Joanne Shanahan’s parents, Nikos and Christina Panayiotou, will take a while to come to terms with the fact that they will not be seeing their beloved daughter again, following last Saturday’s horrific high-speed crash that claimed the life of the 55-year-old Greek Australian Police Chief superintendent.

“We still can’t believe that we have lost our darling daughter. Our pride and joy is no longer with us,” says Joanne’s 87-year-old father, Nikos Panayiotou who left his little village Lahania, on the island of Rhodes, and migrated to Australia seeking a better future for himself and his family.

The 21-year-old man settled in Adelaide in 1955.

He worked at General-Motors Holden’s car manufacturing plant as a supervisor and his strong work ethic quickly earned him the respect of his colleagues.

Nikos met the love of his life, a young girl by the name of Christina Vasiloyiannakopoulou, who had migrated to Australia from Chrysochelaria in Koroni, Messinia.

The couple married in 1957 and had three daughters: Katina, Joanne and Georgie.

Joanne, the family’s middle child, was born on 10 August, 1964.

“Our little Joanne was one of a kind. She was just a charismatic child that loved people and life. Even as a little girl she was extremely sociable, easy to talk to, popular at school but also determined to live life on her own terms,” say her parents, who during this difficult time have been inundated with messages of love and support from family, friends and members of the community while their two loving daughters haven’t left their side.

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Jo, the family rebel

“Our sister was the rebel of the family. She was the cheekiest one of the three, but despite pushing boundaries everyone loved her and wanted to be around her. She was smart, had good instincts and carried her cheekiness in style even from a young age. At the same time, she was a loving sister and would do whatever she could to help everyone in our family. She was just born that way,” Katina, 62, Joanne’s eldest sister, tells Neos Kosmos. It was she who looked after her two younger siblings, when their parents were working.

Joanne and her younger sister Georgie had just a 14-month age difference.

“We were like twins – ‘partners in crime’ – who loved each other dearly but also fought quite a bit, especially during our teenage years. We were very different personalities. I was a bit timid and shy and used to just follow my sister around hiding behind her, while she just knew how to behave and how to endear herself to people. She was a very strong and mischievous little girl, but caring and loving at the same time; there would be nothing she wouldn’t do for you if she could. That’s the kind of person she was,” Georgie, 54, remembers.

“She used to get away with everything. I still don’t know how she managed to do that. I remember as a nine-year-old, for instance, Joanne would pretend she had a toothache and trick my mum into giving her some ouzo to drink because she loved the taste. She would lie about things, but she was just so believable. I remember around Christmas time we would wait for mum to leave home and then Joanne would climb on the furniture to find our presents. She didn’t mind breaking the rules back then, which is quite funny considering the career path she chose after.”

Joanne attended Unley High School where she was a popular member within the school community, and loved by her peers and teachers alike.

She enjoyed playing netball and soccer.

“I taught Joanne in the late 1970s and 1980s. She used to always tell me she wanted to be a police officer. She was a wonderful person who went on to help the Greek Community as well as the wider community with her work. We were all so proud of her and her achievements,” Peter Photakis, one of Joanne’s teachers, told Neos Kosmos.

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The Police Force

Young Joanne first decided to pursue a career in law enforcement at the age of 17.

“At first, we had our reservations, but she was determined to purse this career path and we were supportive of her decision,” Mr Panayiotou says.

The young Greek Australian joined the force in 1981 and graduated from the police cadet course in 1983.
She built a career investigating domestic violence and child-abuse cases and was appointed officer-in-charge of a specialised unit in 1999.

In 2002 she was promoted to the rank of inspector and worked as a manager and leader in several units, focusing on domestic violence.

Her career spanned more than three decades and involved major cases that shocked the state, including the child abuse uncovered in the northern suburbs House of Horrors in 2008.

“Jo was committed to making our state safer for women and children, she was driven by compassion and understanding for those most vulnerable. Her work led to many firsts in our state and our nation including the establishment of the Multi Agency Protection Service (MAPS) and the multi-agency hub in partnership with Women’s Safety Services SA. No obstacle or challenge was a deterrent, her mission was to make a positive change for those victims of violence and our community. She was a leader in this State, a beautiful soul and a woman highly respected by all,” says CEO of Women’s Safety Services SA, Maria Hagias.

Joanne was just the third woman in SA Police history to be appointed Chief Superintendent.

“Not only have we lost a beautiful person but we’ve lost an officer with a wealth of knowledge,” Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said after attending the crash scene on Saturday afternoon, fighting back tears as he announced the loss of “one of our finest senior police officers”.

Joanne received the Australian Police Medal in the 2019 Australia Day honours.

Daughter, Wife, Mother

In an interview about her award, Joanne revealed she did not really speak English until she started attending school.
“Coming from quite a strict Greek background and going into the police force as a female was quite significant for my family. They were totally shocked that their daughter wanted to be a police officer. But when I was accepted, they were proud as punch,” she had said thanking her parents for all the support they gave her throughout the years.

“I would never be where I am today if it wasn’t for them,” Joanne had said but for pappou Niko and yiayia Christina, looking after their grandchildren was the biggest blessing they could have ever asked for.

“It was our absolute pleasure to have our beautiful grandchildren around whilst they were growing up. We loved every minute of it. I remember when they were little, picking them up from school, playing around the garden, jumping into our bed to play, cooking yummy Greek food and signing Greek nursery rhymes. These are moments that we will cherish forever,” says yiayia Christina.

The mother of two, was one of two people killed in the three-car crash, which happened at the intersection of Cross Road and Fullarton Road about 1:40pm on Saturday afternoon.

Her husband, 63-year-old Peter Shanahan, a retired police detective who is now general counsel to the SA Police Commissioner, was behind the wheel of their Holden SUV.

The couple met through the SA Police Force back in 1983 and married five years later.

“She is absolutely the love of my life. She used to say we had to be the best people we could be and we had to be nice people, everything else would look after itself,” says Peter who three days after the crash found the strength to drive himself back to where he lost his wife of 37 years, together with his two adult children, 24-year-old Nick and 22-year-old Eleni who describe their mother as the best mother anyone could ever ask for and one of the most universally loved people they have ever met or heard of.

As the tributes continue to pour in, for those who knew and loved Joanne the pain of losing her, so suddenly and unexpectedly, is certain to be overwhelming.

Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan had a passion for justice and helping people but it might be the words of her own daughter Eleni that describe her best and will resonate with those who knew her or those who knew of her and the person she was.

“My mum was the most amazing woman in the world,” said the young girl unable to hold back the tears.

Rest in Peace Joanne. You will forever be remembered.