The Kazzie Club on Sunday celebrated the centenary of Kastellorizian migration and settlement in Victoria with the opening of an exhibition, a film screening, and the announcement of upcoming events. Over 100 gathered at the South Melbourne club — Kazzies spanning up to four generations.
The exhibition showcases intangible cultural traditions through costumes, heirlooms, and jewellery, many of which have been preserved across families.
The Kazzies arrived in four waves of migration, according to organiser Gina Gekas.
“Some came in the late 1800s, then a second wave from 1921 to 1926, a third from 1927 to 1939, and the fourth in 1945 after the Great Fire,” Gekas told Neos Kosmos.
She pointed to a display of finely embroidered men’s slippers. “They represent a meld of Eastern and Western designs,” she explained, influenced by Italian, French, and Turkish aesthetics. “The design often reflected the cultural influences that went through the island, or that Kazzies brought back as traders and seafarers. In some cases, Kazzie women saw how beautiful these slippers were, added a heel, and made them formal women’s shoes.”
The hall was also decorated with “the first of everything,” Gekas said — “the first brotherhood, the first president, the first Kastellorizian of the Year.”
Club president Nick Spartels was beaming with pride. Gesturing toward the board of past luminaries Spartels said, “I look at them and I see all the history of the club”.
“Look, Spartels, a president in 1955 — there is nearly 25 years of the Spartels in the century of the club being established. My grandfather, my father and I, the third generation.”
The family name Spartelis was changed to Spartels. “In those days, you know, they would have changed their names just to avoid kind of racism,” he said.
“My grandfather came out here in early 1912. They left their families to establish themselves, to get a better life. The Kazzie Club was formed to help new arrivals as they came in.”
From this small Aegean island came some of Australia’s most esteemed legal, political, business, and professional figures — families like Moraitis and Bisas.
Despite the broad Australian accents of some elders, their core of Hellenism remains strong after a century.
“As life goes on, people intermarry other cultures, however we’ve been very well established, and we’ve kept it going. Sometimes we struggle to get the younger set into the club, but they do come back,” said Spartels.
He reflected on his own experience, “Young people change, once you get to 30 or something — you want to go back home.
“When I went to the island for the first time, my hair stood up. I thought about my grandparents, how they struggled on this island.
“I want to keep it going. I want to keep the club for future generations — my children’s kids, and their kids.
“Now I look at all these names of past presidents, like Jack Bisas and George Zervos”. Kevin Zervos, the son of George, is head of the Justice of Appeal of Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal and former Director of Public Prosecutions (2011–2013). “I was in awe of them, they were an inspiration to me. I used to see how they struggled and how everyone was united here.”
Christine Dimer, president of the Kazzie Seniors Club, praised the support of the City of Port Phillip which “contributed to the great success of the afternoon.”
“The seniors have been running much of the club, and I could say the majority of Kastellorizians now are seniors — we’ve all hung in there. We’re trying to get the young people to come in, that’s a bit hard,” she said.
“I think once we’re gone to God, our kids and our grandchildren who are born here, like many of us, will come back to the club,” Dimer said.
“My family in Australia goes back four generations, and when we were young, we didn’t want to hang around with mum and dad. Now we are seniors and in the club.”
Dimer’s grandfather arrived in Queensland in the late 1800s, where he worked as a sugarcane cutter. “My mother was born in Innisfail, Queensland. A certificate in the hall shows my mother attending a great school there, saying that she got top marks for a couple of years.”
Celebrations will continue with a lecture on September 18 at the Greek Centre. Florence Livery will present Stardust: The Golden Years of the Kastellorizian Ladies Society, highlighting the role of one of the first Greek women’s associations in Australia.
