After years of making property investments and an ill-fated attempt to run a licensed social club in Regent Street Chippendale, the Kytherian Association of Australia (as it is now known) has finally established a magnificent cultural resource centre, library and meeting room at its premises at 24 King Street, Rockdale, NSW.
The realisation of the dream to establish a spiritual home for Kytherians in the diaspora was finally celebrated with the official opening of the New Kythera House last week. In the presence of the Consul-General of Greece in Sydney, Mr Vassilios Tolios, as well other guests and dignitaries, Father Sophronios Konidaris and Father Constantinides Varipatis performed the agiasmos blessing of the new cultural space .
The President of the Kytherian Association, Victor Kepreotis, opened the proceedings: “This new cultural and historical resource centre is the result of the combined efforts of successive committees over the years and represents the centrepiece of the Association,” he said. Mr Kepreotis paid tribute to those involved in refurbishing the new centre, architect Eva-Marie Prineas and builder Stan Giaouris.
The Greek Consul-General noted that a lot of devotion was evident in the creation of this new cultural space and was also a vivid representation of Kytherian activities, not just in NSW but around the world. According to Mr Tolios, this gives hope for the future and for the younger generations.
A highlight of the evening was the re-presentation of the first minute book of the Kytherian Association that had been held in safe custody up until now.
The new resource centre houses an extensive collection of books which are not only Kythera-specific but cover many themes relating to Hellenism and the general migration experience. Other subject areas include the Greek War of Independence; Byzantium and Greek Orthodoxy; archaeology and the Minoan colonisation of Kythera; Classical Greece and the history of the Parthenon; Greek folkloric costumes and dancing; Hellenic cuisine; photography; the Smyrna catastrophe and Greece during World War II; modern Greek history and much more. The cultural centre is also equipped with computers, a scanner, printers and a large drop-down screen and projector to enable lectures and presentations to be made. The centre seats up to about 80 visitors.