Copyright (0000) John Kalokerinos & Legislative Assembly For The ACT

Vince Kalokerinos sitting alongside the plaque presented to him by the people of Curtin in 2000 for his many years of service to the Curtin community (1971-2003). His widow, Viola, has maintained the business with the same good name for quality and service.

The plaque reads - Vince Kalokerinos. The people of Curtin and District wish to say thank you Vince for Services to our Community."

Hansard of the ACT Legislative Assembly for 26 August 2003

Mr Vince Kalokerinos
MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (5.37): Mr Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of members and, indeed, the entire Canberra community the passing of Vince Kalokerinos, better known to most people as the king of Curtin. Vince, for 32 years, was the proprietor of the Curtin milk bar and he died suddenly on Saturday morning of a heart condition. He leaves with us his wife, Viola; his son, John; and his twins, Matthew and Cathy. He was brother and brother-in-law of Paul, Helen, Jim, Maria, Cathy and Chris and he was a much loved uncle and friend to many.
Vince was one of the unique Canberrans who are often overlooked when we do condolence motions. We seem to concentrate on people supposedly of great stature-and I do not say that in a derogatory way-but Vince's story in many ways is the story of migrants to Australia and the story of many Canberrans. Vince was born in 1939 on the Isle of Kythera in Greece and came to Australia in 1962, where he joined his brothers, who ran, of all things, a coffee shop in Manilla, which is near Tamworth in northern New South Wales.

In 1971 he lashed out and purchased the Curtin milk bar and was to reside there in Curtin and run the milk bar for the next 32 years. In 1975 he returned to Kythera to pick up his childhood sweetheart, Viola, who was only 12 when he left his native Greece. She tells me that he had memories of her long braids. He went back and married his childhood sweetheart and brought her back to Curtin to make their home, and they had three children there.

Vince was such an icon in Curtin that, when we refurbished the Curtin shops in 2001, if my memory is correct, the only thing that we could get consistent agreement on out of the entire Curtin community was that there had to be a plaque in the refurbishment in honour of Vince. I do not think anything like that has been done since in one of our refurbishments, but on one of the pieces of street furniture as you walk out the front door of the Curtin milk bar there is a plaque in honour of Vince Kalokerinos from the people of Curtin, who saw this man as so important to the Curtin shops and so important to the community that they wanted to honour him in that way. I think that speaks volumes for the man.

Vince was famous for his bags of mixed lollies and his vanilla malted thickshakes. He made a fabulous pizza and must have served millions of cups of coffee over the 32 years that he was there in Curtin.

I think that people will miss the underlying generosity of the man. I do not believe I ever heard him have a harsh word for anyone. I know that in times when individuals or the community needed his assistance he was always there. During the bushfires of January this year, Vince was making coffee and sandwiches available for volunteers. I think that was fabulous.

Some 14 years ago when my own mother, who was also a resident of Curtin, died, Vince sent down trays of sandwiches and cakes. That was the sort of guy he was. He certainly did not ever ask for anything back. He gave continually. I think it was that hallmark of great service that earned him the title of king of Curtin.
Most people knew him as Vince. I do not think too many knew his surname was Kalokerinos. But most people would not have known that his real name was Valerios. For all of the folk who have ever been to the Curtin Milk Bar and spoken to Vince, his Christian name was Valerios, but, in the Australian way, in 1962 people probably could not say that and they called him Vince.

I would just like to bring to the attention of the Assembly and have on the record in this place my gratitude and thanks to Vince, a man of great generosity, great kindness, great humour, great service and great milkshakes. I think that Curtin will be a much poorer place for his passing. I certainly know that I will miss him as a friend.

For all those young Curtin residents who had their first job with Vince-and I know many of them, including a couple of members of my own family-he taught them about service and he taught them about courtesy but, more than anything, he taught them about family, because the thing that was central to Vince's life was his love of his family, that is, his normal family and his extended family, which probably would be half of the Woden Valley.

Farewell, Vince. Good luck. We will remember you for all times.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

See also,

http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/hansard/2003/week09/3219.htm