A series of commemorative events is underway in Melbourne to honour the victims of the Pontian Greek Genocide, with community organisations, schools, and institutions uniting to remember the tragic history and celebrate the cultural legacy of Hellenism in Anatolia.
The official remembrance began on Wednesday 14 May by 3XY Radio Hellas and the Pontian program Xeniteas, hosted by Litsa Athanasiadis. Listeners were invited to send messages of solidarity and reflection.
On Thursday 15 and Friday 16 May, various school-based commemorations and educational programs are being held across Melbourne’s Greek schools and Pontian organisations, including storytelling sessions, student-led presentations, and candle-lighting ceremonies in honour of the genocide victims, aiming to engage younger generations in understanding the significance of the genocide and the cultural resilience of Hellenism in Anatolia.
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Several community centres also hosted smaller intergenerational conversations and oral history workshops, where descendants of Pontian refugees shared family stories, traditional music, and historical documents to foster dialogue and memory preservation.
On Sunday 18 May, a Memorial Church Service will be held at 9.30am at the Holy Monastery of Axion Estin in Northcote, followed by a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the on-site “Monument of the Fallen” at 11.30am. Organised by the Coordinating Committee for the Commemoration of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontos, these services offer the community an opportunity to pay their respects to the lives lost between 1913 and 1923.
Later that evening, a free public screening of the documentary Lethal Nationalism: Genocide of the Greeks 1913–1923 will take place at Pontiaki Estia in Brunswick at 5.30pm, followed by a Q&A session.
On Thursday 22 May at 7pm, writer and community leader Dean Kalimniou will deliver a special lecture titled “Judgment Day – Exploring When the Ottomans Had Their Day in Court Over the Genocide” at the Greek Centre’s Mezzanine Level, 168 Lonsdale Street. The event is hosted by Pontiaki Estia, Merimna Pontion Kyrion Oceania, and the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne.
On Monday 19 May, the Greek Centre building in Melbourne’s CBD will be lit in red to mark the official Day of Remembrance of the Pontian Greek Genocide, thanks to support from anonymous donors.
That evening at Alphington Grammar School, a new exhibition titled “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: The Athletic Legacy of Anatolian Hellenism” will be officially launched. The ten-day exhibition is curated by the educational institute Hellenism of Anatolia – from the Aegean to Pontos and pays tribute to the sporting and cultural resilience of Greek communities from Asia Minor, including Smyrna, Constantinople, and Pontos.
The display, hosted at the school’s Lyceum building, will be open to the public on select days from 19–29 May. The exhibition includes rare archival material, and visitors are encouraged to wear their favourite team colours to the opening night.
For full details, bookings, and educational tour information, members of the public are encouraged to contact the event coordinators listed in the official notices or call Yiota Stavridou on 0481 238 880.
