(05) Dimitrios Aronis-Beys: Mackay – My Home Town
Andy & Evangelia
(An extract from the memoirs of Prof. Manuel J. Aroney)
Evangelia Aroney (nee Lukas): The beautiful girl in the photo that uncle Andy fell in love with.
Andy bought a house in Macalister Street barely three hundred yards from ours and within close walking distance to the Niagara Milk Bar; this was in addition to a two-storey investment property in Wood Street which he acquired in 1936. He was a very good man, hard working, somewhat overweight, much liked and respected. I had a particular affection for him. One of my earliest recollections was crying my eyes out and calling for Uncle Andy from my hospital bed after a painful tonsillectomy; only he could quieten me down and console me on that occasion. Andy was well known along the coastal towns of Queensland and amongst his many friends was Jack Barbouttis, a prosperous cafe owner in Townsville who, with his wife Rosie, had originally come from the small island of Castellorizo in the Dodecanese group just off the coast of Turkey. One day Jack showed Andy a photo of a very beautiful young woman – his wife’s sister Evangelia. This was to change Andy’s life; he fell in love with the girl in the photo. Arrangements were made for Evangelia, escorted by her brother George, to come to Australia to marry Andy. She was from a well-known and highly regarded family whose surname was Lucas (Hadjivasilis); her father in earlier years was the captain and owner of a trading vessel buying and selling commodities in the eastern Mediterranean. It was 1939, just before the outbreak of war in Europe, when the liner carrying the bride-to-be entered Sydney harbour and berthed at the pier where Andy was anxiously waiting.
On his way there, Andy called in to see Stamatiki Aroney and her husband Theodore who had a milk bar in Oxford Street, near Taylor Square, which functioned as a meeting place for Kytherians living in or passing through Sydney. Stamatiki was famous for collecting and disseminating information and gossip. Years later, she told me that Andy said (in Greek) “I’m going to meet my bride and I’ve promised to marry her, no matter what. If she is really like the girl in the photo I will bring her to meet you but if she isn’t then you won’t be seeing us – we will leave at once for Mackay”. Hours passed then Andy reappeared and with great pride presented the woman of his dreams.
The wedding of Andy and Evangelia Aroney in 1939.
My mother Stamatina Aroney is pictured standing on the far left next to the bridesmaids. My father Dimitrios Aroney is on the right wearing a grey suit and gold watch chain. The ‘koumparo’ Peter Samios of Brisbane is standing between the bride and groom.
Back row third, fourth and fifth from the left are Evangelia’s brother George Lukas, her brother in law Jack Barbouttis and Peter Aroney. Kathleen (Peter’s wife) is on the far right. The seven year old boy in the white suit sitting in front is me.
In Mackay Evangelia made a great impression on the Greek community as she was beautiful, good-hearted and charming to one and all. Kathleen Aroney had a big party to welcome her and she lived at Peter and Kathleen’s home until the day of her wedding to Andy. The marriage took place in the very imposing Holy Trinity Anglican Church with a Greek Orthodox priest, brought to Mackay from Brisbane, officiating at the ceremony. The wedding photo shows the bridal couple surrounded by their closest relatives, some of whom had come from Townsville. A reception with more than three hundred guests was held in the hall above Peter Zaglas’ cafe in Victoria Street; it was an evening of celebration with great “kefi” (gaiety), large quantities of food and drink and hours of Greek music and dancing. Evangelia was now part of our family and in the years ahead she would prove to be a wonderful person. A close bond was formed with my mother under whose tutelage Evangelia became very proficient in Greek cooking.
