Greek Australian veterans, and their moving 25 March tribute to heroes of 1821
Each year, the Hellenic RSL pays tribute to the anniversary of the Greek War of Independence in its own way with a church service at St Eustathios, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hellenic War Memorial, followed by a service at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.
The event, unlike last Sunday’s more exclusive 25 March event of the Organisational Committee for the Greek National Day of Victoria, was open to all the public who were invited to celebrate the anniversary of Greek Independence with just the right amount of pomp and pageantry, and a whole lot of meaning.
The beauty of the event each year is that it has its own Greek Australian identity, and it was the importance of the diaspora in both liberating Greece but also honouring its contribution to the world that was commemorated at the Hellenic War Memorial which lies at the foot of the Shrine of Remembrance as a reminder of what soldiers of Hellenic background have contributed to the country.
Governor of Victoria, the Honorable, Linda Desau spoke of the “debt of gratitude” that Victorians feel for the “vision and generosity of our Greek Community”.
“Well there’s much to commemorate and there’s much to celebrate,” Ms Dessau said. “On behalf of the Victorian people, we congratulate Greece on this important anniversary and its very thoughtful approach to it, highlighting both the important historical event surrounding independence and the achievements and aspirations of the modern nation. There’s so much in this state that we owe Greece and the Greek people. The Greeks assembled here don’t need me to remind them that the ancient Greeks gave us philosophy, the greatest philosophers, the Olympics amongst many other things. But it is the modern Greeks that have indelibly changed our landscape with their immigration. Although Victoria’s flourishing Greek community has its roots as far back as the Gold Rush in the 1850s, we have greatly benefited from a number of waves of immigrations over many decades.”
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