Nicholas Aroney (Anastasopoulos)

This life story was taken from Peter Vanges' "Kythera - A History". Many thanks to Peter and the Kytherian Association of Australia for their permission to reproduce it here.


Nicholas Anthony Aroney (Anastasopoulos) was born in Aroniathika, Kythera, on 14th February 1899. An only child, his mother died very early in his life; his father was far away in America. For some years Nick was in the care of his grandmother in Kythera; but it was a life of poverty. In 1914, at just fifteen years of age, he boarded a German ship bound for Australia. War intervened and they were to go no further than Batavia in Java. Nick was forced to find another ship to take him to Sydney. The long and tortuous trip was to end in 1914 in the small country town of Warren in New South Wales where he took up employment working for an uncle. Times were difficult; wages were very low, but through hard work and frugality, Nick was able to accumulate some capital. In 1919, he bought, together with his first cousin Nicholas Aroney (Papadominakos), the "New York Cafe" in the town of Nowra, 161 kilometres south of Sydney. Years later, in 1936, they were to move to Wollongong, 80 kilometres further north, as proprietors of the "Spot Cafe". This, in turn, was sold in 1940 and Nick Aroney moved to Sydney where for some years during the war he was employed in the famous "Hotel Australia". He became the senior partner in a number of businesses in Sydney, notably the "Coronet Restaurant", the "Chicken Grill", and "St James Milk Bar"; he acquired as well substantial real estate interests.

Somewhat late in life, in 1962, Nick married Natasha, a lady of beauty, style and culture who had grown up in Vienna. Together they ran a small clothing manufacturing enterprise. It was a very happy marriage. They built a fine home in the prestigious suburb of Pymble and they made several trips to Greece, visiting on each occasion the beloved island of his childhood. Nick Aroney died in Sydney in 1986 at the age of eighty-seven.

Nicholas Aroney left behind a trust fund, which since his death has funded dozens of important projects related to Kythera and Greece. Without his generous legacy this website would not have been possible.