John Paganis
Last week I had the pleasure of making a short visit to Hobart, Tasmania. My previous visit was some 38 years ago! Back then I lived in this city for 6 weeks and met several Greeks, many of whom I was fortunate enough to meet again last week.
They say that anyone who gets to know this “little paradise” is enchanted and, circumstances permitting, stays. In fact, there are many who have told me that they went there as visitors and stayed for a lifetime.
A beautiful, welcoming and quiet island town, Hobart. How can you not fall in love with it?
The population of Tasmania exceeds 572 thousand. Hobart is home to about 250 thousand, of which about 3,500 are of Greek descent, most of them successful businessmen. Many of Hobart’s Greeks have family members in Melbourne and visit our city frequently.
There are three Greek cuisine restaurants in Hobart, and many more owned by Australian Greeks. Liquor stores, hotels, pubs, construction companies are a few of the sectors in which Greeks are involved.
We dined at the restaurant “Mezethes Greek Taverna at Salamanca Square. We were left speechless by the flawless food and Greek hospitality. Our second gastronomicexperience took place at the Black Buffalo Hotel restaurant, where we met three outstanding Hellenes. Two hours later and after a wonderful meal with excellent seafood and good wine, it felt like we were old acquaintances.
I had the pleasure, during the four days I was on the island, to frequently visit the Greek Community of Hobart building, which served as the base and focus of my visit.
I did not meet a single Greek who did not go out of their way to please us (me and my wife) and I sincerely thank them for their hospitality.
The President of the Greek Community is Manolis Kalymnios and the Vice President is Benettos Gavallas, who gave us a tour of the Community facilities.
In the premises of the community centre there is the traditional “kafeneio”, which is managed by Mr. Theodoros Sevastopoulos from Tropaioucho Florinas, a spacious entertainment venue and a Greek school, attended by about 80 children.
The small Greek community of Hobart has two Greek Orthodox churches, one of which (St. Georgios) is owned by the Greek Community. Both operate under the auspices of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.
Every March, the city’s Greek Community holds the magnificent “ESTIA” Festival, a festival that takes place at the Greek Community and on the main street in front of the Centre (Federal Street), part of which closes for the event.
The ESTIA Festival is supported by the State Government and is attended by thousands of people of all nationalities.
So, another Greece, smaller in size but huge in rhythm and soul, is just a stone’s throw away from Melbourne. A ‘Greece’ worth broadening our connections and forging stronger ties with. They are our brothers and sisters after all.
