Soon the first floor façade of the Greek Centre of Contemporary Culture will act as a permanent reminder that the Parthenon Marbles still have not returned to Greece.

The community will install close replicas of the marbles that will be visible to all street traffic on Lonsdale Street, hoping to bring the issue to a much wider public.

Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV) president Bill Papastergiadis says the statues are about a month away from being unveiled, and will give the building a more Hellenic feel.

“It will add to the Hellenic profile of the building and also of the precinct,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

The statues were commissioned through the building’s architects, Bruce Henderson Architects, and was a part the GOCMV’s planning proposal to the council from the start.

“It was part of the process we went through to commit to the council that this is a project worth supporting and that’s why it was approved in record time,” Mr Papastergiadis.

Being so visible to the public, Mr Papastergiadis believes it will act as a reminder of the situation to Greeks and non-Greeks.

“It will serve that purpose of providing direct education about the current situation of the Parthenon Marbles,” he says.

GOCMV hopes to unveil the statues in the next month or so and will host a small celebration for the unveiling.