WHEN & WHY DID THEY COME TO AUSTRALIA?

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In 1829 seven Greek sailors were pledged guilty of piracy and were sentenced, to New South Wales, where they were forced to work in the mines. These were some of the first Greeks to enter Australia. Greeks have established new lives in Victoria, Australia since the gold rush period in the 1850’s. A large number of these migrated to Australia along with the English sailors when they had heard about the discovery of gold. After World War II and during the civil war in Greece that followed, over 160,000 Greeks came to Australia, mostly to Victoria. All of these Greeks migrated to Australia for a better life as there was no war in Australia and it was a safer environment for families. These families were unable to find jobs in Greece during and after the war, which is why majority of the geeks migrated to Australia.  

 WHAT foods/ingredients are popular with the culture?

Filo pastry is a key ingredient in Greek cooking as it is used in many different kind of dishes in many ways to wrap or roll fillings that could be either sweet or savoury. Cheese is also a key ingredient in Greek cooking as there is many different kinds such as Feta a sheep or goats milk cheese, haloumi a cheese from Cyprus, kasseri a mild soft cheese, kefalograviera a hard cheese and any many more. Also olives, tomatoes and lemons are key ingredients that are in a lot of Greek foods, but majority of Greece dishes consist of vegetables and some form of meat.  These are famous Greek dishes that are eaten all around Greece and in my family. These dishes are Spanokopita, stafatho, dolmathes, yiros, pastitio Keftethes, mousaka.

WHAT JOBS DID THEY OFTEN work in when they arrived?

When the Greeks arrived in Australia a lot of them worked in the mining fields. While working in the mining field the sources that were mined were often gold and coal.


After the gold declined, the Greeks that stayed in Australia generally found work in restaurants, shops and cafes. Many Greeks also opened up their own Greek restaurants, fish and chip shops and Bakeries.


Also many Greeks worked in the sugar cane fields in Queensland, harvesting, watering and maintaining the crops.   


 

IN which parts of australia did they often settle?

Majority of the Greeks that migrated to Australia, many settled in Melbourne, victoria.  This is because during the gold period a lot of the gold was sourced from Melbourne.


Melbourne is said to have the largest Greek-speaking population outside of Europe today. Also as I have already motioned lot of Greeks settled in Queensland working in sugar cane farms, earning money to live off of.


Few Greeks also settled in Coober Pedy, South Australia where they mined Opel. Today Coober Pedy is the Opel capital of the world.