Theodoros Chrisant passed away peacefully during the Great Lent, on Saturday, 13 March, at the family home.
Mr Chrisant (Chrisanthakopoulos) was born in the mountainous village of Prasino (Karnessi), Arcadia in 1930, the sixth of nine children of Vasilios “Dalles” Chrisanthakopoulos and Marigo (née Pirpiris).
Mr Chrisant attended and completed year-12 high school at Vytina, and soon after, in 1950 was conscripted for national service. When he was discharged, he went to Athens where he worked in various jobs and lived with friends in abandoned buildings in the city.
In 1956, he migrated to Australia and lived with his older brother, Panagiotis, and his family in Yarraville.
The following year, in 1957, Mr Chrisant married Helen Koziaris also from Prasino. Instead of letting her come to Australia by ship, he had borrowed money to fly Helen from Greece – it was a lot of money at the time, the equivalent of half a year’s income.
In 1958, their first child, Vasilios was born, followed in the following year by Nikitas. The family moved into a new house in Altona North.
In the early years in Australia, Mr Chrisant worked in log trucking in country Victoria. He went on to work for Vic Rail, and then moved to at Empire Rubber, Geelong Road, in Footscray, where he was a leading foreman.
By this stage, Mr Chrisant already had a driving licence and a car, and had taught himself to speak English well. While at Empire Rubber, he was quickly promoted to supervisor. The company’s management were impressed by the employees Mr Chrisant chose and asked him from then on to: “Only bring in Greeks to work here.”
While Mr Chrisant did bring in Greek immigrants, he also bought in people from other nationalities as he believed everyone should be given a chance to work.
As his reputation for his effective recruiting grew, Mr Chrisant was also asked by Rheem Australia in Brooklyn to find Greeks for that factory as well.
Mr Chrisant successfully applied for and obtained a position in the Postmaster General’s Department (PMG – now Australia Post) at the General Post Office in Melbourne. He loved working in the heart of the city and it was here he learnt to eat steak and eggs and many other Australian dishes.
He worked with people of many nationalities and developed many friendships in the multicultural environment of the PMG.
Like many Greeks he longed for the mother country and in the late 1960s he packed up and sold the house to return to Greece with his family. While he was processing documents at Australian Immigration, a Customs Officer asked him if he was sure he wanted to return to Greece, as it was in the middle of turbulent times following the 1967 coup that brought in the military dictatorship. Mr Chrisant replied that he had already sold the house and all the family possessions had already been shipped to Greece.
The family stayed in Greece for 10 months. The family settled in Palio Faliro, Athens and Mr Chrisant worked at the Kalithea library and as a bus driver to the airport.
He came to realise that he had become an Aussie at heart and that his children had grown up as Aussies. The family packed up and returned to Australia. Soon after their return, in 1970, his third child, Maria, was born.
Mr Chrisant resumed working with Australia Post and he bought a house in Rosanna.
He continued to be active after he retired from Australia Post in 1985. Mr Chrisant dabbled in several ventures including taxis and managing businesses, such as the popular news agency Salapatas on Lonsdale Street in the early 1990s.
Mr Chrisant loved managing Salapatas which sold newspapers, magazines and books from Greece. It also sold Greek music and films. He was also responsible for distributing the material to the rest of Australia.
Salapatas was a popular hub for the Greeks of Melbourne and was a place full of music and stories as people came not only to buy but also to talk and discuss issues. It was a popular haunt for journalists and overseas visitors. Mr Chrisant loved meeting the people from all walks of life who came to the shop where Eleni, his wife, worked beside him. His children often lent a hand.
He had a good head for figures and a good memory for cards which contributed to make him a very skilful player of Diloti.
Mr Chrisant lived life to the fullest, and loved helping people. He lived his life how he wanted to and was kind and respectful to everyone he met. He will be missed not only by his family but the many friends across the world.
He is survived by his wife Eleni, his children, Vasilios, Nikitas and Maria, and grandchildren Eleni, Theodoros, Mikayla, Eliza, Steve, Irena and Helen.