P.F.A ORGANISES RETURN TO ANATOLIA CONFERENCE

On 3 March 2007, the Return to Anatolia conference was held in Melbourne - a joint effort of the Greek, Assyrian and Armenian communties of Melbourne. A key role in the organisation of the conference was played by the Panepirotic Federation of Australia, whose secretary, Mr Kostas Kalymnios, presented a lecture on the history of Pontus. Below, a snapshot of the organising committee. Mr Stelios Angelodimou, President of the Cypriot Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Mr Panayiotis Jasonides, President of the Federation of Pontian Organsiations of Australia, distinguished journalist Mr Kostas Nikolopoulos and Cypriot High Commissioner to Australia, His Excellency, Mr Achilleas Antoniades.

VALE SPIROS STAMOULIS

On 11 May 2007, the Panepirotic Federation of Australia lost one of its greatest members, past President, benefactor of the Greek Community of Australia and passionate campaigner for human rights in Northern Epirus, Mr Spiros Stamoulis. Below are articles that were published in Melbourne Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos, mourning the passing of this remarkable man.

Community loses great benefactor:

PROPERTY tycoon Spiros Stamoulis passed away on Friday 11 May following a long battle with cancer. A very successful businessman, who made his fortune first via his company Gold Medal Soft Drinks and then through property investment, Mr Stamoulis was best known to the Greek community as the man behind 3XY Radio. He made an incredible contribution to the Greek community, his most recent gift the Melbourne Hellenic Museum, which was set up in honour of his late daughter Nafsika and launched last month by Greek Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis. His shrewd business style made him one of Melbourne's leading property developers and earned him a spot in the Business Review Weekly's Annual Rich List.

NKEE writer and Panepirotic Federation of Australia Secratary, Kostas Kalymnios, who knew Mr Stamoulis personally, pays tribute to the man, in the following obituary:

Absolutely brilliant are the words that best describe the late Spiros Stamoulis' life. Most of the members of the Greek community know him as the business magnate who, starting off with his successful Gold Medal Soft Drink business, made it on Australian Rich Lists. Others would remember him as an Australian Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. All would remember him as the founder and owner of 3XY Radio. Spiros Stamoulis was for Epirots, the greatest of their compatriots ever to set foot in Australia. As President of the Panepirotic Federation of Australia, the Union of Northern Epirots and the Greeks of Northern Epiros Aid Committee, he campaigned tirelessly in order to preserve the unique Epirot heritage in this country, and also to ensure that his beleaguered compatriots in Northern Epirus were able to enjoy basic human rights. His primary motivation was an immense love and appreciation for all people and it is thus fitting that the Polytechnic College in Argyrokastro that he contributed so much towards is known as "Fryme Dashurie" ie. "A Breath of Love."One of Spiros Stamoulis' last gifts to the Greek community of Melbourne was the Hellenic Museum, a repository of our culture throughout the ages. It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that its potential is maximized in the manner that the perceptive Spiros Stamoulis foresaw: as the ark that will protect our historical memories long after we have gone. In providing us with such gifts, Spiros Stamoulis follows in the footsteps of the Great Benefactors of the Greek People, most of whom, Zappas, Tositsas and Averoff among them, were from Epirus. In analysing his works and days, his conscious imitation of this tradition in order to engage with and spread Hellenism in the Antipodes, deserves special attention. For me, Spiros Stamoulis was the ever-smiling, placid, infinitely accessible and unaffected man who was always willing to listen, to make suggestions, to offer assistance and to get things done without ever letting it be known that you were making demands on his time. Further, and this is the mark of the greatness of a man, he never put himself above criticism or reproach, even when he knew he was in he right, but treated all and sundry with singular benevolence and kindness. In true Renaissance-man style, he was all things to all men. During his life, Spiros Stamoulis personified the traditional migrant dream: He came to this country, became fabulously successful, gave back tenfold to the community that engendered him and brought up remarkable children. It is impossible, even in our fractious community to find someone who could seriously talk slightingly of him or his multifaceted achievements. And he will always remain, a true Odysseus, a master of the art of the possible and the brightest star in our Antipodean firmament, a symbol of how dreams can come true. To his mother, to his wife Helen and to his children, Hari and Melina, we extend our deepest condolences, knowing that he shall remain immortal in our memories forever.

EPIROTIC RADIO PROGRAMME

Yes, we are on the airwaves! The Panepirotic Federation of Australia has its own radio programme, thanks to 3XY Radio Hellas owner and fervent Northern Epirote, Mr Spiros Stamoulis. The programme, centering on news, views and the history and culture of Epirus is presented by our President, Mr Dimitrios Varnas, and our Secretary, Mr Kostas Kalymnios. Tune in to 3XY Radio Hellas, 1422 AM, every Wednesday evening, between 9:00pm-10:00pm.

Mr Kostas Tsakoumis also conducts a radio program on the history of Northern Epirus on 3XY Radio Hellas evey Wednesday between 12:30pm - 1:00pm

SOTIRIS PAPAZISIS - ΣΩΤΗΡΗΣ ΠΑΠΑΖΗΣΗΣ

In September 2005, the Panepirotic Federation of Australia lost one of its most charismatic Presidents, Mr Sotirios Papazisis. A prominent businessman, benefactor of the Orthodox Church hailing from Konitsa, and foundation member of the Panepritopic Federation of Australia, his was an immense loss. What follows below is an obituary in the Greek language by Secretary, Kostas Kalymnios, that appeared in Greek language newspaper "Neos Kosmos" on 29 September 2005.

Two former presidents proudly keeping the Greek flag and the flag of Northern Epiros flighing high. Left: the late Sotiris Papazisis, who died in September 2005. Right: the late Spiros Stamoulis, who died in May 2007. They are sorely missed by all members of the Panepirotic Federation of Australia.

Το Σεπτέμβριο του 2005, χάσαμε τον πρόεδρο μας και πλαίμαχο στέλεχος της Πανηπειρωτικής Ομοσπονδίας κ. Σωτήριο Παπαζήση.

Παραθέτουμε άρθρο του γραμματές μας Κώστα Καλυμνιού που δημοσιεθτηκε στην εφημερίδα "Νέος Κοσμος" στις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου 2005, γύρω από τη ζωή του αείμηνστου Σωτήρη Παπαζήση:

Η Ηπειρωτική πατριά καθώς και η ευρύτερη ελληνική παροικία είναι σαφώς φτωχότερη αυτές τις ημέρες με το πέρασμα από την ζωή στην ιστορία του αειμνήστου φιλάνθρωπου και παροικιακού παράγοντος Σωτήρη Παπαζήση, ο οποίος απεδήμησε από την επάρατο νόσο όλως αιφνιδιαστικά την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα σε ηλικία εβδομήντα ετών.Αναμφισβήτητα ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης αποτελεί χαρακτηριστικός εκπρόσωπος όλων αυτών των νέων της γενιάς εκείνης η οποία αναγκάστηκε υπό δύσκολες συνθήκες να εκπατριστεί, αναζητώντας όχι μόνον την υλοποίηση και κατάκτηση των ονείρων και οραμάτων της αλλά το πιο βασικό, το δικαίωμα αποκτήσεως τέτοιων οραμάτων.Ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης, δυναμικός, καλοσυνάτος και ενεργητικός, σίγουρα οραματίστηκε πολλά για την ζωή του. Κατά την διάρκεια της επίγειας δράσης του, κατάφερε το αξιοζήλευτο: να συνταυτίσει τα όνειρα του με τα ιδανικά του και τα εφαρμόσει στην καθημερινή του ζωή. Δεν θα ήταν καθόλου υπερβολικό να πούμε λοιπόν ότι με την προσήλωση του στα χρηστά ήθη και τα ιδανικά της Πατρίδος, Πίστεως και Οικογένειας, ότι ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης έζησε μία ζωή όνειρο, επειδή ο ίδιος την όρισε έτσι.Ο νέος οραματιστής του Αγίου Νικανόρος, Κονίτσης φτάνει στην Αυστραλία το 1956 με τίποτε άλλο από μία απέραντη αισιοδοξία για το μέλλον και την άσβηστη φλόγα αγάπης για την πατρίδα να σιγοκαίει στην καρδιά του. Ρίχνεται «με τα μούτρα» στην δουλειά όπως χιλιάδες άλλοι, γεύεται τις πίκρες καθώς και τις απολαύσεις τις ξενιτιάς και αρχίζει να μεγαλουργεί. Πάνω από όλα η οικογένεια. Στις επόμενες δεκαετίες, θα φέρει με δικά του έξοδα στην Αυστραλία όχι μόνο τους γονείς και τα αδέλφια του αλλά πληθώρα ξάδελφων και άλλων συγγενών. Ο φιλάνθρωπος Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης θα τρέξει να τους συνδράμει, να τους τακτοποιήσει και να τους βρει δουλειά. «Ζώη χωρίς οικογένεια είναι αδύνατη,» συνήθιζε να λέει και αισθάνονταν την απόλυτη ανάγκη να περιστοιχίζει την καρδιά του καθώς και την ζωή του με την συνεχόμενη παρουσία «δικών» του ανθρώπων. Φως φανερό αυτής της αντίληψης ήταν η αγάπη και ιδιαίτερη φροντίδα του για την γυναίκα του και τα τρία παιδία του.Η απέραντη καρδιά του Σωτήρη Παπαζήση τον επέτρεψε να υπερβεί την στενή ερμηνεία της λέξεως «οικογένεια» και να την επεκτείνει ώστε να αγκαλιάσει όλους τους συμπατριώτες του. Οι Ηπειρώτες που έφταναν φοβισμένοι και διστακτικοί στις ακτές της Μελβούρνης και αποκτούσαν θάρρος και καταφύγιο στο πλατύ, καλοσυνάτο χαμόγελο του Σωτήρη και στα λαμπερά, γεμάτα από ζήλο για την ζωή και αγάπη μάτια του, δεν μπορούσαν παρά να συλλάβουν ότι εις το εξής αυτός ο άνθρωπος θα τους σταθεί στήριγμα για την υπόλοιπη ζωή τους. «Ο Σωτήρης ήταν αυτός που έτρεξε να μας βρει δουλειά, να μας τακτοποιήσει, να μας κάνει παρέα να μην στενοχωριόμαστε εκείνα τα πρώτα χρόνια,» θυμάται ο επιστήθιος φίλος και συμπατριώτης του, Γρηγόρης Νίτσος. «Για εμάς και αμέτρητους άλλους.» Πάντοτε πρόθυμος για γλέντια, αστεία και χαμόγελα, ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης απελευθερώνει τον όρο της φιλανθρωπίας από τον στενό ερμηνευτικό όριο της οικονομικής βοήθειας, αν και βοήθησε οικονομικά πάμπολλους νεοφερμένους μετανάστες και με την τρυφερότητα, ευαισθησία και μεγαλοψυχία του, την επαναφέρει στην πρωταρχική της σημασία, αυτή της υπέρτατης αγάπης για τον άνθρωπο.Από αυτήν την φιλανθρωπία πηγάζει και στιγματίζεται η ανάμειξη του Σωτήρη Παπαζήση στα παροικιακά κοινά. Αποτέλεσε ιδρυτικό στέλεχος του Φιλανθρωπικού Συλλόγου Κονίτσης όπου αποτέλεσε συνδετικός, επικοινωνιακός αλλά και ενωτικός κρίκος για τους συμπατριώτες του Κονιτσιώτες. Μην ξεχνώντας λεπτό την καταγωγή και πατρίδα του, διοργανώνει μαζί με άλλα στελέχη του Συλλόγου, εράνους για διάφορους φιλανθρωπικούς σκοπούς για την Κόνιτσα, αξιοσημείωτη δε ο έρανος προς ανακούφιση των σεισμοπαθούντων της Κονίτσης, στον οποίο η οικογένεια Παπαζήση δωρίζει με βαριά καρδιά και τα πάθη των συμπατριωτών της, ένα σεβαστό χρηματικό ποσόν.Ο οραματιστής Παπαζήσης δεν αρκείται στην διοργάνωση ενός μικρού τοπικιστικού φορέα. Οραματίζεται μία Ηπειρωτική πατριά ενωμένη, η οποία θα έχει την δυνατότητα να ακολουθήσει τα χνάρια των προγόνων της ώστε να αποτελέσει και αυτή, ευεργέτρια του Έθνους. Γίνεται ενεργό στέλεχος της Ηπειρωτικής Αγαθοεργούς Αδελφότητος, στην οποία εργάζεται σκληρά, αφιερώνοντας όλο τον ελεύθερο χρόνο του προς την αγορά και ανακαίνιση μιας Ηπειρωτικής εστίας. Σκοπός του τριπλός – η σύσφιξη σχέσεων όλων των συμπατριωτών του, η μεταλαμπάδευση της ιδιαίτερης Ηπειρωτικής παράδοσης στις επόμενες γενιές και απλώς να γλεντήσει την ένωση και ομόνοια της νέας του, διευρυμένης «οικογένειας.»Δυστυχώς, αν και δεν κατάφερε ποτέ να καμαρώσει την Ηπειρωτική πατριά ενωμένη, αν και οι λίγοι κακόβουλοι και ασήμαντοι επιχείρησαν να αμφισβητήσουν και να εκμηδενίσουν το έργο του, δεν το βάζει κάτω. Εντείνει τις προσπάθειες του για μία ενωμένη και δυναμική Ηπειρωτική πατριά, ως ιδρυτικό στέλεχος της Πανηπειρωτικής Ομοσπονδίας Αυστραλίας και διατελεί πρόεδρος της για πολλά χρόνια. Από αυτήν την θέση τον χαιρετούμε και αυτές τις ημέρες. Η δράση του Σωτήρη Παπαζήση στην Ομοσπονδία υπήρξε πάντοτε ευεργετική και ενωτική. Έτοιμος πάντοτε να τρέξει, να βοηθήσει, να προσελκύσει κόσμο με τον ανοιχτόκαρδο και γενναιόδωρο χαρακτήρα του, αφήνει ένα ανεκπλήρωτο κενό στους κόλπους της Ομοσπονδίας, μία πληγή η οποία μόνον κάπως επουλώνεται από την μνήμη του.Ως πρόεδρος της Ομοσπονδίας, ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης στρέφει την προσοχή του και την αγάπη για τον απανταχού Ελληνισμό προς όλες τις κατευθύνσεις. Διοργανώνει εράνους για την ιδιαίτερη του πατρίδα και τους άπορους συμπατριώτες του αλλά και στρέφει την προσοχή του στο δράμα του Βορειοηπειρωτικού Ελληνισμού. Τον καιρό που το τυραννικό Σταλινιστικό καθεστώς του Χότζα μαστίζει τις ζωές των άμοιρων Βορειοηπειρωτών, ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης, σε μία εποχή όπου στην πατρίδα αλλά και στους κόλπους τις παροικίας το θέμα θεωρείται ταμπού, υψώνει μαζί με τα λοιπά μέλη δυναμικά την φωνή του, απαιτώντας την πλήρη παραδοχή όλων των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων στους τυραννισμένους συμπατριώτες του. Ευτύχησε να δει την πτώση του παρανοϊκού καθεστώτος του Χότζα, να συνδράμει στην οικοδόμηση της τεχνικής σχολής στην Δερβιτσιάνη και πληθώρα άλλων φιλανθρωπικών έργων για την Βόρειο Ήπειρο, και αν και το όραμα του για την Βόρειο Ήπειρο παραμένει ανεκπλήρωτο δεν σταμάτησε μέχρι την τελευταία του στιγμή να μάχεται υπέρ των δικαιωμάτων των δύσμοιρων αδελφών του, ακόμη ένα κομμάτι της ευρύτερης του οικογένειας. Όπως λέει ο στενός του φίλος και συνεργάτης Πέτρος Πετράνης: «Ο Σωτήρης ήταν αυτός που κράτησε τόσα χρόνια την Ομοσπονδία και αυτό δεν είναι τυχαίο διότι τέτοιοι άνθρωποι είναι σπάνιοι στο είδος.»Πάλι διευρύνοντας την έννοια της οικογένειας σε ένα ευρύ μέλισμα πατρίδος και θρησκείας, ο Σωτήρης Παπαζήσης δεν λείπει από καμία μαζική παροικιακή κινητοποίηση για τα εθνικά μας θέματα, την Μακεδονία και την Κύπρο ενώ παρελαύνει περήφανα κάθε χρόνο πρώτα μαζί με τα παιδιά του και μετέπειτα καμαρώνοντας τα εγγόνια του προς το Μνημείο του Αγνώστου Στρατιώτη, στην παράταξη της Πανηπειρωτικής Ομοσπονδίας Αυστραλίας.Δεν εκπλήσσει καθόλου το γεγονός ότι η αγαθότητα και φιλανθρωπία του Σωτήρη Παπαζήση συνοδεύεται και κατευθύνεται από βαθιά χριστιανική πίστη. Προσηλωμένος στα δόγματα της Ορθοδόξου εκκλησίας και πεπεισμένος ότι η εκκλησία αποτελεί αναπόσπαστο κομμάτι της ελληνική ταυτότητος, υποστηρίζει το πνευματικό έργο της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής και γίνεται ιδιαίτερα αγαπητός στους φιλανθρωπικούς της κύκλους.Δύο γεγονότα από το ηλιοβασίλεμα της ζωής του ίσως αποδεικνύουν την μεγαλοσύνη της ψυχής του όσο τίποτε άλλο. Χαροπαλεύοντας, παρακαλεί τους ιατρούς να του χαρίσουν άδεια από το νοσοκομείο. Είχε δώσει το λόγο του στην κόρη του και την εγγόνα του ότι θα τους πήγαινε να παρακολουθήσουν μαζί έναν αγώνα της άλλης μεγάλης λατρείας του – της Αυστραλιανής Ποδοσφαιρικής ομάδας Melbourne και δεν θα έπαιρνε ποτέ πίσω το λόγο του. Μάζεψε τους φίλους του και τα παιδία του και γεύθηκε για ύστατη φορά αυτή την απόλαυση μαζί με την οικογένεια του.Δεν πρόλαβε όμως να εκπληρώσει την τελευταία του επιθυμία. Ίσως από προαίσθημα, λίγο καιρό πριν προσβληθεί από την θανατηφόρα πάθηση του, εξέφρασε την επιθυμία να επιστρέψει στην Ελλάδα και να προσκυνήσει τα πάτρια εδάφη, τα ήθη της οποίας υπηρέτησε με τόση πίστη και προσήλωση στην μακρινή ξενιτιά. Δεν τα κατάφερε. Τώρα ένα ακόμη αποδημητικό πουλί, παίρνει το δρόμο του γυρισμού, πετώντας πέρα από αυτόν το κόσμο της φθοράς και του μόχθου, στην αιώνια γαλήνη. Εμείς, τα πλέον ορφανεμένα μέλη της Πανηπειρωτικής Ομοσπονδίας Αυστραλίας, ενθυμούμενοι τον πρόεδρο Σωτήρη Παπαζήση πάντοτε με ένα χαμόγελα στα χείλη, τα γαλανά του μάτια να λαμπυρίζουν στο ροζιασμένο, νεανικό του πρόσωπο και να αναστενάζει από ικανοποίηση πίνοντας ένα ποτήρι μπύρα και λέγοντας καλαμπούρια, του ευχόμαστε καλή αντάμωση. Στην γυναίκα του, την Στέλλα και στα παιδιά του εκφράζουμε τα συλλυπητήρια μας αλλά και την ευχή μας για καλή συνέχεια στα χνάρια του αείμνηστου Σωτήρη Παπαζήση.

Εκ της Πανηπειρωτικής Ομοσπονδίας Αυστραλίας
Κώστας Καλυμνιός

BOOK BY PETROS PETRANIS

The heart and soul of the Panepirotic Federation of Australia is its former President and founder, Mr Petros Petranis, a fearless and tireless campaigner on the issue of Northern Epirus and a historic member of the Greek Community of Melbourne. In 2004, he published a monumental work, part auto-biography, part-history entitled: "Οι Ηπειρώτες στην Αυστραλία" -"The Epirotes in Australia."

This remarkable book not only recounts Mr Petranis' own fascinating life as a post-war Northern Epirote refugee, but also catalogues the pre-war migration of Northern Epirotes to Australia, as well as recounting the history of all Epirotic organisations in Australia.

The following is from an article by Kostas Kalymnios in Neos Kosmos dated 3 March 2004, on the subject of Mr Petros Petranis' launch of the book: "The Epirotes in Australia."

PETROS PETRANIS: THE EPIROTES IN AUSTRALIA

Can a person’s life begin with a prophecy, given almost two hundred years before his birth? A rugged and fierce St Kosmas preaches to the inhabitants of the small village of Kossovitsa in Northern Epirus. Suddenly, he looks up at the mountains surrounding the village and his eyes glaze over. Slowly and distinctly, he pronounces these words: “This village will be girdled by a vast wire.” At the time no one paid any attention. Years later, a villager who remembered the Saint’s words wrote them down, adding in commentary, that the prophecy meant that “something bad will eventually happen to our village.” Something bad did indeed happen to Kossovitsa, as well as the rest of Northern Epirus. For it was girdled by a vast length of electric fences and barbed wire by the Albanian government that would not let anyone in or out for fifty years. It was in this village, a Byzantine settlement nestled between the foothills of Mount Mourgana that Petros Petranis was born in 1930. Born in a time and place were anything could happen and most often did, his is a most remarkable life including such episodes as: being sent to Tirana at the age of seven, where he almost forgot how to speak Greek, being persecuted by the Albanian government, undertaking with his sisters at the age of fifteen a perilous border crossing and endangering his life in the process, learning of his parents’ death at the hands of Greek communists, sampling the prejudice of Greeks against refugees, learning the printing trade, working at the great hydro electrical works of Louros in Epirus and explaining these to the King, meeting the love of his life, migrating to Australia, setting up a successful printing press, being responsible for the publication of most works of Greek-Australian literature published in Australia, running his own newspaper, acting as a beacon of advice and assistance for newly arrived Greek migrants and spending countless hours assisting them and finally, spearheading the campaign for the recognition of human rights for the Greeks of Northern Epirus. Most definitely a full life. Now at the age of 73, Petros Petranis provides the Greek-Australian community with one more gift from the heart: the experience of his life and of those Epirots around him. His book «Οι Ηπειρώτες στην Αυστραλία,» (The Epirots in Australia), published by the Latrobe University National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research is a unique contribution to the historiography of our community for many reasons. The first and most foremost is that quite simply, the Epirot community is one of the oldest and most important Greek communities in Australia. The first Greek woman to migrate to Australia was an Epirot, Catherine Plessas-Crummer, who arrived here in 1830 from Ioaninna, while there are records of Northern Epirot migrants arriving on our shoes as early as 1890. Petros Petranis, with the eye of a true historian, painstakingly thumbed through RSL records, the murky memories of the aged, a multitude of photographs, manuscripts and his own personal archive, amassed over fifty years to bring to life a community of pioneers who like George Bitsis, who introduced new business practices and a spirit of enterprise to Australia, or Giannis Lillis who pioneered the production of Greek literature in Australia, or even Petros Petranis himself, laid the foundations of the large and vibrant Greek community that was to come. Petros Petranis’ book covers only pre-Second World War migration, the task of recording the arrival of the thousands of Epirot families during the sixties and seventies being beyond the interest of even the most fastidious historian, and of small historical importance at any rate. He also traces the development of the organised Epirot community, the various organisations that were formed to provide a social structure for the newly arrived immigrants, the philanthropic societies and the political organisations. In this, Petros Petranis was a pioneer, for he was the driving force behind the trend for Greek associations to federate and combine resources. The Panepirotic Federation of Australia was one of the first of its kind, having as its aim, not only the social needs of its members but most importantly, the needs of Epirots overseas and especially in Northern Epirus. In his passion for his homeland, Petros Petranis and the Federation did not hesitate to take on governments, dignitaries and clergymen alike and demand explanations and answers. It has always been a force to be reckoned with and has gained the respect of Greece as a lobby group, despite the current consul-general’s persistent snubbing of the same. The book is not just Petros Petranis’ life’s work. His entire life is enclosed between its covers. Kyriakos Amanatidis, one of our community’s most eminent men of letters has most eloquently and humanely taken us back to the birthplace of Petros Petranis and recounted to us those events that made him the man that he is today, in the first section of the book. It is a most moving story and though I have heard it from the lips of Petros Petranis countless times, I cannot help but be moved every time I consider it. It is essentially an Australian story, a story of privation and hardship as well as redemption in a new land and a story which will strike a chord not only with his contemporaries who had similar experiences, but also with the second and third generations who are not only given a better appreciation of the conditions that caused their forebears to leave their homes but also an understanding of how the Greek community was constructed from the foundations up. In doing so, Petros Petranis’ scope is vast. He deals with the issue on a Pan-Australian level, encompassing culture, industry and social aspects. His book is of vast importance to the corpus of the recent trend of Greek-Australian historical writing. One of the things in my life that I can say I am truly proud of, is that I have known Petros Petranis from birth. I have basked in the warmth of his smile, have been challenged by his inquisitive and restless mind, fired by his passion and enjoyed him as a mentor and friend. This is nothing out of the ordinary. His fellow-villagers in Kossovitsa, though they have not seen him for fifty years, still remember him with fondness and thank him for his arrangements to obtain for them a clean water supply. His book is a generous offering to the whole community, both as a mirror and as a memorial, now that the organised community and the cause which he fought for is in its swan-song. Like many Northern Epirots, he will probably never be able to return to his homeland. Yet the lure and the song of that homeland is what enabled him to put down such firm roots in Australia and the shadow of his branches embraces all of us. The launch of the book «Οι Ηπειρώτες στην Αυστραλία», under the auspices of La Trobe, the Panepirotic Federation of Australia and the Australian-Greek Cultural League will take place on 21 March 2004 at LaTrobe University. For all of those who are interested in the history of our sojourn in this land, this book is a must.

HISTORY OF EPIRUS

Etymology of the name
The Greek name Epirus signifies "mainland" or "continent", to distinguish it from the Ionian islands off the Epirote coast. It was originally applied to the whole coast south to the Gulf of Patras. The name is thought to go back to Proto-Greek Aπειρος/apeiros, from an Indo-European root apero- meaning 'coast'.

Boundaries and definitions
The historical region of Epirus is generally regarded as extending from the Bay of Vlorë in Albania to the Gulf of Arta or Ambracian Gulf in Greece. Its eastern boundary is defined by the Pindus Mountains that form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. To the west, Epirus faces the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea. The island of Corfu is situated off the coast but is not generally regarded as part of the province (politically it is part of the Ionian Islands province of Greece).

Geography and ecology
Epirus is a rugged and mountainous region. It is largely made up of mountainous limestone ridges, part of the Dinaric Alps, that in places reach 2,650 m. In the east, the Pindus Mountains that form the spine of mainland Greece separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus. The winds from the Ionian Sea offer the region more rainfall than any other part of Greece.
The climate of Epirus is mainly alpine. The vegetation is made up mainly of coniferous species. The animal life is especially rich in this area and features, among other species, bears, wolves, foxes, deer and lynxes.

History
Early settlement

Epirus has been occupied since Neolithic times, when hunters and shepherds inhabited the region and constructed large tumuli to bury their leaders. The tumuli had many similar characteristics to those later used by the Myceneans, suggesting a possible ancestral link between Epirus and the Mycenean civilization. Certainly, Mycenean remains have been found and even at the most important ancient religious sites in the region, the Necromanteion (Oracle of the Dead) on the Acheron river, and the Oracle of Zeus at Dodona.
The Dorians invaded Greece via Epirus and Macedonia at the end of the 2nd millennium BC (circa 1100 BC-1000 BC), though the reasons for their migration are obscure. The region's original inhabitants were driven southward into the Greek mainland by the invasion and by the early 1st millennium BC three principal clusters of Greek-speaking tribes had emerged in Epirus. These were the Chaonians of northwestern Epirus, the Molossians in the centre and the Thesprotians in the south.

Epirus and ancient Greece
Unlike most other Greeks of the time, who lived in or around city-states such as Athens or Sparta, the Epirotes lived in small villages. Their region lay on the edge of the Greek world and was far from peaceful; for many centuries, it remained a frontier area contested with the Illyrian peoples of the Adriatic coast and interior. However, Epirus had a far greater religious significance than might have been expected given its geographical remoteness, due to the presence of the shrine and oracle at Dodona - regarded as second only to the more famous oracle at Delphi.
The Epirotes though apparently Greek-speaking seem to have been regarded with some disdain by the Athenians when the latter rose to power, a fate suffered by many Greek enemies of Athens or those Greeks they considered culturally inferior to themselves. The 5th century BC Athenian historian Thucydides describes them as "barbarians" due to the fact they tried to detach Acarnania from the sphere of Athenian power and allied themselves with the Spartans to do so during the Peloponnesian War. This term was used by Athenians in a pejorative and politically motivated manner against many Greeks. The Epirote aristocracy were the Aeacidae, who claimed to be descended from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. As well Strabo says: "and even to the present day the Thracians, Illyrians, and Epeirotes live on the flanks of the Greeks (though this was still more the case formerly than now); indeed most of the country that at the present time is indisputably Greece is held by the barbarians — Macedonia and certain parts of Thessaly by the Thracians, and the parts above Acarnania and Aetolia by the Thesproti, the Cassopaei, the Amphilochi, the Molossi, and the Athamanes — Epeirotic tribes." On the other hand, other ancient Greek and Roman writers such as Apollodorus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Frontinus, Pausanias, Ptolemy, Cassius Dio and Eutropius, describe them as Greeks. Plutarch mentions an interesting cultural element of the Epirotes regarding Achilles. In his biography of king Pyrrhus, he claims that Achilles "had a divine status in Epirus and in the local dialect he was called Aspetos." (Homeric aspetos 'unspeakable,unspeakably great,endless' (Aristotle F 563 Rose; Plutarch, Pyrrhus 1; SH 960,4). The Aeacidae established the Molossian dynasty, who built a state in Epirus from about 370 BC onwards, expanding their power at the expense of rival tribes. The Molossians allied themselves with the increasingly powerful kingdom of Macedon and in 359 BC the Molossian princess Olympias, niece of Arybbas of Epirus, married King Philip II of Macedon. She was to become the mother of Alexander the Great.
On the death of Arybbas, Alexander of Epirus succeeded to the throne and the title King of Epirus. Aeacides of Epirus, who succeeded Alexander, espoused the cause of Olympias against Cassander, but was dethroned in 313 BC. His son Pyrrhus came to throne in 295 BC, and for six years fought against the Romans in southern Italy and Sicily. His campaigns gave Epirus a new, but brief, importance and a lasting contribution to the language with the concept of a "Pyrrhic victory".
In the 3rd century BC Epirus remained a substantial power, unified under the auspices of the Epirote League as a federal state with its own parliament (or synedrion). However, it was faced with the growing threat of the expansionist Roman Republic, which fought a series of wars with Macedonia. The League remained neutral in the first two Macedonian Wars but split in the Third Macedonian War (171 BC-168 BC), with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaones and Thesproti siding with Rome. The outcome was disastrous for Epirus; Molossia fell to Rome in 167 BC, 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved and the region was so thoroughly plundered that it took 500 years for central Epirus to recover fully.

Roman and Byzantine rule
The Roman invasion permanently ended the political independence of the Epirotes. In 146 BC Epirus became part of the province of Roman Macedonia, receiving the name Epirus vetus, to distinguish it from Epirus nova to the east. Its coastal regions grew wealthy from the Roman coastal trade routes, and the construction of the Via Egnatia provided a further boost to prosperity.
Epirus became the westernmost province of the Eastern Roman Empire (subsequently the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire), ruled from Constantinople when the empire was divided in two in 395 AD. When Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Michael Angelos Komnenos Ducas seized Aetolia and Epirus to establish an independent Despotate of Epirus. The rulers of the Despotate controlled a substantial area corresponding to a large swathe of northwestern Greece, much of modern Albania and parts of the modern Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
In 1318 Epirus was overrun by Serbs in one of a series of uprisings. Following an Albanian uprising in 1359 , in which the Despot Nicephorus II was killed, the Byzantines re-established a measure of control of the despotate by making it a vassal state. However, in 1430 the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II annexed Epirus.

Ottoman rule
Ottoman rule proved particularly damaging in Epirus; the region was subjected to deforestation and excessive cultivation, which damaged the soil and drove many Epirotes to emigrate to escape the region's pervasive poverty. Nonetheless, the Ottomans did not enjoy total control of Epirus. In 1443 George Kastriotis Skenderbeis, the Epirote National Hero, revolted against the Ottoman Empire and conquered Northern Epirus, but on his death it fell to Venice. The Ottomans expelled the Venetians from almost the whole area in the late 15th century.
In the 18th century, as the power of the Ottomans declined, Epirus became a virtually independent region under the despotic rule of Ali Pasha Tepelena, an Albanian brigand who became the provincial governor of Ioannina in 1788 . At the height of his power, he controlled much of western Greece, the Peloponnese and Albania. Ali Pasha's campaigns to subjugate the confederation of the Souli settlements is a well known incident of his rule. His forces met fierce resistance by the Souliote warriors of the mountainous area. After numerous failed attempts to defeat the Souliotes, his troops succeeded in conquering the area in 1803. When the Greek War of Independence broke out, the inhabitants of the region contributed greatly, and Ali Pasha tried to make himself an independent ruler, but he was deposed and murdered by Ottoman agents in 1822.
When Greece became independent, Epirus remained under Ottoman rule. Two of the founding members of the Filiki Eteria (secret patriotic society), Nikolaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalov, came from the Arta area and the city of Ioannina respectively. Greece's first constitutional prime minister (1844-1847), Ioannis Kolettis, was a native of the town of Syrrako in Epirus and former personal doctor to Vizier Ali Pasha himself.

20th century Epirus
The Treaty of Berlin of 1881 gave Greece parts of southern Epirus, but it was not until the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 that the rest of southern Epirus joined Greece. Northern Epirus was awarded to Albania by an international boundary commission. This outcome was unpopular among both Greeks and Albanians, as settlements of the two people existed on both sides of the border. Among Greeks, northern Epirus is regarded as terra irredenta. When World War I broke out in 1914 , Albania collapsed. Under a March 1915 agreement among the Allies, Italy seized northern Albania and Greece set up an autonomous Greek state of North Epirus in the southern part of the country. Although short-lived, the state of Northern Epirus managed to leave behind a number of historical records of its existence, including its own postage stamps.
Although the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 awarded the area to Greece after World War I, political developments such as the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War and, crucially, Italian, Austrian and German lobbying in favour of Albania meant that Greece, although backed by Russia, could not claim northern Epirus. The area was finally ceded to Albania in 1924.
Italy occupied Albania in 1939 and in 1940 invaded Greece. The Italians were, however, driven back into Albania and Greece again took control of northern Epirus. The conflict, known as the Greco-Italian War, marked one of the first tactical victories of the Allies in World War II. Mussolini himself supervised the massive counter-attack of his divisions in spring 1941 , only to be decisively defeated again by the poorly equipped, but determined, Greeks. Nazi Germany intervened in April 1941 to avert an embarrassing Italian defeat. The German military performed rapid military maneuvers through Yugoslavia and forced the encircled Greek forces to surrender.
The whole of Epirus was then placed under Italian occupation until 1943 , when the Germans took over following the Italian surrender to the Allies. The highlands of Epirus became the major theatre of guerrilla inter-fighting between the communist National People's Liberation Army (ELAS) and the republican National Republican Greek League (EDES). Following the German withdrawal from Greece in 1944 , the mountains of Epirus became the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the Greek Civil War.The current President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, is a native of Ioannina, Epirus.

PYRRHUS: KING OF EPIRUS

Early life
Pyrrhus was the son of Aeacides of Epirus and Phthia, and a second cousin of Alexander the Great. Prince of one of the Alexandrian successor states, Pyrrhus' childhood and youth went by in unquiet conditions. He was only two years old when his father was dethroned and the family took refuge with Glaukias, king of the Taulanti, one of the largest Illyrian tribes.

Later, the Epirotes called him back but he was dethroned again at the age of 17 when he left his kingdom to attend the wedding of Glaukias' son in Illyria. In the wars of the diadochi Pyrrhus fought beside his brother-in-law Demetrius I of Macedon on the losing side in the pivotal Battle of Ipsus (301 BC). Later, he was made a hostage of Ptolemy I Soter by a treaty between Ptolemy I and Demetrius. Pyrrhus married Ptolemy I's stepdaughter Antigone and in 297 BC, with Ptolemy I's aid, restored his kingdom of Epirus. Next he went to war against his former ally Demetrius. By 286 BC he had deposed his former brother-in-law and taken control over the kingdom of Macedon. Pyrrhus was driven out of Macedon by Lysimachus, his former ally, in 284 BC.

Struggle with Rome

In 281 BC, the Greek city of Tarentum, in southern Italy, fell out with Rome and was faced with a Roman attack and certain defeat. Rome had already made itself into a major power, and was poised to subdue all the Greek cities in Magna Graecia. The Tarentines asked Pyrrhus to lead their war against the Romans.
Pyrrhus was encouraged to aid the Tarentines by the oracle of Delphi. His goals were not, however, selfless. He recognized the possibility of carving out an empire for himself in Italy. He made an alliance with Ptolem Ceraunus, King of Macedon and his most powerful neighbor, and arrived in Italy in 280 BC.
He entered Italy with an army consisting of 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, 20,000 infantry and 20 war elephants in a bid to subdue the Romans.
Due to his superior cavalry and his elephants he defeated the Romans, led by Consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, in the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC. There are conflicting sources about casualties. Hieronymus of Cardia reports the Romans lost about 7,000 while Pyrrhus lost 3,000 soldiers, including many of his best. Dionysius gives a bloodier view of 15,000 Roman dead and 13,000 Greek. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii, Messapians, and the Greek cities of Croton and Locri joined Pyrrhus. He then offered the Romans a peace treaty which was eventually rejected. Pyrrhus spent winter in Campania.
When Pyrrhus invaded Apulia (279 BC), the two armies met in the Battle of Asculum where Pyrrhus won a very costly victory. The consul Publius Decius Mus was the Roman commander, and his able force, though defeated, broke the back of Pyrrhus' Hellenistic army, and guaranteed the security of the city itself. The battle foreshadowed later Roman victories over more numerous and well armed successor state military forces and inspired the term "Pyrrhic victory", meaning a victory which comes at a crippling cost. At the end, the Romans had lost 6,000 men and Pyrrhus 3,500 but, while battered, his army was still a force to be reckoned with.

Ruler of Sicily

In 278 BC, Pyrrhus received two offers simultaneously. The Greek cities in Sicily asked him to come and drive out Carthage, which along with Rome was one of the two great powers of the Western Mediterranean. At the same time, the Macedonians, whose King Ceraunus had been killed by invading Gauls, asked Pyrrhus to ascend the throne of Macedon. Pyrrhus decided that Sicily offered him a greater opportunity, and transferred his army there.
Pyrrhus was proclaimed king of Sicily. He was already making plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to be given Italy. In 277 Pyrrhus captured Eryx, the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus.
In 276 BC, Pyrrhus negotiated with the Carthaginians. Although they were inclined to come to terms with Pyrrhus, supply him money and send him ships once friendly relations were established, he demanded that Carthage abandon all of Sicily and make the Libyan Sea a boundary between themselves and the Greeks. Meanwhile he had begun to display despotic behavior towards the Sicilian Greeks and soon Sicilian opinion became inflamed against him. Though he defeated the Carthaginians in another battle, he was forced to abandon Sicily and return to Italy.

Retreat from Italy
While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians, the Romans rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh recruits. When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, he found himself vastly outnumbered against a superior Roman army. After the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum in 275 BC Pyrrhus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus which resulted in the loss of all his Italian holdings.

Last wars and death
Though his western campaign had taken a heavy toll on his army as well as his treasury Pyrrhus yet again went to war. Attacking King Antigonus II Gonatas he won an easy victory and seized the Macedonian throne.
In 272 BC, Cleonymus, a Spartan of royal blood who was hated among fellow Spartans, asked Pyrrhus to attack Sparta and place him in power. Pyrrhus agreed to the plan intending to win control of the Peloponnese for himself but unexpectedly strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta. He was immediately offered an opportunity to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos. Entering the city with his army by stealth, he found himself caught in a confused battle in the narrow city streets. During the confusion an old Argead woman watching from a rooftop threw a roofing tile which stunned him, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him (some reports claim he was poisoned by a servant).

Legacy
While he was a mercurial and often restless leader, and not always a wise king, he was considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time. Plutarch records that Hannibal ranked Pyrrhus as either the greatest or the second greatest commander the world had seen (after Alexander the Great if the second version of the tradition is followed). Pyrrhus was also known to be very benevolent. As a general Pyrrhus' greatest political weaknesses were the failure to maintain focus and the failure to maintain a strong treasury at home (many of his soldiers were costly mercenaries).
His name is famous for the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" which refers to an exchange at the Battle of Asculum. In response to congratulations for winning a costly victory over the Romans, he is reported to have said: "One more such victory will undo me!" (In Greek: Αν έτι μίαν μάχην νικήσωμεν, απολώλαμεν.)
Pyrrhus wrote Memoirs and several books on the art of war. These have since been lost although Hannibal was influenced by them and they received praise from Cicero.