小蓝视频

Year 12 student, Anthony Parissis, a proud Greek Australian delivered a moving address during the dawn service at the Chatswood Garden of Remembrance as part of the Willoughby Council service.

In his address, Anthony commemorated Albert Chowne, a Willoughby boy and Victoria Cross recipient, who enlisted at the age of 19 in the Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War as well as the ties of the ANZAC’s to the Greek island of Lemnos during WWI.聽 Anthony’s yiayia and pappou are Lemnians.

鈥淭he significance of this small, relatively unnoticed island [Lemnos] spans far beyond the Gallipoli campaign. This brief wartime relationship has fostered the strongest, most unbreakable of bonds between Australia and Greece that has endured the ages,鈥� Anthony said.

鈥淭he story of Lemnos unites Greek Australians like my family and acts as a reminder of a rich and beautiful fusion of heritage and culture that comprises modern Australia.

鈥淲e thank all those who have fought for their own countries, who now call Australia home. To the Lemnian Greeks for their hospitality, those brave young men and women who ventured into foreign territory in 1915, and those who now lay to rest forever in the Mediterranean.鈥�

Anthony’s full address can be downloaded below.