On August 2, Professor Joy Damousi will present a talk on the historical significance of sports in the development of the Greek community in Australia. Since the arrival of Greeks in the nineteenth century, sports have been a crucial element in the institutional growth of the community.

Initially, Greek involvement in sports primarily focused on gymnastics, athletics, and wrestling, usually taking place at community picnics and gatherings before the Second World War. However, the post-war period witnessed a significant shift with the influx of Greek immigrants, leading to the establishment of youth clubs in major cities. This culminated in the Panhellenic Games from 1953 to 1963.

During the 1960s and 1970s, organized youth soccer teams, and subsequently Greek football clubs, emerged in major Australian cities. These clubs participated in various soccer competitions, often competing against other ethnic teams. They played a vital role in expressing and asserting Greek identity and culture during the assimilation period of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the multiculturalism era of the 1970s and 1980s.

While the focus of the history of sports within the Greek community primarily centers on soccer, it is also important to consider the involvement of Greeks in other sporting codes, such as Australian rules football. Greeks have made notable contributions to Australian rules football, including the establishment of a Greek Team of the Century in 2004. Prof. Damousi’s paper will explore various aspects of this history, including gender, identity, culture, generational change, and how sports have both fostered and challenged these aspects within the Greek-Australian diaspora.

Professor Joy Damousi is a distinguished historian, serving as the Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences and Dean of Arts at the Australian Catholic University. She is a respected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences. Her extensive research and publications focus on gender history, the aftermaths of war, migration, and refugee history.

The presentation is part of La Trobe University’s Greek Studies Program , the Dardalis Archives of the Hellenic Diaspora, and the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria seminar series; The History of the Greeks in Australia in Six Objects

Time: 7pm, Venue: Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne