Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia

Greek-Australian Archive – Dimitra Kandylas

Item

Title

Greek-Australian Archive – Dimitra Kandylas

Subject

Australia--Emigration and immigration—History

Immigrants

Greek language, Modern

Voyages and travels

Employment

Families--History

Category

5. Cold War (including Decolonisation)

Author

Kandylas, Dimitra

Keywords

Greeks in Australia

Oral history

Proxy marriage

Creator

Kallos, Kathy

Current holder

State Library of New South Wales

Date

July 13, 2022

Link

https://greekaustralianarchive.sl.nsw.gov.au/oral-histories/dimitra-kandylas

Access rights

Digitised

Rights 

Copyright holder : State Library of New South Wales Please acknowledge : Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Country of origin

Australia

Place

Sydney

Language 

Greek (Modern)

Description from source

Interviewer: Kathy Kallos Occupation: Factory worker Year of arrival: 1963 Method of transport: Ship (Patris) Dimitra Kandylas was born in 1942 in Thana, a village outside of Tripoli in the Peloponnese region of Greece. She spent her childhood attending school, helping her family with domestic duties and working on the land. Dimitra arrived in Sydney in 1963 following an invitation from her cousin, who owned a home in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west. Within days of her arrival, Dimitra found work in a textile factory. Over the years, she held various factory jobs as she searched for better pay and conditions. Her marriage was arranged by ‘proxenio’, and, initially, the couple lived in a shared household which included her husband’s brother and mother. Dimitra and her husband eventually bought their own home in Bexley, where they raised their two children. Interview summary Dimitra recalls the difficult conditions her family endured in Thana. She talks about her decision to migrate to Australia in the hope of reducing her father’s economic burden and expresses her gratitude to her cousin already in Australia, who looked after her as well as his six unmarried sisters. She recounts the physical and emotional strain of working long hours in various factory jobs.

Physical format

Sound recording

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