The Greek diaspora of Melbourne mourns the passing of one of its most creative teachers, Christina Kolokotroni, on 6 May at the age of 91.
An innovative teacher, she managed to convey Greek language and customs to young people in the 1950s. Her contribution to education in the diaspora was impressive, and hundreds of students passed through her classrooms.
Filled with youngsters signed up to learn the language of their parents and grandparents, students would squeeze in – usually thirty in a class. All of them of different ages with different levels of Greek.
Despite the challenges, she managed to successfully teach the language and also establish programs using unique methods of teaching.
She was the founding teacher in many one-teacher schools and seemed to thrive in numerous environments, whether these be in community schools or within the state school system.
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Her students will remember her for her patience and kindness and infectious love for Greece. She also was a supportive colleague who was pleased with the success of others and believed in sharing knowledge and resources.
Born in Ano Porria, Serres, on 24 October, 1930, in a family of five daughters. Aged just 25, she moved to Melbourne in June 1955, fresh from her studies at the Teaching Academy of Thessaloniki. A few days following her arrival, she married Tasos Kolokotronis, the love of her life, with whom she had two daughters – Angela and Anna.
By February 1957, she worked with Ilias Rentzis, then head of the Greek Community of Brunswick, and she got to work teaching and working to establish Greek schools with the newly created community of Brunswick. Initially, 60 students attended lessons at the storage room of a Milk Bar for a year, without having to pay rent until the community was finally able to create its own school. She worked for 24 years teaching language and Greek dance, but also taught at Coburg, Glenroy and the Greek Acadmy of Melbourne before becoming a permanent teacher of the Education Department of Victoria at Richmond Girls High where she worked for eight years. She only retired once her first grandchild was born.
Married for nearly seventy years with Tasos Kolokotronis, the couple’s house was always open to their fellow diasporans.
Mrs Kolokotroni aslo volunteered at various events and spent hundreds of hours knitting children’s clothes and creating little dolls for the Children’s Hospital of Melbourne.
