Nine Greek Australians from all walks of life have been honoured in the Queen’s birthday awards.
Former Queensland speaker Jim Fouras, rugby powerhouse Nicholas Politis, cardiothoracic surgeon James Tatoulis and architect Alexander (Alec) Tzannes were all awarded as Members of the Order of Australia and will now have AM after their names.
Cardiothoracic surgeon and professor James Tatoulis was taken aback by the honour and says it was his best ever Queen’s birthday weekend.
“I’m very proud and chuffed I must say, and Monday was a very exciting day in the Tatoulis household,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
After 20 years as a surgeon, Professor Tatoulis has become the leading specialist for anything heart related and has headed the cardiothoracic surgery unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital since 1997. The people he treats might be different everyday, but one patient he won’t forget easily was his old Greek school teacher.
“Even though I was a reasonably good scholar at my regular school, I certainly did not enjoy Greek school, the usual thing was a twist of the ear and a slap across the face,” he remembers.
“I did get a slight bit of revenge because I ended up performing a heart operation on one of my Greek school teachers, later on.”
Joining the group of honours is Sergeant Jim Bellos, who was awarded with the Order of Australia Medal (OAM), another prize to add to his growing trophy cabinet.
He received the Australian Police Medal on Australia Day this year and was shortlisted for the Australian of the Year in 2013.
With so many awards in such a short time, it must be getting hard to properly display the lot.
“I don’t want to leave my awards at the police station because I’m modest, so all my awards, medals, trophies are now at my mum’s house in my old room,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
His mother -arguably his biggest fan – must be ecstatic to have the newest award in the collection.
Sergeant Bellos isn’t just about keeping the peace, he’s about fostering a good future for the very multicultural region he looks after. Asking him what he’s working on currently is a tough question.
In the next week, he’s organising a huge World Refugee Day sporting tournament. The event, started by Sergeant Bellos in 2008, is now hosted in 40 different countries and includes a wide variety of sport.
“This year we’ve actually got a tournament of a sport called kabaddi (a wrestling sport), which is like an Indian tiggy,” he says.
Also in the OAM list is dermatologist professor Katherine Evelyn Georgouras and footwear manufacturer John Karandonis.
Mr Karandonis started out in the late ’60s with his El Greco and Karandonis brand, eventually becoming known for his signature classic and high quality designs worldwide. He was asked by several European signature brands to manufacture men’s shoes for them under licence in Australia during the 1970s and 1980s.
Singled out for his service to the Greek community of Western Australia was Petros Vlachou.
Now an OAM, Mr Vlachou has been the trustee of the Hellenic Community of Western Australia since 2012 and has been a vital cog in the Greek Australian business community.
Former president of the Greek Australian Professional and Business Association of Western Australia and a HACCI award winner, he has contributed a great deal to the community.
Finishing the group is Christos Moraitis, who was awarded a public service medal for his work to Australia’s international affairs as Australia’s High Commissioner to Port Moresby and in senior legal and corporate roles at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
As the senior legal adviser to Australia’s head of mission in Port Moresby and head of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Corporate Management Division, Mr Moriatis has been integral in some of Australia’s biggest political decisions.
He has developed some of Australia’s international legal relationships with a wide range of other countries.
The Queens Birthday honours are awarded to “recognise, celebrate and say thank you to those who make a difference, those who achieve their best and those who serve others”.