HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are
Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...
of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), comprising 1.7% of the Australian population.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx At the 2021 census, 92,314 Australian residents were born in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx Greek immigration to Australia has been one of the largest migratory flows in the
history of Australia The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. Aboriginal Australians, People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and ...
, especially after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...
. The flow of migrants from Greece increased slightly in 2015 due to the economic crisis in Greece, with Australia as one of the main destinations for departing Greeks, mainly to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
, where the Greek Australian community is most deeply established. 88% of Greek Australians speak Greek and 91% are members of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
also have a close bilateral relationship based on historical ties and the rich contribution of Greek Australians to Australian society. In 2019, the export of Australian services to Greece was valued at $92 million, while services imports from Greece totalled $750 million. Australia's stock of investment in Greece in 2019 totalled $481 million, while investment in Australia from Greece was $192 million.


History


Early Greek immigration

Greek immigration to Australia began in the early colonial period in the 19th century. The first known Greeks arrived in 1829.Department of Immigration & Citizenship: Media – Publications: Statistics – Community Information Summaries
/ref> These Greeks were seven sailors, convicted of piracy by a British naval court, and were sentenced to transportation to
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. Though they were eventually pardoned, two of those seven Greeks stayed and settled in the country. One settled on the Monaro Plains in Southern New South Wales and one at Picton near Sydney. Their names were Ghikas Bulgaris known as Jigger Bulgari, and Andonis Manolis. Jigger Bulgari married an Irish woman, and they had many children. Jigger was buried at Nimmitabel Pioneer Cemetery. The Hellenic Club of Canberra laid a commemorative marble plaque over his resting place around 2000. Andonis Manolis' grave is in the old cemetery at Mittagong. The first known free Greek migrant to Australia was Katerina Georgia Plessos (1809–1907), who arrived in Sydney with her husband Major James Crummer in 1835. They married in 1827 on the island of Kalamos where Crummer, the island's commandant met the young refugee from the Greek independence wars. In her youth she must have been one of the last living people to speak to Lord Byron. They lived in Sydney, Newcastle and Port Macquarie. They had 11 children. The first wave of free Hellenic migrants commenced in the 1850s, and continued through the end of the 19th century, prompted in part by the recent discovery of gold in the country. A young Greek immigrant born in Athens, Greece named Georgios Tramountanas (1822 – 29 January 1911) and anglicised as George North in 1858, was the first settler of Greek origin in South Australia in 1842. The Greek community of South Australia regards North (Tramountanas) as their Pioneering Grandfather. In 1901, the year of federation, the Australian census recorded 878 native Greeks that were born there (In Greece), now living in Australia. Many of these Greeks were owners of or were employed in shops and restaurants. Some were also cane-cutters in Queensland.


20th century Greek immigration

From the last decade of the 19th century until
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the number of Greeks immigrating to Australia increased steadily and Hellenic communities were reasonably well established in Melbourne and Sydney at this time. The Greek language press began in Australia and in 1913, Australia had the first Greek weekly newspaper called ''Afstralia'' that was published in Melbourne. During WWI Greece remained neutral, eventually joining the side of the Allies. In 1916, the Australian government responded to this by placing a special prohibition on the entry of Greeks and Maltese people to Australia that was not lifted until 1920. There were a number of anti-Greek outbursts as a result of the neutrality stance by Greece, often instigated by Australian soldiers on leave. During these outbursts, Greek shops and Greek cafés were badly damaged or destroyed, with the worst rioting occurring in
Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
and
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
. During the 1920s, as a result of the Greco-Turkish War there was a significant amount of Greek migration to
Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Laragiya language, Larrakia: ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the spa ...
and across the Top End. Greeks often worked in the canefields in North Queensland and move to Darwin during the dry season to work in the pearling industry. One famous family of Greek Australians, the Paspaley family from the island of Kastellorizo, excelled in the Pearling industry and have stores across Australia with their main store in Darwin. It is noted that the first major flow of Greek immigrants to Australia began in the mid 1920s, where a large number of Greek people from Kastellorizo migrated to Australia to escape the Ottoman repression. A large number of these people from Greece's easternmost island spent time in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
's second largest city,
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, before being offered migration to Australia by British authorities. Those of Kastellorizian descent living in Australia now refer to themselves as 'Kazzies,' and have maintained a strong and unique community. During the interwar period, the number of Greeks migrating to Australia increased substantially. Some Greeks who settled in Australia were expelled from Asia Minor after the Greek military defeat and the genocide committed by Turkey between 1913 and 1922, while other Greeks sought entry after the USA established restrictive immigration quotas in the early 1920s. From 1924 until 1936 a series of regulations operating in Australia severely restricted the number of Greeks permitted to immigrate to and settle in Australia. Greece entered
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
with the Allies when she was invaded by German and Italian forces who remained in Greece until 1944. Many ANZACs went to the nation and tried to help the population to defeat the Axis enemy only to be saved themselves by the locals, building a relationship between Australians and Greeks that stands strong to this day. When troops withdrew a struggle broke out between pro and anti-communist factions which resulted in civil war between 1946 and 1949, ending with the defeat of the communists, but at a cost of many Greek lives and the uprooting of children who were kidnapped and taken from their families. The Greek government, devastated by the destruction of infrastructure and the mass looting of their banks by the Germans, encouraged post-war migration as a way of solving poverty and unemployment problems. Post WWII in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, Greeks were one of the main European races picked by the Australian government's " Populate or perish" immigration scheme and due to this thousands of Greeks migrated to Australia to gain a better life and future for themselves and their families. The main destinations where these "Hellenes" immigrated were cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. During these decades, Greeks began to establish their own restaurants, Hellenic Community Clubs, and Greek-Australian soccer clubs. Greeks along with Italians, Croatians, Maltese, Serbians, Jews, Hungarians, Czechs, etc. marked a milestone on Australian sport in general by forming many successful Association football clubs. The most successful Australian clubs with Greek heritage and culture are South Melbourne Hellas ( South Melbourne FC) founded in 1959, Alexander the Great ( Heidelberg United FC) founded in 1958, Pan-Hellenic ( Sydney Olympic FC) founded in 1957, West Adelaide Hellas ( West Adelaide SC) founded in 1962 and Brisbane Pan Rhodian (
Olympic FC Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1967 and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, with home matches played at Goodwin Park. The club has gro ...
) founded in 1967. All five clubs were founded by Greek immigrants that immigrated to those respective cities. After the changes in Greece from the mid 1970s, including the fall of the Papadopoulos regime in 1974 and the formal inclusion of Greece into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, Greek immigration to Australia has slowed since the 1971 peak of 160,200 arrivals. Within Australia, the Greek immigrants have been "extremely well organised socially and politically", with approximately 600 Greek organisations in the country by 1973, and immigrants have strived to maintain their faith and cultural identity. By comparison, the Greek Cypriot community in Australia doubled following the Invasion of Cyprus by Turkey following a campaign of ethnic cleansing in 1974.


21st century Greek immigration

Since the year 2000, Greek immigration to Australia has slowed down. However, in the years 2000–2009, many Greek-Australians both native Greek and Australian-born, returned to Greece to discover their homeland and reconnect with their ancestral roots. Yet, as the economic crisis in Greece grew, the opportunities for temporary resident Greek Australians abroad were limited. For this reason many Greek Australians have shortened their planned long term stays in Greece and have returned home to Australia. In the early 2010s, there has been an increase of Greek immigration flows to Australia due to unemployment, among other issues, because of the economic crisis in Greece. This has led to the return of many Greek Australians which had gone to Greece before the crisis and also the arrival of newcomers from Greece, who have been received by the large Greek Australian community mainly in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
.


Demographics

At the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), comprising 1.7% of the Australian population.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx At the 2021 census, 92,314 Australian residents were born in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx The largest concentration of Greek Australians is in the state of Victoria, which is often regarded as the heartland of the Greek Australian community. Victoria's capital Melbourne has the largest Greek Australian community in Australia. The 2021 census showed that the following states had the largest numbers of people nominating Greek ancestry: Victoria (181,184), New South Wales (141,627), South Australia (40,704), Queensland (32,702), Western Australia (16,117). One study investigating the 54 most common ethnic groups in Australia found that Greek Australians had the lowest rate of intermarriage (marrying outside their ethnicity) than every other ethnicity in the first, second and third generations.


Culture


Religion

According to census data released by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments ...
in 2016, 91.4% of Australians with Greek ancestry are Christian, mainly Eastern Orthodox, however minorities who belong to different Christian denominations like Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses and Pentecostals also exist. Together, these other denominations make up 0.4% of the Greek Australian population. 5.6% identified as spiritual, secular or irreligious, and 2.6% did not answer the census question on religion. Greek Australians are predominantly
Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
. The largest religious body of Greek Orthodox Australians is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, with its headquarters at the Cathedral of The Annunciation of Our Lady in the inner
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
suburb of Redfern. According to SBS, Greeks in Australia have got higher weekly church attendance and higher levels of religiosity than Greeks in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
.


Greek language

In 2016, the
Greek language Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), souther ...
was spoken at home by 237,588 Australian residents, a 5.8% decrease from the 2011 census data. Greek is the seventh most commonly spoken language in Australia after English, Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Italian. The remainder of the ethnic Greek population in Australia mainly use English as their first language.


Media

The Greek language press had begun in Australia in 1913 when the first Greek weekly newspaper was published in Melbourne. In South Australia, the local Greek community published a short-lived newspaper called ''Okeanis'' (Oceania), around 1914 before it moved to Sydney. On 16 November 1926, George Marsellos and John Stilson published a broadsheet under the name ''Panellenios Keryx'' (Panhellenic Herald or ''
The Greek Herald The Greek Herald (Ellinikos Kirikas) is the largest and one of the oldest daily Greek community newspapers in Australia. The newspaper is published by Foreign Language Press Ltd. History Founded by George Marsellos and John Stilson the newspap ...
''), becoming the second national Greek newspaper in Australia. In 1935 and 1936 a third newspaper, ''Pharos'' (Lighthouse), was published, and a number of short-lived titles were issued in the late 1960s, with the longest of these being ''Tachydromos'' (Mailman), founded in September 1968. In 1957, Hellenic/Greek language newspaper ''Neos Kosmos'' was founded by Dimitri Gogos, Bill Stefanou and Alekos Doukas, the latter also being an exceptionally well known author. Since 1994, a publication called ''Paroikiako Vema'' (Steps in the adopted Country) and printed in Renmark, has served the Greek community in rural South Australia. Multicultural broadcaster SBS (
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS Wor ...
) airs a Greek-language radio program every afternoon from 4 PM to 6 PM. The program features news, current affairs, music, interviews, and a talkback segment, where listeners can dial into the program from 5:30 PM onwards and express their opinion on a topic being focused on. Additionally, SBS also airs Greek public broadcaster ERT's Eidiseis news program every morning as part of their WorldWatch programming block.


Notable individuals


Academic

* Nikos Athanasou – Professor of Musculoskeletal Pathology at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and Greek-Australian novelist. * Nick (Νικήτας) Birbilis – Professor of Engineering at the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
. *
Adrian David Cheok Adrian David Cheok is an Australian political figure, electrical engineer, and academic. He is a professor at in Tokyo, Japan. In the 2019 federal election, he ran to represent the Division of Boothby as a member of the far-right Fraser Ann ...
– Professor of Pervasive Computing at City University London & Director of the Mixed Reality Lab * Nicholas Doumanis – Assoc. Professor of History, at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
*
Nikolas Kompridis Nikolas Kompridis (; born 1953) is a Canadian philosopher and political theorist. His major published work addresses the direction and orientation of Frankfurt School critical theory; the legacy of philosophical romanticism; and the aesthetic d ...
– Professorial Fellow at the
University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
in the School of Humanities & Communication Arts *
Christos Pantelis Professor Christos Pantelis is an Australian professor of medicine who is the Director of the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre. Profile Prof. Christos Pantelis is an Australian of Greek background. He completed his medical degree at the Uni ...
– Professor of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne *
Maria Skyllas-Kazacos Maria Skyllas-Kazacos AM FTSE (born 26 October 1951) is an Australian chemical engineer best known for her pioneering work of the vanadium redox battery, which she created at the University of New South Wales in the 1980s.M. Rychcik and M. Skyl ...
– Emeritus Professor at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
, chemical engineer best known for her pioneering work of the
vanadium redox battery The vanadium redox battery (VRB), also known as the vanadium flow battery (VFB) or vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), is a type of rechargeable flow battery. It employs vanadium ions as charge carriers. The battery uses vanadium's ability to ...
*
John Tasioulas John Tasioulas (born 18 December 1964) is a Greek-Australian moral and legal philosopher. He is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Ethics in AI (artificial intelligence), and Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy, Faculty of Philosoph ...
– Director of Institute for Ethics in AI and Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy at
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
and first Greek-Australian
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...


Art and design

*
Con Chrisoulis Con Chrisoulis is a Greek multidisciplinary artist and academic, most famous for his graphic novels, '' Tales of The Smiths'', ''Dryland'', ''Giant-Size Fascists'', and ''Rebel Rebel''. Career Chrisoulis was born in Victoria, Australia, to Gree ...
– comic book creator *
Nonda Katsalidis Nonda Katsalidis (born 1951) is a Greek-Australian architect. He is currently a practising director of architecture firm Fender Katsalidis Architects in partnership with Karl Fender. Biography Early life Nonda Katsalidis was born in 1951 ...
– architect *
Marc Newson Marc Andrew Newson CBE RDI (born 20 October 1963) is an industrial designer who works in aircraft cabin design, product design, furniture design, jewellery, and clothing. His style uses smooth geometric lines, translucency, strength, tra ...
– industrial designer *
Polixeni Papapetrou Polixeni Papapetrou (21 November 1960 – 11 April 2018) was an Australian photographer noted for her themed photo series about people's identities. Photo series she has made include Elvis Presley fans, Marilyn Monroe impersonators, drag queen ...
– artist *
Paul Pholeros Paul Anthony Pholeros (1953 – 1 February 2016) was an Australian architect. He received his Bachelor of Science in architecture from the University of Sydney in 1974 and a Bachelor of Architecture (Hons 1) in 1976. Pholeros established his o ...
– architect * Tony Rafty – caricaturist * Stelarc (Stelios Arkadiou) – artist * Christos Tsiolkas – writer * Michael Zavros – artist/painter


Business

* Harry Katsiabanis *
Mark Bouris Mark Leigh Bouris is an Australian businessman who is best known as the founder and chairman of 'Wizard Home Loans', Australia's second largest non-bank mortgage lender behind Aussie Home Loans. He is now the chairman of Yellow Brick Road, a b ...
– managing director of Wizard *
George Calombaris George Dimitrios Calombaris (born 4 October 1978) is an Australian chef and restaurateur. Calombaris was one of the judges of the Network 10 series ''MasterChef Australia'' from 2009 to 2019. Prior to his role on ''MasterChef Australia'', Calom ...
– chef, former judge
MasterChef Australia ''MasterChef Australia'' is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British '' MasterChef''. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Ca ...
* Con Constantine – former chairman,
Newcastle United Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
* Andrew Demetriou – chief executive,
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...
* Antony J. J. Lucas – businessman noted for his philanthropic activities * Marinos Lucas – businessman, theatre company operator *
Andrew N. Liveris Andrew N. Liveris (born 5 May 1954) is an Australian former CEO and chairman of The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Michigan. Liveris has been a member of Dow's board of directors since February 2004, CEO since November 2004 and was elected as ...
– CEO of
Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...
*
Kostas Makris Kostas "Con" Makris ( el, Κώστας Μακρής) is a Greek Australian businessman and the only Greek in Australia with a fortune of over US$640 million occupying the 36th place in the Business Review Weekly Rich 200 list. Makris is in the t ...
– the richest Greek in Australia (in the top 30 of the richest residents in Australia) *
Nick Pappas Nicholas George Pappas ( el, Νικόλαος Γεώργιος Παπαναστασιου) is a solicitor from Sydney, Australia, and also the current chairman of the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby league club. He was also chairman of the club fr ...
– chairman, South Sydney Rabbitohs * Nicholas Paspaley Senior and Paspaley family (Paspalis) – Paspaley dominate the pearling industry; large property holdings in Darwin CBD and properties in Sydney * George Peponis – chairman,
Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...
* Geoff Polites – chief executive officer of Australian Jaguar Land RoverFPV President / Tickford managing director *
Nick Politis Nicholas George Politis (born 1944) is an Australian businessman and chairman of the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Politis is also responsible for the first sponsor on a professional rugby league team's jersey ...
– car retailer and chairman of the Sydney Roosters rugby league club * James Samios – Hon. MBE Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay, Sydney *
Peter V'landys Peter V'landys is an Australian horse racing administrator. He is the chief executive and a board member of Racing New South Wales (Racing NSW) as well as the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission. Personal life V'landys grew up ...
– chairman of the
Australian Rugby League Commission The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...


Fashion

* Christopher Chronis – fashion designer * Napoleon Perdis – make-up artist * Alex Perry – fashion designer


Film, theatre, and television

* Peter Andrikidis – director, '' Underbelly'' * Alex Andreas - actor *
Alex Blias Alex Blias is an Australian actor, who has appeared in television, film and theatre roles. His film career began in Australia. He was selected for a supporting role in the 1998 film "Spank!". Later, he would go on to play roles in television, and ...
– actor * Alex Papps – actor, '' Play School'' *
Elena Carapetis Elena Carapetis is an Australian actress and writer, best known for her role as Jackie Kassis in ''Heartbreak High'', as well as numerous other television series and theatre roles. Early life Elena Carapatis graduated from Australia's Nationa ...
– actress * Gia Carides – actress *
Zoe Carides Zoe Carides (born 19 February 1962) is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in ''Death in Brunswick'' as Sophie, '' G. P.'' as Dr. Sonia Kapek and ''Grass Roots'' as Liz Murray. Family Carides was born ...
– actress *
Wayne Coles-Janess Wayne Coles-Janess is an Australian producer, writer and director of drama and documentary film and TV programs. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he has produced documentaries about frontier places in the country. He has also made some documenta ...
– director and producer * Chantal Contouri – actress *
Mary Coustas Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character " Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian pro ...
– comedian * Alex Dimitriades – actor * Rebekah Elmaloglou – actress, ''
Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...
'' and ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'' *
Sebastian Elmaloglou Sebastian Elmaloglou (born 29 September 1989) is an Australian actor best known for portraying the role of Max Sutherland on the long-running Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' from 2002 to 2004. Background Sebastian trained at the Keane ...
– actor, ''Home and Away'', brother of Rebekah *
Damien Fotiou Damien Fotiou is an Australian actor who is probably best known for his roles in the television series ''Kick'' and '' Thunderstone''. His is also notable for his film roles in '' Head On'' and ''Kangaroo Jack''. Early life Damien is a 1994 gr ...
– actor * Nick Giannopoulos – actor and director * Diana Glenn – actress *
George Houvardas George Houvardas is an Australian actor who is best known for his role as Nick "Carbo" Karandonis in the television series ''Packed to the Rafters''. Biography Houvardas is the son of Anastasia (a teacher) and Michael (an accountant) and has tw ...
– actor, '' Packed to the Rafters'' * Hugh Jackman – actor * George Kapiniaris – actor and comedian * Peter Kelamis – comedian *
Costas Kilias Constantinos "Costas" Kilias ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Κίλιας) is a Greek Australian magistrate and actor. Early life Kilias is the son of Greek immigrants who arrived in Australia in 1954, from the town of Kolindr ...
– actor *
Ana Kokkinos Ana Kokkinos is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter of Greek descent. She is known for her breakthrough feature film, '' Head On'' (1998), and has also directed television shows such as ''The Secret Life of Us'' and '' ...
– director *
Katerina Kotsonis Katerina Kotsonis is an Australian stage actress known for her role as Mrs Papasavas in the children's television series ''Short Cuts'' and Patricia Pappas in Neighbours. Career Stage Most recently Kotsonis has been performing on stage in ''Cru ...
- actor * Nico Lathouris – actor *
Costas Mandylor Costas Mandylor (born Konstantinos Theodosopoulos; 3 September 1965) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Kenny in ''Picket Fences'' and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the ''Saw'' films. Early life Mandylor was born i ...
– actor *
Louis Mandylor Louis Mandylor (born Elias Theodosopoulos; 13 September 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), a role he reprised in the sequel ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' (2 ...
– actor *
Lex Marinos Alexander Francis Marinos (born 1 February 1949) is an Australian actor. Notable for his acting role as Bruno, the Italian son-in-law of Ted Bullpitt, on the 1980s Australian comedy television series '' Kingswood Country'' and as host of ''Lat ...
– actor, director, writer and broadcaster * Harry Michaels – actor (TV series: Number 96) producer (Exercise Video: Aerobics Oz Style), Sports TV Director * Bill Miller – director and producer * George Miller
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning director and producer, '' Babe'', '' Happy Feet'', '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' *
Ada Nicodemou Ada Nicodemou (Greek: Άντα Νικοδήμου) (born 14 May 1977) is an Australian actress of Greek Cypriot descent . She began her acting career in 1994 in TV serial ''Heartbreak High'' as Katerina Ioannou. She also starred in '' Police Re ...
– actress, ''Home and Away'' *
Phaedra Nicolaidis Phaedra Nicolaidis is an Australian actress, who has appeared in television, film and theatre roles. Phaedra graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 2004. Television Cred ...
– actress *
Tony Nikolakopoulos Tony Nikolakopoulos is a Greek Australian film and television actor. He is best known for his work in the films of Nick Giannopoulos, ''The Wog Boy'' and ''The Wannabes'', and for his role as Attilio in the television series '' Scooter: Secret ...
– actor and director *
Socratis Otto Socratis Otto is an Australian film, theatre and television actor. He is best known for his roles in television series '' Young Lions'' as Justin Carmody, ''Home and Away'' as Robert Robertson, and '' Wentworth'' as Maxine Conway. Early life ...
actor, best known for his roles in television series Young Lions as Justin Carmody and Wentworth as
Maxine Conway Maxine Conway (formerly Max) is a recurring character from '' Wentworth'', portrayed by actor Socratis Otto. Maxine is notable for being Bea Smith's (Danielle Cormack) bodyguard and also for being transgender within the series. She was dating ...
* Alex Papps – actor and '' Play School'' host * Thaao Penghlis – actor (has played Tony DiMera and
André DiMera André DiMera is a fictional character from the NBC Daytime soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1983 by Thaao Penghlis when André was introduced as the nephew of Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo). Having undergone plastic ...
on American soap opera ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'') * Alex Proyas – director, ''
I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...
'', '' Dark City'', '' The Crow'', '' Knowing'' * Gina Riley – actress, ''
Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughte ...
'', comedienne, entertainer and singer * Nathan Saidden – comedian * George Spartels – actor *
Nadia Tass Nadia Tass is an Australian theatre director and film director and producer. She is known for the films ''Malcolm'' (1986) and ''The Big Steal'' (1990), as well as an extensive body of work in the theatre, both in Australia and internation ...
– director *
John Tatoulis John Tatoulis is an Australian film and television producer and director. Tatoulis was the producer of such movies as ''Take Away'', ''Let's Get Skase'' and '' Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns''. Tatoulis produced and directed the film '' The Sil ...
– director and producer *
Maria Theodorakis Maria Theodorakis is an Australian actress who has many credits in television, movies and theatre. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''CrashBurn'' and '' Marshall Law''. She has also had guest roles in many television seri ...
– actress *
Alkinos Tsilimidos Alkinos Tsilimidos (born 1966) is an Australian film and theatre director. He has won the Montréal First Film Prize at the Montréal World Film Festival for his 1994 film '' Everynight ... Everynight''. He primarily works as an indie film mak ...
– director *
Olympia Valance Olympia Montana Valance (born 7 January 1993) is an Australian actress and model, whose roles include Paige Smith in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (2014–2018, 2020, 2022) and Tahlia Woods in '' Playing for Keeps''. For her role as Paige, Vala ...
– model and actress, ''Neighbours'' *
Zoe Ventoura Zoe Ventoura is an Australian actress. She played Melissa Rafter in ''Packed to the Rafters'' from 2008 to 2010. The character's death earned Ventoura a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular Actress in 2011. That same year, Ventoura st ...
– actress *
Helen Zerefos Helen Zerefos (born 8 November 1937) is an Australian coloratura soprano. Her career has spanned more than 50 years on stage, television, in nightclubs, concerts and recordings. Zerefos was born in Scone, New South Wales to Greek parents, Paul ...
– actress and cabaret singer


Journalism

* Nick Adams - also known as Nick Adamopoulos, US based political commentator *
Dimitri Gogos Dimitri Gogos (13 February 1931 – 20 May 2019) was a Greek-Australian journalist and editor known for founding the Melbourne-based Greek community newspaper Neos Kosmos. Early life Dimitri Gogos was born in Chios on February 13, 1931, to G ...
– late editor, Neos Kosmos * Georgia Cassimatis – journalist, Australian ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
'' magazine * George Donikian – news presenter,
Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
*
Peter Frilingos Peter Frilingos (1944–2004) was a sports journalist and commentator, best known for his work as a rugby league writer. His reporting methods and integrity came under severe scrutiny during the Super League war. While he originally supported ...
– sports journalist with the ''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' in Sydney, and broadcaster and commentator with the '' Continuous Call Team'' * Helen Kapalos – journalist, reporter '' Sunday Night'',
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
*
Patricia Karvelas Patricia Karvelas (born 29 January 1981) is an Australian radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent. Karvelas currently hosts '' RN Breakfast'' on Radio National. Early life Karvelas was born in Australia to Gre ...
– journalist, ABC * Mary Kostakidis – journalist, SBS * John Mangos – news presenter and journalist, Sky News Australia * George Megalogenis – author and former''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper journalist * Harry Nicolaides – novelist * Peter Peters – sports broadcaster and commentator


Justice

* Chris Kourakis – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia * Emilios Kyrou – Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria


Music

* Peter Andre – singer, entertainer *
Alex Carapetis Alex Carapetis (born 27 April 1982) is an Australian drummer and member of The Voidz. He was formerly a member of Wolfmother, and has toured with Nine Inch Nails, and Julian Casablancas among others. Alex currently resides in Los Angeles. Early ...
– drummer * Kaz James – singer and DJ * James Kannis – singer (''
Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Ido ...
'') * Chris Karan – jazz drummer ( Dudley Moore Trio) and studio percussionist (
Bob Marley & the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Rober ...
) * Vasilliki Karagiorgos (Vassy) – singer and songwriter * John Lemmone – flute player and composer *
Orianthi Panagaris Orianthi Penny Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), known mononymously as Orianthi, is an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter who rehearsed in 2009 with Michael Jackson in preparation for his '' This Is It'' concert series, and performed wi ...
– guitarist/musician *
Sally Polihronas Bardot were an Australian girl group which formed in 1999 on the Australian reality television series ''Popstars''. Aired in 1999, ''Popstars'' attracted high ratings and significant media exposure, resulting in the instant success of Bardot ...
– singer ( Bardot) *
Nick Skitz Nicholas Agamalis, better known as Nick Skitz (born 1968 in Sydney, Australia of Greek descent), is an Australian DJ and dance music producer. His career in dance music started in the early 1990s. Since 1995, his ''Skitzmix'' series of comp ...
– deejay-producer * Costas Tsicaderis – singer-songwriter


Politics

* Nick Bolkus – federal politician * Michael Costa – former Finance Minister, New South Wales *
Steve Dimopoulos Steve Dimopoulos (born 3 December 1972) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2014 representing the electoral district of Oakleigh. He has served as the Minister for Tourism, ...
– politician, Victoria *
Jim Fouras Demetrios "Jim" Fouras, (8 March 1938 – 12 November 2021) was an Australian politician. He was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. Early life Born in Manesi, Kalavryta, Greece, he migrated to Queensland at the age of ten with ...
– politician, Queensland *
Steve Georganas Steven Georganas (born 13 June 1959) is an Australian politician and is the Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Adelaide in South Australia since the 2019 Australian federal election. Previously, he had been t ...
– federal politician *
Petro Georgiou Petro Georgiou AO (born 30 November 1947) is a Greek Australian politician who was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 1994 to July 2010, representing the Division of Kooyong, Victoria. Early life Born i ...
– federal politician *
John Hatzistergos John Hatzistergos (born 20 August 1960) is an Australian judge of the District Court of New South Wales. He is a former politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Labor Party between 1999 and 2011, ...
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, New South Wales *
Peter Katsambanis Peter Argyris Katsambanis (born 24 December 1965) is a former Australian politician. He was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council at the 2013 state election, representing the Liberal Party, taking his seat on 22 May 2013. He r ...
– former politician, Victoria *
Steve Kons Steven Kons (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1998 until 2010, representing the electorate of Braddon. He served as Deputy Premier under Paul Lennon from ...
– Deputy Premier, Tasmania * Nicholas Kotsiras – Minister, Victoria *
Tom Koutsantonis Anastasious "Tom" Koutsantonis is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seats of West Torrens (2002−current) and Peake (1997−2002) as a Labor member in the South Australian ...
– Minister for Trade, South Australia * Michael McCormack - former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia *
Ken Michael Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...
– politician * Jenny Mikakos – former Health Minister, Victoria * John Pandazopoulos – politician, Victoria * Drew Pavlou – student activist at the University of Queensland * Eleni Marie Petinos – politician, New South Wales *
Nick Staikos Nicholas Staikos (born 4 July 1986) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2014, representing the Legislative Assembly seat of Bentleigh. Career In 2005, Staikos w ...
– politician, Victoria *
Andrew Theophanous Andrew Charles Theophanous (born 24 March 1946) is a Cypriot-born Australian former politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 2000, and an independent member from 2000 to 2001. He is the a ...
– federal politician, Victoria (born
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
) * Theo Theophanous – politician, Victoria (born
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
) *
Kat Theophanous Katerina Theophanous is an Australian politician. She is a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of Northcote. Theophanous sits on the Victorian Legislative Assembly's Economy and I ...
– politician, Victoria *
Arthur Sinodinos Arthur Sinodinos (born 25 February 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former Liberal Party politician who has been Ambassador to the United States since February 2020. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 200 ...
– former Chief of Staff, PM
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
* Maria Vamvakinou – federal politician, Victoria *
Kon Vatskalis Konstantine Vatskalis (born 4 April 1957) is a Greek- Australian politician and the current Lord Mayor of Darwin. Before becoming Lord Mayor in 2017 he was a Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from September 200 ...
– politician, Northern Territory * Nick Xenophon – politician, South Australia *
Sophie Mirabella Sophie Mirabella (née Panopoulos; born 27 October 1968) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who currently serves as a Commissioner on the Fair Work Commission since 24 May 2021. She was previously a Liberal Party member of the Austra ...
– federal politician, Victoria


Religion

* Archbishop
Stylianos Harkianakis Stylianos Harkianakis ( el, Στυλιανός Χαρκιανάκης; 29 December 1935 – 25 March 2019) was the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Australia and Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. He served as inaugural and perm ...
– former Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia *Archbishop
Makarios Griniezakis Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis ( Greek: Μακάριος Γρινιεζάκης; born 15 March 1973) is the current archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia and the primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, succeeding Ar ...
– current Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia


Science and technology

* Professor Manuel Aroney – organic chemistry * Gerasimos Danilatos – physicist, inventor of environmental scanning electron microscope * George North (Tramountanas) – pastoralist, sheep farmer and first Greek to settle in South Australia in 1842"The Australian People" an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins, by James Jupp – published 1988 *
Christos Pantelis Professor Christos Pantelis is an Australian professor of medicine who is the Director of the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre. Profile Prof. Christos Pantelis is an Australian of Greek background. He completed his medical degree at the Uni ...
– psychiatrist *
George Paxinos George Paxinos AO DSc FASSA FAA FRSN FAHMS ( el, Γιώργος Παξινός, born 6 December 1944) is a Greek Australian neuroscientist, born in Ithaca, Greece. He completed his BA in psychology at the University of California at Berkele ...
– Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales * Michael Kyrios – clinical psychologist


Sport


Australian rules football

* Luke Beveridge – Melbourne, Footscray & St Kilda player *
Ang Christou Ang Christou (born 16 January 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer for Carlton in the Australian Football League. Football career Christou played for the Carlton Football Club and along with Anthony Koutoufides was a popular figure a ...
– Carlton player * Andrew Demetriou – North Melbourne & Hawthorn player (later League CEO) *
Josh Francou Joshua "Josh" Francou (born 7 August 1974) is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently serving as an assistant coach at the Gold Coast Suns. Port Adelaide (1997–2006) Debuting ...
– Port Adelaide player * Gary Frangalas – Sydney & Richmond player *
John Georgiades John Georgiades (born 3 January 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Subiaco in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and Footscray in the Australian Football League (AFL). Georgiades made his debut for Subiaco ...
– Footscray player * John Georgiou – St.Kilda player * Con Gorozidis – St.Kilda & Footscray player *
Athas Hrysoulakis Athas Hrysoulakis (born 5 January 1969) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL). Hrysoulakis, a Lalor recruit, played his first league season in 1987, when he p ...
– Collingwood player * Peter Kanis – Hawthorn player * Arthur Karanicolas – North Melbourne player *
Patrick Karnezis Patrick Karnezis (born 23 April 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was taken at pick number 25 in the 2010 national draft by t ...
– Brisbane & Collingwood player *
Paul Koulouriotis Paul Koulouriotis (born 21 February 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer. who played one season for Port Adelaide in 2000, before playing three seasons for Geelong from 2004–2006 in the AFL. Koulouriotis attended St Mary's secon ...
– Port Adelaide & Geelong player * Spiro Kourkoumelis – Carlton & St Kilda player * Anthony Koutoufides – Carlton player * Angelo Lekkas – Hawthorn player *
Spiro Malakellis Spiro Malakellis (born 23 April 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the late 1980s and early 1990s, then with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian Fo ...
– Geelong player *
Tony Malakellis Tony Malakellis (born 24 March 1970) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong Football Club, Geelong and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the younger brother of Spiro Malakellis. Recruited ...
– Geelong & Sydney player *
Steve Malaxos Stephen "Steve" Malaxos (born 19 June 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach from Western Australia. While playing for Claremont in the WAFL, he won the 1984 Sandover Medal. Malaxos was an All-Australian with Claremont in 198 ...
– Hawthorn & West Coast player * Daniel Metropolis – West Coast & Fremantle player * Russell Morris – Hawthorn & St Kilda player * Chris Pavlou – Carlton player * Phillip Poursanidis – Carlton player *
Lou Richards Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards, (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the team ...
– Collingwood player * Ron Richards – Collingwood player *
John Rombotis John Rombotis (born 13 October 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy, Port Adelaide and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL). Rombotis, originally from Caulfield Grammar school, played at both the ...
– Fitzroy, Port Adelaide & Richmond player * Tony Spassopoulos – Fitzroy player *
Jimmy Toumpas Dimitri "Jimmy" Toumpas (born 2 January 1994) is a former professional Australian rules footballer best known for his time at the Melbourne Football Club where he played 27 games from 2013 to 2015. He was drafted by Melbourne with the fourth s ...
– Melbourne & Port Adelaide player * Jason Traianidis – St Kilda player * Zeno Tzatzaris – Footscray player * David Zaharakis – Essendon player


Boxing and kickboxing

*
Evangelos Goussis Evangelos "Ange" Goussis (born 14 September 1967) is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer from Geelong, Victoria, and is a multiple murderer, guilty of the murders of two victims of the Melbourne gangland killings. Early life Goussis was bo ...
– Kickboxer and Boxer, convicted murderer *
George Kambosos Jr. George Kambosos Jr (born 14 June 1993) is an Australian professional boxer who held the WBA (Super), International Boxing Federation, IBF, World Boxing Organization, WBO and ''The Ring (magazine), The Ring'' lightweight titles from 2021 to June 2 ...
– Professional boxer *
Michael Katsidis Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challenge ...
– Professional Boxer, former WBA and WBO lightweight champion * Stan Longinidis – Kickboxer, former World Kickboxing Champion *
Tosca Petridis Tosca Petridis (born Tasis Petridis, 30 October 1966) is an Australian former kickboxer and Boxing, boxer. He was born in Melbourne, however is of Greeks, Greek ethnicity. He lives in Melbourne. Kickboxing Tosca is a former 7 time World Kickbo ...
– Kickboxer, former World Kickboxing Champion


Cricket

*
Jason Gillespie Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
– retired
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
international cricketer *
Marcus Stoinis Marcus Peter Stoinis (born 16 August 1989) is an Australian cricketer who plays limited overs cricket for the Australian national team. He is contracted to Western Australia and Melbourne Stars domestically, and has previously also played for P ...
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
international cricketer * Peter HatzoglouMelbourne Renegades bowler


Flying disc

* Maxwell Gratton – CEO, Flying Disc Australia


Soccer

* John Anastasiadis – former player of
Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...
, PAOK, South Melbourne and Yarraville Glory. Represented the Socceroos at U21 level. Coached Yarraville Glory, South Melbourne,
Oakleigh Cannons Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is a soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. The club, established by members of Oakleigh's Greek Australian community, currently competes in the NPL Victoria. The ...
and is current coach of
Bentleigh Greens Bentleigh Greens Soccer Club is an Australian semi professional soccer club based in Cheltenham, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed in 1986, by the Greek Cypriot community and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues ...
. *
Panos Armenakas Panayioti "Panos" Armenakas ( el, Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Αρμενάκας; born 5 August 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays as a right winger for USL Championship club Loudoun United FC. Born in the United States, he h ...
– player,
Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...
*
Con Blatsis Constantinos "Con" Blatsis (born 6 July 1977) is a former Australian international association footballer who played as a defender. Club career Blatsis was born in Melbourne. He started his career at his home club South Melbourne making 104 l ...
– former player of South Melbourne, Derby County,
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
(on loan), Colchester United, Kocaelispor and
St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...
. Represented the Socceroos at U20, U23 and senior level. * Con Boutsianis – former player of South Melbourne,
Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...
, Collingwood Warriors,
Bentleigh Greens Bentleigh Greens Soccer Club is an Australian semi professional soccer club based in Cheltenham, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed in 1986, by the Greek Cypriot community and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues ...
,
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
,
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...
,
Bulleen Zebras Brunswick Juventus FC is an Australian soccer club based in the Melbourne municipality of Merri-bek. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 and is based at CB Smith Reserve in the suburb of Fawkner. The earlies ...
,
Oakleigh Cannons Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is a soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. The club, established by members of Oakleigh's Greek Australian community, currently competes in the NPL Victoria. The ...
, Essendon United and Malvern City. He represented the Socceroos at senior level. *
Dean Bouzanis Dean Anthony Bouzanis (born 2 October 1990) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship side Reading. He played junior football in Australia before joining English side Liverpool, appearing for the A ...
– player Melbourne City and former Liverpool FC *
Jason Davidson Jason Alan Davidson (born 29 June 1991) is an Australian professional Soccer player who plays as a defender for Belgian club Eupen. Club career Hume City On 26 January 2009, he signed with Victorian Premier League club Hume City, becoming th ...
– player
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...
and former Socceroos *
Chris Kalantzis Christos "Chris" Kalantzis (born 27 July 1967) is an Australian former soccer player who played at the highest level of domestic football in Greece and Australia. He played at international level for Australia. Playing career Club career Born ...
– player * Evan Kostopoulos – player, Adelaide United *
Stan Lazaridis Stan Lazaridis (born 16 August 1972) is an Australian former footballer. He was predominantly a left winger though he had been known to perform at left back. He last played for his home-town club Perth Glory and made 58 official appearances for ...
– player,
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
and Socceroos * Apostolos Stamatelopoulos – player, Adelaide United and Western United * Michalis 'Mike' Mandalis - player, one of Australia's all-time greats South Melbourne and
Melbourne Hakoah Melbourne Hakoah is a defunct Australian sports club which had a predominantly Jewish Australian supporter base, akin to Hakoah Vienna. The club's best known arm was its soccer club. History The club was founded in 1927, and within a decade w ...
*
Lucas Pantelis Lucas Pantelis (born 12 March 1982) is a retired Greek Australian association football player who last played for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League in 2013. Early life Pantelis was born on 12 March 1982 in Adelaide, South Australia. His fat ...
– former player *
Jim Patikas Dimitris "Jimmy" Patikas (Greek: Δημήτρης "Τζίμης" Πατίκας) is a former Australian football player. Renowned for his exceptional speed and for being the first established Australian player to be signed by a professional Eu ...
– former player, first Australian participant in
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, former Socceroos *
Ange Postecoglou Angelos Postecoglou ( el, Άγγελος Ποστέκογλου, ; born 27 August 1965) is an Australian association football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Born in Greece, he move ...
– coach Socceroos and
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
, former player *
Nick Theodorakopoulos Nick Theodorakopoulos (born 29 June 1964) is an Australian football (soccer) coach. Managerial career Theodorakopoulos previously coached in the predecessor to the A-League, the NSL with the now-defunct Parramatta Power. His last coaching ...
– coach *
Michael Theoklitos Michael Theo (formerly Theoklitos) (born 11 February 1981) is an Australian goalkeeper who is the goalkeeping coach at A-League club Western United FC. Career Early career Theoklitos began his career as a young lad playing in the Victorian Pr ...
– player, Brisbane Roar * Michael Valkanis – coach, Melbourne City and Greece national football team assistant * Andy Vlahos – player * Charlie Yankos – Former Socceroos captain *
Terry Antonis Lefteris "Terry" Antonis ( el, Λευτέρης "Τέρι" Αντώνης; born 26 November 1993) is an Australian association football player who plays for the Western Sydney Wanderers as a midfielder. Born in Sydney, Antonis played youth foo ...
– player, Western Sydney Wanderers *
Apostolos Giannou Apostolos Giannou ( el, Απόστολος Γιάννου; born 25 January 1990) is a Greek-Australian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He represented various Greek and Australian youth national teams, including one friendly with ...
– player, Kerala Blasters *
Avraam Papadopoulos Avraam Papadopoulos ( el, Αβραάμ Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 December 1984) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Greek parents. Club career Aris Papadopoulos ...
– player, Australian born Greece national football team member * Jesse Makarounas – player,
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...
*
Dimitri Petratos Dimitrios Petratos (born 10 November 1992) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan. Petratos has played for four different A-League clubs, winning one championship with Bri ...
– player, Brisbane Roar * Chris Ikonomidis – player,
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...
* Anthony Lesiotis – player, Melbourne City


Mixed martial arts

*
George Sotiropoulos George Sotiropoulos (born 9 July 1977) is an Australian born retired mixed martial artist of Greek descent who previously fought in the UFC in their Lightweight division. He is well known for appearing as a fighter on the TV show '' The Ultim ...
– former UFC mixed martial artist * Alexander Volkanovski – UFC mixed martial artist


Rugby league

*
Braith Anasta Braith Anastasakis (born 14 January 1982), better known as Braith Anasta, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian and Greek international, Anasta played in the NR ...
– player, Sydney Roosters * George Gatis – player,
New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
* Steve Georgallis – player/coach * Michael Korkidas – player,
Salford City Reds The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been the ...
* Nick Kouparitsas – player,
Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...
* Glenn Lazarus – player Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm * Billy Magoulias — player, Cronulla Sharks * George Peponis – former Australian captain * Peter Peters - player, Manly-Warringah *
Willie Peters Willie Peters (born 1 March 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer. Peters played in the 1990s and ...
– player, South Sydney Rabbitohs *
Jim Serdaris Jim Serdaris (born 1 October 1971) is an Australian former professional rugby league. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Western Suburbs Magpies, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He also represented New South Wa ...
– player, South Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs * John Skandalis – player, Huddersfield Giants *
Jason Stevens Jason Anthony Stevens (born 8 January 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is also a writer, screenwriter and actor. An Australia national and New South Wales State of Origin ...
– player, St-George Illawarra Dragons, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks * Justin Tsoulos – player, Parramatta Eels *
Arthur Kitinas Arthur Kitinas (born 29 November 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, and coached in the 2000s. He played in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition. A , Kitinas trialled wit ...
– player/coach, South Sydney Sydney Roosters


Sailing

* Edward Psaltis – sailor


Shooting

* Michael Diamond – shooter – Olympic gold medallist, Sydney 2000


Skateboarding

* Tas Pappas – former World No.1 * Ben Pappas


Skiing

*
Lydia Lassila Lydia Lassila (née Ierodiaconou) (born 17 January 1982) is an Australian Olympic freestyle skier gold medalist who competed in the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and the 2014 bronze m ...
– skier


Tennis

*
Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...
– player *
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won sev ...
– player * Thanasi Kokkinakis – player


Weightlifting

* Robert Kabbas - athlete * Bill Stellios - athlete


Wrestling

* Tony Kontellis – professional wrestler * Spiros Manousakis (Spiros Arion) – wrestler


See also

* Australia–Greece relations *
Cypriot Australians Cypriot Australians ( el, Κύπριοι της Αυστραλίας; tr, Avustralyalı Kıbrıslı) are Australian citizens of Cypriot descent or Cypriot born people who reside in Australia. Cypriots in Australia are the second largest Cyprio ...
*
European Australians European Australians are citizens or residents of Australia whose ancestry originates from the peoples of Europe. They form the largest panethnic group in the country. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within Eu ...
* Europeans in Oceania * Greek Cypriots * Greek New Zealanders *
Greek Orthodox churches in New South Wales List of all Greek Orthodox parishes and monasteries in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) and the territory of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia The majority of Greek Orthodox church commu ...
* Greek community of Melbourne *
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
* Immigration to Australia * ''Neos Kosmos''


References


Bibliography

* Tamis, Anastasios (2005). ''The Greeks in Australia''. Cambridge University Press. * * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (1998). ''In Their Own Image: Greek-Australians''. Hale & Iremonger Pty Limited. * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (1995). ''Images of Home: Mavri Xenitia''. Hale & Iremonger Pty Limited. * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (2013). ''Selling an American Dream: Australia's Greek Cafe''. Macquarie University. * Alexakis, Effy and Janiszewski, Leonard (2016). ''Greek Cafes & Milk Bars of Australia''. Halstead Press.


External links

* (Greeks in Sydney)
CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...
]
A video of Peter Yiannoudes, who established Greek Cinema in Victoria in the 1950s
on Culture Victoria {{Ancestry of Australians Immigration to Australia European Australian
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...