Greek-Australian Archive – Lea and Nikolaos Kanellakis

Copyright holder : State Library of New South Wales Please acknowledge : Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Interviewer: Nick Doumanis Occupation: Lea: seamstress and receptionist; Nikolaos: driver for Australia Post driver, then ran a removalist business Year of arrival: 1961 Method of transport: Aeroplane Nikolaos and Lea came from the northern Peloponnese: Lea was born in Planitero and Nikolaos in Valmantoura. Nikolaos came to Australia in his late 20s under the migrant assistant scheme, while Lea was sent by her family to join siblings that had migrated earlier. Nikolaos tried several jobs, including working for the national postal service, where he mastered Sydney’s street map and started his own removalist business. Lea worked as a seamstress and then worked in the removalist business after they met and married in 1968. They started a family in Marrickville and then bought an old soldier settler’s house in Earlwood, which he demolished and built a new house. Interview summary Nikolaos and Lea each took turns, recalling their former lives in Greece and the circumstances that led to their emigration to Greece. Each provided very thoughtful and reflective accounts of their working lives and their early impressions of Australia and Australians.