When my family came to Australia in the 1960s, many Greek families were doing exactly the same. Making that journey to a new land and a new future. That journey of courage.
So when I come to an event like Glendi in Melbourne, I feel I’m among friends. I’m among people who take such pride in their new country while never forgetting the old.
It says a lot about the Greek community when you attract the Prime Minister, the Premier, Leaders of the Opposition and the Lord Mayor. It’s a resounding affirmation of the respect in which you are held.
For so much of human history, Greeks have enriched every place you’ve made home. Australia is no exception. Greek Australians have made this country so much richer through your presence.
It’s strange to think that at the time of Greece’s independence, most Greeks had not even heard of Australia. Back in 1832 a Greek geography textbook advised that “very little is known about Australia … and scarcely anything is worth mentioning”.
Fortunately for us, so many Greeks didn’t believe that! Instead, you’ve come here throughout our history, stayed here and built a proud community.
Over these remarkable decades, you’ve also helped build a model of citizenship-based multiculturalism which the world admires. No wonder that the people who invented the very idea of citizenship are among the most enthusiastic of all our migrant communities to become citizens of this country.
As a result, multiculturalism works. It works because we make it work – in the way we celebrate each others cultures. In the way we foster tolerance. In the way we educate our children. In the way we strive together for the nation’s future.
So I come to the Antipodes Festival full of hope. I see the old people who have built so much and earned their rest. I see the parents who work hard every day to raise good families. I see the teachers and priests who keep Greek tradition and culture alive.
But perhaps most importantly, I see the young people now in the third or fourth generation. Proudly Australian and totally committed to this country. But also very proudly Greek – never forgetting where they came from or the sacrifices made in their name.
When I see the light of optimism in their eyes, I know Australia’s got it right. Opening the doors to mass migration in the postwar era was our biggest decision in modern times – and we got it right.