Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia

Greek-Australian Archive – Melpomene Kaimasidis

Item

Title

Greek-Australian Archive – Melpomene Kaimasidis

Subject

Australia--Emigration and immigration—History

Immigrants

Greek language, Modern

Voyages and travels

Turkish language

Language and languages

Foreign workers, Greek

Category

5. Cold War (including Decolonisation)

Author

Kaimasidis, Melpomene

Keywords

Greeks in Australia

Oral history

Creator

Elefterias-Kostakidis, Eleni

Person

Kaimasidis, Melpomene

Current holder

State Library of New South Wales

Date

November 16, 2021

Link

https://greekaustralianarchive.sl.nsw.gov.au/oral-histories/melpomene-kaimasidis

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: Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis Occupation: Seamstress and Salesgirl Year of arrival: 1957 Method of transport: Ship (Patris) Melpo Kaimasidis was born in 1937 in the village of Pentavryso in Kastoria, a prefecture of Macedonia, Greece to a large multi-lingual family originally from Samsounta in Pontos. She speaks Greek, Pontian and Turkish. As a young woman, she worked in the fur industry in Kastoria. In 1957, she migrated to Australia. Interview summary In the interview, Melpo discusses her family’s traumatic history during World War II. She also discusses aspects of their working lives as wheat and tobacco farmers and some of the horrors of the Civil War period that followed the end of WWII. She goes on to recall her experiences on the ship that brought her to Australia and the feelings of sea sickness suffered by many of the passengers. She discusses her husband’s illness and subsequent death and the financial difficulties of being a single mother. The interview also covers Melpo’s involvement with AHEPA (Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) in raising money for charities and hospitals in Sydney as well as her leadership roles as a member of the Pontian Association, Panagia Soumela.

Physical format

Sound recording

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