A delegation from the Hellenic Armed Forces, along with representatives of the Regional Government of Crete, were recently welcomed into Victoria’s Parliament by the President and Speaker of Parliament.
The meeting took place as part of the recent visit by representatives to Australia, as part of various commemorative events held in recognition of the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Crete, which took place in May 1941.
The delegation was welcomed by the Hon Nazih Elasmar, President of the Legislative Council and MP for Northern Metropolitan, and the Hon Colin Brooks, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and MP for Bundoora. The meeting was coordinated by Lee Tarlamis MP for South Eastern Metropolitan in the Legislative Council.
The Hellenic delegation comprised Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymouris (Deputy Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff), Colonel Miltiades Militsis of the Hellenic Air Force (Head of Public Relations Directorate), Colonel Ioannis Fasianos (Defence Attache of Greece in Australia) and Mr Kostas Dandoulis (Regional Councillor, Crete Regional Government). Other attendees included Mr Emmanuel Kakavelakis (Consul General of Greece in Melbourne), joined by Cretan community representatives Mr Milton Stamatakos and Mr Tony Tsourdalakis. It was my pleasure to attend as representative of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee.
The delegation was welcomed to the Victorian Parliament by President Nazih Elasmar, who spoke of the enduring gift of democracy which connects our two countries as well as the connections through the Hellenic link to Australia’s Anzac story and beyond. He also pointed to the great contribution of Australia’s Greek community to the development of Australia across many fields of endeavour. As a migrant himself, the President acknowledged the important place of Australia as a country that welcomed many peoples.
Mr Tarlamis spoke of the new Lemnos Remembrance Trail initiative that will help realise the aim of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and many others in honouring the connection between Australia’s involvement in Gallipoli and the island of Lemnos, pointing to the Committee’s erection of the Australian Pier Memorial and the two new Committee memorials to be erected in coming months (recognising Lemnos’ Anzac soldier and the Royal Australian Navy at Lemnos).
The Hellenic delegation – led by Vice Admiral Drymouris – endorsed these comments, recognising the important links between Australia and Greece, both in war and in peace and looked forward to working with the Australian Government in bringing the Remembrance Trail to reality.
In addressing the delegation, I pointed out that as they had travelled across Melbourne in recent days they had been following in the footsteps of some of the Anzacs who had served in Greece. The grounds of the Shrine of
Remembrance, where the delegation had taken part in the Battle of Crete commemorations, was also the training camp for the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train, who not only served on Lemnos and at Gallipoli, but are recognised as the most decorated unit of the Australian Navy in the First World War. And in nearby St Kilda, a young man of Hellenic heritage – Gunner James Zampelis – joined the Australian Army, served in the Greek campaign and was killed during the battle of Crete – his death honoured by the erection of a memorial plaque in the Cretan village of Mournies, supported by the Battle of Crete Council. The suburb of Yarraville has the distinction of being the birthplace of Warrant Officer Thomas Fenton, who also served in Greece – including at the battle of Rethymno on Crete, escaped capture by the Germans to serve with the Greek resistance and whose grandson Jon Ossoff now sits as a Senator in the US Congress. These are just some of the many experiences connecting Australia and Greece, across local communities and families in both countries.
A feature of the welcome was a visit to the Hellenic Anzac Memorial in the parliamentary gardens, a memorial which features a thriving olive tree and commemorative plaque. The memorial commemorates the solidarity forged between the Greek and Australian people – from Lemnos in 1915 to the Greek campaign of 1941 – and in the waves of post-war migration. The memorial was dedicated by the Premier of Victoria the Hon Daniel Andrews in May 2017.
As the author of the memorial text, I explained the inclusion in the dedication of words drawn from an Ancient Greek memorial from Athens that was read to Australia’s war correspondent and historian, Charles Bean, after the end of the war. The text was etched on a stone memorial from the Dardanelles, honouring Greek soldiers who fell at there in 440bc. The memorial carries the words in both the Greek and English language. The words are:
“They gave their shining youth, and raised thereby Valour’s own monument which cannot die (Θυσίασαν τα νιάτα τους για να εξυψώσουν το μνημείο της ανδρείας που είναι αθάνατο)”.
The Hellenic delegation expressed the desire to continue work with our commemorative community organisations in Melbourne, to build on the solidarity of our peoples and to work to realise the Anzac trail in Greece. The meeting concluded with the exchange of commemorative gifts, Mr Tarlamis presenting the delegation with copies of my own book Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed.
Jim Claven is a trained historian, freelance writer and published author. He has written Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed, the forthcoming Grecian Adventure on the Anzacs in the Greek campaign as well as many historical articles, presentations and led guided tours across Greece’s Anzac trail. He can be contacted by email: jimclaven@yahoo.com.au