Panagiotis Liveriadis, a giant of Greek-language teaching in Melbourne, passed away on 16 November, aged 93.
He first came to Australia as a teacher on secondment from Greece, leaving a position as Senior High School Head of the 1st Lyceum of Thessaloniki. He was the first teacher sent from Greece in the post-war period, and was appointed as an educational consultant in 1977.
At the time there were more than 25,000 students of Greek in Melbourne and the appointment of education consultants in Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne from Greece were imperative for the continuation of language and heritage in Australia.
At the time, the supply of teachers exceeded demand and, for this reason, many high school graduates who took on teaching roles were guided by Mr Liveriadis.
Post-war Greek immigrants who flooded to Australia, were dependent on Mr Liveriadis for the education of their children and continuation of Hellenism in their new home.
Mr Liveriadis was heavily involved in education and was fundamental to the success of St John’s College, where he served as an educator.
He held numerous institutional roles in the Greek community of Melbourne and was known as a connector who managed to facilitate unions between state, community, independent and church schools, along with representatives of teachers from the mainstream school system.
A visionary of Greek language, he was responsible for keeping the language alive in the Antipodes.
Apart from ensuring the continuity of language, he also ensured that Greek cultural heritage and traditions were kept alive. A strong advocate on matters of Hellenism, he stood by Cyprus in their struggles and Macedonia, organised student competitions and was the first President of the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies and served as such from 1986-2016.
He is survived by his wife Anastasia and his three children Stamati, Iphigenia and Telemachos, who follow the medical profession.
