| Subject | Australia--Emigration and immigration—History |
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| Immigrants |
| Greek language, Modern |
| Voyages and travels |
| Assisted emigration |
| Employment |
| Category | 5. Cold War (including Decolonisation) |
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| Author | Ioakimidis, Platon |
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| Keywords | Greeks in Australia |
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| Oral history |
| Bonegilla camp |
| Creator | Doumanis, Nick |
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| Current Holder | State Library of New South Wales |
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| Date | 2021-12-07 |
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| Access Rights | Digitised |
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| Rights | Copyright holder : State Library of New South Wales
Please acknowledge : Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales |
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| Country Of Origin | Australia |
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| Place | Sydney |
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| Journey | Bonegilla Migrant Centre |
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| Language | Greek (Modern) |
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| Description From Source | Interviewer: Nick Doumanis
Occupation: Labourer, Poker machine service technician
Year of arrival: 1954
Method of transport: Ship (Toscana)
Platon Ioakimidis was born in 1932 into a Pontian Greek family in Molocha, central Macedonia, and came of age during World War II and the Greek Civil War. After years of menial work, he and his young wife took advantage of Australia’s assisted migrant scheme. In Australia, he settled in Redfern, where he and his wife raised a family of four. After trying his hand at various labouring jobs and small business ventures, Ioakimidis settled on a job fixing poker machines. He was involved in the Pontian Greek community and has been a church chanter.
Interview summary
Platon describes life in Greece in considerable detail. The interview gives a vivid description of rural poverty, and the reaction of his fellow villagers to news that Australia needed ‘labouring hands.’ He discusses his early days in Bonegilla and Grafton as well as his arrival in Sydney and efforts to find work. |
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| Physical Format | Sound recording |
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| Related Resources | Greek-Australian Archive – Paraskevi Thurban |
|---|
| Greek-Australian Archive – Katina Mexis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Evangelia Athanassiou |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Aris Nikolakakis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Peter Repousis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Ioannis Dimou |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Skevos Tsoukalas |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Bill Anton |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Evripidis Mouxouris |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Poppy (Kalliope) Elliott |
| Greek-Australian Archive – John Dimitriou |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Father Christos Vergos |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Panagiota (Yota) Krili |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Konstantina Tourvas |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Panagiota Banbas |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Matina Kallithraka |
| Greek-Australian Archive – George Moudanidis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Costas Vassiniotis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Kyriakitsa Kevgas |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Stefania Angelou |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Stavroula Mousmoutis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – George Michelakakis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Evdokia Kokkinakos |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Sotirios Gravanis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Melpomene Kaimasidis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Anna Lambrou |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Lea and Nikolaos Kanellakis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Maria Cotsis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Sophia Haskas |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Panayota Nazou |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Eugenia Lambropoulos |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Stavroula Moschatos |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Emmanuel Dimitriadis |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Adrianos Kazas |
| Greek-Australian Archive – Dimitra Kandylas |
