Fifty-five years ago, in 1970, Haralambos Hiolos left behind his village in the Karditsa to make the mighty trip to the very distant Australia.
Alongside him was his now late wife Stamatia, and their four children, Soula, Thomais, Thanasis, and Foni.
They arrived in Melbourne aboard the legendary ship that brought many Greek migrants, the ‘Patris’, on 16 December.
The family settled in Port Melbourne where Hiolos, born in 1933, still lives today.
Both he and his wife worked hard to offer their children a better future on the other side of the Earth, and over the years the family grew.
Soula married George Zoumbas, Thomais married the late Christos Saristavros, Thanasis married Jenny Ziskos and Foni married George Sinis, and they had their own children.
Haralambos became a grandfather ten times and is now also an eleven time great-grandfather,
“And two more great-grandchildren are ‘coming’,” he said happily to Neos Kosmos on Easter Sunday at the home of George and Soula Zoumbas in Clarinda.
The lamb had been roasted on a spit and all the traditional dishes were on the table, with lots of help from their daughter-in-law, Maria Kapetaneli.
After the sumptuous meal, the traditional egg-cracking followed with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (there were only a few absences until that time) wishing “Happy Easter” to the overjoyed Haralambos.
