Historic celebration for George

Tramountanas

1 December 2022 October 29-30 saw a commemoration in Adelaide of the life of George Tramountanas-North, the first Greek migrant to South Australia, with the unveiling of busts of George and of his wife Lydia. Tramountanas-North Association [T-NA] Secretary, Dominica Bartlett expressed thanks to all who attended and contributed to the historic events. Dominica commented that the event’s crowning moment was the unveiling of the busts of George and Lydia. She complemented Adelaide artist Bill Cook, who crafted the busts; and acknowledged the longstanding support of John Lesses to bring the event to fruition. Mr George Psiachas, Adelaide’s Greek Consul General, and Mr Nikolaos Chardalias, Greece’s Deputy Defence Minister, attended a special morning viewing of the busts. Mr Chardalias expressed his gratitude for being able to honour George Tramountanas as the forerunner of Greeks who settled in South Australia. In the afternoon, more than 120 people from Adelaide, from across South Australia and Australia attended the formal unveiling. Among those present were Mr. C. Papaconstantinou [President], Mr. P. Ppiros [General Secretary] and Mr. P. Gardiakos [Treasurer] from the Greek Orthodox Community of SA [GOCSA] An Orthodox Church Trisagion Memorial liturgy was conducted by Fr Mark Papapanagiotou from GOCSA. Following the formal speeches, the busts were unveiled by T-NA Chairperson, Mr Ray North and Ms Breanna Schultz – 4th and 7th Generation descendants of George and Lydia respectively. On Sunday group of descendants and members of T-NA toured sites relevant to the lives of George and Lydia, including visiting the graves of their two sons and their son’s spouses, followed by visits to the Maritime Museum and St Mary’s Church in Port Adelaide.

Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia