George (Proto)Psaltis, (Barraba) - recounts lives of 1930's Bingara identities: George Psaltis, Emanuel Aroney, & Peter Feros.

As indicated by a previous entry (7 entries prior - question mark) there is little knowledge of, and lack of photographs for George Psaltis, Emanuel Aroney, & Peter Feros.
These men were prominent local businessmen in Bingara, in NSW, during the 1930's, and were involved with the Roxy Theatre in Bingara.

I decided to approach George (Proto)Psaltis, originally of Barraba, and subsequently of Mosman, to see whether he had any knowledge of the men, which may lead their descendants to posting further information about them to kythera-family.

George celebrated his ninetieth birthday last week, with a wonderful party at his son Cosmas', Centennial Hotel in Woolhrara, Sydney. The brief thumbnail life-histories of Psaltis, Aroney and Feros derive from him.

George Protopsaltis

Parachoukli - Tessi

Born, 1914, Mitata, Kythera.

[There is an interesting photograph posted to kythera-family at Photography Island, subsection, Vintage Portraits, by Arthur Sklavos, (11.10.2004) of 6 young boys leaving Kythera in 1927, which includes a "George C Protopsaltis" which might be a photograph of my informant as a young man(?)]

Anitsa Protopsaltis has also posted vintage photographs of a number of Protopsalti - including those with parachouklia - Motzoro, Tsagorminas, and Karpani.
And Erinie Bourdaniotis has posted an extensive Protopsalti family tree.

George Psaltis, had a shop in Barraba from 1938-1947. Bingara is situated in the far North West of the State of New South Wales, and is ".. 37 miles north of Barraba. In those days you caught the train to Barraba - and then took a bus up to Binagara".
"I knew all these men well."
[George also believes he has photographs of the men, and their shops. "If I could only see them."]

In 1947 George moved to Sydney, where he established two milk bars - the latter being the "famous" milkbar at Spit Junction, in Sydney, which he owned and operated for many years.

Bingara Kytherians, 1930's.

George (Proto)Psaltis

Born in Friligianika, Kythera.(c1900 - c1970s).

Parachoukli - Katsavias

He built a number of buildings in Bingara. The impact of building the Roxy Theatre on the town of Bingara has been chronciled by Kevin Cork in his Ph.D Thesis. [Search internally, under Cork, or Bingara.]
In 1938 he moved to Sydney.
He opened a restaurant at Kings X called the Q Cafe - Q for "quickness", and "quality" and a number of other "q" words.
Later he opened a Milk Bar in Newtown.
Eventually he went to Adelaide, where he died, a fairly poor man.
He never married - which might explain why his life history has been so difficult to uncover.

Emanuel Aroney,

Born, Arioniathika(?), (c1890 - 1972);

Manuel Aroney was in fact a Theodoropoulos. [Kytherians will know that persons deriving from Arioniathika, when they arrived in Australia, tended to adopt the name Aroney - irrespective of their Kytherian/Greek surname].

He too moved to Sydney from Bingara, where he ran the Hollywood Cafe, at Liverpool Street, and later the Paris Cafe, in Pitt Street, near the (then)Pitt Street Cinemas.

He had three children,
Dr James Aroney, who married Lisa(?), from Patra.
Spiros, who married Manuel Malanos's daughter, Maria,
and Peter, who married Adonia Manolaras', sister of Dr Manolaras(?), from Parramata.
Son, Peter later ran the newsagency in Pitt Street, near the Liverpool St corner.

Peter (Panayiotis) Feros,

born in Mitata, Kythera, c1890.

Died, 19.12.1954.

Feros had the puraksino parachoukli Katsehamos. ("Sitting down (person").

Peter had one son John, who entered the Army, and died in his 50's.
Two daughters, Katina, in Linfield, since deceased, and
Maria, of Roseville, still alive (2004).

About 1938-9 - Peter went to a small town near Horsham, in Victoria.
Later he moved to Junee with his son-in-law, where he later died(?).



Note: The building of the Roxy was not a financial success. Circumstances surrounding its construction also revealed a deep-seated racism against southern Europeans. Both aspects have been explored by Kevin Cork.

Section from Background to

Chapter 3: Discriminated Against and Forced to Discriminate

Bingara - a case study

In the mid-1930s, in the north-western town of Bingara, a Greek partnership, Peters and Co (ie George Psaltis, Peter Feros and Emanuel Aroney) embarked on an ambitious construction project involving new cafe, shops and a modern cinema at the south-west corner of Cunningham and Maitland Streets. According to the local newspaper, "When completed it will have an equal frontage to both streets, a symmetrical and well-balanced building, a splendid addition to the town's business houses." Peters and Co intended to construct for their own use a shop and large restaurant (22 feet by 85 feet), with seating for 140 diners, a kitchen (14 feet by 26 feet), two cellars, a machinery room (14 feet by 14 feet) where ice would be made and electricity for the new buildings would be generated, and a modern cinema. Above the shop and restaurant would be living quarters. Two additional shops would be built and made available for lease.

What should have been a straightforward enterprise turned into a financial disaster tainted with overtones of discrimination. There were already two cinemas operating in the town, the Old Bingara Pictures and the Regent Pictures. The former was an old galvanised iron shed and the latter was under the control of a local businessman (who was a returned soldier and an alderman) and he used the Soldiers' Memorial Hall. When, in 1934, he learned that a new cinema was being mooted, he set about trying to undermine the project. Firstly, a letter to his parliamentary representative, who was also an old acquaintance.
Sometime ago I wrote you in connection with the Greek invasion into our little burg, & the position now is becoming more acute, inasmuch as they have issued an ultimatum that any of us who are not prepared to bring our businesses up to their end of the town, opposition businesses will be started by them.

...I have no intention of allowing the Greeks to put it over me in this way, so I am endeavouring to get in ahead of them... & I want you...to find out from the Chief Secretary's Department if the Greeks have yet submitted plans to them for a new theatre, & if so have they been passed by that department'

I shall be submitting plans myself during the next few weeks, & I am hoping those of the Greeks will be held up until I can get a start.

The Chief Secretary replied on behalf of the parliamentarian, stating that "...it is not the practice of the Department to disclose particulars of the kind." Having lost that round, the businessman pushed on quickly with the building of his own theatre (the Regent) which opened in June 1935. Unable to withstand the competition from the new Regent, the Old Bingara Pictures turned-up its toes and died. One might be forgiven if one were to assume that the new theatre would also put an end to the Greek proposal. It did not and Peters and Co pressed on. In early 1936, as the Greeks' Roxy was nearing completion, xenophobia flared again.
As you are aware we are having our own little war with Greece in Bingara, & the latest development is that they want us to run our P.&.A. Asso. Ball in their new theatre, & the Committee have decided to stick to the Soldiers' Memorial Hall. Following on this decision they propose to run a stunt in their theatre in opposition to the Ball.

The Greek theatre is not complete, & is certainly not built to the plans and specifications as submitted...

If the inspection is to be done by our local police I would like you to see that this is carried out in such a way that they are compelled to comply with all regulations, but it would be more satisfactory all round if you could see your way to send your own inspector along.

Trusting you will not mind my writing you personally on this matter, for, as you know the maintenance of our Memorial Hall is a vital matter with our league here, & with kind regards...

Round Two also went to the Greeks when the Chief Secretary replied.
...the local Police were instructed on the 11th March to inform the proprietors that the premises may be opened for public entertainment pending the issue of the required licence, provided the building has been constructed in accordance...

You will, therefore, see that the question whether the premises may be used for public entertainment will depend entirely on the fact of the Police being satisfied in regard to the building...

[re the alternate function] ...I am unable to take any action in the matter if the building is in order and the conditions complied with.

The Roxy (sub-titled "Theatre Moderne") opened on Saturday, 28 March 1936, with the owners acknowledging "the wonderful support of the People of Bingara and District whose encouragement enabled us to open this New Modern Building" and thanking "the various Artisans, Tradesmen and Loyal Workers whose efforts and faithful service made the Roxy possible." Then came blatantly racist newspaper advertising by the opposition. From March, advertisements proclaimed the Regent to be "100 per cent Australian, including Ownership, Employees, Talkie Equipment." This continued until the middle of November, by which time the Roxy management was in financial difficulties, having over-extended itself financially on the building project. The Regent Theatre owner was elected Mayor in December 1936, having served in this capacity in 1928 and 1929. According to the report of the opening of the Regent in 1935, he had come to the town "...as a youth, and during his residence had associated himself with every movement for the benefit of the town. He had also served in the Great War...The Mayor (Ald. C Doherty) also paid a high tribute to Mr Peacocke's good citizenship and progressive spirit..."

Within a short time, Peters and Co's financial difficulties led to the mortgagee taking control of the buildings. Psaltis and Feros moved on and Aroney, having to support his mother and two brothers (one going to medical school) in Greece, moved operations to a new cafe in Bingara. The cafe, opposite the Regent Theatre, was called The Regent Cafe and had been built by the Regent's owner".