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Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are
Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...
of
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...
ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global
Greek diaspora The Greek diaspora, also known as Omogenia ( el, Ομογένεια, Omogéneia), are the communities of Greeks living outside of Greece and Cyprus (excluding Northern Cyprus). Such places historically include Albania, North Macedonia, parts of ...
. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), comprising 1.7% of the Australian population.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx At the 2021 census, 92,314 Australian residents were born in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx Greek immigration to Australia has been one of the largest migratory flows in the
history of Australia The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all parts ...
, especially after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
. The flow of migrants from Greece increased slightly in 2015 due to the
economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
in Greece, with Australia as one of the main destinations for departing Greeks, mainly to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, where the Greek Australian community is most deeply established. 88% of Greek Australians speak Greek and 91% are members of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
also have a close bilateral relationship based on historical ties and the rich contribution of Greek Australians to Australian society. In 2019, the export of Australian services to Greece was valued at $92 million, while services imports from Greece totalled $750 million. Australia's stock of investment in Greece in 2019 totalled $481 million, while investment in Australia from Greece was $192 million.


History


Early Greek immigration

Greek immigration to Australia began in the early colonial period in the 19th century. The first known Greeks arrived in 1829.Department of Immigration & Citizenship: Media – Publications: Statistics – Community Information Summaries
/ref> These Greeks were seven sailors, convicted of piracy by a British naval court, and were sentenced to transportation to
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. Though they were eventually pardoned, two of those seven Greeks stayed and settled in the country. One settled on the Monaro Plains in Southern New South Wales and one at Picton near Sydney. Their names were Ghikas Bulgaris known as Jigger Bulgari, and Andonis Manolis. Jigger Bulgari married an Irish woman, and they had many children. Jigger was buried at Nimmitabel Pioneer Cemetery. The Hellenic Club of Canberra laid a commemorative marble plaque over his resting place around 2000. Andonis Manolis' grave is in the old cemetery at Mittagong. The first known free Greek migrant to Australia was Katerina Georgia Plessos (1809–1907), who arrived in Sydney with her husband Major James Crummer in 1835. They married in 1827 on the island of Kalamos where Crummer, the island's commandant met the young refugee from the
Greek independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
wars. In her youth she must have been one of the last living people to speak to Lord Byron. They lived in Sydney, Newcastle and Port Macquarie. They had 11 children. The first wave of free Hellenic migrants commenced in the 1850s, and continued through the end of the 19th century, prompted in part by the recent discovery of gold in the country. A young Greek immigrant born in Athens, Greece named Georgios Tramountanas (1822 – 29 January 1911) and anglicised as George North in 1858, was the first settler of Greek origin in South Australia in 1842. The Greek community of South Australia regards North (Tramountanas) as their Pioneering Grandfather. In 1901, the year of federation, the Australian census recorded 878 native Greeks that were born there (In Greece), now living in Australia. Many of these Greeks were owners of or were employed in shops and restaurants. Some were also cane-cutters in Queensland.


20th century Greek immigration

From the last decade of the 19th century until
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the number of Greeks immigrating to Australia increased steadily and Hellenic communities were reasonably well established in Melbourne and Sydney at this time. The Greek language press began in Australia and in 1913, Australia had the first Greek weekly newspaper called ''Afstralia'' that was published in Melbourne. During WWI Greece remained neutral, eventually joining the side of the Allies. In 1916, the Australian government responded to this by placing a special prohibition on the entry of Greeks and Maltese people to Australia that was not lifted until 1920. There were a number of
anti-Greek Anti-Greek sentiment (also known as Hellenophobia ( el, ελληνοφοβία, translit=ellēnophobía), anti-Hellenism, ( el, ανθελληνισμός, translit=anthellinismós), mishellenism ( el, μισελληνισμός, translit=misell ...
outbursts as a result of the neutrality stance by Greece, often instigated by Australian soldiers on leave. During these outbursts, Greek shops and Greek cafés were badly damaged or destroyed, with the worst rioting occurring in
Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
and
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...
. During the 1920s, as a result of the Greco-Turkish War there was a significant amount of Greek migration to
Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...
and across the Top End. Greeks often worked in the canefields in North Queensland and move to Darwin during the dry season to work in the pearling industry. One famous family of Greek Australians, the
Paspaley Paspaley, officially the Paspaley Pearling Company, a private company, is Australia's largest and oldest pearling company; that cultivates, farms, harvests, wholesales and retails South Sea pearls for the purposes of luxury jewellery supply a ...
family from the island of
Kastellorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo (; el, Καστελλόριζο, Kastellórizo), officially Megisti ( ''Megísti''), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south co ...
, excelled in the Pearling industry and have stores across Australia with their main store in Darwin. It is noted that the first major flow of Greek immigrants to Australia began in the mid 1920s, where a large number of Greek people from Kastellorizo migrated to Australia to escape the Ottoman repression. A large number of these people from Greece's easternmost island spent time in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
's second largest city,
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, before being offered migration to Australia by British authorities. Those of Kastellorizian descent living in Australia now refer to themselves as 'Kazzies,' and have maintained a strong and unique community. During the interwar period, the number of Greeks migrating to Australia increased substantially. Some Greeks who settled in Australia were expelled from Asia Minor after the Greek military defeat and the genocide committed by Turkey between 1913 and 1922, while other Greeks sought entry after the USA established restrictive immigration quotas in the early 1920s. From 1924 until 1936 a series of regulations operating in Australia severely restricted the number of Greeks permitted to immigrate to and settle in Australia. Greece entered
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
with the Allies when she was invaded by German and Italian forces who remained in Greece until 1944. Many ANZACs went to the nation and tried to help the population to defeat the Axis enemy only to be saved themselves by the locals, building a relationship between Australians and Greeks that stands strong to this day. When troops withdrew a struggle broke out between pro and anti-communist factions which resulted in civil war between 1946 and 1949, ending with the defeat of the communists, but at a cost of many Greek lives and the uprooting of children who were kidnapped and taken from their families. The Greek government, devastated by the destruction of infrastructure and the mass looting of their banks by the Germans, encouraged post-war migration as a way of solving poverty and unemployment problems. Post WWII in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Greeks were one of the main European races picked by the Australian government's " Populate or perish" immigration scheme and due to this thousands of Greeks migrated to Australia to gain a better life and future for themselves and their families. The main destinations where these "Hellenes" immigrated were cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. During these decades, Greeks began to establish their own restaurants, Hellenic Community Clubs, and Greek-Australian soccer clubs. Greeks along with Italians, Croatians, Maltese, Serbians, Jews, Hungarians, Czechs, etc. marked a milestone on Australian sport in general by forming many successful Association football clubs. The most successful Australian clubs with Greek heritage and culture are South Melbourne Hellas (
South Melbourne FC South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium ...
) founded in 1959, Alexander the Great (
Heidelberg United FC Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...
) founded in 1958, Pan-Hellenic (
Sydney Olympic FC Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club in 1957 by Greek immigran ...
) founded in 1957, West Adelaide Hellas (
West Adelaide SC West Adelaide Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club currently playing in the South Australian State League 1. Traditionally named Hellas, the club was founded by members of the Greek community of Adelaide. West Adelaide became a founding me ...
) founded in 1962 and Brisbane Pan Rhodian (
Olympic FC Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1967 and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, with home matches played at Goodwin Park. The club has grow ...
) founded in 1967. All five clubs were founded by Greek immigrants that immigrated to those respective cities. After the changes in Greece from the mid 1970s, including the fall of the
Papadopoulos Papadopoulos ( el, Παπαδόπουλος, ; meaning "son of a priest") is the most common Greek surname. It is used in Greece, Cyprus and countries of the Greek diaspora as well, such as the USA, United Kingdom, Australia and Scandinavian countri ...
regime in 1974 and the formal inclusion of Greece into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, Greek immigration to Australia has slowed since the 1971 peak of 160,200 arrivals. Within Australia, the Greek immigrants have been "extremely well organised socially and politically", with approximately 600 Greek organisations in the country by 1973, and immigrants have strived to maintain their faith and cultural identity. By comparison, the Greek Cypriot community in Australia doubled following the Invasion of Cyprus by Turkey following a campaign of ethnic cleansing in 1974.


21st century Greek immigration

Since the year 2000, Greek immigration to Australia has slowed down. However, in the years 2000–2009, many Greek-Australians both native Greek and Australian-born, returned to Greece to discover their homeland and reconnect with their ancestral roots. Yet, as the economic crisis in Greece grew, the opportunities for temporary resident Greek Australians abroad were limited. For this reason many Greek Australians have shortened their planned long term stays in Greece and have returned home to Australia. In the early 2010s, there has been an increase of Greek immigration flows to Australia due to unemployment, among other issues, because of the economic crisis in Greece. This has led to the return of many Greek Australians which had gone to Greece before the crisis and also the arrival of newcomers from Greece, who have been received by the large Greek Australian community mainly in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.


Demographics

At the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), comprising 1.7% of the Australian population.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx At the 2021 census, 92,314 Australian residents were born in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx The largest concentration of Greek Australians is in the
state of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state i ...
, which is often regarded as the heartland of the Greek Australian community. Victoria's capital Melbourne has the largest Greek Australian community in Australia. The 2021 census showed that the following states had the largest numbers of people nominating Greek ancestry: Victoria (181,184), New South Wales (141,627), South Australia (40,704), Queensland (32,702), Western Australia (16,117). One study investigating the 54 most common ethnic groups in Australia found that Greek Australians had the lowest rate of intermarriage (marrying outside their ethnicity) than every other ethnicity in the first, second and third generations.


Culture


Religion

According to census data released by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments ...
in 2016, 91.4% of Australians with Greek ancestry are Christian, mainly Eastern Orthodox, however minorities who belong to different Christian denominations like Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals also exist. Together, these other denominations make up 0.4% of the Greek Australian population. 5.6% identified as spiritual, secular or irreligious, and 2.6% did not answer the census question on religion. Greek Australians are predominantly
Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
. The largest religious body of Greek Orthodox Australians is the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is the Australian archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The archdiocese is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinop ...
, with its headquarters at the Cathedral of The Annunciation of Our Lady in the inner
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
suburb of Redfern. According to SBS, Greeks in Australia have got higher weekly church attendance and higher levels of religiosity than Greeks in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.


Greek language

In 2016, the
Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...
was spoken at home by 237,588 Australian residents, a 5.8% decrease from the 2011 census data. Greek is the seventh most commonly spoken language in Australia after English, Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Italian. The remainder of the ethnic Greek population in Australia mainly use English as their first language.


Media

The Greek language press had begun in Australia in 1913 when the first Greek weekly newspaper was published in Melbourne. In South Australia, the local Greek community published a short-lived newspaper called ''Okeanis'' (Oceania), around 1914 before it moved to Sydney. On 16 November 1926, George Marsellos and John Stilson published a broadsheet under the name ''Panellenios Keryx'' (Panhellenic Herald or ''
The Greek Herald The Greek Herald (Ellinikos Kirikas) is the largest and one of the oldest daily Greek community newspapers in Australia. The newspaper is published by Foreign Language Press Ltd. History Founded by George Marsellos and John Stilson the newspap ...
''), becoming the second national Greek newspaper in Australia. In 1935 and 1936 a third newspaper, ''Pharos'' (Lighthouse), was published, and a number of short-lived titles were issued in the late 1960s, with the longest of these being ''Tachydromos'' (Mailman), founded in September 1968. In 1957, Hellenic/Greek language newspaper ''Neos Kosmos'' was founded by Dimitri Gogos, Bill Stefanou and Alekos Doukas, the latter also being an exceptionally well known author. Since 1994, a publication called ''Paroikiako Vema'' (Steps in the adopted Country) and printed in Renmark, has served the Greek community in rural South Australia. Multicultural broadcaster SBS (
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
) airs a Greek-language radio program every afternoon from 4 PM to 6 PM. The program features news, current affairs, music, interviews, and a talkback segment, where listeners can dial into the program from 5:30 PM onwards and express their opinion on a topic being focused on. Additionally, SBS also airs Greek public broadcaster ERT's Eidiseis news program every morning as part of their WorldWatch programming block.


Notable individuals


Academic

* Nikos Athanasou – Professor of Musculoskeletal Pathology at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and Greek-Australian novelist. * Nick (Νικήτας) Birbilis – Professor of Engineering at the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
. *
Adrian David Cheok Adrian David Cheok is an Australian political figure, electrical engineer, and academic. He is a professor at in Tokyo, Japan. In the 2019 federal election, he ran to represent the Division of Boothby as a member of the far-right Fraser Ann ...
– Professor of Pervasive Computing at
City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...
& Director of the Mixed Reality Lab *
Nicholas Doumanis Nicholas Doumanis is a historian of Europe and the Mediterranean world. Born in Australia in 1964, he studied at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, where he acquired his PhD. Nicholas is currently a Professor of His ...
– Assoc. Professor of History, at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
*
Nikolas Kompridis Nikolas Kompridis (; born 1953) is a Canadian philosopher and political theorist. His major published work addresses the direction and orientation of Frankfurt School critical theory; the legacy of philosophical romanticism; and the aesthetic dim ...
– Professorial Fellow at the
University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network u ...
in the School of Humanities & Communication Arts * Christos Pantelis – Professor of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne * Maria Skyllas-Kazacos – Emeritus Professor at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
, chemical engineer best known for her pioneering work of the
vanadium redox battery The vanadium redox battery (VRB), also known as the vanadium flow battery (VFB) or vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), is a type of rechargeable flow battery. It employs vanadium ions as charge carriers. The battery uses vanadium's ability ...
*
John Tasioulas John Tasioulas (born 18 December 1964) is a Greek-Australian moral and legal philosopher. He is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Ethics in AI (artificial intelligence), and Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy, Faculty of Philosoph ...
– Director of Institute for Ethics in AI and Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy at
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
and first Greek-Australian
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...


Art and design

*
Con Chrisoulis Con Chrisoulis is a Greek multidisciplinary artist and academic, most famous for his graphic novels, '' Tales of The Smiths'', ''Dryland'', ''Giant-Size Fascists'', and ''Rebel Rebel''. Career Chrisoulis was born in Victoria, Australia, to Gree ...
– comic book creator *
Nonda Katsalidis Nonda Katsalidis (born 1951) is a Greek-Australian architect. He is currently a practising director of architecture firm Fender Katsalidis Architects in partnership with Karl Fender. Biography Early life Nonda Katsalidis was born in 1951 ...
– architect *
Marc Newson Marc Andrew Newson CBE RDI (born 20 October 1963) is an industrial designer who works in aircraft cabin design, product design, furniture design, jewellery, and clothing. His style uses smooth geometric lines, translucency, strength, tran ...
– industrial designer * Polixeni Papapetrou – artist * Paul Pholeros – architect * Tony Rafty – caricaturist * Stelarc (Stelios Arkadiou) – artist *
Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...
– writer *
Michael Zavros Michael Zavros is an Australian artist. Early life and education Zavros studied printmaking at Queensland College of Art in the 1990s. Awards Zavros has won three Australian drawing prizes: The Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award in 2002, Th ...
– artist/painter


Business

* Harry Katsiabanis *
Mark Bouris Mark Leigh Bouris is an Australian businessman who is best known as the founder and chairman of 'Wizard Home Loans', Australia's second largest non-bank mortgage lender behind Aussie Home Loans. He is now the chairman of Yellow Brick Road, a b ...
– managing director of Wizard *
George Calombaris George Dimitrios Calombaris (born 4 October 1978) is an Australian chef and restaurateur. Calombaris was one of the judges of the Network 10 series '' MasterChef Australia'' from 2009 to 2019. Prior to his role on ''MasterChef Australia'', Calo ...
– chef, former judge MasterChef Australia *
Con Constantine Con Constantine (born 1 July 1945) is a Cypriot Australian businessman and the former owner of the Australian football (soccer) club Newcastle United Jets. Biography Early life Con Constantine migrated to Australia with his parents and sibl ...
– former chairman, Newcastle United Jets *
Andrew Demetriou Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. Demetriou play ...
– chief executive,
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
* Antony J. J. Lucas – businessman noted for his philanthropic activities * Marinos Lucas – businessman, theatre company operator *
Andrew N. Liveris Andrew N. Liveris (born 5 May 1954) is an Australian former CEO and chairman of The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Michigan. Liveris has been a member of Dow's board of directors since February 2004, CEO since November 2004 and was elected as ...
– CEO of
Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastic ...
* Kostas Makris – the richest Greek in Australia (in the top 30 of the richest residents in Australia) *
Nick Pappas Nicholas George Pappas ( el, Νικόλαος Γεώργιος Παπαναστασιου) is a solicitor from Sydney, Australia, and also the current chairman of the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby league club. He was also chairman of the club ...
– chairman,
South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...
*
Nicholas Paspaley Senior Paspaley, officially the Paspaley Pearling Company, a private company, is Australia's largest and oldest pearl hunting, pearling company; that cultivates, farms, harvests, wholesales and retails Pinctada maxima, South Sea pearls for the purpose ...
and Paspaley family (Paspalis) –
Paspaley Paspaley, officially the Paspaley Pearling Company, a private company, is Australia's largest and oldest pearling company; that cultivates, farms, harvests, wholesales and retails South Sea pearls for the purposes of luxury jewellery supply a ...
dominate the pearling industry; large property holdings in Darwin CBD and properties in Sydney *
George Peponis George Peponis (born Georgios Peponis el, Γιώργος Πεπόνης; on 3 September 1953) is a Greek Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national and New South Wales stat ...
– chairman,
Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
* Geoff Polites – chief executive officer of Australian
Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (also known as JLR), and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is a ...
FPV President / Tickford managing director *
Nick Politis Nicholas George Politis (born 1944) is an Australian businessman and chairman of the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Politis is also responsible for the first sponsor on a professional rugby league team's jersey. ...
– car retailer and chairman of the Sydney Roosters rugby league club * James Samios – Hon. MBE
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...
,
Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...
, Sydney * Peter V'landys – chairman of the
Australian Rugby League Commission The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...


Fashion

* Christopher Chronis – fashion designer *
Napoleon Perdis Napoleon Perdis (born 19 March 1970) is an Australian make-up artist and businessman. Perdis launched a small makeup studio in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in 1992. He created a line of cosmetic products which he ...
– make-up artist *
Alex Perry Alexandros Pertsinidis (born on February 14, 1963), known professionally as Alex Perry, is an Australian fashion designer and television presenter, mostly famous for his womenswear. His designs have been worn by celebrities including Jennifer ...
– fashion designer


Film, theatre, and television

*
Peter Andrikidis Peter Andrikidis is an Australian film and television director, and producer. Early life and education Andrikidis went to the Sydney high school Drummoyne Boys High School in the mid-1970s, where he made a small film called "Nemesis". He grad ...
– director, ''
Underbelly Underbelly is the side of something that is not normally seen. Figuratively, it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term Achilles' heel, or alternatively, a hidden, illicit side of society. This term could refer to: Business * ...
'' *
Alex Andreas Alex Andreas (formerly Alex Andrea) (born 9 September 1970) is an English actor/singer. He trained at the London School of Musical Theatre (LSMT), and is probably best known for his portrayal on stage of The Big Bopper in ''The Buddy Holly Story ...
- actor * Alex Blias – actor *
Alex Papps Alex Papps (born 11 February 1969) is an Australian actor, television host, writer and singer. Early life Papps, who is of Greek descent, was born in 1969, his parents where both amateur theatre directors. He attended Belgrave Kindergarten Up ...
– actor, '' Play School'' *
Elena Carapetis Elena Carapetis is an Australian actress and writer, best known for her role as Jackie Kassis in ''Heartbreak High'', as well as numerous other television series and theatre roles. Early life Elena Carapatis graduated from Australia's National ...
– actress *
Gia Carides Gia Carides (born 7 June 1964) is an Australian actress. She portrayed Liz Holt in '' Strictly Ballroom'', Susy Connor in '' Brilliant Lies'', and Cousin Nikki in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding.'' Early life Carides was born in Sydney, Australia, ...
– actress *
Zoe Carides Zoe Carides (born 19 February 1962) is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in '' Death in Brunswick'' as Sophie, ''G. P.'' as Dr. Sonia Kapek and ''Grass Roots'' as Liz Murray. Family Carides was born ...
– actress *
Wayne Coles-Janess Wayne Coles-Janess is an Australian producer, writer and director of drama and documentary film and TV programs. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he has produced documentaries about frontier places in the country. He has also made some document ...
– director and producer *
Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (born 1950; sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, el, Σαντάλ Κοντούρη) is a Greek Australian television and film actress and former dancer, best known for her role in the 1970s soap opera ''Number 96'', as nurs ...
– actress *
Mary Coustas Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character "Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian prone ...
– comedian *
Alex Dimitriades Alex Dimitriades (born 28 December 1973) is an Australian actor and DJ. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nick Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', and Nick Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off ' ...
– actor *
Rebekah Elmaloglou Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou (born 23 January 1974) is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on ''Home and Away'' and Terese Willis on ''Neighbours''. She also made guest appearances in ''E Street (television ...
– actress, '' Home and Away'' and ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'' *
Sebastian Elmaloglou Sebastian Elmaloglou (born 29 September 1989) is an Australian actor best known for portraying the role of Max Sutherland on the long-running Australian soap opera '' Home and Away'' from 2002 to 2004. Background Sebastian trained at the Keane ...
– actor, ''Home and Away'', brother of Rebekah * Damien Fotiou – actor *
Nick Giannopoulos Nicholas Giannopoulos (born 1 July 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, film and TV actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show '' Wogs Out of Work'' alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitcom ''Acropolis ...
– actor and director *
Diana Glenn Diana Glenn (born 1974) is an Australian actress with many credits in television, film, and theatre. Early life and education Glenn has an English father, Greek mother and three siblings. She attended Melbourne Girls Grammar School and studi ...
– actress *
George Houvardas George Houvardas is an Australian actor who is best known for his role as Nick "Carbo" Karandonis in the television series ''Packed to the Rafters''. Biography Houvardas is the son of Anastasia (a teacher) and Michael (an accountant) and has tw ...
– actor, ''
Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' was an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The d ...
'' *
Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
– actor *
George Kapiniaris George Kapiniaris is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom ''Acropolis Now'' and composed the series' theme song. Professional background Theatre ...
– actor and comedian *
Peter Kelamis Peter Kelamis (born December 11, 1967) is an Australian-Canadian actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He is known for playing Tail Terrier in ''Krypto the Superdog'', Dr. Adam Brody in ''Stargate Universe'', Goku in Ocean's English dubs ...
– comedian *
Costas Kilias Constantinos "Costas" Kilias ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Κίλιας) is a Greek Australian magistrate and actor. Early life Kilias is the son of Greek immigrants who arrived in Australia in 1954, from the town of Kolindro ...
– actor *
Ana Kokkinos Ana Kokkinos is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter of Greek descent. She is known for her breakthrough feature film, '' Head On'' (1998), and has also directed television shows such as ''The Secret Life of Us'' and '' ...
– director *
Katerina Kotsonis Katerina Kotsonis is an Australian stage actress known for her role as Mrs Papasavas in the children's television series ''Short Cuts (TV series), Short Cuts'' and Patricia Pappas in Neighbours. Career Stage Most recently Kotsonis has been perf ...
- actor *
Nico Lathouris Nico Lathouris is an Australian-born actor and writer of Greek descent. Life and career Lathouris has worked on the television series ''Police Rescue''. He appeared in George Miller's film ''Mad Max'' (1979) as a car mechanic. He also ran film ...
– actor *
Costas Mandylor Costas Mandylor (born Konstantinos Theodosopoulos; 3 September 1965) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Kenny in ''Picket Fences'' and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the ''Saw'' films. Early life Mandylor was born i ...
– actor *
Louis Mandylor Louis Mandylor (born Elias Theodosopoulos; 13 September 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), a role he reprised in the sequel '' My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' ( ...
– actor * Lex Marinos – actor, director, writer and broadcaster * Harry Michaels – actor (TV series: Number 96) producer (Exercise Video: Aerobics Oz Style), Sports TV Director * Bill Miller – director and producer * George Miller
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning director and producer, ''
Babe Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Maj ...
'', ''
Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and ...
'', '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' * Ada Nicodemou – actress, ''Home and Away'' *
Phaedra Nicolaidis Phaedra Nicolaidis is an Australian actress, who has appeared in television, film and theatre roles. Phaedra graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 2004. Television Cred ...
– actress *
Tony Nikolakopoulos Tony Nikolakopoulos is a Greek Australian film and television actor. He is best known for his work in the films of Nick Giannopoulos, '' The Wog Boy'' and ''The Wannabes'', and for his role as Attilio in the television series '' Scooter: Secret ...
– actor and director *
Socratis Otto Socratis Otto is an Australian film, theatre and television actor. He is best known for his roles in television series '' Young Lions'' as Justin Carmody, '' Home and Away'' as Robert Robertson, and ''Wentworth'' as Maxine Conway. Early life ...
actor, best known for his roles in television series Young Lions as Justin Carmody and
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
as
Maxine Conway Maxine Conway (formerly Max) is a recurring character from ''Wentworth'', portrayed by actor Socratis Otto. Maxine is notable for being Bea Smith's ( Danielle Cormack) bodyguard and also for being transgender within the series. She was dating ...
*
Alex Papps Alex Papps (born 11 February 1969) is an Australian actor, television host, writer and singer. Early life Papps, who is of Greek descent, was born in 1969, his parents where both amateur theatre directors. He attended Belgrave Kindergarten Up ...
– actor and '' Play School'' host * Thaao Penghlis – actor (has played
Tony DiMera Tony DiMera is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', played by actor Thaao Penghlis on and off from November 6, 1981, until October 24, 1985, and from July 19, 2007, until April 1, 2009. One of the character's ...
and
André DiMera André DiMera is a fictional character from the NBC Daytime soap opera, '' Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1983 by Thaao Penghlis when André was introduced as the nephew of Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo). Having undergone plast ...
on American soap opera ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'') *
Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films '' The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ...
– director, ''
I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and '' Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...
'', '' Dark City'', ''
The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'', '' Knowing'' *
Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is an Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series ''Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Television and film Riley became a popular televis ...
– actress, ''
Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter ...
'', comedienne, entertainer and singer * Nathan Saidden – comedian *
George Spartels George Bernard Spartels (born 25 April 1954) is an Australian actor, presenter, director, playwright and children's musician of Greek descent on his father's ancestry, and English and Irish on his mother's. He remains best known for his role on ...
– actor *
Nadia Tass Nadia Tass is an Australian theatre director and film director and producer. She is known for the films ''Malcolm'' (1986) and ''The Big Steal'' (1990), as well as an extensive body of work in the theatre, both in Australia and internationa ...
– director *
John Tatoulis John Tatoulis is an Australian film and television producer and director. Tatoulis was the producer of such movies as ''Take Away'', '' Let's Get Skase'' and '' Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns''. Tatoulis produced and directed the film '' The S ...
– director and producer *
Maria Theodorakis Maria Theodorakis is an Australian actress who has many credits in television, movies and theatre. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''CrashBurn'' and '' Marshall Law''. She has also had guest roles in many television seri ...
– actress *
Alkinos Tsilimidos Alkinos Tsilimidos (born 1966) is an Australian film and theatre director. He has won the Montréal First Film Prize at the Montréal World Film Festival for his 1994 film '' Everynight ... Everynight''. He primarily works as an indie film mak ...
– director *
Olympia Valance Olympia Montana Valance (born 7 January 1993) is an Australian actress and model, whose roles include Paige Smith in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2014–2018, 2020, 2022) and Tahlia Woods in '' Playing for Keeps''. For her role as Paige, Va ...
– model and actress, ''Neighbours'' *
Zoe Ventoura Zoe Ventoura is an Australian actress. She played Melissa Rafter in ''Packed to the Rafters'' from 2008 to 2010. The character's death earned Ventoura a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular Actress in 2011. That same year, Ventoura st ...
– actress *
Helen Zerefos Helen Zerefos (born 8 November 1937) is an Australian coloratura soprano. Her career has spanned more than 50 years on stage, television, in nightclubs, concerts and recordings. Zerefos was born in Scone, New South Wales to Greek parents, Pau ...
– actress and cabaret singer


Journalism

* Nick Adams - also known as Nick Adamopoulos, US based political commentator * Dimitri Gogos – late editor,
Neos Kosmos Neos Kosmos ( el, Νέος Κόσμος ; meaning "New World") is a neighborhood in Athens, Greece. History In classical antiquity, the area of Neos Kosmos may have been the location of the gymnasium Cynosarges. Geography Neos Kosmos is south of ...
*
Georgia Cassimatis Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
– journalist, Australian ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
'' magazine *
George Donikian George Jack Donikian (born 15 December 1951) is an Australian former radio and television news presenter/personality. He has worked at the SBS as well as the Nine Network and Ten Network. Early life Donikian was born and raised in Kingsfor ...
– news presenter,
Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fi ...
*
Peter Frilingos Peter Frilingos (1944–2004) was a sports journalist and commentator, best known for his work as a rugby league writer. His reporting methods and integrity came under severe scrutiny during the Super League war. While he originally supported ...
– sports journalist with the ''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' in Sydney, and broadcaster and commentator with the ''
Continuous Call Team The ''Continuous Call Team'' is an Australian radio sports program, covering the news and live games of the National Rugby League. It is produced and broadcast by 2GB Sydney, and is relayed to stations in New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland, Vi ...
'' *
Helen Kapalos Helen Kapalos (born 17 March 1971) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. Kapalos is of Greek descent and the Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission; her four-year term commenced on 17 August 2015.
– journalist, reporter '' Sunday Night'',
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
*
Patricia Karvelas Patricia Karvelas (born 29 January 1981) is an Australian radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent. Karvelas currently hosts ''RN Breakfast'' on Radio National. Early life Karvelas was born in Australia to Gree ...
– journalist, ABC *
Mary Kostakidis Mary Kostakidis (born 1954) is an Australian journalist. She is the former weeknight '' SBS World News Australia'' presenter and was the face of SBS over two decades. Early life She was born in Thessaloniki, Greece and migrated to Australia ...
– journalist, SBS *
John Mangos John (born 9 July 1956) is an Australian news presenter. Mangos has previously been a news presenter on Sky News Australia. He has also made cameo appearances on the Australian comedy programs ''Pizza (TV series), Pizza'', ''Swift and Shift C ...
– news presenter and journalist,
Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...
*
George Megalogenis George Megalogenis (born 1964)Bryant, NickGeorge Megalogenis ''Aesop Register'', 2013. is an Australian journalist, political commentator and author. Early life Born in Melbourne, Megalogenis attended Melbourne High School and went on to study e ...
– author and former''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper journalist *
Harry Nicolaides Harry Nicolaides (born 1967 or 1968) is an Australian writer of Greek-Cypriot origin who was imprisoned in Thailand under the Thai lèse majesté law, for a passage in a 2005 novel that was alleged to have defamed the Thai monarchy. On 19 Janu ...
– novelist *
Peter Peters Peter Peters Greek: Πανούτας Πετερίδης) (born 10 June 1947) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, commentator and journalist. Playing career He was a first grade player for Parramatta (1967–68) and M ...
– sports broadcaster and commentator


Justice

* Chris Kourakis – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia *
Emilios Kyrou Emilios Kyrou is a judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, in the Australian state of Victoria. Justice Kyrou was previously a justice in the Trial Division. Until being appointed, Kyrou was a partner at Mallesons Stephen Jaqu ...
– Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria


Music

*
Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...
– singer, entertainer * Alex Carapetis – drummer *
Kaz James Kaz James (born 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and DJ. He was raised in Melbourne and is of Italian and Greek origin. He released his first solo album, '' If They Knew'', in 2008. Kaz James was a co-founder in 2004 of the group BodyRo ...
– singer and DJ *
James Kannis James John Kannis (born 5 November 1985) is a Greeks, Greek-Australian singer who participated in the reality television talent show, ''Australian Idol''. Kannis was placed in seventh position. Career Kannis auditioned for the Australian Idol ...
– singer ('' Australian Idol'') *
Chris Karan Chris Karan (born Chrisostomos Karanikis, 14 October 1939) is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent. Life and career Karan was born in 1939 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Karan played in The Three Out t ...
– jazz drummer (
Dudley Moore Trio Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
) and studio percussionist ( Bob Marley & the Wailers) * Vasilliki Karagiorgos (Vassy) – singer and songwriter *
John Lemmone John Lemmone (22 June 1861 – 16 August 1949; also seen as John Lemmoné) was an Australian flute player and composer who was largely self-taught and who at the age of 12, paid for his first flute with gold he had panned himself on the goldfiel ...
– flute player and composer * Orianthi Panagaris – guitarist/musician * Sally Polihronas – singer ( Bardot) *
Nick Skitz Nicholas Agamalis, better known as Nick Skitz (born 1968 in Sydney, Australia of Greek descent), is an Australian DJ and dance music producer. His career in dance music started in the early 1990s. Since 1995, his ''Skitzmix'' series of com ...
– deejay-producer *
Costas Tsicaderis Costas Tsicaderis (6 January 1945 – 23 December 2004) was a Greek-Australian singer-songwriter. Biography Costas Tsicaderis was born in Katerini in the north of Greece in 1945, and his family migrated to Australia in 1954, when Costas was ...
– singer-songwriter


Politics

*
Nick Bolkus Nick Bolkus (born 17 July 1950) is a former Australian Labor Party politician. He was a member of the Australian Senate, Senate from July 1981 to June 2005, representing the state of South Australia. Early career Bolkus was born in Adelaide an ...
– federal politician * Michael Costa – former Finance Minister, New South Wales * Steve Dimopoulos – politician, Victoria * Jim Fouras – politician, Queensland * Steve Georganas – federal politician *
Petro Georgiou Petro Georgiou AO (born 30 November 1947) is a Greek Australian politician who was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 1994 to July 2010, representing the Division of Kooyong, Victoria. Early life Born i ...
– federal politician *
John Hatzistergos John Hatzistergos (born 20 August 1960) is an Australian judge of the District Court of New South Wales. He is a former politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Labor Party between 1999 and 2011, ...
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, New South Wales *
Peter Katsambanis Peter Argyris Katsambanis (born 24 December 1965) is a former Australian politician. He was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council at the 2013 state election, representing the Liberal Party, taking his seat on 22 May 2013. He re ...
– former politician, Victoria * Steve Kons – Deputy Premier, Tasmania *
Nicholas Kotsiras Nicholas Kotsiras (born 13 March 1959, in Greece) is an Australian politician, and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party from 1999 to 2014. He was first elected after defeating former member David Perrin for L ...
– Minister, Victoria *
Tom Koutsantonis Anastasious "Tom" Koutsantonis is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seats of West Torrens (2002−current) and Peake (1997−2002) as a Labor member in the South Australian ...
– Minister for Trade, South Australia * Michael McCormack - former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia * Ken Michael – politician *
Jenny Mikakos Jenny Mikakos (born 25 January 1969) is a former Australian politician for the Labor Party who was a Member of the Legislative Council of Victoria from 1999 to 2020. She served as the Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services and Mi ...
– former Health Minister, Victoria *
John Pandazopoulos John Pandazopoulos (born 21 July 1963) is a Victorian politician. He was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Dandenong for the Labor Party. During the Bracks Government, he was a member of Cabinet, s ...
– politician, Victoria *
Drew Pavlou Drew Pavlou (born 4 June 1999) is an Australian Activism#Political activism, political activist best known for his criticism of the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party. Pavlou is also known for organising protests on-campus in support ...
– student activist at the University of Queensland * Eleni Marie Petinos – politician, New South Wales *
Nick Staikos Nicholas Staikos (born 4 July 1986) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2014, representing the Legislative Assembly seat of Bentleigh. Career In 2005, Staikos w ...
– politician, Victoria *
Andrew Theophanous Andrew Charles Theophanous (born 24 March 1946) is a Cypriot-born Australian former politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 2000, and an independent member from 2000 to 2001. He is the a ...
– federal politician, Victoria (born
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
) *
Theo Theophanous Theo Charles Theophanous (born 16 June 1948) is a former Australian politician. He entered politics in 1988 as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Theophanous served from 1988 to 2006 as one of the two members for Jika Jika Province, ...
– politician, Victoria (born
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
) *
Kat Theophanous Katerina Theophanous is an Australian politician. She is a Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of Electoral district of Northcote, Northco ...
– politician, Victoria *
Arthur Sinodinos Arthur Sinodinos (born 25 February 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former Liberal Party politician who has been Ambassador to the United States since February 2020. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 200 ...
– former Chief of Staff, PM
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
* Maria Vamvakinou – federal politician, Victoria *
Kon Vatskalis Konstantine Vatskalis (born 4 April 1957) is a Greek- Australian politician and the current Lord Mayor of Darwin. Before becoming Lord Mayor in 2017 he was a Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from September 200 ...
– politician, Northern Territory *
Nick Xenophon Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian politician and lawyer who was a Senator for South Australia from 2008 to 2017. He was the leader of two political parties: Nick Xenophon Team federally, and Nick Xenophon ...
– politician, South Australia *
Sophie Mirabella Sophie Mirabella (née Panopoulos; born 27 October 1968) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who currently serves as a Commissioner on the Fair Work Commission since 24 May 2021. She was previously a Liberal Party member of the Austra ...
– federal politician, Victoria


Religion

* Archbishop Stylianos Harkianakis – former Primate of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is the Australian archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The archdiocese is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinop ...
*Archbishop
Makarios Griniezakis Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis (Greek: Μακάριος Γρινιεζάκης; born 15 March 1973) is the current archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia and the primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, succeeding Ar ...
– current Primate of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is the Australian archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The archdiocese is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinop ...


Science and technology

* Professor Manuel Aroney – organic chemistry *
Gerasimos Danilatos Gerasimos D. Danilatos (also known as Gerry D. Danilatos) (born circa 1946) is a Greek-Australian physicist and inventor of the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). He was born in Cefalonia, Greece. After the 1953 Ionian earthquak ...
– physicist, inventor of
environmental scanning electron microscope The environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) that allows for the option of collecting electron micrographs of specimens that are wet, uncoated, or both by allowing for a gaseous environment in ...
* George North (Tramountanas) – pastoralist, sheep farmer and first Greek to settle in South Australia in 1842"The Australian People" an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins, by James Jupp – published 1988 * Christos Pantelis – psychiatrist * George Paxinos – Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales * Michael Kyrios – clinical psychologist


Sport


Australian rules football

*
Luke Beveridge Luke Beveridge (born 23 August 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who played for Melbourne, Footscray and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s. He is head coach of the Western Bulldogs.< ...
– Melbourne, Footscray & St Kilda player * Ang Christou – Carlton player *
Andrew Demetriou Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. Demetriou play ...
– North Melbourne & Hawthorn player (later League CEO) *
Josh Francou Joshua "Josh" Francou (born 7 August 1974) is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently serving as an assistant coach at the Gold Coast Suns. Port Adelaide (1997–2006) Debut ...
– Port Adelaide player * Gary Frangalas – Sydney & Richmond player *
John Georgiades John Georgiades (born 3 January 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Subiaco in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and Footscray in the Australian Football League (AFL). Georgiades made his debut for Subia ...
– Footscray player *
John Georgiou John Georgiou (born 5 October 1975) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s. Georgiou, recruited from Parkmore, was just 16 years and 210 days old when he mad ...
– St.Kilda player * Con Gorozidis – St.Kilda & Footscray player * Athas Hrysoulakis – Collingwood player * Peter Kanis – Hawthorn player *
Arthur Karanicolas Arthur Karanicolas (born 10 July 1944) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league i ...
– North Melbourne player * Patrick Karnezis – Brisbane & Collingwood player * Paul Koulouriotis – Port Adelaide & Geelong player * Spiro Kourkoumelis – Carlton & St Kilda player *
Anthony Koutoufides Anthony Koutoufides (born 18 January 1973), also known by his nickname of Kouta, is a retired Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. Considered by many as one of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played ...
– Carlton player *
Angelo Lekkas Angelo Lekkas (born 29 June 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire professional career with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After a stellar year playing in the TAC competition wit ...
– Hawthorn player *
Spiro Malakellis Spiro Malakellis (born 23 April 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the late 1980s and early 1990s, then with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian ...
– Geelong player * Tony Malakellis – Geelong & Sydney player * Steve Malaxos – Hawthorn & West Coast player * Daniel Metropolis – West Coast & Fremantle player *
Russell Morris Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recog ...
– Hawthorn & St Kilda player *
Chris Pavlou Christopher Peter Pavlou (18 August 1939 – 15 January 2012) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Austr ...
– Carlton player * Phillip Poursanidis – Carlton player *
Lou Richards Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards, (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the tea ...
– Collingwood player * Ron Richards – Collingwood player *
John Rombotis John Rombotis (born 13 October 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy, Port Adelaide and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL). Rombotis, originally from Caulfield Grammar school, played at both t ...
– Fitzroy, Port Adelaide & Richmond player *
Tony Spassopoulos Tony Spassopoulos is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL). Career Spassopoulos played one game for Fitzroy in the 1985 VFL season, 1985 ...
– Fitzroy player *
Jimmy Toumpas Dimitri "Jimmy" Toumpas (born 2 January 1994) is a former professional Australian rules footballer best known for his time at the Melbourne Football Club where he played 27 games from 2013 to 2015. He was drafted by Melbourne with the fourth ...
– Melbourne & Port Adelaide player *
Jason Traianidis Jason Traianidis (born 7 November 1974) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Shepparton, Traianidis was a member of the North Melbourne reserves 1995 premier ...
– St Kilda player *
Zeno Tzatzaris Zeno Tzatzaris (born 9 May 1965) is a former Australian rules football player. Playing career Tzatzaris played 34 games for Footscray in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football ...
– Footscray player *
David Zaharakis David Zaharakis (born 21 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Zaharakis attended Our Lady Help of Christians Primary S ...
– Essendon player


Boxing and kickboxing

*
Evangelos Goussis Evangelos "Ange" Goussis (born 14 September 1967) is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer from Geelong, Victoria, and is a multiple murderer, guilty of the murders of two victims of the Melbourne gangland killings. Early life Goussis was ...
– Kickboxer and Boxer, convicted murderer *
George Kambosos Jr. George Kambosos Jr (born 14 June 1993) is an Australian professional boxer who held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and '' The Ring'' lightweight titles from 2021 to June 2022. As of September 2022, he's ranked as the world's number one lightweight by ...
– Professional boxer *
Michael Katsidis Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challeng ...
– Professional Boxer, former WBA and WBO lightweight champion *
Stan Longinidis Stan "The Man" Longinidis (born 25 June 1965) is an Australian retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Born in Melbourne of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four differen ...
– Kickboxer, former World Kickboxing Champion * Tosca Petridis – Kickboxer, former World Kickboxing Champion


Cricket

*
Jason Gillespie Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
– retired
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
international cricketer *
Marcus Stoinis Marcus Peter Stoinis (born 16 August 1989) is an Australian cricketer who plays limited overs cricket for the Australian national team. He is contracted to Western Australia and Melbourne Stars domestically, and has previously also played for P ...
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
international cricketer * Peter Hatzoglou – Melbourne Renegades bowler


Flying disc

* Maxwell Gratton – CEO, Flying Disc Australia


Soccer

* John Anastasiadis – former player of Heidelberg United, PAOK, South Melbourne FC, South Melbourne and Yarraville Glory. Represented the Socceroos at U21 level. Coached Yarraville Glory, South Melbourne, Oakleigh Cannons and is current coach of Bentleigh Greens. * Panos Armenakas – player, Udinese Calcio * Con Blatsis – former player of South Melbourne FC, South Melbourne, Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday (on loan), Colchester United, Kocaelispor and St Patrick's Athletic. Represented the Socceroos at U20, U23 and senior level. * Con Boutsianis – former player of South Melbourne FC, South Melbourne, Heidelberg United, Collingwood Warriors, Bentleigh Greens, Perth Glory, Bolton Wanderers, Bulleen Zebras, Oakleigh Cannons, Essendon United and Malvern City. He represented the Socceroos at senior level. * Dean Bouzanis – player Melbourne City FC, Melbourne City and former Liverpool FC * Jason Davidson – player Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory and former Socceroos * Chris Kalantzis – player * Evan Kostopoulos – player, Adelaide United * Stan Lazaridis – player, Perth Glory and Socceroos *Apostolos Stamatelopoulos – player, Adelaide United and Western United FC, Western United * Michalis 'Mike' Mandalis - player, one of Australia's all-time greats South Melbourne FC, South Melbourne and Melbourne Hakoah * Lucas Pantelis – former player * Jim Patikas – former player, first Australian participant in UEFA Champions League, former Socceroos * Ange Postecoglou – coach Socceroos and Celtic F.C., Celtic, former player * Nick Theodorakopoulos – coach * Michael Theoklitos – player, Brisbane Roar * Michael Valkanis – coach, Melbourne City FC, Melbourne City and Greece national football team assistant * Andy Vlahos – player * Charlie Yankos – Former Socceroos captain * Terry Antonis – player, Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers * Apostolos Giannou – player, Kerala Blasters FC, Kerala Blasters * Avraam Papadopoulos – player, Australian born Greece national football team member * Jesse Makarounas – player, Melbourne Victory * Dimitri Petratos – player, Brisbane Roar * Chris Ikonomidis – player, Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory *Anthony Lesiotis – player, Melbourne City FC, Melbourne City


Mixed martial arts

* George Sotiropoulos – former UFC mixed martial artist * Alexander Volkanovski – UFC mixed martial artist


Rugby league

* Braith Anasta – player, Sydney Roosters * George Gatis – player, New Zealand Warriors * Steve Georgallis – player/coach * Michael Korkidas – player, Salford Red Devils, Salford City Reds * Nick Kouparitsas – player,
Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
* Glenn Lazarus – player Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm * Billy Magoulias — player, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Cronulla Sharks *
George Peponis George Peponis (born Georgios Peponis el, Γιώργος Πεπόνης; on 3 September 1953) is a Greek Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national and New South Wales stat ...
– former Australian captain *
Peter Peters Peter Peters Greek: Πανούτας Πετερίδης) (born 10 June 1947) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, commentator and journalist. Playing career He was a first grade player for Parramatta (1967–68) and M ...
- player, Manly-Warringah * Willie Peters – player,
South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...
* Jim Serdaris – player, South Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs * John Skandalis – player, Huddersfield Giants * Jason Stevens – player, St-George Illawarra Dragons, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks * Justin Tsoulos – player, Parramatta Eels * Arthur Kitinas – player/coach, South Sydney Sydney Roosters


Sailing

* Edward Psaltis – sailor


Shooting

* Michael Diamond (sport shooter), Michael Diamond – shooter – Olympic gold medallist, Sydney 2000


Skateboarding

* Tas Pappas – former World No.1 * Ben Pappas


Skiing

* Lydia Lassila – skier


Tennis

* Mark Philippoussis – player * Nick Kyrgios – player * Thanasi Kokkinakis – player


Weightlifting

* Robert Kabbas - athlete * Bill Stellios - athlete


Wrestling

* Tony Kontellis – professional wrestler * Spiros Arion, Spiros Manousakis (Spiros Arion) – wrestler


See also

* Australia–Greece relations * Cypriot Australians * European Australians * Europeans in Oceania * Greek Cypriots * Greek New Zealanders * Greek Orthodox churches in New South Wales * Greek community of Melbourne * Greeks * Immigration to Australia * ''Neos Kosmos''


References


Bibliography

* Tamis, Anastasios (2005). ''The Greeks in Australia''. Cambridge University Press. * * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (1998). ''In Their Own Image: Greek-Australians''. Hale & Iremonger Pty Limited. * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (1995). ''Images of Home: Mavri Xenitia''. Hale & Iremonger Pty Limited. * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (2013). ''Selling an American Dream: Australia's Greek Cafe''. Macquarie University. * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (2016). ''Greek Cafes & Milk Bars of Australia''. Halstead Press.


External links

* (Greeks in Sydney) [Creative Commons license, CC-By-SA]
A video of Peter Yiannoudes, who established Greek Cinema in Victoria in the 1950s
on Culture Victoria {{Ancestry of Australians Immigration to Australia European Australian Greek diaspora by country, Australia Australian people of Greek descent, Greek Australian,