Greek Café Culture In Australia
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Greek café culture in Australia (
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: Ελληνική κουλτούρα καφενείον στην Αυστραλία) is part of the shared history of Greece and Australia. For unskilled penniless Greek migrants, it was a pathway to success in which they created community hubs where Australians socialised. Greek cafés are also a singularly Australian phenomenon: the success of Arthur Comino’s fish shop in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
gave rise to a chain migration that saw hundreds of Greek migrants open oyster saloons across the country by 1900. Adapting to market changes and food trends, Greek proprietors went on to run fish shops, fruit shops, ice cream parlours, sundae shops, milk bars, snack bars, confectioneries, and cafés that dotted the Australian landscape for much of the twentieth century.


Presence

Almost every town in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, and country
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
had a Greek café, and as many as ten operated in larger towns like
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
and
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...
during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s—the heyday of the Greek café. Cafés were routinely open from 7am to midnight seven days a week, meals were cheap, portions were generous, and the menu was mostly the same countrywide. They have been described as the McDonalds of their time. The success of the Greek café is evident in the size of some establishments, the length of time some shops operated, the enterprise and resilience demonstrated by expansion and diversification, and the extent to which subsequent generations prospered in the adopted homeland of their parents and grandparents. This occurred despite the Anglophile Australia of the first half of the century. While names like the Paragon Café suggested proprietors’ origins, and names like Niagara Café exploited the popularity of American culture, others—the Regal Café, the Australia Café, etc.—were an attempt to align businesses with Australian sentiments. Greek food was not on the menu for the same reason.


Heritage listings

A number of Greek cafes are heritage-listed: *
Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex is a heritage-listed theatre and cafe at 74 Maitland Street, Bingara, Gwydir Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Mark Woodforde with construction (including significant changes to th ...
in
Bingara Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek') is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. T ...
, New South Wales * Paragon Cafe in
Katoomba Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council. Situated on the Great Western Highway and the Great Western Railway, Kato ...
, New South Wales * Comino's Cafe in Redcliffe, Queensland


See also

* Greek cafes in Queensland * Coffee in Greece *
Coffee culture Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the ...


References


Attribution

Coffeehouses and cafés in Australia Greek-Australian culture Coffee culture in Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Greek café culture in Australia