Treloar honoured at diverse cultural event

The Parish of the Resurrection of Our Lord Kogarah was joined by Unity successful Philia and Pontoxeniteas NSW connected Sunday successful celebrating the bequest of George Devine Treloar while paying tribute to the Remembrance Day for the Genocide of the Hellenes of Asia Minor. In the spirit of the feast time of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the lawsuit brought together faith, history, music, creation and art.

The centrepiece of the lawsuit was the presumption of Genocide to Regeneration: The Photographs of George Devine Treloar by Prof David Treloar and Dr Panayiotis Diamadis.

Delivering his address, the caller Consul-General successful Sydney, Georgios Skemperis, eloquently focussed connected the intertwining threads that marque the Treloar bequest simultaneously portion of the Hellenic and Australian heritages.

Consul-General Georgios Skemperis with Vasilis Adrahtas, co-founder of Unity successful Philia, during the evening’s presentations.

In the words of 1 attendee, “This compelling work captures the bonzer humanitarian bequest of George Devine Treloar, an Australian who played a captious relation successful assisting thousands of Christian refugees successful the wake of the Greek Genocide.”

Treloar’s story, still mostly unknown successful mainstream Australian and Hellenic narratives, “was brought to beingness done a profoundly engaging presumption by Panayiotis Diamadis done rare, haunting, and poignant photographs.”

Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia, representing His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, during his closing code of the event, spoke astir his ain household history, reminding the assemblage of the value of keeping our stories, connection and past alive.

Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia delivers his address, highlighting the value of preserving stories, connection and history.

Amongst the special guests contiguous were the Co-Presidents of the Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia, Maria Anthony and Peter Papoulidis.

As a tribute to the victims and the survivors of the Genocide of the Hellenes, the Pontoxeniteas Dancers presented a programme of traditional dances of the Pontos region, while the Kogarah Parish Greek Dancing Group presented dances from the portion of Thrace.

Almost each the survivors Colonel Treloar assisted successful the 1920s were Pontians and Thracians. As Commissioner for Refugees successful bluish Hellas, Treloar organised archetypal efforts astatine re-settlement and reconstruction crossed eastbound Macedonia and western Thrace.

Presenting an creator facet to the event, section creator Christina Tsaou unveiled her latest work, inspired – successful portion – by her tendency “to honour parts of my roots” (from the Smyrne region), arsenic she informed the audience.

Pontoxeniteas dancers unfastened the taste programme with traditional Pontian dances, accompanied by unrecorded music.

“A abbreviated clip ago, I recovered myself successful a vessel floating implicit the Vosporo successful hunt of my painting, witnessing the scaffoldings and crane supra Hagia Sofia’s head. Then I remembered when I was a kid and my dada took maine to that church.”

Colonel Treloar was based successful Constantinople betwixt 1920 and 1922, working with refugees from the Russian Civil War, gathering and aboriginal marrying the emotion of his life. The Queen of Cities so played a large relation successful Colonel Treloar’s life.

Dr Vasilis Adrahtas, co-founder of Unity successful Philia, the publishers of Genocide to Regeneration: The Photographs of George Devine Treloar, astir ably served arsenic the Master of Ceremonies.

As helium emphasised successful his remarks passim the evening, the bequest of George Devine Treloar takes galore forms: remembering the Asia Minor Catastrophe, documenting and educating astir Treloar’s re-settlement and reconstruction work, and particularly the surviving communities Treloar created retired of the demolition of the Genocide.

“The story of George Devine Treloar, showcased by his photographs,” stated Vasilis Adrahtas, “is arsenic overmuch an Australian arsenic it is simply a Hellenic story.”