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The Cyprus Story: From Ashes to Prosperity

Media Release - 14 May 2007
images to accompany release

Friday 8 June 2007 will see the opening of the Migration Museum’s latest community exhibition,

The Cyprus Story: From Ashes to Prosperity which is presented by a group of Cypriot families who have settled in South Australia. The exhibition aims to demonstrate aspects of the Greek-Cypriot experience in this country.  It is a display about the courage, survival and identity that Greek Cypriots found in their new home.

The exhibition traces the history of Greek-Cypriots in South Australia with major themes on The Island Nation, Migrant Stories and Cypriots Arriving in South Australia. It uncovers many personal stories of those who migrated to Adelaide from 1914.

The earliest known Greek-Cypriot migrant was attracted by the gold rush and arrived in Australia in the 1850s. In Adelaide Greek-Cypriot Walter Ionas, who was born in Cyprus in 1857, arrived in 1883 and worked as a tailor in the early 1890s.  David Kitovich, who settled in Adelaide in 1893, is recorded as being a ‘native of Cyprus in Turkey’ on his naturalisation papers. In 1914, Australia’s second Greek-language newspaper, Oceanis (Sea Nymph) was published in Adelaide by George Nicolaides. He was a Greek-Cypriot from the village of Livadia, near Larnaca.  He published the book International Directory of 1927, which aimed to be a guide for Greeks in Australia. The book was written in English, Greek and French.

The exhibition’s personal stories will be accompanied by a wonderful array of objects that provide further insight into the development of Greek-Cypriot migration from the l890s through to the mid-1970s up until the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Objects include historical and contemporary photographs, documents, passports and personal diaries. There will also be embroidery, a national costume, pottery and replicas of ancient relics on display. A DVD presentation will be shown in the gallery to highlight the growth of Cyprus as a major European tourist destination.

The island Republic of Cyprus is located in the eastern corner of Europe and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is closely linked and aligned to Europe culturally and politically and has a history of more than 11,000 years dating from the 9th millennium BC. This places the island at the origin of European civilisation and culture. In July 1974 Turkish troops invaded a third of the northern part of Cyprus and they still occupy the area today. About 142,000 Greek-Cypriots became refugees and around 1500 are still missing. Nicosia, the capital, is located north-east of the centre of the island and is divided.  The Greek area is controlled by the Republic of Cyprus which governs 59 per cent of the island’s land area, and the Turkish government control the other 37 per cent of the island. There is also a small UN buffer zone along with two UK sovereign base areas.