Greek-Australian Archive – Panagiota Banbas

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

Interviewer: Kathy Kallos Occupation: scripture and Greek teacher Year of arrival: 1956 Method of transport: Ship (Tasmania) Panagiota was born in 1929 in the village of Kakourio (now Artemisio) in the region of Arkadia in a farming family of six children. She worked at a military hospital for over three years. Here, she met the man that would become her future husband. After a period corresponding by letters, in 1956, she migrated to Australia to join him. In Sydney, the couple first lived in Waterloo, before settling in Marrickville with their three children. She taught scripture and then Greek in the area for many years. Interview summary Panagiota begins by recalling life in the village during the Second World War, the poverty, and how her family managed to secure food. She talks about her schooling in Greece and her first job at a military hospital. She describes her journey on the Tasmania, and getting married to her husband, Nick, a few months after her arrival.