Dimitris Alexandros Tzortzopoulos, known as Jim Poulos, died peacefully on 12 February, aged 91.
Born in the village of Karavas on the island of Kythera on 15 August 1928, Jim was the third and youngest child of Alex Poulos and Maria Sourris. Like most Kytherians of that generation, Alex and Maria lived simply and dreamt of a better life in Australia. In 1927, Jim’s father left his wife Maria, their daughter Stephanie and son George in Karavas and travelled alone to Australia. Alec didn’t know when they left Kythera that Maria was pregnant with Jim.
Jim’s sister, Stephanie, died in Karavas the same time as Jim was born.
On arriving in Australia in 1927, Jim’s father bought a cafe in the town of Yalabin and tried as best as he could to make the business profitable. It took Alex seven years to save enough money to bring his family to Australia. In 1935, Jim arrived to the country with his mother and brother. He was seven years of age when he met his father for the first time.
Jim’s family moved to Goondiwindi and worked in a cafe for 12 months. From Goondiwindi they went to Stanthorpe, then Texas, Clermont and Rockhampton. The family bought a butcher shop in Inglewood, and that is where Jim worked for the first time. Aged 12, he would go to the family butcher’s shop every morning before school in a horse and cart and deliver meat to their customers.
From Inglewood, the family moved to Warialda where they became cinema proprietors for three years during WWII.
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The family then moved to Gosford where Jim finished school. His uncle, Chris Sourris, arranged for Jim to be educated in Sydney as an architect, however Jim decided to stay in Gosford to assist his family. Both Jim and George were actively involved in the town’s community and the family was well-respected. They invested the small profits which they made into the property and saved for their future.
In the mid-1950s, Jim, his parents and brother moved to Brisbane where they bought and operated a cinema in Sandgate, known as The Beach Theatre. In those days, cinemas were difficult to operate and finding a movie to showcase was always a challenge. On opening night, they could not find a 1st-run movie and the movie houses could only give the family a 5th-run film called Gentleman Jim. The film’s name stuck, and it became the nickname of Jim, who was always the Gentleman. However, the family had jitters, wondering if the old film would draw the crowds to the 1200-seat venue, but their fears proved groundless and the event was sold out while the movie house enjoyed success for many years to come. Later, the family also bought a cinema at Shorncluffe and ran both cinema houses.
Later, Jim and George ventured into property development. They built and rented out properties on the stops of the Brisbane tram network. Their strategy proved to be successful.
In 1959, Jim married Gloria Andronicos, a young girl from Toowoomba. The two were soul mates and Gloria became Jim’s best friend and devoted wife for the next 60 years. Jim and Gloria’s son, Alec, was born in 1960, and their daughter Maria was born in 1962, followed by the birth of Harry in 1967.
Jim’s brother died in 1964, aged 37. George’s death proved to be hard for Jim, who sold the cinema and took on his brother’s family as his own. Supporting three families – his parents, George’s and his own – he continued with property projects.
An avid sportsman, he played golf, squash and tennis and was involved in numerous community activities, such as AHEPA. Jim and Gloria enjoyed playing cards, had many valued friends and bonds with their extended family. Jim’s main joy, however, was his wife Gloria, children, daughter-in-law Georgia, son-in-law Steve and grandchildren Nick, Lauren, Kathryn and Demi.
He died fulfilled having lived a full life with many adventures, love and prosperity.
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