Three Greek pioneers of the diaspora will be the focus of Dr Dimitri Gonis talk at the Greek Centre on Wednesday 18 September.
The lecture will focus on the lives of three extraordinary Greek immigrants: Harry Corones, Mick Adams and Vlase Zanalis. Corones was one of the original shareholders and first caterer of QANTAS. Adams introduced the milk bar to Australians making it an integral part of Australiana. Zanalis was one of the first Europeans or ‘whites’ to focus on indigenous Australians, their rituals and everyday lives through his paintings. His works speak of a man who, in his way, sought to bridge the gap between European and indigenous Australians. In that sense, he was very much a pioneer of reconciliation between ‘white’ and indigenous Australians.
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Dr Gonis is a lecturer in the Greek Studies Program at La Trobe University where he teaches language subjects including two cultural subjects: Ethnic and Civil Conflict in Southern Europe and Cyprus, and Imagined Communities in a Contemporary World. His articles have been published in the Herald Sun, The Australian, The Age, Cyprus Mail and Neos Kosmos. Dr Gonis is also an author of prose and poetry as well as a translator of literary and academic works.
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The lecture is offered by La Trobe University’s Greek Studies (Department of Languages and Linguistics) and the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora in conjunction with the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria.
When: Wednesday, 18 September, 7pm
Where: Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
