Well-known to the Greek Australian community, music composer Pantelis Volaris recently unveiled the historic ‘Kountouriotis bridge’ in Lemnos, the renovation of which he funded.
The gesture by the Greek Australian composer to renovate the historic bridge, where Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis raised the Greek flag after the liberation of Lemnos in 1912, was greatly appreciated by local authorities of the island.
During Volaris’ annual trip to Greece, he stayed in his native Lemnos to attend the celebrations of the liberation of the island, on 8 October.
The residents of the island used the opportunity to honour and express their gratitude to Volaris, who, on his own initiative, funded the renovation of the historic bridge, while also contributing – alongside other Greek Australians – to the erection of a monument at the seaside location of Vourlidia, where the liberation army of Pavlos Kountouriotis landed in 1912.
During the ceremony, Volaris thanked his islanders for honouring him and hoped that they would always celebrate this anniversary and remember the sacrifices their compatriots had made in past.