After returning from Melbourne where we were asked to commemorate Constantine Aroney, we realised there are a lot more Kytherians that deserve to be remembered so we created the Kytherian Memorial Day. Every October and April, ten or so Kytherians who may possibly have already been lost to history will be honoured, and hopefully their stories can be shared with the world.
The people we chose to remember in the inaugural memorial were born in Kythera in the late 1800s or early 1900s and all left their homeland in search of a better life in Australia. The are all buried in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, most with unmarked graves. None of them had any children.
Each of them was somebody’s child, sibling, aunt or uncle, business partner, friend or neighbour. Each contributed or impacted people within their communities. Some had successful business and personal lives while others died young. In their own way they all contributed to the fabric of modern multicultural Australia.
Last week we visited the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park and the graves of these people. We laid a certificate of remembrance on each grave, and we said a quiet word to each Kytherian, telling them that we have not forgotten them and we are trying to remember them for generations to come.
The following are the people we remembered and the graves we visited. Let us remember them together. Below is a very brief summary of their lives, but we have produced a booklet that tells the whole story of their lives from the documents they left behind. The booklet can be purchased for a small amount as a digital download here.
Xenophon Andronicos 1879 – 1958
Migrated to Australia in 1914 and spent 18 months in Narrabri before settling in Sydney. He ran several businesses with partners. He donated money to Kytherian causes. He never married.
John Aroney 1872 – 1929
There were multiple men with the same name living in the same place at the same time so it may never be possible to link him to any document and his whole story may never be known. He migrated in about 1899 and died in 1929 as a confectioner who was living with his nephew in Redfern. His grave is the earliest found in this cemetery to date.
Mennas Aroney 1888 – 1934
Mennas migrated to Sydney and remained there his entire life. He was a successful businessman who acquired a fair bit of wealth with businesses and property investments. Upon his death, his brother contested his will, making for a very interesting story.
Peter Comino 1884 – 1936
Peter migrated to Australia and spent a few years in Lismore before settling in Sydney. Again, another common name in both Sydney and Lismore so a true story may never be known. He never married and his grave is unmarked.
Harres Fardoulis aka Harry Candilas 1882 - 1947
Harres and his brothers migrated to Australia. Only a death certificate and funeral announcement could be found for him and even then, his death certificate had few details even though he had at least one brother living in Sydney who would have known these personal details.
Constantine Kepreotis 1894 - 1968
He joined his two elder brothers in Sydney in 1907 where he spent 16 years. He then spent two years in Werris Creek before again settling in Sydney’s western suburbs. Little is known about his personal or professional life, but from 1935 until his death from heart issues, aged 73, he was a shop assistant.
Stavroula Nicholasou aka Stella Nichollas 1905 – 1936
Stavroula had a short life with a tragic ending. She migrated to Australia in 1924. She was engaged to be married to James Galanis. On the day of her wedding, she complained of severe neck pain and was taken to hospital. She died the next day and never had the chance to marry. The story made the newspapers all over the country.
Nick John Notaras 1906 – 1977
Like his brothers before him, Nick migrated to Australia and arrived in about 1924. Very few documents have been found so only a small part of his life is known. He died in Marrickville District Hospital from heart issues, and he was a labourer. He never married and his grave is unmarked.
Peter Protopsaltis 1884 - 1932
Petre married in Kythera and had a daughter. He left his young family behind in 1912 to emigrate to Australia. His wife and daughter eventually joined him, but Peter had not been a good boy while in Australia and his wife asked for a divorce. The courts granted it. She and her daughter returned to Kythera. Peter remained in Sydney and never remarried. Lots of details about Peter’s affairs and the court ruling have been found and are in our booklet.
Nicholas Emmanuel Zantiotis aka Nicholas Saunders 1884 – 1959
Nicholas arrived in Australia in 1906. He spent time in Queensland country towns and Sydney before arriving in Crookwell, New South Wales, where he was working for his sister Koula and brother-in-law Theodore Venardos as a shop assistant. When Nicholas died, he was buried in the same grave as his brother-in-law Theodore. It is unclear why Nicholas was buried with Theodore rather than Theodore's his wife Koula who is buried elsewhere in the same cemetery.
Arthur Viaros aka Arthur Tsausis 1891 – 1977
Very little detail has been found about Arthur’s life, but what was found is conflicting. He donated money to Kythera in 1927, yet according to his death certificate he arrived in Australia in about 1937. He died from cancer in a nursing home in Wentworth Falls in 1977. He never married.
If you wish to learn more about the lives of these people, you can read more in our booklet available as a digital download in our store for a low price.
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