MRS. ANGELA MOUZOURIS (nee Miller/Malliaroudakis)
Angela was a girl of 6 years at the time of the catastrophe. Angela’s parents were her father Constantine Miller (Malliaroudakis) and her stepmother Marianthe (nee Caristinou).
Previously, from 1915 to 1918, Constantine had been living and working in America with his first wife, Irene. He had been building food and grocery businesses there with his two brothers. Angela and her sister, Alexandra were born there. Irene died during the influenza pandemic of 1918, leaving Constantine alone in the States with his daughters who were aged three and one year respectively. He was forced to return to Asia Minor so that his daughters could be cared for. He subsequently married Marianthe and their first son, Tony was born in Tsesme.
Constantine was a wealthy merchant. He owned a warehouse where farmers brought produce and goods for trading. He traded in tobacco, dried fruit, wheat etc. The family were very comfortable financially with maids and a holiday home.
Angela remembers that the family home was a beautifully appointed building of two stories, and had three balconies. The ground floor and winding staircase were both made of marble. The main hall at the entrance downstairs was very wide and furnished with sofas and couches. Under the staircase was an internal well, hidden behind a door. The family had a Greek servant who looked after the children and dressed them. Angela would be taken to and from school in a covered sulky (horse and carriage), accompanied by the maid at all times.
Marianthe’s brother, Anthony Caris (Caristinou), was a captain in the Greek army. He knew first hand that the Turkish army was getting closer to Tsesme and that the Greek army was in retreat. He know that the Turks were massacring the populace as they advanced. He and his company rode into the front courtyard of Angela’s house in the middle of the night. He woke them up, calling out for them to flee immediately. “Get up, get up. Get out now. The Turks are coming an they’re slaughtering everyone. Hurry, get in the boat and go to Chios now. There’s no time to pack anything.” Anthony Caris did not join them but kept going with his company of soldiers.
Angela remembers running about in the courtyard that night, under the horses of the soldiers, between their legs, in all the confusion. She recalled their neighbours running about screaming, crying and yelling in the darkness as the alarm spread. The family quickly boarded their sailing boat and sailed to Chios.
The family home was situated in front of a harbor and they owned a sailing boat that was large enough to carry the whole family. Angela says one could see Chios across the water from where they lived. All the family, parents, children-Angela, Alexandra and Anthony (Tony), Marianthe’s stepmother, Nene, and their maid, left Asia Minor for Chios on that sailing boat.
The family initially stayed with Marianthe’s brother, Margariti, who was a student at Chios, even though he was only renting a room. Constantine was able to rent the family a house on the outskirts of the city. He still owned property in America and he was receiving regular income from this. Angela and Alexandra were also in receipt of child endowment payments from America, as, having been born there, were American citizens.
When the family fled, Marianthe’s father, Angela’s grandfather (Caris), decided to stay to try to protect the family’s homes and businesses. When the first exodus occurred in 1914, people had fled and lost their homes and property. Some, who had risked their lives by staying and putting their trust in their Turkish friends and neighbours, had managed to save their familys’ possessions. This time, however, things were very different. Marianthe’s family learned later that the Turks had come seeking the Caris family in particular.
Angela remembers the Caris family had a German Shepherd dog which they had named “Kemal”, and this had angered the Turks. When the Turks found Marianthe’s father, they rounded him up with other Greek prisoners. There was a tree on the outskirts of Tsesme, in front of a kafeno (coffee house). This tree had the Greek flag painted on the trunk. The prisoners were ordered to scratch the flag off the tree trunk with their fingernails and then they were all shot and killed.
The Miller family stayed in Chios for 2 years. Constantine supported them by working as a money exchanger. Another brother for Angela, Jack (Yianni), was born in Chios. Constantine wanted to go to the United States, but was unable to get permission to return there. He had, unfortunately, not taken out citizenship whilst he was living and working there with his brothers. Angela and Alexandra were eligible to return, as they had been born there. The family chose to come to Australia, as Marianthe’s relations on the Caris side, living in Australia, had provided sponsorship for them. Constantine purchased the family’s passage on the tanker the “PALERMOS”. From Chios, the family sailed to Egypt where they stayed for one month en route to Australia. The family arrived in Brisbane in 1924. Another sister for Angela, Claire, was born here.
In 1936, when Angela was 20 years old, she married Chris Mouzouris. They had four children-James, Irene (Zouliou), Marcia (Clark) and Constantine.
Submitted by Mary-Ann Inglis, niece