Welcome Wall honour for Greek-Cypriot couple

Cypriot-born Sydney couple Neofitos and Yiannoula Stavrou are two of the latest migrants to be honoured on the Australian National Maritime Museum's Welcome Wall. Their lives, commitment to the Greek and Cypriot-Australian communities, as well as their numerous donations to charity, will be recognised among 600 others who have migrated to Australia from countries all over the world.

The Australian National Maritime Museum set up the Welcome Wall in recognition of the important place of migration in the maritime history of Australia. It is located in a place that actually saw the arrival of many new migrants, opposite Darling Harbour and Pyrmont Bay in Sydney.

Neofitis and Yiannoula Stavrou left Cyprus separately in the early 1950s. Neofitis arrived in Sydney in 1951 with few possessions after a 40 day journey by sea, during which he says that he slept in cramped bunk beds and ate spaghetti twice a day. At around the same time, Yiannoula - then 15 years of age - travelled to Australia with her parents. After meeting a wedding, they fell in love and began their future together.

Upon first arriving in Australia, Neofitis worked hard in local factories, but after a few months was able to find a job as 'kitchen boy'. Very soon afterwards, he built his way up to cooking in Australian restaurants. He told Neos Kosmos that at the time, Australian cuisine was very limited - as it was the beginning of large-scale migration to Australia which brought the many European dishes we now see on a daily basis.

Mr Stavrou worked in some of Sydney's best restaurants for a few years before opening his own coffee house in Darlinghurst. Nine years later, in 1961, he was able to get a liquor license, which allowed for further expansion of his business. He and Yiannoula established a family company importing wines from Europe, in particular Cyprus and Greece, and selling them wholesale to businesses. He represented major Cypriot companies such as Hatzipavlou and Etko Wines, one of the largest wineries on the island since 1844. He also sold wines from popular Greek winery Achaia Clauss, in Patras. He told Neos Kosmos: 'I was the biggest importer from France one year and the biggest importer from Greece and Cyprus'. He supplied wines to not only business owners in New South Wales, but also many in Victoria.

Neofitos and Yiannoula Stavrou have also donated generously to not only charities, but also schools and churches, with whom Neofitos has had a very close involvement for decades. He has been honoured several times with awards for his philanthropic efforts over the years.

Today, over sixty years after his arrival on Australian shores, his fervour has not disappeared. At the age of 80, he is still working hard in the family business.

Regarding his honour on the Welcome Wall, he tells Neos Kosmos: 'I am very proud of my daughter Sonia, she organised that'. He also extends his pride to his other three successful daughters. Last Sunday, the children were all at the Australian National Maritime Museum proudly watching their mother and father being recognised for their many decades of hard work and service to the community.