Vale Professor George Kanarakis (1936–2025)

The Greek-Australian assemblage mourns the nonaccomplishment of Professor George Kanarakis, OAM, a pioneering academic, linguist and taste historian, whose assistance and passionateness for Hellenism near an indelible people connected some Australia and Greece.

The precocious Professor George Kanarakis (image credit: Kyriakos Amanatidis/Neos Kosmos)

Born successful Piraeus successful January 1936, Professor Kanarakis studied Greek and English Philology astatine the University of Athens earlier furthering his postgraduate studies successful London and the United States, wherever helium completed an MA successful Applied Linguistics astatine Indiana University arsenic a Fulbright scholar. In 1974, helium received his PhD successful Linguistics with favoritism from the University of Athens.

In 1976, helium and his household migrated to Australia, wherever helium joined the unit of the past Mitchell College of Advanced Education successful Bathurst (later Charles Sturt University). Over much than 3 decades of teaching and research, helium established himself arsenic a starring fig successful linguistics, modern Greek studies, and the taste past of the Greek diaspora. He besides taught astatine universities successful Greece, the United States and New Zealand, gathering bridges of assistance crossed continents.

Professor Kanarakis’ groundbreaking works, including The Literary Presence of Greeks successful Australia, Greek Voices successful Australia: A Tradition of Prose, Poetry and Drama and The Greek Press successful the Antipodes: Australia and New Zealand, stay foundational texts for the survey of Greek-Australian lit and journalism. Through his research, helium meticulously documented the originative contributions of Greek migrants, giving dependable to the lived experiences of generations of the diaspora.

In Greek Voices successful Australia which was published successful 1987, Professor Kanarakis selected works from implicit 80 Greek-Australian writers of prose, lit and drama, earning precocious praise for what recognised by the Australian Bicentennial Authority arsenic a treasure trove successful knowing the publication by Greeks successful Australia.

As the precocious Classics Professor Ronald Godfrey Tanner wrote astatine the time, George Kanarakis’ enactment exemplified with poignant sensitivity and good assistance the Greek migrant acquisition successful the diaspora.   For indeed, done his prolific writings, Kanarakis superbly documented the literature, press, and taste past of Greeks abroad, ensuring that the voices of migrants and their descendants were preserved for posterity.

His assistance was not confined to Australia. His studies were published successful a fig of languages, circulating wide crossed Europe, the Americas, and the Antipodes. He besides edited important volumes connected the enduring bequest of the Greek language, demonstrating its power crossed cultures and centuries.

In 2017 helium published his seminal work, The Legacy of the Greek Language, which helium had meticulously compiled and edited.  As was noted by the Greek Orthodox Community of Victoria erstwhile launching the book, it is simply a corporate measurement of thirty-six specialised studies by thirty-five noted scholars. Derived from superior research, the enactment evidences the unsocial publication made by Greek from antiquity to the present, initially to the languages of Europe and done them to galore different languages of the world, arsenic good arsenic to the cultures of their peoples.

In his contributing essay to this pioneering study, Professor Kanarakis wrote that the Greek connection presents with its oldest and affluent written contented among the languages of Europe, reflected successful its dependable cohesion and uninterrupted diachronic continuity successful the look of precocious modes of thought, including philosophy, rhetoric, signs, poesy and logic.

For his immense contributions, Professor Kanarakis received galore honours. In 1994, helium was elected to the International Academy of Rome for the Promotion of Culture. In 1999, Charles Sturt University conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate of Letters, and successful 2002, helium was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the assemblage and to education, peculiarly done the survey of Greek arts and culture.  He was aboriginal honoured successful Greece with distinctions specified arsenic the Gold Medal of Alexander the Great and designation by the University of Athens for his lifelong dedication to Hellenic values and his foundational relation successful the survey of Greek and Cypriot diaspora literature, language, and societal past successful Australia and New Zealand.

Professor Kanarakis was not lone a student but besides a mentor, assemblage advocator and taste ambassador. He regularly spoke astatine assemblage events, literate festivals, and planetary conferences, and was wide respected arsenic a warm, generous intelligence who combined world rigour with assemblage service.

George Kanarakis was besides highly revered by the Kytherian assemblage successful Australia, having taken portion successful the Second International Symposium of Kytheraismos held astatine the Hellenic Club of Canberra successful September 2006 and a consequent Kytheraismos symposium successful Sydney successful 2014.

Back successful 2006 I wrote of his contribution:

“Professor George Kanarakis, the eminent prof of Greek literature, discussed the tapestry of Kytherian literate instauration and the power of Kytherian writers successful Australian-Greek literature.  Professor Kanerakis has spent 30 years successful Australia researching the Hellenic literate power successful this state and described the poesy of immoderate of the aboriginal Kytherian settlers arsenic a fascinating phenomenon.  Later successful the symposium, Professor Kanerakis was truthful moved by 1 talker that from the seat helium declared: “I arrived astatine this league a Pireoti (a notation to his birthplace of Piraeus) but I americium leaving arsenic a Kytherian!”

Professor George Kanarakis is survived by his beloved woman Marcia, his children Evangelos and Fotini, and extended family.

His passing leaves a profound void successful the Greek-Australian intelligence landscape.   He volition beryllium sadly missed.

We wage tribute to this pre-eminent student of the Greek diaspora and to a beingness devoted to scholarship, civilization and the preservation of memory.  Professor George Kanarakis’ bequest volition endure everlastingly successful his writings, his eloquence and the taste individuality of the diaspora helium truthful passionately celebrated.

May his representation beryllium eternal.

George Vardas is the Arts and Culture Editor of Greek City Times.  He is simply a past President of the Kytherian Association of Australia and presently sits connected the committee of the Kytherian World Heritage Fund.