The headstone of a distinguished Greek Australian World War I veteran is set to be detailed 62 years after his death in 1961.
Up until recently, little was known about the later years of Sergeant Nicholas Rodakis, but his history is well documented.
Born in Athens in 1879, Rodakis worked in Europe as a Seaman on various ships from a young age.
With British citizenship, he landed in Sydney in 1902 aboard the steam cargo ship Lady Mildred, and was lucky enough to not have been working on the vessel when it wrecked on rocks in 1909, in Waterloo Tasmania.
He continued to work on various ships, up and down the Australian coast, and at age 30, he applied for Australian citizenship.
Eventually settling in Warrnambool, Victoria, he made the switch from the sea to the railways, becoming an engine driver.
The Greek, and now Australian, met and married his New Zealand born wife Ellen and they would have five children, Konstandinos, Alexandros, George, Katrina, and Marie. His three sons would go on to serve in World War II.
Then came along the First World War, and in 1916 at age 36, Rodakis enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF).
Despite being much older than the usual age of conscription, he found himself well prepared from his work on steam ships, work that saw him shovel coal into the furnace, fill the engine boiler with water by hand pump and stoking the furnace to maintain steam pressure.
He landed in England that same year, before being sent to France to fight with the AIF, together with his brother in-law Private William Albert Hope, who enlisted together with Rodakis.
A year earlier, his other brother in-law, Corporal Thomas Frank Hope had lost his life in Gallipoli.
Through his time at war, Rodakis was given rank of Lance Corporal and later Sergeant, and in 1917 was awarded the Australian Military Medal (MM) for Conspicuous Gallantry.
Part of his Citation reads: “When his unit was attacked by enemy snipers and machine guns, he mounted his gun in a very exposed position risking his life to defend his area, and his Comrades. He stood to his post firing his machine gun and helping repulse the attack.”
During the final year of the war, 1918, the Greek Aussie and members of his Battalion joined forces with the Americans and was awarded once again, this time with the United States Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in 1919.
Ironically, this granted him a lifetime rail pass, alongside a Pension for life.
Returning home and discharged from the army in August 1919, the family moved to Melbourne and Rodakis worked as a postal worker before passing away in 1961, aged 82.
George Ballas OAM became interested in Sergeant Rodakis’ story after reading about him in the book ‘Greek-Australians in the Australian Forces World War One and Two’ by Steve Kyritsis OAM.
So, he set out to find out more by first seeking help from family friends, the Politis/Frangos family, who had lived in Warrnambool for many years, but to little success.
After a long period of searching records and archives of cemeteries all around Victoria, the unmarked grave of the Sergeant and his wife was finally found at the Fawkner Cemetery in late 2022.
It did not sit well with Ballas and Kyritsis that the grave of a war hero sat there without anyone knowing, so they decided it deserves a headstone and plaque.
Other research conducted by Ballas was to find any descendants from the Rodakis’ family, and with the support of Kyritsis and Terry Kanellos OAM, both from the Hellenic RSL Sub-Branch, they located a great-grandson.
The headstone and plaque were completed in early November and an unveiling service will be held at the grave on December 8 at 11am.
Some of those in attendance will be representatives of the Greek and American governments, President of the Victorian RSL and Rodakis’ great grandson Stephen Cairns.
The blessing will be done by one of our Greek priests, and the Greek & Australian flags will be flying.
Anyone wishing to attend the Service will be welcomed with the location of the grave of the grave at Fawkner Memorial Park, Sydney Rd Fawkner, The Roman Catholic R, Grave 2408.
