The Story of the Karitsiotes Lives On: A New Book and Forty Years of Community

First came the people. Then they built a community. Now their stories have become a book to pass on to their children and grandchildren.

The Karitsiotes had been building their lives in Australia for 33 years before they formed their own association. On Saturday evening, 26 September, Goodwood Community Centre in Adelaide was filled to capacity for the Karitsa Community of South Australia’s 40th anniversary and the launch of The Journey and Legacy of Early Karitsiotes in Australia: From Karitsa to Goodwood.

The first migrants, their children and their grandchildren came together in Goodwood, which had become a second village for so many Karitsa families. They celebrated what they had built together and honoured the generations whose stories live on in the book.

Remembering those who came before us

The evening began with a moment of remembrance for Community members who are no longer with us. MC Dimitra Rozaklis spoke of the place they still hold in the hearts of their families and in the Community they helped build.

She made special mention of Barba Diamanti Hagias, the first Karitsioti to set out for Australia.

And, in a way, that is exactly where the first line of our book was written.

On 23 October 1953, Diamantis, then a 28-year-old unmarried man, stepped off the migrant ship Fairsea at Port Melbourne.

The next lines were written, each in their own way and with their own story, by the other 154 Karitsiotes who followed.

Families helped every new arrival find their feet and, little by little, a close-knit community grew in Adelaide, carrying with it a piece of Karitsa.

Community President Michael Malavazos welcomed the guests, including the Consul-General of Greece in Adelaide, Dr Alexandra Theodoropoulou, City of Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson, and representatives of the wider Greek community.

For Michael, the book also has a very personal meaning. He recalled how, in early 1986, two Karitsiotes, Kostas Anastasiou Malavazos and Diamantis Dimitriou Rozaklis, approached his father, Adamantios, and asked him to lead the effort to establish an association representing the Karitsiotes of South Australia.

On 31 August that year, 34 Karitsiotes gathered in the hall of Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Florence Street, Goodwood, to draw up the first constitution. The Karitsa Community of South Australia was officially incorporated on 28 October 1986, Greece’s Ohi Day.

The book tells of the hardships before migration, the long sea journeys, the Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre and the stories of more than sixty families. Michael encouraged every descendant of Karitsiotes to open the book and find the pages telling their own family story.

The voices behind the book

Speaking on behalf of the four authors, himself, Stelios Hagias, Michael Malavazos and Con Katsambis, Dimitris Katsambis paid tribute to the first Karitsiotes who came to Australia between 1953 and 1973. He also acknowledged that the gathering was taking place on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people and paid his respects to their community.

But to show how the book was really written, he did not focus only on the authors. Instead, he brought forward the voices of the people behind its pages.

“I’ll give you just a few examples of what you will find in the book,” he said.

One of those stories takes us back, not to an office or a library, but to a kitchen table.

There sat Barba-Yianni Katsambis opposite Diamantis Malavazos. Barba-Yianni talked while Diamantis carefully wrote down what he had to say.

Those handwritten pages are still kept by Diamantis’ son, Michael Malavazos, as a treasured family keepsake.

That is how one part of the book was written.

Another came from the memories of Eleni Drouganis, née Antoniou, the first child of Karitsiot parents born in Australia.

Eleni remembers a conversation her father had with her mother, when they were sweethearts in the village, shortly before he left for the war.

“I’m going to war,” he told her. “I want you to wait for me. But if I don’t come back, I want you to get on with your life.”

She waited.

When he returned, they eloped and were secretly married in 1950 at the little chapel of Ai Yiannis Alepochoriotis. Four years later, with their two young sons, they set off for Australia and began a new life here.

The book was also shaped by Yiangos Stavrianos, who at one point sat down and counted, one by one, the Karitsiotes living in our village and those living here in Adelaide.

And what did he discover?

That today there are more Karitsiotes here in Adelaide than there are people living in Karitsa itself.

It sounds like a simple count, but behind those numbers lies the story of an entire village that travelled to the other side of the world and put down roots again.

And then there is an old letter.

A letter written by Vangelis Katsambis to his wife, Panagiota, who had remained behind in Greece.

In the language and style of the time, he wrote:

“Dearest Panagiota,

I hope this letter finds you all in the very best of health and happiness. I am well and working, with my thoughts always with you and our beloved children. … There is work here and we can build a better life. I will arrange the papers to bring you here to Australia. I cannot deny our children the future this wonderful country can offer them. … Kiss the children for me, one by one, and give them my blessing. Give my regards to everyone who asks after me.

Your husband,
Evangelos Katsambis”

In just a few lines sits almost the whole story of migration: the distance, the longing for family, the work, the hope and, above all, a parent’s desire to give their children a better future.

Dimitris also spoke about the wonderful painting of The Kotroni, one of Karitsa’s best-known landmarks, painted by artist Tony Malavazos. It gave the book another very special Karitsiotic touch.

“These voices, these memories and these old letters are what really wrote our book,” Dimitris said.

The authors simply tried to gather them together and pass them on to the next generations before time could erase them.

Many of the family stories also came from interviews carried out by dedicated members of the Community committee. Before they became pages in a book, they were conversations around kitchen tables, shared in trust. The interviewers listened carefully and recorded what they were told, while families opened both their homes and their memories.

Thanks to that effort as well, the voices of the first generation will remain alive for all of us.

The book has been published in two separate editions, one in Greek and one in English. Dimitris spoke of his hope that one day his grandchildren might take the book down from the shelf and turn to pages 80 and 81. There they will learn about their pappou, pro-pappou and pro-yiayia.

As he spoke, his grandchildren stood beside him on the stage.

For everyone watching, the purpose of the book had a face and a future. 

Forty years together

In her address, Consul-General Dr Alexandra Theodoropoulou said the story of the Karitsiotes “deserves to be told, preserved and passed on to future generations”.

Mayor Michael Hewitson thanked the Karitsiotes for their contribution to the City of Unley.

A message from the President of the Local Community of Karitsa, Maria Malavazou, brought the two places together in a few simple words:

“Karitsa is more than a place. It is memory. It is roots. It is heart.”

One of the most moving moments of the night was the tribute to the Community’s 34 founding members. Each was honoured with a commemorative piece engraved for the 40th anniversary. For those who are no longer with us, members of their families proudly accepted the tribute in their memory.

Yiangos Stavrianos, who served for many years as president, could not hide his emotion. With tears in his eyes, he waved to the crowd and blew them kisses.

It was a moment few of us will forget.

The celebration also showed just how much heart the current committee had put into the occasion. After months of preparation and hard work, they brought all the generations together for a night worthy of the milestone. From the welcome and the flowers to the books and the presentations, their care could be seen everywhere. Through their ongoing contribution, they continue to keep our Community strong and united.

The speakers thanked the authors, editors Dimitra Rozaklis, Marina Profyris and Miriam Katsambis, the committee and volunteers, as well as the organisations and families whose financial support helped make the book possible: the City of Unley, the Government of South Australia, the Theodorakakos Property Group and the Tsagouris family.

And throughout the evening, the same sense of gratitude could be heard in the conversations of the guests towards everyone who had helped make the night possible.

The journey continues

The celebration may be over, but the book’s journey is only just beginning.

It will pass from hand to hand and find a place in the homes of our families. Through its pages, our children and grandchildren will discover more than names and dates. They will come to know the people who left Karitsa, made a home in Goodwood and left behind a story that also belongs to them.

Because no matter how far those first Karitsiotes travelled, a part of them never really left the village.

And perhaps no one expressed it better than the late Angelis Hagias, who used to say:

“My body is here in Australia with my children, but my soul will always be in Greece.”

Those few words capture something of the spirit of that entire generation.

The book has already begun its journey back to Greece. The Karitsa Community of South Australia has sent copies to the President of the Local Community of Karitsa, the village community office and the public libraries of Geraki, Skala and Sparta.

A copy will also make its way to the village kafeneio, where so many of these stories were passed from mouth to mouth long before they were ever put down on paper.

And so the journey that began on 23 October 1953, when Diamantis Hagias stepped off the Fairsea at Port Melbourne, is now making its way back in the other direction.

From Australia back to Karitsa.

Kalotaxido! May our book travel well. May it find its way into every Karitsiot home and keep our stories alive for our children and grandchildren.

In loving memory of the members who came before us. We honour their lives, cherish their stories and carry their legacy forward.

Αιωνία τους η μνήμη.

.

 

Blues gia tin Karitsa: A Song of Home, Memory and Belonging

Some songs we simply listen to; others carry us home.

Born in Loxton, in South Australia’s Riverland, Andre has transformed memories of his ancestral village into a deeply personal musical tribute to Karitsa, and to the generations of Karitsiotes who have carried the village in their hearts wherever life has taken them.

From its opening notes, the song speaks of distance, memory and belonging. It evokes the little mountain village, its roads, its clear air, its familiar landscape and, above all, the feeling of being home. The refrain expresses that longing with touching simplicity:

“Mou leipei i Karitsa mou,
Mou leipei ekeinos o aeras katharos…”

The song’s imagery will be especially familiar to those who know Karitsa: the winding road, the mountains, the distant blue, the old stone and, most memorably, the solitary tree standing upon the rock.

That tree is more than a feature of the landscape. For Andre, it has become a deeply personal symbol of recognition and home.

In response to comments about the song, Andre explained the childhood memory that ultimately inspired it:

“I remember the stories that dad would tell me and Uncle Jim Hagia and seeing that tree on that rock myself and dad saying that tells me I’m home so many years ago. Is the reason I wrote this song.”

In those few words lies the heart of Blues gia tin Karitsa. The song is not simply about missing a village. It is about the way a place becomes part of a family story and is passed from one generation to another through memories, stories and familiar landmarks.

For Andre, the memory of his father recognising that tree as a sign that they had arrived home has remained alive across the years and across continents. That memory has now been transformed into music.

A blues born far from Karitsa

The blues, a musical tradition that emerged from African American communities in the American South, may have originated thousands of kilometres from Karitsa. Yet its language of separation, memory and longing proves remarkably suited to the story of the village and its people around the world.

Those themes resonate deeply with the experience of countless Karitsiotes who have made their homes in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and beyond, while maintaining an enduring connection with their ancestral village.

That connection was immediately recognised by those who heard the song.

Dimitri Katsambis, who left the village at the age of nine more than 65 years ago, described it as “a moving tribute to Karitsa and to every Karitsioti who has carried the village in their heart from afar.” He praised Andre for capturing “the ache of separation, the warmth of memory and the quiet certainty that the road home is never forgotten.”

Sotiris Skevis, whose mother hailed from Karitsa, likewise celebrated the song as the work of a patriotis and artist who, through music, “exalts the ancestral home” and brings to a wider audience the love he holds for the roots and values of his place of origin.

These reactions demonstrate why the song reaches beyond Andre’s own family story. The particular memories may be his, but the emotions are shared by many.

For those who left Karitsa decades ago, for those born overseas who know the village through the stories of their parents and grandparents, and for those who continue to return whenever they can, certain images remain powerful: a particular goat track, a house, a church, a mountain view, an old stone, or a tree standing against the sky.

Such places become landmarks not only of geography, but of identity.

The road home

Blues gia tin Karitsa captures that experience beautifully. It reminds us that leaving a village does not necessarily mean leaving it behind. Karitsa can remain present in the language we speak, the stories we tell our children, the memories we revisit and the landscapes we carry in our imagination.

And perhaps that is the quiet promise contained within the song: however far the journey takes us, there is always a road that leads back.

For Andre Antoniou, that road begins with a memory shared by his father and preserved through the generations. For many other Karitsiotes, listening to the song may bring back a different person, a different place or a different moment.

But the feeling is likely to be familiar.

“Blues gia tin Karitsa” is therefore more than a song about homesickness. It is a musical bridge between Adelaide and Karitsa, between one generation and another, and between the place we live in and the place that lives within us.

As one admirer put it, Andre’s song has created “a beautiful bridge between place, memory and belonging.”

And perhaps that is precisely what a song about home should do.

Listen to “Blues gia tin Karitsa” by Andre Antoniou:
Listen to the song on Facebook

 

A Wonderful Literary Initiative from Our Sister Club in Victoria

Celebrating the life and poetry of Nikiforos Vrettakos and launching a new book by Dr John Vasilakakos

The Cultural Centre of the Pallaconian Brotherhood of Melbourne, in collaboration with Athenian publisher Odos Panos, is presenting a wonderful literary initiative that brings together the memory of one of Greece’s leading poets with the work of a contemporary writer and academic.

On Saturday 26 September 2026, our sister club in Victoria will host a memorial lecture honouring the late great Lakonian poet Nikiforos Vrettakos, marking the 35th anniversary of his death (1991–2026). The event will also feature the launch of a new book by acclaimed Lakonian writer and academic Dr John Vasilakakos, When All Is Said and Done – De Profundis: Interviews–Conversations–Confessions, published by Odos Panos in Athens in 2026.

Remembering a great Lakonian poet

The afternoon will provide an opportunity to reflect on the life, personality and literary contribution of Nikiforos Vrettakos, a poet whose work holds an important place in modern Greek literature and whose Lakonian heritage remains a source of pride for the wider Greek community.

Dr John Vasilakakos will speak about Vrettakos the man, the poet and his work. Joining him will be Mr Dimitris Troaditis, prolific poet and well-known journalist, who will also share his reflections on Vrettakos and read a selection of his poetry.

The combination of discussion, poetry and personal reflection promises to make the memorial more than simply a commemoration—it will be an occasion to keep Vrettakos' literary legacy alive for new generations.

Launch of a new literary work

The second part of the event will see the launch of Dr Vasilakakos' new book, When All Is Said and Done – De Profundis: Interviews–Conversations–Confessions.

Mr Dimitris Troaditis will launch the book, adding another important dimension to an afternoon devoted to literature, ideas and the enduring contribution of Greek writers and poets.

The event will be presided over by Mr Christos Paicopoulos, President of the Pallaconian Brotherhood, who will serve as master of ceremonies.

A proud example of community and cultural engagement

Initiatives such as this are a wonderful reminder of the important role our community organisations continue to play in preserving and promoting our Greek cultural and literary heritage. It is particularly pleasing to see our sister Pallaconian club in Victoria bringing together literature, Lakonian identity and community fellowship in an event that honours the past while also celebrating contemporary literary work.

We congratulate the Pallaconian Brotherhood of Melbourne on this excellent initiative and wish the organisers, speakers and participants every success. Events such as these strengthen the bonds between our Pallaconian communities across Australia and ensure that the voices of our poets, writers and intellectuals continue to be heard and appreciated.

The event will take place at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday 26 September 2026 at the Pallaconian Brotherhood, 253 Albert Street, Brunswick, Victoria 3056. Entry is free.

We warmly acknowledges and congratulates our sister club in Victoria for this thoughtful and culturally significant initiative.

The People of Vrondamas Would Not Bow: Three Days and Nights of Resistance, Two Centuries of Remembrance

The Holocaust of Paliomonastiro, 15 September 1825

 

“The stones remember what the written record could not preserve.”

About six kilometres beyond Vrondamas, deep within a wild and precipitous ravine, lies Paliomonastiro. Built into the rock itself, it seems almost to have sprung from the stone around it.

Today, those who make their way there hear only the wind, the birds and the echo rising from the gorge. On 15 September 1825, however, this same place was filled with smoke, fire, screams and death. The ancient monastery, which for centuries had offered prayer and refuge, became the tomb of hundreds of people from Vrondamas.

What had happened?

A monastery within the rock

Paliomonastiro is one of Laconia’s most important Byzantine monuments. According to the generally accepted view, its ancient cave church dates from the twelfth century. Its small chapels, stone buildings and the surviving traces of old frescoes bear witness to the centuries of faith that once flourished in this secluded place.

Its location was no accident. The sheer rock face, narrow approaches and natural shelter of the cave made it difficult to reach. In troubled times, the people of the surrounding district knew that they could hide there and hold out against danger.

In the autumn of 1825, however, this natural refuge was destined to become a place of martyrdom.

Ibrahim in Laconia

The year 1825 was one of the darkest of the Greek War of Independence. Ibrahim Pasha had landed in the Peloponnese with a well-organised Egyptian army and was attempting to crush the Revolution with fire and bloodshed.

His troops burnt villages, destroyed crops, slaughtered those who resisted and carried captives away to be sold in the slave markets. Their aim was clear: to bring the land to its knees, starve its people and force the rebellious Greeks into submission.

Laconia endured days of terror. Karitsa, Geraki, Vrondamas and the other villages of Parnon and the Evrotas plain heard the dreadful news and waited anxiously for their turn.

Only three days before the tragedy at Paliomonastiro, the women and children of Geraki had fled through the Sorbanos Pass. In Karitsa, little Chrysoula and so many other villagers were also struggling to escape Ibrahim’s fury.

Amid those terrible days, the people of Vrondamas abandoned their homes and sought refuge at Paliomonastiro.

Three hundred to four hundred souls

Historical sources and local traditions do not agree on the exact number. Most, however, speak of some three hundred to four hundred people.

Among them were women, children, elderly people and a number of armed men. They were not a regular army. They were ordinary villagers, farmers, shepherds, mothers and children who suddenly found themselves defending their lives, their faith and their freedom.

The priest Dimitris Papadimitriou and the local chieftain Giannakis Karambas assumed leading roles. The priest remained close to his flock, encouraging them and helping to organise the defence. Karambas, hardened by battle and the privations of the Revolution, rallied those under siege and directed their small band of fighters.

For three days and nights, the people of Vrondamas resisted.

“While we live, we shall never bow”

Ibrahim’s forces surrounded Paliomonastiro, but its precipitous position made it difficult for them to approach. Sheltered behind the rock, those inside answered with whatever weapons and ammunition they possessed.

Ibrahim called upon them to surrender. According to local tradition, he demanded that they sign declarations of submission, known as proskynochartia, in exchange for their lives.

They refused. They chose to preserve their honour and freedom, even as they became ever more aware of the fate awaiting them.

Their proud answer survived not only in the memory of the people. It also passed into a folk song that preserved both the anguish of Vrondamas and its resounding refusal to submit.

15 September 1825

When a direct assault failed to capture Paliomonastiro, Ibrahim’s men sought another way.

Historical accounts relate that they climbed above the cave and opened holes in the rock overhead. Through them, they dropped dry brushwood, sulphur, gunpowder and other combustible materials. Flames took hold, and thick smoke began to fill the enclosed space.

Those inside had nowhere to go. The besiegers’ weapons awaited them at the entrance. Behind them rose the unyielding rock. Fire, explosions and suffocation claimed almost every person trapped within.

The monastery that had protected them for three days became their common grave.

Tradition holds that only two women survived. They were captured and sold in the slave markets of Egypt, then freed years later with the help of Greek merchants. Here, too, the details vary as the story passes from one generation to the next. Its heart, however, remains unchanged. Almost no one escaped the Holocaust.

The Song of the Holocaust

What the people had no opportunity to record was preserved in folk song. In a few simple, sorrowful verses, it carries us to the ridge of Kritsova, where three little birds look out over Vrondamas and the river.

The third bird, “the finest of the three”, becomes the voice of the whole village:

Three little birds sit high upon the ridge of Kritsova,

one looks towards Vrondamas, another towards the river,

the third, the finest of the three, laments aloud and says:

“My God, what has become of the poor people of Vrondamas?

They are seen at neither wedding nor village celebration,

for they went and found themselves besieged within the Monastery.

Ibrahim Pasha passed that way, and Ibrahim Pasha told them:

‘Come out and bow before me. Abandon the church!’

And this is how they answered him, this is the reply they gave:

‘Begone, you and your faith. Away with you, renegades.

While they still draw breath, the people of Vrondamas shall never bow to the Turks.

Better that we burn than be taken into slavery.’”

The song is neither a military account nor an official historical record. It is the lament of the land itself. It is how later generations tried to contain within a few verses a tragedy that words could scarcely hold.

The three little birds, a familiar image in Greek folk song, stand as immortal witnesses above the land. One looks towards the village, another towards the river, while the third wonders why the people of Vrondamas have vanished from everyday life. They are at neither a wedding nor a village celebration. They are all besieged within the Monastery.

The meaning of their sacrifice is distilled into the final two lines:

“While they still draw breath, the people of Vrondamas shall never bow to the Turks. Better that we burn than be taken into slavery.”

Three women in mourning on the ridge of Parnon

The lament for Paliomonastiro did not live only in the old folk song. Many years later, it found a voice once more in a brief but deeply moving tsamiko, released on record in 1967 and sung by Argyris Farlekas, himself a native of Vrondamas:

Three women dressed in mourning sat high upon the ridge of Parnon,

weeping for the people of Vrondamas until even the stones split apart,

for their enemies burnt them while celebrating their fate.

In the old lament, three little birds gaze down from the ridge of Kritsova. In the later song, their place is taken by three women in mourning on the ridge of Parnon. The images change, but the lament remains the same. The people perished in the flames, yet their suffering lived on in song, a sorrow so heavy that even the stones cracked beneath its weight.

Giannakis Karambas and the cry of “Hellas”

Far less is known about the life of Giannakis Karambas than we would wish. His story has come down to us chiefly through local memory and oral tradition.

Older people remembered him as the chieftain who would not yield, who stood beside his fellow villagers until the end and who chose death rather than submission.

Tradition relates that, gravely wounded and moments from death, he cried out a single word:

“Hellas!”

We may have no written testimony recording that moment, but tradition did not preserve this word without reason. Within it rests the entire meaning of the sacrifice: homeland, faith, freedom and the refusal to submit.

Father Dimitris Papadimitriou also remained beside Karambas until the end. He did not abandon his people. He became one of the besieged, a fighter and a martyr alongside them.

Laconia’s little Missolonghi

Paliomonastiro has rightly been called “Laconia’s little Missolonghi”.

The comparison does not suggest that the two events were equal in scale or unfolded in precisely the same way. Missolonghi was a fortified town, and its heroic Exodus in April 1826 had an impact throughout Greece and across the world. At Vrondamas, there was neither an organised exodus nor a large military force.

There was, however, the same indomitable spirit. Civilians were trapped, those under siege refused to submit, and an entire community paid in blood for its determination to remain free.

Paliomonastiro may have been smaller in scale, but not in sacrifice.

Memory passed from one generation to the next

The Holocaust was never forgotten. Its story passed from old to young through family accounts, laments and the song of Paliomonastiro. Details may have changed over the years, but the grief, the pride and the resounding refusal to submit remained undiminished.

Every year on 15 September, the people of Vrondamas honour their dead. They return to the historic site to pray and remember those who perished in the flames. Paliomonastiro has been recognised as a historic monument, but to the people of the village it is far more than that.

It is their own sacred place, a place of sorrow, pride and family memory.

The stones remember

The ancient buildings and chapels still survive, along with traces of Byzantine frescoes and the rock that once sheltered those under siege. All of them need care and protection.

Paliomonastiro is not merely an archaeological site, nor simply a beautiful place to visit. It bears witness to our history. Every stone speaks of people who once ran there with children in their arms, hoping to find safety.

For those of us from neighbouring villages, the story of Vrondamas is not some distant tale from a foreign place. It belongs to that same terrible week in September 1825, when little Chrysoula of Karitsa was struggling to find her way home and the women and children of Geraki were fleeing through the Sorbanos Pass.

It was the same enemy, the same fear and the same struggle for survival.

That is why we continue to tell this story. Freedom was not won only by the great chieftains on the battlefield. Its price was also paid by ordinary people, by mothers, children, priests and villagers in little known ravines and monasteries hewn into the rock.

As long as we remember them and sing their lament, the souls of Paliomonastiro will never be lost to silence.

---

Note: The tsamiko “Three Women Dressed in Mourning” was first released on a 45 rpm record on 27 March 1967, sung by Argyris Farlekas of Vrondamas. The music was composed and performed on clarinet by Vasilis Skaliotis, the lyrics were written by Argyris Farlekas, and Alekos Arapakis accompanied them on violin. You can listen to the historic recording here.

From behind the bar to behind a herd

 

‘This is village life! On my way to beautiful Karitsa, I came across an unexpected roadblock, but it was worth every minute!’

Members attending tomorrow’s Father’s Day function at the Pan-Laconian Family Centre may notice a familiar face missing from behind the bar.

Executive Committee member Vangelis Katsambis, who can usually be relied upon to serve drinks with a smile, will not be pulling beers or pouring wine this time. He has a perfectly understandable excuse: he is enjoying a short holiday in his ancestral village of Karitsa, Laconia.

And judging by his latest adventure, he is experiencing village life at its very best.

A traffic jam of a different kind

While travelling towards Karitsa, Vangelis encountered a rather unusual roadblock near the landmark known locally as ‘O Vrachos tou Roumanou’.

There were no cars, impatient drivers or blaring horns. Instead, the entire road was occupied by a large herd of goats, accompanied by his good friend and fellow villager, Leonidas Malavazos.

White, black, brown and speckled goats stretched from one side of the road to the other, leaving Vangelis with no choice but to stop and enjoy the spectacle.

Leonidas, with his shepherd’s crook in hand, was guiding the herd towards lower grazing country as the first signs of autumn began to appear.

Born and raised between Karitsa and Geraki, Leonidas has now settled permanently in the village with his young family, continuing a pastoral way of life that has sustained the Laconian mountains for generations.

A roadblock worth remembering

The moment the two friends recognised one another, any thought of delay was forgotten. The car stopped, the camera came out and the unexpected encounter became one of the highlights of Vangelis’s visit.

‘It was my good friend Leonidas Malavazos with his large herd,’ Vangelis said enthusiastically. ‘I enjoyed it more than I can say!’

The photographs capture the occasion beautifully. In one, Leonidas stands smiling proudly before his herd, with a small kid remaining faithfully at his feet. In another, the two friends pose together with broad smiles as hundreds of goats fill the road behind them.

For Vangelis, who was born and raised in Australia, this was much more than an amusing interruption to his journey. It was a glimpse of the living village, the hard work of the shepherd, the warmth of friendship and the continuation of traditions that have shaped rural Laconia for centuries.

Sometimes the most memorable experiences happen when we least expect them: around a bend in a country road, beside a familiar rock and amid the bleating of goats and the ringing of their bells.

The herd may have stopped Vangelis for a little while, but it also gave him a treasured memory to bring home to Australia.

So, when the bar becomes busy at tomorrow’s Father’s Day celebration and his fellow Committee members wonder where he is, they can picture him back in Karitsa, swapping the queue at the bar for a rather larger queue of goats.

We will excuse him on this occasion.

After all, as Vangelis himself declared:

‘This is village life!’

Yannoula Michael Makes History in South Australia

Photo: Yannoula, left, shares a joyful moment with fellow kafetzoudes at Kafeneio Lakonias, where she is a familiar face and always ready to lend a helping hand.

Yannoula Michael has made history as the first woman elected President of the Cyprus Community of South Australia in the organisation’s 78-year history. 

Her election marks an important new chapter for one of South Australia’s longest established Greek Cypriot organisations and represents a proud milestone for women in community leadership.

Yannoula will lead the newly elected Executive Committee alongside Vice President Minas Loucas, Secretary Eve Grant and Treasurer Marios Panatsos. Together with the remaining committee members, they will guide the Community and continue its work in preserving Cypriot identity, culture and traditions for future generations.

Her election is especially meaningful given the important contribution women have made to the Cyprus Community over many decades. In 2025, the Community celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Ladies Auxiliary, recognising half a century of dedicated service, fundraising and support. Yannoula’s appointment now carries that proud tradition of service into the highest leadership position of the organisation.

A retired school principal, Yannoula devoted her professional life to education. Her distinguished career included classroom teaching, school leadership and numerous senior responsibilities within the education sector. Her experience, sound judgement and understanding of people developed throughout those years will serve her well in her new position.

Yannoula is also well known to the Laconian community. She is a regular patron of Kafeneio Lakonias and is always willing to lend a helping hand. Those who share a coffee or a conversation with her know her as a warm, approachable and generous person who contributes quietly and willingly whenever assistance is needed.

We warmly congratulate Yannoula Michael on this historic achievement. We wish her and the newly elected Executive Committee every success as they begin this new chapter in the proud history of the Cyprus Community of South Australia.

Vale Mihail Zounis (1941-2026)

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Mihail Zounis on 19 August 2026, aged 85.

Mihail was born on 21 January 1941 on the island of Kastellorizo. At the age of 14, he arrived in Australia aboard the Tasmania on 30 December 1955.

On 1 May 1967, aged 26, he married Anna Marouda, who hailed from Geraki in Laconia. Through their marriage, Mihail formed a close and lasting connection with the Laconian community.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Anna, and their two sons, Nikolaos and Dimitrios.

Mihail’s funeral service will be held at St George Greek Orthodox Church, 60 Rose Street, Thebarton, on Thursday, 3 September 2026, at 10:30 am.

At the conclusion of the service, the funeral cortege will proceed to the Lawn Section of Dudley Park Cemetery for the committal prayers.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Anna, Nikolaos, Dimitrios and all his family and loved ones.

May his memory be eternal.