George Feros goes to school(?)

Reproduced by permission from the author.
From "Katsehamos and the Great Idea" by Peter Prineas,
pages 181-182:


"George Feros, the younger son of Peter Feros, unexpectedly found himself working at the Q Cafe in 1948. 'I think Katsavias would have been in his late 40s then. He was a short, stocky bloke. He used to dress reasonably well, always neat and clean. He was clever; maybe too clever. He spoke English well and he could read and write as well as anyone. Plenty of people would come to see him at the Q Cafe - Australians, Greeks, all kinds. When he talked, people listened. They took notice of him.'

George had been sent to Sydney by Peter Feros to further his education. 'Dad enrolled me in Newington College at Stanmore. I came up to Sydney with Jack. We went to the Athenian Club, the Leskhe, and Katsavias got to hear about it. He found us pretty quick and wanted to know what we were doing in Sydney, and I said, "I'm going to school" and he said, "No, you're not." and he put both of us to work in the Q Cafe. I was only 14 at the time, under-age, but no-one seemed to care. To tell you the truth, I wasn't very keen on going to Newington so I didn't put up much of a fight. Jack didn't want to go back to Murtoa so he didn't mind working for Katsavias either.


When we were at the Q Cafe, Jack won 100 pounds in the lottery. I remember him slapping his hand on the table and laughing when he saw his number in the paper. All the customers came running up to have a look. A hundred pounds was a fair a bit of money then. The people who came into the Q Cafe were all the kinds you'd get in Kings Cross. A lot of street girls used to come in. They were always hanging around the place.

Katsavias didn't pay us much but we got tips and he put us up in a local hotel. Also, he sent me for lessons to a Greek lady, a friend of his who lived down behind the Cross near the old stadium. I went to her for lessons for a while, about three times a week. She was educated and she taught me some English. My father was back in Murtoa thinking I was at Newington getting an education, and one day he gets a letter from the school saying, "Thanks very much for paying George's fees, Mr Feros, but where's George?" When Dad found out what Katsavias done he came straight up to Sydney and got me and took me back to Murtoa."


The book Katsehamos and the Great Idea is available from the publisher,
Plateia Press,
32 Calder Road, Darlington, NSW,
or email here
phone (02) 9319 1513
and also from Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW, 2037 and selected bookshops.

Katsehamos and the Great Idea is also available in the New England and Northwest region of NSW, from the Roxy Theatre, Maitland Street, Bingara.
Phone: 02 67240003
or email here

For further information
Phone: Sydney, (02) 9319 1513
Mobile: 0429 322 857

See also:

Speech introducing Bob Carr at the Sydney launch

Review(s) of the book

Professor Janis Wiltons' speech, Bingara book launch

Details of the Bingara book launch, photograph unveiling, and 70th Anniversary Ball

Founders photographs unveiled, Roxy, Bingara

Flyer_-_Roxy_70th_Anniversary.pdf

Kytherians flocked to Bingara from everywhere

Peter Feros's descendants

Descendants and freinds of Roxy Theatre founder, Peter Feros