Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Nicholas Kotsiras was presented with a plaque at the Piers Festival, as he joined thousands of Victorians to celebrate the state’s cultural diversity at the third annual Piers Festival as part of Australia Day activities.
The plaque, a promotional poster for Patris, an immigrant ship that 50 years ago brought Minister Kotsiras’ family to Victoria, was presented to the minister at the spot where he first stepped onto Australian soil.
Featuring the traditions of numerous Victoria’s migrant communities, Mr Kotsiras said the Piers Festival is an event truly representative of Victoria’s renowned cultural and religious diversity, which sees people gather on Princes Pier to celebrate Victoria’s migration history, creating a strong sense of community.
“The pier precinct represents the hopes, dreams, and ultimately the achievements and contributions of migrants to our diverse and prosperous modern Victoria,” Mr Kotsiras said.
“The Victorian Coalition Government encourages all cultural groups to cherish and preserve their traditions and, importantly, to share these with the wider community.
“Station Pier is known as the ‘gateway’ to migration in Victoria, and like many, my family arrived at this point from Greece 50 years ago, so I appreciate the significance of this area in Victoria’s migration story,” he said.
Station and Princes Pier are of significant interest, being the arrival and departure points for thousands of immigrants throughout key moments in Victoria’s history, including the gold rush, wartime and post-war migration, having been symbolic gateways to Victoria’s development and diversity for more than 150 years, Minister Kotsiras explained.
The Piers Festival 2014, organised by Multicultural Arts Victoria, with support from Arts Victoria and the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, featured multicultural music, dance, food stalls, historical artefacts, film screenings and a spectacular fireworks display.