Summary

Efstathia Spiropoulos was born in a small Greek village in 1920. Her hard early years finally led her to Australia when she migrated with her husband and seven children in 1964.

Early Years:
Efstathia (Effie) Spiropoulos was born in 1920, just after World War I, in the aftermath of the Spanish Flu and in the midst of the war between Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and Greece. Her grandparents were landowners and were able to grow their own vegetables to keep food on the table but they witnessed and experienced great poverty. Effie remembers that as a young girl in the 1920s her parents saved a plate of food for any stranger that might come through the village hungry.

Effie grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s when her father's life savings lost value overnight and the family was left penniless. She remembers a childhood working the land day after day from morning to night.

World War II soon followed bringing more destruction and fear. Effie and her older sister tried to keep their four younger siblings safe and hidden from the German soldiers while their parents provided the essentials for survival. One time they were hiding and Germans soldiers marched right in front of them almost capturing them. They were close to discovery on another occasion and Effie witnessed German soldiers go into the neighbouring village and burn every building to the ground. Life was hard and each day was a matter of life or death.

After the Wars:
Just after the war ended Effie married Peter Spiropoulos. The following year her son was born and within six weeks Peter was called up to fight in the Greek Civil War. Once again Effie struggled to survive and raise her child on her own while her husband was fighting in the army for four long years.

In 1949 the civil war ended, and Peter returned home. Post-war austerity made life hard with food scarce and the land that had been neglected for so long difficult to cultivate. During the 1950s Effie gave birth to another six children (which she delivered with only a local woman in attendance). They had no electricity or water in the house and the children went to the village square to get the daily water supply. Life was difficult and Effie and Peter worked endlessly to support their large family.

Youngest daughter Stavroula was too young to understand the hardships and recalls a beautiful childhood, safe and warm. She remembers the family huddled around the open fire place on cold, winter nights and her mother telling stories. They had no toys but climbed trees, scaled mountains, and swam in the river.

A Better Life:
Effie and Peter wanted a better life for their seven children so in September 1964 they uprooted their entire family to make the long journey to Australia on the ship Patris, arriving at Station Pier a month later. The oldest child was 16 and the youngest two years old. Life was a struggle at the beginning. The night noises the children were accustomed to were replaced by sirens from police cars, ambulances and fire trucks. From the freedom and open space of village life they were confined within the perimeters of four fences. It was a cultural shock but Stavroula recalls they adapted quickly and soon Australia felt like home.

A New Home:
The family bought a house in the new estate of Fawkner and Stavroula remembers a happy time growing up there, a diverse community with friendly neighbours. Effie still lives there and tells everyone that Fawkner is the best suburb in Australia. It was walking distance to schools, shops and to the Greek church Saint Nektarios. Their backyard was large and Peter quickly grew vegetables.

The family recalls being helped with the English language and community services by the Australian-born family next door; even convincing Peter purchase a television set to help learn English. On the other side they had an Italian family with whom homemade salami and vegetables were exchanged over the fence and talk in 'broken' English about their homeland. Further down the street were German neighbours.

For Effie Melbourne was paradise. She couldn't understand how anyone would get tired when they didn't have to chop wood, start a fire to cook their meals or keep warm, or wash clothes by hand and fetch their daily supply of water.

Later Years:
The Spiropoulos family grew over the years, with 78 immediate family members, including 22 grandchildren and 30 great grandchildren. Stavroula reflects that while they live in different parts of Melbourne, Fawkner is always home and her mother the heart that draws them together. Peter died in 2007 and his dying wish was to be buried in his beloved Greece. So his wife and seven children took him back and buried him in the village where he was born and had never forgotten.

Effie is now 102, still lives in the same house in Fawkner, reads her Greek newspaper 'Neos Kosmos' and spends her time growing her vegetables and looking after her chickens. She loves Australia but Greece remains in her heart.

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