Greek Wedding 1879 Melbourne

Early Greek Wedding 1879
Ocass – Holland
The marriage of Constance Ocass and Clara Holland was conducted at the Church of England, Holy Trinity Church, 162 Bay Street, Sandridge (now Port Melbourne) in the Colony of Victoria on the 5th October 1879.
The celebrant was the Rev, Frederick Charles Platts, the ‘incumbent’ of the Holy Trinity Church, who solemnized the marriage according to the Rites of the Church of England.
The couple were supported by John Nicholas, Alexander Stathy and Peter Alexander (for groom) with Mary Ann Hudson (for bride).
This marriage is one of the earliest recorded and conducted by the Church of England between a Greek and an Australian and predates all marriages conducted by the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia.
Little is known about the origins and arrival of Constance Ocass, born in Greece c 1851. His death certificate ( 1896) indicates he was born Cerigo Greece; father Peter Ocass and mother Betholia and was survived by his wife Clara, nee Holland and children Thomas(16 Years), George (14 Years), Albert (12 years), Clara (8 years), Stephany (6 years) and Harold (2 years).
Presently the name Ocass poses something of an enigma as there does not appear to be a association to Kytherian names of the period. The family name has since evolved variously to O’Cass and Kocass etc.
Constance Ocass is known to have been a merchant seaman prior to his arrival in Australia c 1877 and was living at Sandridge on the waterfront of Hobson’s Bay Melbourne at the time of his marriage. The circumstances about his arrival are a mystery but are likely to have been motivated by the gold rush fever of the period. Like so many late arrivals on the scene he was forced to find employment in Melbourne. Shortly after the birth of their first son Thomas in Victoria the Ocass family relocated to Sydney. Constance was variously a seaman and labourer until his passing in 1896. At the time of his death on 22 August 1896 the family was living at 13 Cooper Street North Balmain.
Constance Peter Ocass was interred at Rookwood Cemetery Sydney NSW according to the Rites of the Church of England Church by Rev. J W Unwin on 23 August 1896.
Oral history suggests one of the older sons may have been married in the Greek Orthodox Church in Sydney.





Persons of interest
John Nicholas – Greek, Fisherman, Sandridge 1879
Alexander Stathy – Greek, Fish merchant/ Oyster Saloon Keeper, Melbourne 1879-90
Peter Alexander – Greek, Fisherman, Sandridge 1879

Albert Kocass married Esther Llewellen 1902
George Ocass married Annie Mullins 1906
Ernest Ocass married Kathleen O’Brien 1918

Written and researched by
Peter C McCarthy (Makarthis)
Inverell NSW
June 2014