Over 250 guests of the Greek festival of Sydney convened at the historic Marrickville Town Hall to celebrate the launching of the book Greeks in the Far Orient authored by Professor Anastasios M. Tamis of Notre Dame University.
The book was launched by former Prime Minister of Australia, The Right Hon. R. J. Hawke. This event was organized by the 30th Greek Festival of Sydney.
Amongst those present at the launch were the Consul General of Greece in NSW, Mr. Vassilios Tolios, the President of the Greek Community of Sydney, Mr. Harry Danalis, the Chairperson of the Greek Festival of Sydney, Ms Ourania Karteris and the President of the SAE in Oceania, Mr. George Angelopoulos.
Former Australian Prime Minister, R. J. Hawke characterized the book an “epic achievement and a labour of love” and congratulated Prof. Tamis for his work and his determination to conduct pioneer research based mainly on oral history.
Mr Hawke said that the book constitutes a resource for future researchers.
He also related the content of the book with his own experience as a young parson immigrating to Western Australia from Adelaide, during the difficult years of the late 1940s, when the war-stricken Australia was experiencing many challenges and the painful road to integration.
The book Greeks in the Far Orient is a publication comprising of 700 pages and 480 rare photos depicting the Greek migration and settlement
During the launch Professor Tamis referred to the contents of the book and the reasons behind his decision to undertake this research project.
“Greek migration and settlement in the Far Orient were not covered adequately in existing bibliography” he said adding that the aim of the study has been to investigate and publish the archives and records as well as the chronicle of the Greek settlement experience in the Far Orient and to portray the role and input of the Hellenes in this region.