The purpose of this Website is to celebrate the lives of the Greek families, our relatives, who fled as refugees before and after the 1922 Catastrophe of Asia Minor. It was here in the 1920's, that they established an Asia Minor community in West End, South Brisbane. Listening to the stories of hardship and suffering that they lived through, it is only through their eyes we can have some understanding of what it took to survive. There were many occasions where the hand of fate could have stepped in. At any time they could have been killed during the course of the Catastrophe. In a time of great adversity, hope was not lost. These courageous people looked abroad for a better life.
They found it very hard to recount the events they had lived through as the events that passed left deep scars in their hearts and minds. The memories too painful to articulate. They had lost family members, all their worldly possessions and their country, as Asia Minor no longer exists. These resilient people, somehow, found within them the drive to look forward.They married, raised families and prospered. A new life in a new country – Australia.
Australia, a multi-cultural society, whose citizens live side by side in peace and harmony. It is in the spirit of peace and harmony that we present with pride, these inspirational stories of the triumph of spirit over hardship, hope over despair, and love over hatred.
These are stories of achievement. Some are concrete achievements of wealth and social position. Others are the quiet achievements of sacrifice and determination. Each story represents the epic struggle of families who forged a new life from nothing and turned it into something of substance and value. Most important of all they live in Peace.
The list of Family Stories is in the right-hand column.
PLEASE NOTE: Any story on this site cannot be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the AMGHS and the contributors of stories.