and have you had any response regarding your entries? Yes I have been contacted by a small number of people. 8. What is your favourite category/article on Kythera-Family.net? History up to 1950 mainly during the years of occupancy, Culture and Photography 9. Is there anything else you'd like to say about the site? On a personal basis, this site not only provides this wonderful information, but also gives me many happy hours reading about the place I was born at and people I know or have known. Many thanks to Sypro for his marvelous contributions and for allowing us to print his thoughts about Kythera and the website. His passion and technological fearlessness should inspire all Kytherians to enjoy the site. James Prineas, Website Leader in Europe .._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _... Museum seeks Australians returned to Greece A collaboration between the National Museum of Australia and the Kythera Cultural Association An official from the National Museum of Australia in Canberra will visit the Greek island of Kythera in April, looking for the stories of residents who left the island, settled in Australia and became citizens ñ and then chose to return to Greece. With the assistance of the Kythera Cultural Association, Adam Blackshaw will interview returned Kytherians, gathering their stories on audio-visual tape to become part of the National Museum's collection on migration. "We tell the stories of many migrants to Australia, but we don't often think of Australians as migrants to other countries. We more often see ourselves as home to a wide array of ethnic groups," said Mr Blackshaw. He believes that tracking overseas Australians, a relatively unexplored research area, is an important goal for the Museum. "Discovering and telling the stories of migrants who return to Greece in their later years is a rich area to document," he said. "Greeks, more than other migrant groups, keep in touch with their homeland, and many return to retire. Many of their children and grandchildren also return to live in Greece, or alternate between the two countries." Greek migration to Australia began in large numbers in the 1920s, increasing substantially up to the Second World War. By 1940 around three-quarters of Greek settlers in Australia were from the Greek islands, Kythera prominent among them. Major contributions have been made to the Australian community by people with Kytherian background ñ including filmmaker George Miller, master architect Alex Tzannes, actor Claudia Karvan and emeritus professor of engineering Dr Harry Poulos. The director of the Kythera Cultural Association, John Stathatos, will help Mr Blackshaw locate Australian Kytherians who have returned to live on the island. Mr Blackshaw will be on Kythera from April 24 to May 5. Those who wish to talk to him should contact John Stathatos at the Kytheraiki Politistiki Etaireia on (27360) 31 718, or at mail@kytheraphoto.com or write to him at PO Box 48, Chora, Kythera, 801 00. .._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _... An interesting entry: Sea Mines. Nurki. (Greek). A fascination with dynamite. submitted by George Poulos 12.10.2004 (Tony Fardoulys is a Real Estate agent in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia. In the past decade he has travelled to Kythera every Kytherian summer. Town of origin: Ayia Pelagia. Parachoukli Alai. He recalls the following about sea mines). Sea mines - are called nurki or nurkes (plural). They were big and round ....about 1,5 metres wide. They had detonators every 7-8 inches ( 16 cm's). Many of them washed ashore in Kythera. To immobilise them they were dragged out to shore. Kytherians would stand in the water up to shoulder height, and slowly unscrew all the detonators. Once there was no longer any chance of their exploding, the men would use chisels to cut them in half - like a watermelon. They used to chisel along a seam in the mine, which ran from end to end. Inside was two tanks, and between the two tanks were all the explosives and detonators. On either end were two plates - like steel caps - which were fastened with bolts. The men would unscrew those to gain access to the wires linked to the detonators. When they obtained the cordite, they put it in jam tins to store it, and then used it to make small bombs with....usually for fishing. The drum halves of the mine shells were often used as feed troughs for animals. For example to put hay in for the donkeys. These are still in use at Kalamitsi, near Ayia Pelagia for this purpose. George Poulos 12.10.2004 You can see the entry online and contact it's author here: http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=5-11&cid=1&did=5183&pageflip=2' /> and have you had any response regarding your entries? Yes I have been contacted by a small number of people. 8. What is your favourite category/article on Kythera-Family.net? History up to 1950 mainly during the years of occupancy, Culture and Photography 9. Is there anything else you'd like to say about the site? On a personal basis, this site not only provides this wonderful information, but also gives me many happy hours reading about the place I was born at and people I know or have known. Many thanks to Sypro for his marvelous contributions and for allowing us to print his thoughts about Kythera and the website. His passion and technological fearlessness should inspire all Kytherians to enjoy the site. James Prineas, Website Leader in Europe .._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _... Museum seeks Australians returned to Greece A collaboration between the National Museum of Australia and the Kythera Cultural Association An official from the National Museum of Australia in Canberra will visit the Greek island of Kythera in April, looking for the stories of residents who left the island, settled in Australia and became citizens ñ and then chose to return to Greece. With the assistance of the Kythera Cultural Association, Adam Blackshaw will interview returned Kytherians, gathering their stories on audio-visual tape to become part of the National Museum's collection on migration. "We tell the stories of many migrants to Australia, but we don't often think of Australians as migrants to other countries. We more often see ourselves as home to a wide array of ethnic groups," said Mr Blackshaw. He believes that tracking overseas Australians, a relatively unexplored research area, is an important goal for the Museum. "Discovering and telling the stories of migrants who return to Greece in their later years is a rich area to document," he said. "Greeks, more than other migrant groups, keep in touch with their homeland, and many return to retire. Many of their children and grandchildren also return to live in Greece, or alternate between the two countries." Greek migration to Australia began in large numbers in the 1920s, increasing substantially up to the Second World War. By 1940 around three-quarters of Greek settlers in Australia were from the Greek islands, Kythera prominent among them. Major contributions have been made to the Australian community by people with Kytherian background ñ including filmmaker George Miller, master architect Alex Tzannes, actor Claudia Karvan and emeritus professor of engineering Dr Harry Poulos. The director of the Kythera Cultural Association, John Stathatos, will help Mr Blackshaw locate Australian Kytherians who have returned to live on the island. Mr Blackshaw will be on Kythera from April 24 to May 5. Those who wish to talk to him should contact John Stathatos at the Kytheraiki Politistiki Etaireia on (27360) 31 718, or at mail@kytheraphoto.com or write to him at PO Box 48, Chora, Kythera, 801 00. .._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _....._ _ _..._ _ _... An interesting entry: Sea Mines. Nurki. (Greek). A fascination with dynamite. submitted by George Poulos 12.10.2004 (Tony Fardoulys is a Real Estate agent in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia. In the past decade he has travelled to Kythera every Kytherian summer. Town of origin: Ayia Pelagia. Parachoukli Alai. He recalls the following about sea mines). Sea mines - are called nurki or nurkes (plural). They were big and round ....about 1,5 metres wide. They had detonators every 7-8 inches ( 16 cm's). Many of them washed ashore in Kythera. To immobilise them they were dragged out to shore. Kytherians would stand in the water up to shoulder height, and slowly unscrew all the detonators. Once there was no longer any chance of their exploding, the men would use chisels to cut them in half - like a watermelon. They used to chisel along a seam in the mine, which ran from end to end. Inside was two tanks, and between the two tanks were all the explosives and detonators. On either end were two plates - like steel caps - which were fastened with bolts. The men would unscrew those to gain access to the wires linked to the detonators. When they obtained the cordite, they put it in jam tins to store it, and then used it to make small bombs with....usually for fishing. The drum halves of the mine shells were often used as feed troughs for animals. For example to put hay in for the donkeys. These are still in use at Kalamitsi, near Ayia Pelagia for this purpose. George Poulos 12.10.2004 You can see the entry online and contact it's author here: http://www.kythera-family.net/index.php?nav=5-11&cid=1&did=5183&pageflip=2" />