Prof. Vasilis P. Leftheris passed away on November 28, 2021 at the age of 91 from complications due to the COVID virus.
Prof. Leftheris was born on May 11, 1930 in Kythira, Greece. At a young age, he showed an aptitude for mathematics and physics, graduating 3rd in his high school graduating class.
With the help and understanding of his father, a seaman with the Greek Merchant Marines, Vasilis emigrated to Montreal Canada where he worked and attended McGill University. He obtained his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.
While at McGill, he met his wife, Isobel while working at the Niagra Falls hydroelectric plant.
After finishing McGill, Basil married Isobel and obtained a scholarship to study thermodynamics and engineering of internal combustion engines at the University of Birmingham in the UK. After he obtained his advanced degree, he returned to Petersboro Canada where he began his engineering career working on atomic energy projects for General Electric.
As part of the US effort to advance space programs, Vasilis was recruited by Republic Aviation on Long Island, NY to work on protecting satellites from micrometeorites. During that time, Vasilis obtained a second Master’s degree in civil engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic University (now part of NYU). After this project concluded, he was recruited by Grumman Aerospace Corp to work on the Lunar Module project in conjunction with NASA. Following the success of the Apollo program, he worked on fighter plane technology where he invented a new device for riveting the wings of high-speed aircraft to prevent wing failure due to microcracks. This was the subject of a PhD thesis Dr. Leftheris earned from Princeton University. There are over 23 patents covering the invention of the Stress Wave Riveter mechanism. A form of this device is used to assemble most high speed military aircraft today.
Soon after, Dr. Leftheris was asked to work on the US government sponsored TOKMAK project at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPL). He oversaw the diagnostic engineering team. This was part of the effort to design a containment device to harness the energy released from hydrogen fusion. Today, there is an international team in France (International Energy Thermonuclear Reactor (IETR)) continuing this effort.
Dr. Leftheris retired from PPPL and moved back to Greece in 1989 to take a faculty position at the Technical University of Crete. There, he taught earthquake engineering and built a laboratory focused on material testing. After 12 years as a professor, he finally retired to the Island of Kythira.
Dr. Leftheris is survived by his wife Isobel, his daughter, Dr. Katerina Leftheris, his son Peter Leftheris, 4 grandchildren (Averil, Hannah, Samantha and Alexander) and one great grand child (Julian Constantinos).
the bishop of kythera serifim and a fellow bishop with kytherian priests at this years agia ellessa feast day service on the 1st august with the mayor and vice mayor in the background ... xpona polla !
the english built school near the village of levathi that served the surruonding villages in the 1800s that over look the villages of drymonas and fatsathika towards the south of the island ....
great beach near the village of livathi ... with the village of avlomonas , the mountains of agia moni and agios georges in the background , how good does this beach look !!
one of the best and longest serving restaurants on the island owned by the pierros brothers , who are the best business people on the island , the food is superb, the service is first class, and manoli one of the owners is so friendly ... its always a great dining pleasure to go to pierros ...
My name is Georgios Haros tou Nikolao, Vlastos is my family’s Parapitheto/parastoukili. The term Vlastos refers to the spring time when the flowers blossom they are called Vlastadia. We have no idea how that relates to us. We have the parapitheto because Haros means death in Greek and so I guess we needed to have a new nickname. I was born 13 June 1934 in Livadi, Kythera.
Viola and I live in a house in Livadi now when we go back to visit; a new house. It’s our holiday house and a second home for us. I started building it in the 60’s and finished it in the 90’s. I fixed the downstairs house first and we stayed there while the second floor was getting built. It was like that till the 90’s, as it was just scaffolding up top. Every year I would go back and do more work until I finally finished it in ‘96. I was however born in Vlastianika, which was, and still is, a very small village. Back then there were just three houses. It is where my brother, Panaioti and his wife, Marika, still live today and I was born inside that house. There were two doctors; Fatseas who was from Ayios Elias and Leftheris from Livadi who I believe was the one who helped assist in the birth.
My memories of early life in Kythera included playing games that we made by ourselves; because back in those days we didn’t have money or shops to buy toys. We would play hide and seek, chasing games and throwing rocks to pass our time. They were active games outside, which is very different to these days. We would gather down at the ‘stigoura’ in Kato Livadi, outside the big church in the platea where the new school has been built. 30-40 kids would meet down there and play all the games we liked every afternoon, but our parents would need us to work the land a lot so we would often hide from them. I was joined by my big brother there and our parents would discipline us.
In the days of the war we didn’t have shoes, we used to walk all over the mountains barefoot through the agathia. Meat in those days was very rare, so much so that hunting games were very exciting for us because it used to feed us as well. There was a type of bird that would fly over in September that we all liked to hunt. To this day that still brings a smile to my face thinking of us down at the ‘Stigoura’. I also need to add that my mother was indeed a great cook.
I have noticed that the demographic of the island has changed dramatically. Back in the days of the war (30’s-40’s) people left the large cities to go to the islands for various reasons. There was a lack of food in the cities and Kythera provided them with sustenance. So it had a large population of around 10,000 locals, which is considerably more than once was. However after the war finished and people realised that life in Kythera was not so easy, many of them left. Whoever could get out would leave. Some went to Australia, others to America. Athens and Germany where other destinations of choice (this was when the war was over and Germany needed people to rebuild in the 50’s. After the war, a lot of Greeks went to help and work in Germany. It fixed their economy but the Greek one suffered).
Now, the youth of Kythera are not all Kytherian children. Back in my day we used to play in the streets all together, now it is different. A whole generation of people left and it wasn’t like one man leaving, which meant that he was gone from the island for good. It meant that the wife he was to marry and the three children he was to have, taking me for example, would have lived there otherwise and Kythera would be the same as always. Nowadays the Albanian workers have chosen to stay and live on the island and the Albanakia make up half the student population. Otherwise the
schools would be empty. They say now that Kythera has a population of 3000 local Kytherians who live on the island for the majority of the year. Their average age is 60 and above.
I never met my grandparents on my father’s side because they had passed away before I was born. I was however very close to my grandparents on my mother’s side and I remember them very well. See back in those days, food was scarce and it was what we needed the most. When I used to go help them work, the payment was food so I was always there. We loved going to Megali Mouri because that was where my Pappou had his best land. There he made wheat for bread, crushed olives for oil etc. it was a rich and fertile land there. We helped with the animals and brought water to the house. And we were always well fed from our Yiayia after that. They were wonderful people. My Pappou was a very tall and strong man and quite strict. Yiayia was very soft and a nice lady. Those days if they didn’t work the land and animals then the family would not be fed, very different to what we are used to now with supermarkets. For example back then the stari we used was made from the round “aloni” at the end of the Katouni Bridge. We would have the donkey go around and around crushing the wheat. Then there was a whole other process of throwing it to the right wind etc. These days it’s all bought from the fourno, no one works the land like that anymore. Society now has forgotten about the land.
My father’s name was Nikolaos Panaioti Haros (Vlastos) and my mother’s name was Maria Vardas. My father left early on in Kythera because he was very good at school but his father did not have the money to further his education. So my father left and went to Smyrni in the 20’s for work. After Smyrni, he went to America and worked for 22 years. That was where he made his money. He then came back to Greece and bought the new house where my brother lives now in Kythera. He bought some land but left a lot of money in shares and in the bank, planning to live well off the interest. However around the time of the Great Depression, and around the start of WWII, the money lost its value and became worthless. It worried him greatly. So we went from people well off buying clothes and shoes to losing it all. He then had to resort to selling produce at Hora; eggs, cheese etc. to scrape together some money for us to survive. If my father had not lost his money there would have been no reason for me to leave and come to Australia. I would have lived there permanently had our life’s circumstances not had changed so dramatically. Life in Greece for everyone became very difficult. City life in Athena was even more difficult, they would have starved. We at least survived off the land.
My mother was born in Katouni, Livadi. My Yiayia died in that family house from TB. And they kept her alone in the house because you could catch it quite easily. My Yiayia was such a beautiful lady. I remember because food was scarce, Yiayia had a deal with us kids that whenever she cooked food she would put up a sheet so we could see it from Vlastianika and we could go to Katouni to get food. I named by youngest child after her because she fed me so much and loved us so much; I have so much to thank of her. She was a truly beautiful lady who was so giving. There is a story that when the gypsies would come around asking for food my Pappou would tell them to leave and then my Yiayia would pretend to do the same so he wouldn’t find out but secretly she was feeding them, she had such a big heart.
The locals were very self-sufficient back then. When I would get back from school I was told from my parents to go and work. I would tend to the garden, get water from the well and also look after the animals. And in those days there was no saying no. The animals were kept up on the mountain behind Vlastianika. See people all over the island would divide the land with rock walls to keep the animals in so they wouldn’t get mixed up with your neighbours’ animals.
My brother’s name is Panayiotis. He still lives in Vlastianika in our patriko spiti. My parents organised with my uncle John Vardas for one of us boys to come out to Australia and mu uncle was to be our guarantor. My bother declined and I jumped at the chance to leave the island. He always wanted to stay on the island; he didn’t want to come to a foreign land. We had a small family compared to others in those days when they would have many children. See, my father was in America for a long time and he married in his late 40’s to a woman who was much younger, which is why they didn’t have many kids. My father didn’t ask for a prika. Prika in those days of hard times was a great burden on the wife’s family. He was a good man for not wanting that at all. Her family did not have a prika to give anyway. One man had come in for my mother but he asked for a great big prika to which my Pappou thought about it overnight and said no because he would have no money for the rest of the children.
Life during the war to me was not bad. The difficult years during the war affected my parents more than it affected me. They were the ones who had to toil for the money and food to help their kids survive. For us kids it was all about playing, we did not think about stuff too much. We made do with school and work, but didn’t consider the war. Slingshot was another game we enjoyed greatly (my memory returns when it pleases). During the war we saw the Germans and Italians up close. And after the war when they left, the Civil War began and we saw the communists. My father was a translator for the Germans because he spoke English. The Italians came in the 40’s and they left when the German’s came. The Italian boys weren’t much of fighters and not bad people so they left. They needed the help of the German’s to get them out of Greece. It was a different story when the German’s came. I remember the German planes flying over Kythera to go to the battle of Crete. They were flying so low over Kythera that we could see them from our houses. There were hundreds of them. We had built trenches and whenever we heard the planes we would jump down into them to stay safe and out of sight. There were also English warships down at Kapsali and when German planes went overhead the boats would shoot at them. I even remember seeing a war plane being shot down and falling into the ocean. I remember the Germans had made a base at Tragyila, which you get to by a dirt road on the right before you enter Hora and leading out to the peninsula.
As Kids we would go to the school at Hora. After we finished from school we would go to the base and play with their left over weapons and ammunition. We walked to school barefoot so you could imagine how dangerous it was there. How we did not kill ourselves there is beyond me. I am very happy that I lived through the war. First of all, I appreciate even the smallest piece of bread, considering that we often went without food, because when everything is made for you then you do not appreciate anything. We were all equal and we all had nothing and the struggle was for bread. But everything was friendly and everyone was nice to one another. Now the struggle is for the most amount of money and it makes the people bad because they are out to beat one another. The friendly environment which we had in the fields and in the villages is long gone. It was compulsory to talk to everyone and greet the whole neighbourhood.
I stayed in constant contact with my brother, sending photos etc. I left in ‘49 and I went back after thirteen years in ‘62 in which we had grown up. I hadn’t seen him much when I was younger because he always worked away from home, but now of late since I have been going every year we are extremely close brothers. Our house was not anything special inside, it was not one of the better houses there. All the houses were anapotha, however ours was the most anapotha of all of them. My brother still lives in that house, it is very Spartan. They made bread, collected sika, staphili for the wine, and honey from the bee hives; we didn’t have electricity too, so we had a fireplace to keep warm in winter and firewood to cook for the fourno. We made salsa by crushing tomatoes and fava by splitting peas. It was all self-produced. If we didn’t have all that we may have starved. But see, there was something back then that isn’t so evident today, agapi. If your neighbour was starving you would feed them, so I doubt we would ever have starved on the island. We would also make baskets and I would go with my uncle Adoni to sell them at Potamo and make a little money; and horta from the horafia we would sell too. To get the water I would have to take the bucket to the well close by. The concrete they had to make the wells with, my father would go with my uncles and steal it from the Germans from Kapsali. They were scared for their lives but it was necessary and they would bring the concrete back with the donkeys.
Easter and Christmas were days spent with family making nice food like Fava, Katarithi or for some relative to invite us to a wedding or christening to eat nice. We would also kill animals to eat goat etc. to eat well. We went to church very often. Our church was in Livadi O’ Yeletetou.
My closest friends from Kythera were Jack Cassimatis. We went to school together and came home together and did a lot of crazy things as kids, together. He still is a very close friend of mine till today. And Andrikos from Kato Livadi who owns the house on the corner before you turn to get to the platea was also a very close friend in the early days.
I went to school early on to Livadi but we had a problem with the teacher who we didn’t feel was teaching us well enough. People complained and so quite a few of us moved schools, the only ones who stayed were his relatives. We went to the one in Hora which would take us about an hour to get to by foot. And of course we played games along the way. There was an old school over the bridge at Fatsathika that you can see from Katouni, which my Pappou used to attend. He would walk down from Katouni and go under the bridge. He would not do this in winter however because a stream would form. It now looks decrepit but it is a beautiful British-styled building. I went to high school for only 2-3 classes and then I left to go to Australia.
Leaving Kythera was hard and the hardest part was saying goodbye to my parents. My father truly believed if he hadn’t lost his money then I would not have left, so he was very upset. I left from Kapsali and the other family members would stop where the small bridge is where you enter Kapsali. My father came with me to the boat till Piraeus. It was called “Laros” and it took endless hours. It took roughly the same amount of time to get from Kythera to Piraeus as it now takes to get from Australia to Athens. When I got to Piraeus, we stayed there a few days and we went to a shop with a fellow Kytherian who owned a small market selling fish etc. and he shouted me the first beer I ever had in my life. From Piraeus I came with the plane to Australia. It was a tiny plane. I went with the Malanos family. I had the choice to come by boat with my friend O’ Yiakomi, Jack Cassimaty, however he was as crazy as was I and they said if we were on it together we would sink the boat. So my father sent me with the Malanos’. Mrs Malanos spoke French and so it worked out well because we had to go to Egypt. They told us to go stay in a hotel while they refuelled and prepared for the long journey to Australia. My father had taught me some English and so I asked the man for a toilet and he showed me the whole in the ground. Needless to say it was an eye opener. The fleas got to us as well. It took 6 days on and off the plane. We stopped in Cairo, Sri Lanka and somewhere else (I don’t remember the name) before we got to Sydney.
I do remember getting to Sydney where my uncle John Vardas was waiting for me. The first thing we did was go to a shop and he bought me a milkshake. I landed in Mascot and Uncle John was waiting for me. He took me to his shop in Mosman, the Miami Milk Bar. It had a room close by, in which we both slept in the same room together. He gave me work in the shop and he helped me a lot. He made me a waiter at the front so I could learn the language. The customers would tell me their orders and I had no idea what it meant but I would go back to the kitchen and tell the chef, who was Yiannis Conomos at the time, what they said. Yiannis worked with my uncle at Binnaway and so he came down to help out. We served bacon and eggs, spaghetti on toast, asparagus on toast, bake beans on toast, toasted sandwiches, three decker toasted sandwiches Uncle John used to make sometimes. Slowly, slowly, with the help of my uncle I learnt the language. I stayed there for three years and afterwards he bought a house in Dee Why. He was like a father to me. He made sure I didn’t drink or smoke or anything of that nature. Once he found I had bought cigars with my friend Yiakomi and I hid them in the house, Uncle John found them and disciplined me. He was my mum’s brother and he treated me like a son. When I left he tried to keep me, but I was so intent on leaving because I couldn’t stay in one place and the restaurant life didn’t appeal to me at all.
So I left and went to Wellington near Dubbo to be a chef. I there met the Condoleon family, who were quite well off from Hora. There I learnt a lot of things also. Cooking was one of them. We never wasted bread, we made it fresh again by dipping it in water and it softened and then we put it back into the fourno to become new. One Saturday they taught me how to gamble on the horses. He put five lyras on a horse and that was the beginning of a problem I had for a year. I have done it all and all of it I have stopped. Whenever we would finish work we would go play poker and other gambling games. Every Saturday was on the horses. In those days gambling was hidden and illegal, there were no TAB’s, and it was only allowed on the horses. Whatever money I made it went to horses and if I won then it went to two-up school, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We used to play with dice not the pennies like today. Thankfully, I was sending money to my father every month. But all the rest of my money was lost to gambling. That was my story in Wellington. I stayed for one year. I liked that village and the people were even better. However I thought that if I stayed any longer I will never make anything of myself because whatever money I made, I threw away.
So I travelled down to Sydney and I found work in Sutherland for Kosta Kourolomi, however again I wasn’t that happy. I heard that in North Queensland one could get a lot of money from sugarcane cutting and I thought that was the work for me. I was in Sutherland for a year before doing a lot of reading on cane cutting before I decided to go up there to Cairns. I found Greeks in Cairns called Jim Botsollos and Sofios, who were good people. They told me that the work was not for me. I had to go to the Cane Growers Association to get a permit. The lady at the front desk immediately doubted that I could do it. Cane cutting is extremely difficult and the men are usually weathered from all the work and the sun. Their hands are very worn. The days were boiling hot and the nights were freezing. I was also the cook there for the guys. I came from a milk bar to this job and I wasn’t trained in the process, it was very difficult. I did it for 2-3 months and decided that I could not continue.
I went back to the Greek friends I had met up there and told them that it had not gone well at all. They put me in contact with a friend of theirs that worked at the sugar mills and so I decided to take up that work. It wasn’t as hard as the Cane Cutting. All the work of the sugar mill was functioned by steam. We worked three shifts a week for 24 hours, however it was seasonal work. We then decided to go and make more money in wood-cutting, where I also bought a bike for small trips, my friend Peter doff van Beek, a Dutchman from Melbourne, already had one. We cut the wood with all saws, not the chain saws as it would be today. It was very hard work. Up there we had to deal with countless insects. Working and living there made me much stronger in life and also appreciate things more. I used to see brown snakes and deadly animals like that. I was up there for three years for the season. I then went from Cairns to Sheperton Victoria on my motorbike. It was about 2000 plus miles and I went to begin fruit picking. That is how the seasonal work worked.
As we left I came across bad roads and had a motorbike accident which I was lucky to survive from. I fell another two times and the last one I remember vividly. There was a semi-trailer in front of me and I was close to him. I tried to overtake to which I ended up under the truck. It was all part of the adventure I suppose. I then came down to NSW and bought a shop with Jack Cassimatis at Heathcote. We bought it from Kosta Kourmouli and a Mr Kepreotis. We had a great time there. We would go to the market together, go on deliveries and we made good money. I stayed there for 1 and a half years. I picked up a milk run and sold my share in the shop to Jack. In those days you would deliver cold milk in bottles on the doorsteps. People had put in orders and each average was 2 and a half pints. The run went through Heathcote and Waterfall and made me very good money. I stayed in a log cabin which was a very simple living space and I lived with a German and 2-3 Yugoslavi. I sold off a section of the run and loaned out the rest for a year because I wanted to go back to Greece. My Uncle John convinced me to take a ring and find a wife in Kythera. I would have been about 28 years old. 1962 I went with the Patris which took about 28 days. I had a relatively fun time there with the entertainment, but it became a bit monotonous towards the end. It had parties, dances, bingo, bars and whatever else you needed.
I went to Kythera straight away. I loved hunting so I went with my brother and some friends, and we took some guns. The guns back then you would fill the barrel with gunpowder by yourself. I must have filled it up way too much or bought highly explosive gunpowder and when I pressed the trigger, the base of the gun blew up and it took my thumb clean off. I remember that very well. Nikos Sklavos took me to the hospital, which was better back then than it is today, and we went back to find the rest of the gun and perhaps my thumb, which we found almost 30 metres away. I also bought a motorbike there which I also fell off. We were out together eating and drinking and when I went to take one of my friends home something happened with the bike mechanically and I fell wrecking part of my knee. I went to doctor Leftheri. He fixed me without anaesthetic.
My father was very sick at that time; he had bronchitis and didn’t leave the house. He also smoked a lot, very addicted. I was about to finish my holiday and my mother hinted that it would be nice for me to get married while I was there. However, I hadn’t noticed anyone except for a nurse that I met whilst in hospital. She helped nurse me back to health from my thumb accident. She had caught my eye a few times around the villages and in shops; however it was close to me leaving when my mother said that to me so it would have been hard. I knew her mother worked there as well so I hopped on a bus to go to Potamo hoping she would be in there. And we went to speak to them. I also went for a second time to see her. I saw her walking to Strapothi so I thought it would be good to go walk with her and get to know each other. Back in those days that was taboo, so I was with my sister-in-law, Marika. That way people wouldn’t talk. I saw her first in the shop tou bobou in Pano Livadi, the supermarket. That shop had everything in it, he had a phone when no one else had one in their houses, newspapers, it was also a café. It had everything. The first time I saw her she had her hair up and I remember saying that pretty girl would look much nicer with her hair down. I said to myself that she was the one. I was slightly embarrassed so I told my sister-in-law to go tell her that I liked her. We met at Ayio Mina after a paniyiri and shared out first kiss behind the church, secretly. The rest is history. A true fact of faith. Within the month we had gotten engaged and then married and then we got the tickets to go to Australia. Viola did not exactly want to come over but we wanted to get married that much that she luckily decided to come with me. In the end I won that battle.
I bought the garage in Woodford Crescent in Heathcote. I bought the block of land, put a garage in to do my milk run from 12 o’clock midnight. I left Viola to look after our son Niko, and with an Alsatian dog Pisti to protect them because I was always out from early. Another interesting thing about then is that I smoked a lot like my father. This one time I came down with this terrible cold and I felt so debilitated, so disappointed in myself, that only with the help of my wife did I quit. That was it, right then, I never smoked again. Viola was very diplomatic and smart. She kept a packet of cigarettes with her always. She knew that because I was addicted that when you do not have access to it you lose your mind and want it. However, if the option was there and you remained strong you could get over it. I also had a drinking habit and would go to the pub because I had time after my milk run. But I got over that as well with my family in mind. We then built a nice house there close to the National Park. I had trained to protect Viola that much that one time when I had a fight with the builder I sent the dog to do something. However, he turned on me because he thought he was protecting Viola. I decided to leave all this and go back to Greece because I again missed life back there. So Viola, my young son Nick and I went back.
With the Patris we again came back and stayed in Stouro’s spiti close to Lucky’s accommodation in Livadi. I started building the house that we live in now when we go back. We had our two girls Maria and Kathy. I managed the olive factory for the years we were there. We also looked after the garden and maintained all the horafia. The more the kids grew up and the Greek political system became worse, the more we thought about Australia again. And around 1965 when the Hounta took over, and the problems in Cyprus escalated, I knew that we had to leave. Either we would come back to Australia or go to Athens. I came back first and moved in with my Uncle John’s family. I was there for 2-3 months while I looked for a shop etc. I heard of a milk run in Kareela which I bought and we stayed in Rockdale. Later we bought the house I am in now. Viola worked in sewing as she was great with rapsimo, but we missed each other because she would work till 3-4 and I left at that time and when I got back everyone was asleep. 6 years passed and I realised this wasn’t forever. I wanted to get a shop again. That was where my heart was.
I met a man who told me about a smallgoods run and it interested me. It wasn’t getting much money at first so during the day I was working there and I worked at a cleaning business by night. I put all my money in that I had made, to this smallgoods place, but it wasn’t returning what I thought. So I said to myself that I needed to go out and sell. I put on a suit and bought a briefcase, which I filled with blank paper to look legitimate and I went and got business. In 2-3 years I more than tripled my money and got my wife to come over and work with me. After hard work and knowing how to sell we made it successful. I knew that I couldn’t lose my drive because in selling you could go around for weeks with nothing and it just needed one lucky break to happen. My big break was at the airport. One catering company had the whole place and I found myself in the right place at the right time. I said I wanted to meet the catering manager there. He was new, so I knew I had a chance to convince him to go with me. They needed frankfurts and sausages, he showed me the stock and it smelt so bad that I told him there was nothing continental about these and they were no good. He agreed and said ‘I need sixteen sausages to the kilo and twelve frankfurts and if you don’t cheat and they are good I will give it to you’. It was successful and that was the turning point of my business.
Another turning point was getting my son Niko to work with us. He was an economics student and worked in a bank. He would come back regularly with the smell of alcohol on his tongue because they would all go out to a club after work. I wasn’t happy with that. And so in ‘88 I convinced him to come to St George Smallgoods because I saw a future there and told him if he liked it after two years I would give him a share. He did a wonderful job. He went one day and brought two customers from the leading smallgoods distributor in Sydney. That guy got very angry and sent his press distributor saying that Tony Larocca has the shits with you and is going to put me out of business. I stayed calm and it made me work harder. After a few years we found out that Mr Larocca went broke. If he had come to me nicely and said let us not take each other’s business I would have acted differently, however considering how rude he was it became a big satisfaction for me to be spurred on. In the early 90’s I then said to my youngest daughter Kathy after she finished TAFE, the same thing I said to Niko. And from that moment on St George has not looked back. We struggled a lot at the beginning transferring our warehouse from one place to the next. I went from working at a warehouse in Hurstville and then built a big garage at the back of our house and put three cool rooms in it and worked from there. We then went to Penshurst and then finally have ended up at Gareema Circuit in Kingsgrove where we have now spread to across the road. And if business continues on like this then in a few years we will have to move to a bigger place again. However the early days were not easy at all, we sacrificed a lot to get where we are now.
I am very proud of this minor achievement, not a big achievement. However my greatest achievements are my children. I have some nice houses around also that I am proud to own. My holiday place in Umina is a family affair, we all love going there together. I have never been one for the big houses, I am proud of what we have around the world, my house here and houses in Kythera. With hard work and incentive we have travelled around the world and are extremely happy with our lives.
The highlights of my life include, well if I don’t say my wife first then tha vro to belama mou. Let me tell you a piece of advice and you have to keep it always in your mind, Ama then exeis mia voliki yineka dipla sou, diskola tha kanis headway. Luckily, I found the right one. If I didn’t have her support in everything, in life and in work, then I would have done not even half of these things. My children are a great satisfaction for me and grandchildren are also something quite special. It is hard to explain how important they are to you.
The hardest moment in my life was leaving for Australia the second time. It was the most difficult decision I ever had to make. I remember telling my Uncle Adoni that I felt like the man sentenced to death walking away from everyone; leaving my small kids hurt me the most. I was leaving behind everything I loved. I didn’t know how to organise myself in Australia before I could bring over a wife and three kids. I just had to fight through the problems. That was how I got through everything.
We did have some difficult times throughout. When I got sick with thromboceptisimia in ‘65 was a time I struggled to get through. People on drugs get that but I didn’t take drugs so they didn’t know where I got it from. I was lucky to survive. That was one stage before leukaemia the professors said. From that point on I have not been able to donate blood. That doctor Daniel told me that it could come back at any time. But thankfully with God’s help I didn’t get it again.
I sum up my life as a happy one. Happy with how it worked out. There was a man who told me once that people who haven’t lived through peripetes (hardships) are gourounia (pigs). The hard times I lived through with the cane cutting, wood I cut, snakes that nearly bit me, motor bike falls and other tough times, turn out to be good if you survive them with the help of God. I had the help of God.
Description: Large, hard bound book. Brown cover with gold lettering. A replica of the original soft cover from the Greek edition has been placed on the inside page.
Availablity: In Australia from KWHF & the The Kytherian Association of Australia
Also at the Archives Book Shop at the "Kastro", and all good bookshops, on the island of Kythera.
A translation of the original Greek edition which was published in 2004. Three organisations, the Nicholas Anthony Aroney Trust, The Kytherian Association of Australia, and the Kytherian World Heritage Fund, co-contributed significant funds to translate the original, and typeset, print and distribute the English version of this book.
A second printing of the original Greek version ensures that the Greek book remains in print. It is still available from most of the better book shops on the island of Kythera, and from the author - Emmanuel Kalligeros.
Description:
An historical, geographical and linguistic approach to the derivation of all / most Kytherian Surnames on Kythera.
This 670-page book contains a study of 256 family names from Kythera, their history on the island and their further dispersion to the broader area of the Kytherian Diaspora.
Kytherian Surnames remains one of the most iconic books with a Kytherian theme, that has ever been printed.
There is a lengthy introduction about the study of all family names that includes tables, indexes and an extensive bibliography on the documentation of the data mentioned in it. Every last name is analysed in detail regarding the family's history on Kythera and in the regions that influenced the island; its geographical mobility before reaching the island as well as its subsequent spread; its linguistic origin and further useful data.
Readers have the opportunity to wander into the magic world of names, to track down the family name of their interest and once they finish the book they will have a good overview of the human story of Kythera as well as of an important part of the island’s history.
From the 13th century onwards there is enough evidence of the existence of some family names on Kythera. Their main core is formed around the 16th century and, from then on, they travel within as well as outside the island. Many names from Kythera derive from nicknames, professions or other sources.
Prologue, by the by the President of the Society of Kytherian Studies, Professor Nikos Petrohilos
Even if the Introduction to Manolis Kalligeros’s study of Kytherian surnames was comprised of only the penultimate section entitled “Clarifications, idiosyncrasies, conclusions”, the reader would still be able to certify the deep and significant love that the author has for his homeland, the sweet “nostos” that entraps him and unerringly guides his writing, which for him is a source of inspiration in the search for and return to roots.
This is a book filled with several hundred pages and much labour. After an Introduction and general discussion of Kytherian surnames, the author proceeds to detail the idiosyncrasies of Kytherian bynames, distinguishing between:
a) surnames that derive from bynames developed in Kythera;
b) surnames from other regions, which appear on Kythera as bynames and form surnames;
c) surnames that have disappeared but which remain in the local repository of names as bynames; and
d) surnames that become bynames of other surnames.
This is followed by a section on the relations between some surnames and toponyms, immediately after which the movement of surnames to and from the Peloponnese and to and from Crete is examined. It is of course natural that, considering the period of almost six centuries of Venetian rule over Kythera, the researcher feels the need to dedicate a large section of his Introduction to the Venetian presence on the island, as well as the Kytherian presence in Venice, which had an unavoidable effect on the formation of Kytherian surnames.
Manolis Kalligeros subsequently focuses on different special cases and categories, factors in the formation of surnames such as piracy, merchants and sailors, administrative staff, soldiers and clerics, the diaspora and refugees, “nobles and popolani”, surnames with a Turkish etymology. He concludes his long Introduction by vividly underscoring the “dark points” of research, the difficulties of which no one can doubt.
The study closes with an alphabetic table of the long series of Kytherian surnames, which readers of the newspaper Kythiraika will have already encountered.
The Society of Kytherian Studies is especially delighted to be able to present this captivating and most useful work to all those Kytherian – and not only – readers who wish to research or simply to learn about the history of their surnames.
This is an exceptionally interesting collection and an exhaustive onomatological study, which in essence never ends and will be open to corrections, additions and changes. The amazing work of a Kytherian, the Vice President and active member of our Society’s Board of Directors, who loves his homeland with a passion, working vigorously and selflessly for it, and who has given us rewarding evidence of his successful research, specifically on our island and its history.
Description: Large, hard bound book. Brown cover with gold lettering. A replica of the original soft cover from the Greek edition has been placed on the inside page.
Availablity: In Australia from KWHF & the The Kytherian Association of Australia
Also at the Archives Book Shop at the "Kastro", and all good bookshops, on the island of Kythera.
A translation of the original Greek edition which was published in 2004. Three organisations, the Nicholas Anthony Aroney Trust, The Kytherian Association of Australia, and the Kytherian World Heritage Fund, co-contributed significant funds to translate the original, and typeset, print and distribute the English version of this book.
A second printing of the original Greek version ensures that the Greek book remains in print. It is still available from most of the better book shops on the island of Kythera, and from the author - Emmanuel Kalligeros.
Description:
An historical, geographical and linguistic approach to the derivation of all / most Kytherian Surnames on Kythera.
This 670-page book contains a study of 256 family names from Kythera, their history on the island and their further dispersion to the broader area of the Kytherian Diaspora.
Kytherian Surnames remains one of the most iconic books with a Kytherian theme, that has ever been printed.
There is a lengthy introduction about the study of all family names that includes tables, indexes and an extensive bibliography on the documentation of the data mentioned in it. Every last name is analysed in detail regarding the family's history on Kythera and in the regions that influenced the island; its geographical mobility before reaching the island as well as its subsequent spread; its linguistic origin and further useful data.
Readers have the opportunity to wander into the magic world of names, to track down the family name of their interest and once they finish the book they will have a good overview of the human story of Kythera as well as of an important part of the island’s history.
From the 13th century onwards there is enough evidence of the existence of some family names on Kythera. Their main core is formed around the 16th century and, from then on, they travel within as well as outside the island. Many names from Kythera derive from nicknames, professions or other sources.
Prologue, by the by the President of the Society of Kytherian Studies, Professor Nikos Petrohilos
Even if the Introduction to Manolis Kalligeros’s study of Kytherian surnames was comprised of only the penultimate section entitled “Clarifications, idiosyncrasies, conclusions”, the reader would still be able to certify the deep and significant love that the author has for his homeland, the sweet “nostos” that entraps him and unerringly guides his writing, which for him is a source of inspiration in the search for and return to roots.
This is a book filled with several hundred pages and much labour. After an Introduction and general discussion of Kytherian surnames, the author proceeds to detail the idiosyncrasies of Kytherian bynames, distinguishing between:
a) surnames that derive from bynames developed in Kythera;
b) surnames from other regions, which appear on Kythera as bynames and form surnames;
c) surnames that have disappeared but which remain in the local repository of names as bynames; and
d) surnames that become bynames of other surnames.
This is followed by a section on the relations between some surnames and toponyms, immediately after which the movement of surnames to and from the Peloponnese and to and from Crete is examined. It is of course natural that, considering the period of almost six centuries of Venetian rule over Kythera, the researcher feels the need to dedicate a large section of his Introduction to the Venetian presence on the island, as well as the Kytherian presence in Venice, which had an unavoidable effect on the formation of Kytherian surnames.
Manolis Kalligeros subsequently focuses on different special cases and categories, factors in the formation of surnames such as piracy, merchants and sailors, administrative staff, soldiers and clerics, the diaspora and refugees, “nobles and popolani”, surnames with a Turkish etymology. He concludes his long Introduction by vividly underscoring the “dark points” of research, the difficulties of which no one can doubt.
The study closes with an alphabetic table of the long series of Kytherian surnames, which readers of the newspaper Kythiraika will have already encountered.
The Society of Kytherian Studies is especially delighted to be able to present this captivating and most useful work to all those Kytherian – and not only – readers who wish to research or simply to learn about the history of their surnames.
This is an exceptionally interesting collection and an exhaustive onomatological study, which in essence never ends and will be open to corrections, additions and changes. The amazing work of a Kytherian, the Vice President and active member of our Society’s Board of Directors, who loves his homeland with a passion, working vigorously and selflessly for it, and who has given us rewarding evidence of his successful research, specifically on our island and its history.
"It was sometime in the middle of 1987, when a dream I had harboured for many years, the idea of publishing a local Kytherian newspaper, came to fruition. I was then nearly 40 years of age. I called my newspaper - Kythiraika. It has been in continuous publication ever since." - Emmanuel Kalligeros, Editor & Author.
***Past issues of Kythiriaka Newspaper are now available for download at www.kythera-family.net***
"It was sometime in the middle of 1987, when a dream I had harboured for many years, the idea of publishing a local Kytherian newspaper, came to fruition. I was then nearly 40 years of age. I called my newspaper - Kythiraika. It has been in continuous publication ever since." - Emmanuel Kalligeros, Editor & Author.
[[picture:"KYTHIRAIKA front page Feb 2013.jpg" ID:21441]]
Gravestone of Potheti Samios (nee Tsaoucis), spouse of Panayioti Samios. Gravestone in Dubbo, NSW. Mother's gravestone next to her's, Kalliopy Tsaoucis.
The seventeenth century stone windmill, one of the well-known attractions of the island, along with the two stone made studios have been renovated according to local architecture. The Windmill and studios have their own style and have been designed to express individualism and character. They have carefully been furnished with household furnishings from the last century. They welcome you with the traditional Kytherian style and all the modern comforts.
With respect to the tradition of the island, we have created a group of properties of respective weight, geared to your most particular demands, aiming through our friendly and professional service and hospitality, at making your stay on the island even more pleasant. You are the main characters and that is what matters the most. That is the central philosophy in our traditional settlements.
Apart from the high aesthetics and our attempt to combine successfully the traditional Kytherian architecture with the modern way of living, our ultimate goal is to serve our visitors in the best possible way. Homemade traditional sweets and marmalades are offered during your staying, along with our own organic products such as honey, fruits and vegetables, wine, eggs and olive-oil.
Filoxenes Katoikies consists of traditional villas, houses, and seaside apartments.
• Villa Venus, Kythira Villa
• Celestia Traditional Houses, Semeli Houses, Windmill Suites, Avlemonas houses, Paleopoli houses and Kalokairines house.
• Sole e Mare Traditional Studios, Athena apts & studios, Anemoi apts & studios
Stay in 8 different villages of Kythera, choose to stay in 2 or even 3 different properties.
Our philosophy is to create a unique experience for our visitors. The only way to do that is by introducing you to Kytherian customs, cuisine and traditions. Kythera, is considered to be one of the most authentic Greek islands, and it is one of our high priorities to engender in our visitors the feeling of being able to go back 30 years - to live in the Greece of the past.
Furthermore, in the near future, it is our intention to initiate a program that includes: Hiking, Boat trips, Cooking, Wine tasting, Olive-oil gathering, Guided tours and a series of other activities, in order to help out visitors to enter into the spirit of Kythera, and help them to understand and feel the Kytherian atmosphere.
It is important that visitors to Kythera be given the opportunity to live in
traditional Kytherian Houses, and experience authentic Kytherian culture.
Soko is a grand daughter of Lafcadio Hearn. She is visiting Greece at the moment (January, 2013).
John (Yanni), who lives in Athens, and in Livathi, Kythera, has written an excellent life history of Lafcadio Hearn, (in Greek), which Soko is holding in her hands, in this photograph.
Toki Koizumi (left, back to camera), Ioannis Γ Kasimatis, (left foreground), his grandfathers' biographer, and his host on the island, centre.
George Haros from Saint George Smallgoods, Sydney, a great benefactor to the Kytherian Association of Australia, to the right. George acted as an interpreter between Toki and Ioannis, by using English as the intermediary language.
The three of them visited the gravesite of Toki's grandmother, Rosa Antonia Kassimati.
Toki Koizumi (left, back to camera), Ioannis Γ Kasimatis, (left foreground), his grandfathers' biographer, and his host on the island, centre.
George Haros from Saint George Smallgoods, Sydney, a great benefactor to the Kytherian Association of Australia, to the right. George acted as an interpreter between Toki and Ioannis, by using English as the intermediary language.
The three of them visited the gravesite of Toki's grandmother, Rosa Antonia Kassimati.
Obscured in the background is George Haros from Saint George Smallgoods, Sydney, a great benefactor to the Kytherian Association of Australia. George acted as an interpreter between Toki and Ioannis, by using English as the intermediary language.
Toki Koizumi centre, and George's son to the far right.
Obscured in the background is George Haros from Saint George Smallgoods, Sydney, a great benefactor to the Kytherian Association of Australia. George acted as an interpreter between Toki and Ioannis, by using English as the intermediary language.
Toki Koizumi centre, and George's son to the far right.
Former senior executive of a Telecommunications company in Athens.
He is married to Gogo. They have no children.
Known as "o loyoteknitis".
He has had a hip replacement, and walks with some difficulty, but he is always "upbeat", and highly excitable.
He becomes very excitable when he meets "exoterikï" who are interested in the culture and heritage of Kythera and Greece.
He has written 16 books, 14 of which have been published.
Many of these books, such as (4, below) Venetian phrases and language from the Ionian Islands, (7) Lafcadio Hearn, and the (14) The Watermills of Kythera, urgently need to be translated into English, in order to be appreciated by a wider audience.
He resides in Athens permanently, but maintains his "patriko spitti" on the outskirts of Livathi on the road that leads to Myrtithotissa.
Here he has been photographed during an audience with the Metropoliti of Kythera.
Hearn was born in Lefkada (the origin of his middle name), one of the Greek Ionian Islands. He was the son of Surgeon-major Charles Hearn (of King's County, Ireland) and Rosa Antonia Kassimati, who had been born on Kythera.
From age 2 he moved to Ireland, and at age 19 he was sent to live in the United States of America, where he settled in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He entered journalism, and after stints in New Orleans and the West Indies, in 1890 Hearn went to Japan with a commission as a newspaper correspondent.
There he gained a teaching position at the Shimane Prefectural Common Middle School and Normal School in Matsue, a town in western Japan on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Most Japanese identify Hearn with Matsue, as it was here that his image of Japan was molded. Today, The Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence are still two of Matsue's most popular tourist attractions.
During his 15-month stay in Matsue, Hearn married Setsu Koizumi, the daughter of a local samurai family, and became a naturalized Japanese, taking the name Yakumo Koizumi.
The remainder of Hearn's biography is related in depth in Kasimatis' book.
In 2008 Toki Koizumi, grandson of Lafcadio Hearn, and his wife, Hisako, visited Kythera, were hosted at the home of Ioannis Γ Kasimatis, and placed various gifts in homage on the grave of Rosa Antonia Kassimati.
Former senior executive of a Telecommunications company in Athens.
He is married to Gogo. They have no children.
Known as "o loyoteknitis".
He has had a hip replacement, and walks with some difficulty, but he is always "upbeat", and highly excitable.
He becomes very excitable when he meets "exoterikï" who are interested in the culture and heritage of Kythera and Greece.
He resides in Athens permanently, but maintains his "patriko spitti" on the outskirts of Livathi on the road that leads to Myrtithotissa.
On this day I caught him resting on one of the fences that border his property at Livathi. He was working hard with tradesmen on this particular day.
Many of these books, such as (4, below) Venetian phrases and language from the Ionian Islands, (7) Lafcadio Hearn, and the (14) The Watermills of Kythera, urgently need to be translated into English, in order to be appreciated by a wider audience.
Available: Bookshop at Kondolianika, Kythera Email, here
Description: 133 page, paperback edition
ISBN: 960-302-231-4
A Book Review
The Kytherian, Newsletter of the Kytherian Association of Australia, Sydney, January 2006, page 9.
The quaint village of Milopotamos on Kythera is famous for its running water and waterfalls. Less known is the large number of old water mills which once operated in this little village and from which the town derives its name.
The well known Kytherian author, Ioannis Cassimatis, has recently published an interesting and very readable book in Greek, The Water Mills of Kvthera (Bros. Vlassi, Athens, 2005), tracing the history and location of over 80 water mills on the island, of which 22 alone can be found in Milopotamos.
Water mills date back to early times and in the preindustrial era were a popular way of grinding and milling grains. The force of the running water propelled the water wheel which transferred the water’s power to a drive-shaft which turned the large mill stones.
According to Cassimatis, the first water wheels appeared in Kythera in the late eighteenth century. It is thought they were introduced from Crete where mil!s were built during the Ottoman and Venetian occupations. Traditionally, the mills, which were either single or two storey buildings, were built in the prevailing architectural style of the village. The author has studied all of the mills on Kythera and presents a summary of the location and type of each mill on the island.
His account of the mills in Milopotamos is particularly interesting as the second mill, known as the “Egglezianika” (or English mill) was last operated by my late grandfather, Theodoros Poteris, until 1944. According to Kytherian folklore, the famous resistance fighter, Theodoros Kolokotronis, often hid in this mill whilst he was on the island.
Cassimatis explains that the mills, apart from their commercial purpose, also served to promote social discourse among the islanders. The local kotsobolio was often generated by locals and people from other parts of the island coming together at the mills.
Apart from Milopotamos, the author notes that there are 10 mills in Karavas. The fourth mill is in fact located near the house belonging to the “Tzortzopoulianikon” (the Poulos clan), near the Keramariou well.
In the verdant town of Mitata, there are 9 mills including the “Karapati” mill operated by Ioannis Prineas until the end of the nineteenth century. Sadly the last water mill on Kythera ceased to operate in the late 1940's as the advent of power on the island meant that the mills were no longer economical to operate.
The water mills of Kythera now stand silent and unfortunately are in varying stages of decay. They are a stark reminder of a bygone era and it is hoped that at least one of these mills can be restored in the future to ensure that their legacy in the island’s rich tapestry of culture and history is preserved.
This is an interesting site and a great way to see how we're all interconnected. My father, Panayioti Megaloconomos is from Livathi and my mother, Anezina Megaloconomos (maiden name, Londakis) is from Fratsia. Both of them live in Brisbane Australia. If anyone out there is doing a family tree with the Megaloconomos family, please let me know and hopefully I can help you out with a bit of information.
The European Union must be congratulated on their efforts to restore architectural heritage sites of deep significance such as this one.
Their grants have been invaluable in restoring the Kytherian "klirenomia".
[In case you think that this photograph is impossible to "take" without having a whole lot of power lines in the way....you are absolutely correct.
The power lines have been digitally removed.
Which beggars the question - why not "actually" remove the powerlines around this beautiful windmill by undergrounding them?]
Nick and Christina Samios of Brisbane wedding in Kythera 1990. The wedding and recepition was held in the village of Livathi. I was honoured in being the ''koubaro'' for their wedding. One of the few Australian-born greeks who married on the island.
Nicholas A. Meligakes, Author of The Spirit of Gettysburg, 1950
(From "http://apps.libraries.psu.edu/digitalbookshelf/bookindex.cfm?oclc=28366248")
The Spirit of Gettysburg
"There is no recorded parallel in history where the result of three days' achievements on one side, or the strategic
blunders on the other, were factors in creating a united nation as they were on the first three days of July, 1863, at Gettysburg.
Four score and seven years have elapsed since the Battle of Gettysburg, and a century and a half since our pioneering forefathers founded Adams County and Gettysburg. To them we pay a tribute in this book.
The object is to present Gettysburg from a different point of view-one thus far not emphasized. We follow its growth from
the time of the Indians to the time when there arose a little Southern Pennsylvania town.
The reasons for compiling this volume are the questions that puzzled an immigrant boy who came to the shores of this great
country in 1914. The lad left the island of Kythera, surrounded by the blue waters
of the Mediterranean, Greece, when just past his middle teens. He was permitted to enter this country without question except for his own welfare. He, like any other immigrant of the nineteenth and
twentieth century, was no different from those who have poured into this land since Columbus discovered America.
He, like all his fellow countrymen, was accepted as a citizen, was free to vote, and enjoyed liberty.
Many of the immigrants, after rambling over the country, found a place to call home. Our traveler chose Gettysburg. He was welcomed to Gettysburg. Within a few years, the country honored him with a certificate of American citizenship. He values it above all else.
When that young man entered America he had no knowledge of its splendid history.
Once settled in the pursuit of his daily trade in serving the public
in Gettysburg, he was often puzzled by questions asked by visitors to the community. Questions about Gettysburg, Lincoln, the War Between the States. What is there to see? Is it worthwhile
spending any time to learn about it? How big is the battlefield?
And many more.
Before he could intelligently answer such questions, it was necessary for him to first acquaint himself with the facts. He was told that at Gettysburg the North defeated the South. He learned that the Northern and Southern soldiers were from the same country, yet they had made war against one another. He was told
that Mr. Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents the country ever had, yet he had been assassinated! The more the young man learned about the actual events, the more bewildered he became.
It was pointed out to him that here, at Gettysburg, the Southern Army was defeated and yet the war had continued for nearly two more years. All this was most confusing!
As a result, the immigrant set himself the task of ascertaining just what had happened at Gettysburg. It was not an easy task. He could not secure a single volume that interpreted Gettysburg and
its meaning as he had begun to see it.
So interesting were the events that he could not help but feel there must be others like him who would be eager to learn about Gettysburg, its historical background and the part it played in
the cementing of this nation into "one." This book is his story.
Let him speak!
Bookmart, The Publisher.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania."
Sophia G. Vardas
March 23, 1922
November 9, 2001
Daughter of Maria (Meligakes) and George Vardas
Neice of Nicholas A. Meligakes
Godmother of Sandra (Meligakes) Pottieger
The Spirit of Gettysburg never dies. Nurtured it will be perpetuated to infinity. Never despair. Follow the guiding light of eternity where the splendor of everlasting tranquility prevails. --Nicholas A. Meligakes
Skipping down the tree-shaded sidewalk lined with white-washed fences, a little girl with long braided hair swings her arms to and fro, to and fro, sweeping her pinafore folds as she goes, as she goes. Keeping her synchronized stepping, she smoothly begins yesterday's visible chalked hop-scotch game of the curly-haired-girl-down-the-street, four-five, and six, seven-eight, then on her way, on her way to Grandma's house.
Such is the memorable path to modern-day storybook grandmother's houses in which I have no memory. My youthful skipping age had gone as braids untwined, as my pinafore hems lengthened, and as time washed the chalked hop-scotch games away. 'Twas not till the summer of my sweet-sixteenth year that my wish to see my grandparents home came true.
There were no tall shady tree, no sidewalks nor white-washed fences. This rustic countryside was contoured by the stones from the tilled soil, labored upon one another like human cells. Between these earthy fences, the fields of golden wheat swayed smoothly with the breeze like suede obeying the moves of a finger across its surface. The low greenery of the olive and fig tres mixed plaidly on mother nature's print for an island surrounded by sparkling blue-green waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
The heavy wooden gate of the house stood beside the endless winding dirty road where donkeys are still the common mode of traveling. It was arched between mortared stones, my father remembers, but nothing stands in the way of seeing the courtyard within. Here too the wooden beams that stretchd across overhead, where grape vines once entwined, had rotted away.
The house that my grandfather had built with his own calloused hands was slowly deteriorating, stone by stone. The house where my grandmother gave birth to her first child, my father, was slowly caving in, year by year. The house that typified a time when the family unit was self-sufficient was slowly disintegrating, dust to dust.
But in the midst of my grandparent's eroding home, there was a patch of unattended artichokes. Those cut young are edible as we know them. But let the artichoke grow old, and there blooms beautiful pale fuchsia flowers which dot the green and gold background.
Just as that old artichoke blooms a beautiful flower, that nineteenth-century home of my grandparents blooms a sentiment from the depths of my heart and soul. It's a more intense feeling than the memories from Grandma's house stored in a shoebox in the attic could ever give. That shoebox may contain marbles, jacks, feathers, pebbles or seashells which create memories of puppy-dog-tail yesterdays. My shoebox is my soul found in my attic, my mind. It is that which makes me dance to the cries of the bousouki. It is that which makes me what I am, a Kytherian descendant.
Brother in Laws, on the right is Niko Cassimaty (Tzamourthis) Kato Livadi & Greg Samios on the left (Koutsofos) Manitohori, together with his daughter Coula Samios (later married Nick Peters, Molong).
Hunting scene taken near Barmedman NSW Aust. in the 1940s.
Available: Bookshop at Kondolianika, Kythera Email, here
Description: 133 page, paperback edition
ISBN: 960-302-231-4
A Book Review
The Kytherian, Newsletter of the Kytherian Association of Australia, Sydney, January 2006, page 9.
The quaint village of Milopotamos on Kythera is famous for its running water and waterfalls. Less known is the large number of old water mills which once operated in this little village and from which the town derives its name.
The well known Kytherian author, Ioannis Cassimatis, has recently published an interesting and very readable book in Greek, The Water Mills of Kvthera (Bros. Vlassi, Athens, 2005), tracing the history and location of over 80 water mills on the island, of which 22 alone can be found in Milopotamos.
Water mills date back to early times and in the preindustrial era were a popular way of grinding and milling grains. The force of the running water propelled the water wheel which transferred the water’s power to a drive-shaft which turned the large mill stones.
According to Cassimatis, the first water wheels appeared in Kythera in the late eighteenth century. It is thought they were introduced from Crete where mil!s were built during the Ottoman and Venetian occupations. Traditionally, the mills, which were either single or two storey buildings, were built in the prevailing architectural style of the village. The author has studied all of the mills on Kythera and presents a summary of the location and type of each mill on the island.
His account of the mills in Milopotamos is particularly interesting as the second mill, known as the “Egglezianika” (or English mill) was last operated by my late grandfather, Theodoros Poteris, until 1944. According to Kytherian folklore, the famous resistance fighter, Theodoros Kolokotronis, often hid in this mill whilst he was on the island.
Cassimatis explains that the mills, apart from their commercial purpose, also served to promote social discourse among the islanders. The local kotsobolio was often generated by locals and people from other parts of the island coming together at the mills.
Apart from Milopotamos, the author notes that there are 10 mills in Karavas. The fourth mill is in fact located near the house belonging to the “Tzortzopoulianikon” (the Poulos clan), near the Keramariou well.
In the verdant town of Mitata, there are 9 mills including the “Karapati” mill operated by Ioannis Prineas until the end of the nineteenth century. Sadly the last water mill on Kythera ceased to operate in the late 1940's as the advent of power on the island meant that the mills were no longer economical to operate.
The water mills of Kythera now stand silent and unfortunately are in varying stages of decay. They are a stark reminder of a bygone era and it is hoped that at least one of these mills can be restored in the future to ensure that their legacy in the island’s rich tapestry of culture and history is preserved.
The Society of Kytherian Studies is organising the 8th International Panionian Conference to be held in Kythera from 21-31 May 2006.
This prestigious conference is being held for the very first time on Kythera and will bring to the island more than 200 academics, writers and speakers who will cover many of the following areas of interest to Kythera and the Ionian Islands:
1. Archaeology: archaeological research, protection &
restoration of monuments, industrial archaeology, society & archaeology.
2. Architecture - Urban Planning: architectural identity of the Ionian Islands, representation & interpretation of landscape, urban development, construction techniques & building
materials.
3. History: historical sources, public & local archives, historiography, local history.
4. Institutions - Constitution - Public Administration:
established churches, religious denominations, education, law & jurisprudence, state & citizens, individuals & society.
5. Folklore-Social Anthropology: Folklore & anthropological research, popular religion, common law.
6. Society and Economy: family, class system, class struggle, demographic data, land property, land cultivation & transport of goods, production & processing, shipping, other economic activities, statistical research.
7. Culture and Civilisation: history of ideas, ideological trends, philosophy, natural theology, fine arts, literature, theatre, film & television.
8. Natural and Human Environment-Ecology: sound & reasonable management of environment & natural resources.
The Ionian Islands have always occupied a special place in modem Greek history and in many respects stand apart from mainland Greece in light of the strong Venetian and British influences on the island when the rest of Greece was under Ottoman occupation. Many of our Kytherian traits and customs can be directly traced back to that heritage.
This most important conference will focus on the latest academic studies and research and will add to the growing body of knowledge on the rich tapestry of the social and political history, culture, archaeology, folklore and the built and natural environments of the Ionian Islands in general and Kythera in particular. It is deserving of our support.
It is hoped that there will be observers and/or participants from the Australian Kytherian community who can attend this epoch-making conference.
The best way to descibe Kythera is that there is no way. It is so incredible, not because of the food or housing but the beauty. As many have said Kythera is a place, a place we will always remember, and it will always hold a place in all our hearts. When I first arrived I must admit I didn't see much of it. I only saw thorns and spiders but I didn't see the beauty behind it; the life, the ocean, and most of all, the people.
Vasilios Leftheris was born in Livadi Kythera, attended the elementary school in Livadi and Gymnasion in Chora.
He obtained his bachelor from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a Masters from the University of Birmingham, England, another Masters from the University of Brooklyn in New York, USA and his PhD from Princeton University in New Jersey, USA.
He has participated in the Lunar Space program and the Fusion project.
Today he works in the rehabilitation of old buildings, their historical significance and their reconstruction. He has applied his knowledge of applied mechanics and strength of materials in teaching and understanding earthquake engineering.
He has also taught ‘Total Quality Management’.
He is Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a Fellow of the Wessex Institute of Technology in England, a Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a
Member of the Professional Engineers Association of Greece.
He is currently the President of the The Association of Kytherian University Professors.
The Association of Kytherian University Professors has twenty-seven registered members. Its purpose is to promote research and analyses, at the highest academic level in all subjects pertaining to the island of Kythera and to provide a bridge of understanding and assistance to the ever changing social, technological, medical and other disciplines of the academic world.
Vasilios Leftheris was born in Livadi Kythera, attended the elementary school in Livadi and Gymnasion in Chora.
He obtained his bachelor from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a Masters from the University of Birmingham, England, another Masters from the University of Brooklyn in New York, USA and his PhD from Princeton University in New Jersey, USA.
He has participated in the Lunar Space program and the Fusion project.
Today he works in the rehabilitation of old buildings, their historical significance and their reconstruction. He has applied his knowledge of applied mechanics and strength of materials in teaching and understanding earthquake engineering.
He has also taught ‘Total Quality Management’.
He is Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a Fellow of the Wessex Institute of Technology in England, a Member of the American Mechanical Engineering Association, and a
Member of the Professional Engineers Association of Greece.
Vasilios is currently the President of the The Association of Kytherian University Professors.
The Association of Kytherian University Professors has twenty-seven registered members. Its purpose is to promote research and analyses, at the highest academic level in all subjects pertaining to the island of Kythera and to provide a bridge of understanding and assistance to the ever changing social, technological, medical and other disciplines of the academic world.
The gymnastics group giving a very funny rendition of themselves with overfed bodies and weights made of bread loaves. The climax came when, having presumably jumped up and down for a sufficient length of time, their overlarge bodies (consisting of balloons) shrunk (when the balloons were popped).
The British or Lancastrian School at Milapidea, Livadi. Photography by J. Bennet 2002.
Principal Investigator:
Deborah Harlan (Oxford)
In 1797, Napoleon's conquest of the Venetian Republic ushered in a turbulent period in the island's history, resulting by the end of the first decade of the 19th century in the establishment of a British Occupation (1808-1813) and then Protectorate (1813-1863) of the Ionian Islands of which Kythera was part. In 1820, during the early years of the Protectorate, Lord Guildford, the High Commissioner, submitted a report in which he outlined a public educational system for the Ionian Islands. In his report, he recommended that the monitorial system widely practiced in England at this time be adopted at the elementary level. This system, also known as the Lancastrian system after its founder Joseph Lancaster, was distinguished by its use of fellow pupils as 'monitors' or subordinate teachers.
The main objects of the monitorial system were to encourage students to:
acquire habits of industry and order
be taught reading, writing and arithmetic
direct their minds to the 'Blessed Gospel'
Pupils were taught the 'common rudiments of learning' before they applied themselves to the employments by which they were to earn their livelihoods.
Kythera, as part of the Ionian State, was governed by a British Resident. It was due, in part, to the zeal of one particular Resident, Captain John McPhail, that a number of Lancastrian-style schools were established on the island. These were by no means the only schools on the island, as different systems (both public and private) co-existed, but the British system was given prominence. Two British schools were in the main town of Chora (one for boys and one for girls) and several others were located in other major districts of the island. In order to reinforce this particular system, purpose-built structures were erected. Money was raised on the island to pay for their construction and corvée labour from the local population was used to build them.
The first was a boy's school in Chora in 1825, positioned on the outskirts of town. The foundations of the current Secondary School in Chora are all that remains of this. The same year also saw the construction of schools at the monastery of Agios Theodoros and Milapidea, Livadi (according to plaques over their doorways). In the following year (1826), the school at Mylopotamos was built. These three schools are still standing, in different states of preservation. Several others were constructed across the island in the next few years: one at Potamos and another at Fratsia.
Is there a common element in the architecture of the purpose-built schools? Was there a 'hidden agenda' with these structures in terms of what the British were trying to achieve? Why are they situated in particular areas of the landscape? How does this relate to distribution of the population at the time? How have the buildings been viewed by the local population since? These are some of our research questions as we attempt to understand the material infrastructure left by the British and the way it was used and viewed both then and now.
The British or Lancastrian School at Milapidea, Livadi. Photography by J. Bennet 2002.
Principal Investigator:
Deborah Harlan (Oxford)
In 1797, Napoleon's conquest of the Venetian Republic ushered in a turbulent period in the island's history, resulting by the end of the first decade of the 19th century in the establishment of a British Occupation (1808-1813) and then Protectorate (1813-1863) of the Ionian Islands of which Kythera was part. In 1820, during the early years of the Protectorate, Lord Guildford, the High Commissioner, submitted a report in which he outlined a public educational system for the Ionian Islands. In his report, he recommended that the monitorial system widely practiced in England at this time be adopted at the elementary level. This system, also known as the Lancastrian system after its founder Joseph Lancaster, was distinguished by its use of fellow pupils as 'monitors' or subordinate teachers.
The main objects of the monitorial system were to encourage students to:
acquire habits of industry and order
be taught reading, writing and arithmetic
direct their minds to the 'Blessed Gospel'
Pupils were taught the 'common rudiments of learning' before they applied themselves to the employments by which they were to earn their livelihoods.
Kythera, as part of the Ionian State, was governed by a British Resident. It was due, in part, to the zeal of one particular Resident, Captain John McPhail, that a number of Lancastrian-style schools were established on the island. These were by no means the only schools on the island, as different systems (both public and private) co-existed, but the British system was given prominence. Two British schools were in the main town of Chora (one for boys and one for girls) and several others were located in other major districts of the island. In order to reinforce this particular system, purpose-built structures were erected. Money was raised on the island to pay for their construction and corvée labour from the local population was used to build them.
The first was a boy's school in Chora in 1825, positioned on the outskirts of town. The foundations of the current Secondary School in Chora are all that remains of this. The same year also saw the construction of schools at the monastery of Agios Theodoros and Milapidea, Livadi (according to plaques over their doorways). In the following year (1826), the school at Mylopotamos was built. These three schools are still standing, in different states of preservation. Several others were constructed across the island in the next few years: one at Potamos and another at Fratsia.
Is there a common element in the architecture of the purpose-built schools? Was there a 'hidden agenda' with these structures in terms of what the British were trying to achieve? Why are they situated in particular areas of the landscape? How does this relate to distribution of the population at the time? How have the buildings been viewed by the local population since? These are some of our research questions as we attempt to understand the material infrastructure left by the British and the way it was used and viewed both then and now.
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family..
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family
The main room was the hub of all activity in the home. It served as a dining and sitting room as well as accommodating sewing, ironing, a piano, telephone and several wireless sets.
[See a previous entry (with map of Queensland graphic) for extensive history of the Cassimatis Family.]
The original store, and the Cassimatis house has been restored and maintained by the community of Muttaburra in a pristine condition.
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family..
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family..
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family..
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family..
"The tiny Cassimatis Cottage features many items essential to a family in the 1900s. This image shows Stavroola's Singer sewing machine and a display of the lace, weaving and crochet for which she was renowned".
[See a previous entry (with map of Queensland graphic) for extensive history of the Cassimatis Family.]
The original store, and the Cassimatis house has been restored and maintained by the community of Muttaburra in a pristine condition.
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family..
"The Cassimatis General Store shows the vast and diverse range of goods such a business carried. The shelves hold kettles, irons and jugs as well as grocery items."
[See a previous entry (with map of Queensland graphic) for extensive history of the Cassimatis Family.]
The original store, and the Cassimatis house has been restored and maintained by the community of Muttaburra in a pristine condition.
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family.
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce both photographs, and the history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family.
Muttaburra is a tiny township in central western Queensland which services the large properties which surround it.
Muttaburra is located 84 km north of Aramac and 119 km (mostly by dirt road) from Longreach. It lies in the geographic centre of Queensland; ie., in the centre of the red zone on the map above.
Muttaburra has two claims to fame. It was the site of the discovery of the Muttaburrasaurus, one of Australia's largest dinosaurs, and it was also the scene of one of the most daring acts of cattleduffing ever performed in Australia. In fact the Mount Cornish homestead was built as an outstation to the huge Bowen Downs station to prevent any future cattleduffing.
[I note that neither Andrew Andrew Cassimatis, nor George Cassimatis feature in the Denis Conomos's definitive text on The Greeks in Queensland, which makes Margie Webb's research all the more valuable.
The Greeks in Queensland is available from the Publisher: Copyright Publishing Co Pty Ltd
GPO Box 2927 Brisbane
Queensland Australia 4001
Thank you to Louise Moloney B.Com. J.P., and the community of Muttaburra for permission to reproduce the ensuring history of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis & family.
The story of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis, (A.A), and his family is typical of that of many Greek families who left their motherland early last century, in search of opportunity. Many eventually established businesses, often in food, throughout a rapidly developing Australia, and many went on to become stalwarts of their newfound Australian communities.
The Cassimatis family came from Livathi on the island of Kythera (which lies between Crete and the mainland of Greece.) The family owned a small store as well as vineyards, and they lived beside their shop. Andrew was a cabinet maker in Livathi, and George, his eldest son (born 20th May, 1896) would occasionally work with his father in the trade.
A.A. and his son George Cassimatis left Livathi for Australia in 1911, leaving his wife Anna and younger children John and Mary behind (both John and Mary died on the same day in Livathi in 1918 of the Bubonic Plague).
On landing in Sydney, A.A. found work building staircases in Anthony Hordens, Sydney, while son George, just 15 years of age, found employment in an Oxford Street cafe, as well as working on the staircases. George also worked for a short time in a family friends restaurant business in Goulburn.
In Sydney, there was talk of plentiful work, and good money, in the canefields in Central Queensland, around Bundaberg. Before long A.A. and son George gathered a group of friends together and moved north to Bundaberg, where they cut cane and loaded the trains. This cane cutting was simply a means to an end for A.A. and his friends, who wanted to make some money quickly so they could move on to establish their own businesses.
A.A. and George moved west for their business opportunity. About this time, a number of Greek families had moved to inland towns, establishing their own businesses, usually cafes or general stores. In the early years it is believed that no two Greek families would establish the same type of enterprise in any one small town. Such was the consideration and respect shown for each other. Most of these Greeks were Kytherians, whose families lived on different parts of the Greek island and were known to one another.
Some of those found in Western Queensland were:-
Cominos: Longreach, Alpha and Charleville
Corones: Charleville and Quilpie:
Logothetis: Blackall
Nenes: Barcaldine and Aramac
Vlandis: Barcaldine
Bellas: Barcaldine
Sourris: Hughendon and Winton
Andronicus: Winton
Malanos: Winton
Faros: Clermont
Cassimatis: Muttaburra and Cunnamulla.
[For more exhaustive lists, Peter Tsicalas has posted the 1916 Greek Census of QLD
(Extracted from National Archives
Document A385/1/8), to kythera-family.net.
See History, subsection, Archives/Research, or search under Muttaburra on the internal search engine for the listing for Andrew Cassimatis. ]
And so, in 1914, A.A. and son, having first inspected a business in Isisford, finally arrived in Muttaburra, in search of their opportunity.
They first rented a small cafe owned by Mrs Devlin (Fanny Little) two doors down from the Royal Mail Hotel (now Wyton's Garage). They lived in the back of the premises. After the lease expired , they rented another cafe from a Mr John Ahern. It was further along Bruford Street, next to Bobby Booth's Hairdressing and Billiard Saloon, which inturn, was next to the Australian Hotel. The cafe was eventually destroyed by fire in November 1939. By then Andy and Mrs Findelator had owned it for some time.
IN 1918, A.A. and George, having relinquished the lease of the cafe, decided to build their own general store. The land and mud hut were purchased from the Eddie Beach family and Jack Reisene constructed the building. It still stands today. As they had done previously, A.A. and George again lived on the premises - in the back room. A.A. continued to live there until his death in 1942. His wife, Anna, had predeceased him in Greece in 1927.
The business initially traded groceries, drapery, hardware, mercury and motor spirits. The Cassimatis's became one of the oldest agents in Australia for Mobil Oil , Australia, previously known as the Vacuum Oil Company of Australia. They bottled their own methylated spirits and kerosene, using their own label. As a sidelne they also hired out a vehicle, and in the early 1920's, George drove Hudson Fysh around on some of his forays for QANTAS.
In 1925, A.A. and George drew a block off "Milgarra" near Normanton. They travelled up in their T-Model Ford to inspect it, but decided not to take it up as they felt it was a bit too wild for them.
In 1930, in Sydney, George married Stavroola John Capsanis, whose father, John, had a prawning vessel in Sydney. Her mother, Fiore, had also remained behind in Kythera (Potamos). George had met Stavroola on a visit to Sydney, where he was staying with relatives of the Aramac Nenes family. After they were married, George and Stavroola established their first home, just on the western side of the shop. Stavroola tells the story of how, having arrived in Muttaburra as a new bride, she would often sit on the back steps of this house, "crying her eyes out". Not from an unhappy marriage, but because of the isolation and distance from her family. She only spoke Greek and though she learnt some English whilst working in the shop, she never really mastered it fully, and Greek remained her main language. In 1931, their first child Anna was born, and in 1932, Florrie, 1934, Andrew, 1935, Johnnie, and 1939, Mary.
In 1934, George bought the house on the eastern side of the shop from the three Ford brothers, who were drovers. This continued to be the family home until George moved to Brisbane in 1982, to live with Anna, and the home was finally sold to the Shire Council in 1998, for preservation.
After 1934, Mrs Gibson and her family occupied the Cassimatis' original home for a number of years; Mrs Gibson sometimes looking after the Cassimatis children. The house was eventually pulled down in the 1990's, when Johnnie Cassimatis owned it.
In the early years, iceworks were incorporated into the business, which included the making of the necessary charcoal. The ice was made, sawed into block, and then delivered to the hospital, other businesses, and other townspeople who had ice chests. George's eldest daughter, Anna, can remember going with her father, when she was very young (4 or 5 years old) in their T-Model Ford, to deliver the ice. An ice chest (believed to be made by A.A. and now in display in the shop) sat on the back of the Ford. When refrigeration came of age, during the SEcond World War, the iceworks were closed down, and later sold to a buyer from Mitchell. First came the kerosene refrigerator - The Might Electrolux, and George became a sub-agent for this company. After the iceworks were sold, the interior of the shop was reorganised, and the structure changed slightly.
The Lakes family ran a soft drinks factory on the corner of Edkins and Sword Streets, opposite the Post Office. A.A. and George bought the factory. They then demolished the building and transferred the soft drinks business to their own shop. The equipment was later sold to Mr Ellio, the licensee of the Royal Mail Hotel. In 1948, George closed down the soft drink factory and from then on he bought his soft drinks from Rossberg in Longreach and Flynn of Hughenden.
In 1935, A.A. and George bought the beautiful old Klugh and Samuels Emporium from Jim Roberts. This building stood beside the BAkers Shop, and had existed in Muttaburra since 1881. Mr C. R. Klugh had been a majot player in the evry early development of Muttaburra, but had moved on to LOngreach around the turn of the century, where he again established a similar business, and contributed to the development of yet another inland town.
Anna, who loved visiting the store, remembers it as a very well laid out shop, with beautiful fittings, and glass panelled doors that opened into a separate office. "The shop had counters all around, and shelving behind. It sold verything, beautiful crockery, produce, groceries, haberdashery, motor spirit and oils, and alchohol (wine, spirits and beer) which was kept in a back shed." Some items, including the ornate cash register and axe stand are on display in Cassimatis' shop today.
IN buyin Klugh and SAmuels (they retained the name) A.A. and George were able to secure the towns wholesale 2 gallon wine and spirit merchant licence. However, the building was in an advanced state of disrepair, and they soon closed its doors. It remained closed for some years, and eventually, by the late 40's George had sold it to Eric Humphries (Dotswood) and Vere Seaton (North Cruscoe), who then pulled the old building down, retaining any sound materials for recycling. Some floorboards were used for the Cassimatis' new kitchen.
Another business enterprise of the Cassimatis father and son partnership was the "Four Mile Gardens" an orchard and market garden near the banks of the Landsborough River. These were situated four miles south of the town, hence the name. They built a windmill and operated a punp engine to irrigate the crops. Oranges, lemons, mandarins, grapes and mulberries proved fruitful, as were melons and a variety of vegetables, including asparagus. An attempt to cultivate olives was frustrating, as the trees grew well, but did not bear fruit. A small crop of cotton was also successful. Eddie Childerley, who worked at the gardens for many years, used to sell the produce around town, from a horse drawn cart. Of the other employees at the gardens, a number were Chinese, including Louie Sung, known as Jacky Lock.
The first bank at Muttaburra in the late 1800's was the NAtional in Cornish Street, then followed the Bank of New South Wales on the corner of Bruford and Edkins Streets (where the Primary Health Centre now stands. However, by the Second World War, this bank had also closed. Large sums of money would have been brought in prior to major events, e.g. the four race meetings held during the year. Everyone from the town and district would go to Cassimatis' and other businesses to cash their cheques in readiness for a "big weekend". In the late 50's Cassimatis became a Bank of New South Wales Saving Agency. The Post Office still continues to be a Commonwealth Bank Agency.
After A.A. dies in 1942, Stavroola took over the management of the store's merchandise. George continued to look after "the books", but his interests were more mechanical. As well as the iceworks and soft drinks, he dealt with the "outside" parts of the business. He managed the engine and lighting for the RSL Memorial Hall, the Hospital batteries, and would check the Muttaburra airstrip before any commercial planes landed. He was a jack of all trades, and very handy at making things. If there was a crisis at the Hospital, and Dr. Arratta didnt have a necessary instrument on hand to deal with a medical problem, he would call on George to improvise. In the early years George would often escort Dr. Arratta on his out of town emergency calls, as Dr. Arratta and machinery didn't always see eye to eye.
The town's first tennis courts (antbed) were behind the Royal Mail Hotel. As these fell into disrepair and the towns topography changed, George along with Neil Hall and others worked very hard to develop new colas (bitumen) courts, next to the old BAnk of New South Wales, and opposite the Cassimatis shop. George's two son-in-laws, Reg Manning and Johnnie Walters, both tank sinkers, contributed greatly to the construction of these courts, with the use of Reg's plant and equipment. George was a great supporter of the Tennis Club and was its President for some years.
During the Second World War, following the bombing scare, many children from the coast were evacuated and billeted away. Some of them came to Muttaburra. At the same time, in case the war should escalate in Central Queensland, three air raid shelters were built in the school grounds. George with the help of others dug these shelters which were cut into alphabetical shapes, with his Allis Chalmers tractor.
George Cassimatis was a J.P. and Councillor representing Muttaburra on the Aramac Shire Council. He sat on various committees and played a significant role in the developmental history of Muttaburra..
The shop finally closed its doors in 1978. Stavroola having passed away in her own home on 3rd October, 1977, from a heart attack. George went to live with his eldest daughter Anna, abd then, in 1982, moved to Brisbane with her, where he celebrated his 100th birthday on 20th May, 1996. He dies soon after, after September that year.
Anna, Andrew, Johnnie and Mary have all moved away from Muttaburra and settled with their families elsewhere. Florrie (Mrs Johnnie Walters), the second eldest child, still resides in Muttaburra with her family, living not far from her parents old home, and their original business. The Dr. Arratta Museum Association is now restoring both the Cassimatis Store, and their home.
I wonder whether we could entice some of the descendants of Andrew Andrew Cassimatis and George (Andrew?) Cassimatis to post some of their subsequent family history to the website?
At High Scool excursion in Livathi the 14th May 1949. Left to right: Spyros Calocerinos, Mpoulis Kantiotos, Manolis Samios, Georgos Kassimatis, Yiannis Lefteris.
Icon of Aghios Ioannis Prodromos (St. John Prodrome). Portable icon depicting the protome of the Saint, painted by a skillful artist, influenced by the tradition of the famous Emmanuel Lombardos. Dated to the beginning of the 17th century.
From the collection housed in the Post-Byzantine church of the Ascension at Livadi, which was ceded by the Diocese of Kythera.
The collection is housed in the Post-Byzantine church of the Ascension at Livadi, which was ceded by the Diocese of Kythera.
[[picture:"Church of the Ascension, Livathi.jpg" ID:2458]]
It contains characteristic examples of the artistic production of the island, ranging from the Early Christian to the Post-Byzantine period: wall paintings and floor mosaic detached from churches, portable icons, and a few items of silverwork, metalwork and pottery.
The most important items of the exhibition are:
[[picture:"Saints Kerykos, Georgios and Notarios..jpg" ID:2461]]
Part of a wall painting. It depicts Saints Kerykos, Georgios and Notarios and the lower part of the representation of the Ascension. It comes from the church of Aghios Ioannis at Potamos and dates from the 13th century.
[[picture:"Icon of Aghios Ioannis Prodromos (St. John Prodrome).jpg" ID:2459]]
Icon of Aghios Ioannis Prodromos (St. John Prodrome). Portable icon depicting the protome of the Saint, painted by a skillful artist, influenced by the tradition of the famous Emmanuel Lombardos. Dated to the beginning of the 17th century.
[[picture:"Icon of Panaghia with Christ. Portable icon from the Castle of Mylopotamos.jpg" ID:2460]]
Icon of Panaghia with Christ. Portable icon from the Castle of Mylopotamos, probably owned by a Venetian official, as is suggested by the buckler preserved on its surface. It is dated to the middle of the 17th century and is influenced by the Cretan School.
[[picture:"Two silver-plated candlesticks. Found in the church of the Metamorphosis at Keramoto.jpg" ID:2462]]
Two silver-plated candlesticks. Found in the church of the Metamorphosis at Keramoto, dated to the end of the 18th century.
Address: Church of Analepsis, Livadi, 80100 Kythera
East of Livadi and heading towards Fyri Ammos is located the fortified church of Agios Theologos. Note the parapet which allowed observers to keep a look out for raiders. The church of Agios Theologos commands views of the island all the way across to Avlemonas.
Congratulations...every visit to this site brings new information and appreciation of the love we have for our roots. By no means to replace this site.. another site for pics and general kytherian info is
http://www.kytherian.org.au
however this is very minor site compared to what you have, and will achieve on kythera-family.net..well done
From left to right: Manoli Travis, Maria Travis (nee Tzannes), Stratis Tzannes, Annetta Tzannes, Arhondo Tzannes (nee Panaretos), Manoli Tzannes and Kalomira Tzannes (their mother and mother in law)
Family name: Tzannes
Village of origin: Livadi
Photo taken: 1938-9
From left to right: brothers Con, Jack, Charles and Stratis Tzannes.
Stratis, the eldest brother, had arranged for three of his four surviving brothers to migrate to Australia. The fourth and youngest brother Dimitri remained in Greece.
Family name: Tzannes
Village of origin: Livadi
Photo taken: Armidale, NSW c1945
When Stratis and Phofo (nee Panaretos) married they had to go to Athens to find a priest who would marry them because Stratis’ brother had earlier married Phofo’s sister and the Kytherian priests would not marry them.
Family name: Tzannes & Panaretos
Village of origin: Livadi & Potamos
Photo taken: May 1939 in Athens
Stratis Tzannes (left) and Cosmas Cassimatis (right) standing in front of the Canberra Café at 132 Oxford Street, in Darlinghurst, Sydney.
In the 1920’s Cosmas Cassimiatis set up a partnership of Kytherians whose families had all known each other well from Mesa Dimos (the southern part of Kythera). The partnership became known as Cassimatis & Co. Together they set up the Canberra Café at 132 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. The partners of the Canberra Café were: Cosmas Cassimatis, Stamatis Marcellos, Nikolas Travassaros, John Megalokonomos, and Stratis Tzannes. These partners were to become the longest continuing Kytherian partnership in Australia.
Originally the café was an oyster bar and then a fish restaurant. Around 1948 it was converted to a milk bar - which ran until the late 1980’s. The property was then leased out to Italians and became a pizzeria. It is now leased to the Court Hotel, but is still owned by the families of the original partners in equal shares, with the exception of Nikolas Travassaros who died in 1959 with no heirs and whose interest was purchased by the surviving partners.
During its heyday in the 1930’s many Kytherian events were held at the Canberra Café and it became an unofficial meeting place for Kytherians where projects of common interest were discussed and planned. One such was the setting up of the Holy Trinity Church (Ayia Triatha) on Bourke Street.
Family name: Tzannes
Village of origin: Livadi
Photo taken: Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney.
Date: circa 1930’s
This business card was given to Ross (Spiros) Tzannes in 1997 by an elderly Kytherian man who knew Ross’s father. The card had originally been given to the man by Ross’s father Stratis Tzannes in the 1930’s. Stratis was a partner in the Canberra Café - an oyster bar at 132 Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, Sydney. He wrote his name on the back of the card in pencil when he gave the card to the man.
Family name: Tzannes
Village of origin: Livadi
Document description: Canberra Cafe card
Date: Circa 1930’s
The best way to describe what Kythera means to us for me is my first trip to kythera. as we approached from crete and we could just see this "pimple" of an island on the horizon, a big smile came on my face for no reason... It was as if There was this hole in my heart that i did not even realise, and now it is filled by coming to kythera. It made me feel complete
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry.
National and international events are given a strictly local slant. In this case, the float, which features a bee-keeper wielding smoke bellows and a sign reading “Koufodinas is here” refers to the fact that a protagonist of the November 17th terrorist organisation, who had been the subject of a massive manhunt during the preceding months, had at one time kept bees – as do many Kytherians today
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry.
One of the floats included a transvestite “beauty contest”. Interestingly, cross-dressing and a deliberate confusion of social identities have been a crucial and popular element of such popular festivities from earliest antiquity.
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry
Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003
John Stathatos: Carnival parade, Livathi, March 2003. Digital photograph.
Carnival parades are an old tradition on the island, though the venues fluctuate. In 2003, there were separate parades, in Potamos and in Livathi. The result of considerable hard work by volunteers, the parades consist of home-made floats and marching groups in often elaborately themed costumes, and are attended by what seems like the entire population of the island. In many cases there is a strong satirical flavour; on this occasion, one of the floats represented a local government meeting, complete with mock speeches parodying the style and concerns of the original councillors. Rhymed poems satirising local worthies and issues are also declaimed. The parades are examples of a social custom which has retained its vitality into the 21st century; spontaneous products of local demand, they owe nothing to antiquarianism or the tourism industry
Being Kytherian has an inner something that I find very difficult to explain. Apart from an overwhelming pride in my heritage there is also an immense respect for my fellow Kytherians.
The mystique that is Kythera the place, also resides within the fabric of all generations of Kytherians.
Source: "Kythera Summer Edition"
If you would like to subscribe to this wonderful yearly publication send you details and payment (A$12 per year) to Metaxia Poulos, Kythera Summer Edition, Mylopotamos, Kythera 80100.
Information:
Greece: Tel. +27360 . 34152, Fx. 31879
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