Joanne and Penelope Samios dancing for Rotarians at Lance Cove, Sydney
The Lane Cove Rotary Club, invited George C Poulos, to speak to members about the Kytherian migration to Australia, and the book, Life in Australia. The date was Tuesday 10th May, 2011, and the venue was the Lane Cove Club, 1st Floor, 1 Birdwood Avenue, Lane Cove. 55 Rotarians attended. Bernard (Bernie) Dolan, Chairperson of the International Committee arranged the evening.
George provided background about migration experiences from his own family, and those of Kytherian friends. He then linked this with the project by the Kytherian World Heritage Fund to print and distribute facsimile copies of the 1916 book, Life in Australia, in both Greek and English.
The completely "Anglo" audience warmed to the subject in a way that was unexpected. The son of one member of the audience had married a Greek, and the mother stood up to confirm the level of "filotimo" and regard that her in-laws had displayed towards their family. Another member of the audience had been chaperoned on a trip to Kythera by Peter Satouris, from Peters of Kensington. Others had stories about growing up with Kytherians and Greeks, or of being in business alongside them in the same community, town or city.
The Greek and Kytherian migration story resonated deeply with them. To such a degree, that a number of the Rotarians felt compelled to purchase copies of the book Life in AUstralia, at the end of proceedings.
The GA Dancers, Kytherian dance instructor Joanne and Penelope Samios, then entertained the Rotarians with a performance of Greek dancing. The normally "staid" group, not only thoroughly enjoyed the performance, but when they were asked to participate, did so in great numbers. Some Rotarians proved to be "naturals" at Greek dancing, picking up the steps effortlessly.
The Kytherian and Greek migration story is a "shared" Greek-Australian history. Kytherian and Greek - Australians should not underestimate the level of interest that Anglo - Australians have in this "story". They should make every endeavour to keep "telling their story", ensuring that it is woven into the tapestry of the "Australian" narrative. Kytherians and Greeks are very good at telling each other "our" stories, but there is a large audience of 21 million other Australians who are very keen to hear "our" stories as well. Many Australians also regard "our" stories as "their" stories too.
We should encourage more of these "events" where Kytherian and Greek Australians reach out to the broader Australian community.
