One hundred years to the day after the landing of Australian soldiers on Lemnos on 4 March 1915, the Greek community in Sydney marked the occasion with the donation of a unique work of art to the collection of the New South Wales parliament.
An initiative of Greece’s Consul General to NSW Dr Stavros Kyrimis, the donation took the form of a commissioned painting inspired by a photograph of the arrival of Australian nurses on Lemnos in August 1915.
The painting was presented to the parliament at a special ceremony attend by state parliamentarians and Greek community leaders. Those present included representatives of AHEPA, the Pan-Arcadian Association, the Joint Committee for the Commemoration of the Battle of Crete and Greek Campaign, the Australian Hellenic Educators’ Association and the Pan-Macedonian Association.
Andrew Fraser MP, secretary of the Parliamentary Friends of Hellas, congratulated the artist, Nikolaos Foteinos, on his achievement, as well as the Consul General on nurturing the initiative.
In his speech Mr Fraser said he had been unaware of Lemnos’ relationship to the Gallipoli campaign until he was made aware of it by the Consul General.
“This is a most important contribution to the parliamentary art collection, which will be displayed in a prominent position for the duration of the Centenary of Anzac,” he said.
Mrs Liz Kaydos, a member of the Lemnos 1915 Commemorative Committee, stressed the important legacy of Corporal Albert William Savage, the photographer of the Anzacs on Lemnos whose work ensured the island’s role in WWI was recorded for posterity.
Consul General Dr Stavros Kyrimis described Lemnos today as a place “where someone can literally walk in the footsteps of heroes, where the terrain is so little changed”, adding that the painting’s donation to the NSW parliament, “the birthplace of Australian democracy”, was highly appropriate.