Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia

Greek-Australian Archive – Poppy (Kalliope) Elliott

Item

Title

Greek-Australian Archive – Poppy (Kalliope) Elliott

Subject

Australia--Emigration and immigration—History

Immigrants

Greek language, Modern

Voyages and travels

Sydney (N.S.W.)

Employment

Category

5. Cold War (including Decolonisation)

Author

Elliott, Poppy (Kalliope)

Keywords

Greeks in Australia

Oral history

Creator

Doumanis, Nick

Current holder

State Library of New South Wales

Date

February 28, 2023

Link

https://greekaustralianarchive.sl.nsw.gov.au/oral-histories/poppy-kalliope-elliott

Access rights

Digitised

Country of origin

Australia

Place

Sydney

Language 

Greek (Modern)

Description from source

Interviewer: Nick Doumanis Occupation: hospital attendant, factory worker, homemaker Year of arrival: 1960 Method of transport: Ship (Patris) Poppy (Kalliope) was born in 1934 on the island of Kos, which was then under Italian rule. She was hired at the age of 13 by a doctor in Athens to assist his wife with child-rearing duties. This was the first in a series of jobs where the employer neglected to pay her wages. This experience compelled her to emigrate to Australia in 1960. Very soon after her arrival, Poppy was introduced by a Kastellorizian woman to her son, Plato Elliott, and the two were married within a few months. Interview summary Poppy begins by describing her experiences in Athens, where she worked a series of jobs, including a long stint in a hospital. She then recalls her years in Rhodes, where she made many friends and enrolled in a migrant training centre for people bound for Australia. Poppy also provides a rich account of her early months in Sydney, the circumstances leading up to her marriage and life in her suburban home in Kingsford.

Physical format

Sound recording

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