might crop up in his path.
In such a fashion, Mr. Andronikos was not behindhand in occupying himself with various business enterprises. Thanks to his love of hard work, his economies and to his activity, these businesses were brought to occupy a conspicuous position, a fact which led this pleasant Greek to the already splendid set of circumstances that he occupies, whereby he is to be classed among the successfully settled Greeks of Australia. In 1908, he married Miss Antigoni S. Phocas, with whom a year ago he had a baby boy, whom he adores.
Mr. Andronikos, who happens to be the brother of the traders, the Andronikos brothers whom we have referred to, is charming, hospitable, affable and is always willing to make concessions, even if it is not to his own advantage. His splendid establishment offers work, at any one time, to many fellow Greeks and is to be numbered among the leading Greek shops of Australia.
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.
