A moving bridge was formed between Thrylorio (Rodopi) and Perth as the community in Western Australia hosted the launch of a new volume on George Devine Treloar, the Australian humanitarian who aided tens of thousands of Greek, Armenian and Assyrian refugees in the 1920s.
The event, held at the Archdiocesan District of WA Centre in Dianella, presented the pioneering book From Genocide to Rebirth: The Photographs of George Devine Treloar by Professor David Treloar and Dr Panayiotis Diamantis. It was organised by Unity in Philia in partnership with the Pontian Brotherhood of Western Australia, with the support of the Hellenic Community of Western Australia.
The program combined speeches, historic photographs, music and dance, with the Pontian Brotherhood’s dance troupe performing traditional pieces from the martyred Pontus, a powerful reminder that four generations after the Genocide, Australian-born Greek youth continue to learn and share Pontian culture.
A highlight of the evening was a live video link with Thrylorio, the village that in 1923 was renamed in honour of Colonel Treloar.
“We honour the descendants of Colonel Treloar for their father’s service to Hellenism in those difficult years, and we now consider them our own people, Thrylorioites,” said Chrysa Mavridou, president of the Cultural Association of Pontians of Thrylorio “Kerasounta and Gars.”
The book was officially launched by Dr Melanie O’Brien, Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia, who recalled presenting a lecture in Perth seven years ago on Treloar’s work.
“I am delighted to present this book,” Dr O’Brien said. “I have followed the research of Professor Treloar and Dr Diamantis for years. Congratulations on this achievement. I encourage everyone to support this volume in every way.”
Key addresses were delivered by the authors. Professor David Treloar, 89, son of the Colonel and custodian of his father’s photographs, shared stories of the philanthropic relief operations in Greece during the 1920s. Using his camera, the elder Treloar documented both his work and the refugees whose shattered lives he helped rebuild.
Dr Diamantis outlined his field research, retracing Treloar’s steps through Thrace, Macedonia and Athens to identify the original locations of many images—work that reconstructs major elements of Treloar’s legacy.
Greetings were also offered by Eleni Georgopoulou, Consul of the Hellenic Republic in Perth, while Nikos Keskinidis, vice-president of the Pontian Brotherhood of WA, served as MC.
The Greek-language edition of the book, Από τη Γενοκτονία στην Αναγέννηση: οι φωτογραφίες του George Devine Treloar, is scheduled for release in January 2026.
