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History > Oral History > The infant telepathic disc-jockey. Perplexing Theothoros Kritharis.

History > Oral History

submitted by George Poulos on 28.08.2005

The infant telepathic disc-jockey. Perplexing Theothoros Kritharis.

When my father, Con George Poulos moved to the central western New South Wales town of Gilgandra, we lived in a house in the upper part of Myrtle Street. The house had a large lounge room, with gramaphone player against one wall. It was the type of gramaphone player which had an arm which picked up records, placed above the central mechanism, and played them sequentially. The records were "78's".

Kytherian visitors would often come to visit us in the house. One such visitor was Theothoros Kritharis - Theo Crithary - son of Papa Vangelli, the long-standing priest of Karavas.

To see a photograph which includes Theothoros as a young man see:
http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=117-118&did=7272-1&searchResult=searchResult

To read an account which marks Theo Crithary as a very astute psychologist of the Hellenic temperament see:
http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=6-14&did=1903-1&searchResult=searchResult

To see a photograph of Pappa Vangelli, and his wife Stamatia (nee, Panaretos). - go to:
http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=117-118&did=880-1&searchResult=searchResult

My parents accumulated many of the older style gramaphone records. Most of them had Greek music on them.

I was about 2 years old at the time, and Theo would choose a particular Greek song, and ask me to put it on the gramophono for him.

I would find the song almost instantaneously, and very soon he would be listening to it. He was amazed by this ability - he would shake his head slowly from side to side, his face would break out into a broad smile - - and he would ask me to find another song...and then another. He would try and trick me - but inevitably the song that he requested would very soon be playing on the gramaphone.

The "telepathic" ability of this very young child, was a source of great amusement to him, and he referred to it often during the course of his life.

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submitted by
Hugh Gilchrist
on 28.08.2005

Theodoros Kritharis The brothers Theodoros and Panayiotis Kritharis, who came in 1909, opened two shops in Glen Innes in partnership with their cousins Minas and Theodoros Tzortzopoulos, and also ran a motor-transport service between Glen Innes and Inverell. Theo Crithary, as he became known, was 15 when he landed in Sydney. Later he established a food-supply firm named Embros - Forward. He claimed to be the first importer of ouzo into Australia, selling it to several hotels; he also sold Greek olives to Woolworths.