The Hellenic Sub-branch of RSL is an integral part of the Greek community and was founded 40 years ago, in the late 1970s. Recently, and after 9 years at the organization's presidency, Steve Kyritsis announced that he is stepping down.
Mr. Kyritsis remains president of the Australian Hellenic War Memorial located in the gardens of Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. The new Head of the Hellenic RSL is Manolis Karvelas.
Below, the interview with SBS Greek (in English).
SBS Greek: A few words about your family's migration story to Australia
Manolis Karvelas: My family from his father side is coming from the Greek island of eastern Aegean Sea Samos,
My father Dimitris Karvelas came to Australia in 1955, he was 20 and a few years later he helped bring to Australia his sister Ioanna and his brother George.
In those days, it was quite hard. Dimitris works in the trains for most of his working life. They used to replace railway sleepers on the tracks, very hard work and not knowing any English.
Here is Manolis Karvelas' interview in Greek
«Σεβασμός στους ηλικιωμένους μας, αλλά θέλουμε και νέους ανθρώπους»
He was shoving coal on the steam engines that were traveling to regional Victoria.
He once told me, and it's quite funny, that he and his friend would each buy a loaf of bread, cut it to two and make sandwiches and eat the whole lot for lunch.
After doing some studies, dad was promoted to suburban electric trains as a driver and he did that for the next 30 years.
My mother, Soultana Eftstathiou, came to Australia in 1958. She was 23 years old. She worked in factories and life, in general, was very hard.
Hellenic RSL, South Melbourne. Source: Manolis Karvelas
They got married in 1961 and had two children: Manolis and his system Maria. Manolis is married to Angela and has two kids, Georgette 28, and James 26.
Our family especially from my father's side were all from Asia Minor. In the early1920s, they came across Smaos from the Minor Asia coast. Manolis was born and raised in Melbourne and later he moved to Taylors Lakes.
Here is Manolis Karvelas' interview in Greek
SBS: Why did you decide to join the army and how did your family react to this?
M.K.: Our parents and grandparents went through the Second World War, the Greek Civil War, the Korean War, etc.
When I signed up, they were petrified. They told me to do something else, to study stay to do some engineering and that sort of stuff.
At the start, they were shocked but then when we spoke about it, it was starting to sit OK with them.
From a young age, I always wanted to join. I always knew that my grandfather generation fought in World War 2 at the Albanian border.
Hellenic RSL members at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne. Source: SBS Greek / Panos Apostolou
I lost a great uncle, his name was Manolis Efstathiou, at the Albanian front. My sister’s godfather Jim Makris fought at the Battle of El-Alamein in Egypt under the British Army.
My great grandfather, Manolis Karvelas returned from the war with a walking stick and had frostbites, there are so many unbelievable stories and very scary. From a young age, I developed a huge respect for elders.
I spent time in a regiment which was then combined infantry support and officer training unit.
From the soldier’s perspective, I spent most of my time in infantry, even in Bonegilla where the migration centre was in the early '50s and '60s speaking of migrations they remember Bonagilla as a hostel accommodation when they were moved when they arrived in Australia. Of course, it was an army base and still is.
I spend time with Queensland, in New Zealand on a combined Australia - NZ battalion exercise.
SBS: Your experience so far with the Hellenic RSL
Australian Hellenic War Memorial. Source: SBS Greek
Μ.Κ.: I became a member of the Hellenic RSL community about a decade ago. For years, I was vice president until recently when I was elected the new president of the subbranch.
For me, first and foremost I put the veterans first., those of World War 2, the Vietnam War, the Cyprus war in 1974, East Timor, in Afghanistan.
SBS: What is the Hellenic RSL? There are people that think that is just another community organisation where its members do just lunches, coffee-catch-ups, etc.
M.K.: People hear about RSL and they think war veterans in their 90s or it is a good place to go and get a nice meal like in a commercial restaurant, that's what almost all people think about.
But it's a little bit more than that. Many people have not even heard of the Hellenic RSL and they ask as they get confused. For instance, what the Greek Australians are doing at the RSL.
The answer is quite simple. It all starts from the Greek Australian war history which is quite rich and we should be proud of it.
Most people have heard about the World War 2 Greek Campaign and what happened in mainland Greece and the Battle of Crete.
But not many people know that in the Korean War, the Greek forces received US Presidential Unit Citations.
Hellenic RSL president Manolis Karvelas at the Australian Hellenic War Memorial, Melbourne. Source: Manolis Karvelas
Forty years ago, our first committee held discussions with Victorian RSL president Bruce Ruxton. Not long after that meeting, the Hellenic Sub-branch of the RSL was formed.
Many people don't know this but you can become an RSL member not just because of wartime service, but because you are an ex-serviceman/woman, an affiliate member, and if you're related to someone that served.
We do commemorative events like on the ANZAC Day when we march under our own Hellenic RSL banner on St Kilda Road in Melbourne, we do presentations and events for the 25th of March, the Greek Independence Day, on the 28th of October, the OHI Day and we do this in Canberra supporting the Australian Army and Navy cadets.
We do social events, Mother's Day, and Fathers Day.
We have a fellow who was in the Cyprus War of Independence, and he asked “why am I supposed to be in the RSL? Isn’t that about the Australians?”.
And I told him that the RSL has an allied group, we are part of that because we've been lucky to be on the right side of history, on the right side of the conflicts even though conflicts are nasty things and no one wants to go to wars.
SBS: One of your golas as the new president is to increase the member numbers. What’s your broader vision of the Hellenic RSL?
Greek Australian war veterans at the ANZAC Day parade in Melbourne. Source: SBS Greek / Panos Apostolou
M.K.: First of all, we would like to welcome more members of younger age. And that's not because we don't like older people, but quite the opposite. That's where the greatest respecter is.
There's a new group of contemporary veterans who are coming through, particularly, from Afghanistan and many of them are of Greek background.
Another thing about going forward is a broader range of participants in committees both males and females.
In a longer-term vision, we're currently in the process of talking with the Council on a 5-year plan and moving forward and we will talk about that when we have something more concrete.
Press Play on the main photo and listen to the interview with Hellenic RSL president, Manolis (Manny) Karvelas.
