More than 900 Greek brides travelled to Australia in May 1957 to marry husbands they had only seen by a photograph, sometimes not even that.
The brides, all aboard the ship Begona left the port of Piraeus and travelled for months, to reach the promised land Down Under, a land and culture they knew nothing about.
After the World and Civil Wars, marriage by proxy was a way for Greek men living in Australia to find wives of the same standing and cultural background and a way for Greek women and their families to escape poverty.
Peter Photakis, an educator and historian, also found himself on board of the Begona with his mother and two brothers at the age of eight. His mother wasn’t one of the ‘brides’, but he has since spent many years researching the historic voyage.
More than six decades after the journey and five years after the last gathering of the group, some of the Begona brides, joined by passengers of the historic ship and their families reunited – physically and virtually – in Adelaide last weekend, sharing stories and memories.
On 18 June 2022 Peter Photakis organised the 65 year reunion for the Begona Brides at Zante Restaurant in Adelaide, over lunch.
“Many of passengers turned up, especially John Sinodinos from Sydney who had his birthday on the ship on 31 May with his twin brother Bill when they were six old,” Peter Photakis told Neos Kosmos.
“My brother Paul Photakis who was also a twin with his brother Theo, also six years old and Stan Galantamos who was four years old.”
The three boys met after 65 years for the first time. The restaurant sponsored the reunion with a cake, loukoumades and tea and coffee.
“It was a very emotional event for me and the Begona Brides and their families,” he explained. “I believe that such a reunion should be held every year on the 16 June the day we arrived in Australia. The 900 young Greek women for me are the pioneers of the Greek Australian Diaspora who kept the Greek way of life and traditions for us all.”
In the history of Greek migration to Australia the 900 young Greek women is the largest number of single Greek women to come to Australia on a journey. However, not all of these stories were happy ones.
“I remember when we landed at the pier, the Melbourne pier, two or three of them in front of me started tearing up their photos because the photo they had in their hand and the gentleman that approached them wasn’t to their liking.”
Mr Photakis, has more memories like these to share. As many of the ‘brides’ are now in their 80s and some have passed away, he is determined to not let history forget their courage and sacrifice.
“I have finished my book with the title From Sianna to Adelaide With The Begona Brides Through The Eyes of an 8-year-old, and in the search for a bilingual publisher in Australia,” he said.
“My goals is to have the book published in both Greek and English.”