Hellenic Presidential Guard

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (15:35): I rise to talk about the third visit of the Hellenic Presidential Guard to our beautiful city and state. It is the third time the presidential guard has visited South Australia and it is an auspicious visit: it is their 150^th anniversary. They are a proud military unit of the Hellenic Army. My grandfather served for seven years as an Evzone in the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor.

It is fair to say that many Greek-Australians who can trace their heritage and ancestry back to Greece are extremely proud of the role the Evzones or presidential guard play in the life of Hellenism. They are a symbol of Greece and of the Hellenic Republic, they are a symbol of our shared democratic values and they are a symbol of the very best of Hellenism.

The first two visits of these guards were shared visits, when they would visit Adelaide and other cities. The first time, they visited Adelaide and Sydney and conducted ceremonies for ANZAC Day in Sydney that I think were remarkable. Last year, they were shared between Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. This year, Adelaide was the sole beneficiary of their visit. While they were here, they honoured our Australian ANZACs by standing guard over the Catafalque Party as they embarked on standing at the War Memorial in the West Torrens Memorial Gardens at the Cross of Sacrifice.

Generally at these services, we get about 500 people attending. At this service, there were 2,500 to 3,000 people, the council officials tell me. It was a moving ceremony. I was given the privilege by the Hilton RSL to speak after the conclusion of the dawn service to the assembled gathering about the significance of the Evzones and their interaction with Australians, especially in World War II.

Not many Australians know that the island of Lemnos has been critical in Australia's staging in the Mediterranean. In both wars, Australians first landed on Greek soil in Lemnos. In World War I, they staged before their Gallipoli landings from the island of Lemnos, and it is to that island that they were evacuated, and it operated as a field hospital. Indeed, it is one of the first commonwealth cemeteries ever built anywhere in the world.

In the Second World War, after the Greek army repelled the first Axis invasion, prime minister Churchill sent over 62,000 commonwealth troops to Greece. Again, the Evzones engaged directly with the Wehrmacht, which was the only time the Australians engaged the Wehrmacht in Europe. It is fair to say that one of the proudest boasts of that engagement was that France fell in six weeks but that it took the same army that conquered France six months to conquer Greece—a small country, an impoverished country, yet they fought with distinction and gave the Allies hope, and indeed hope to Allies around the world, that the Axis powers could be defeated.

There have been a number of events across South Australia at which these young men have represented the Hellenic Republic: ANZAC Day, over Easter, and Good Friday, when they marched before the tomb and the Epitaphios at St George, the first time they have done so anywhere in the world in their ceremonial uniforms. It was a great honour for us in this city. They did so today at Athelstone for the first ever divine liturgy in that church for their feast day of St Nicholas, St Raphael and St Irene. It was a moving ceremony. Over Greek Easter, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, they were at three churches: the Nativity of Christ in Port Adelaide, Prophet Elias in Norwood and St George in Thebarton.

The Leader of the Opposition was kind enough to hold a public reception for these guards yesterday. It was open for all the public to attend and was very well attended, with over 500 people attending to see these young guards. People were crying at all these events that I saw. There was a lot of emotion about their being here.

I hate to end on this note, but these guards were supported by the state government in their first two visits. In their third visit, despite personal representations to the Premier and to the Treasurer by leaders of the Greek community, the government refused to fund them. I was contacted by leaders of the Greek community to embark on a fundraising effort. We were able to raise enough money very, very quickly to bring them out here. I think it was a shame that the government did not do what it should have done, which was to support this visit in the interests of multiculturalism, and I hope that it does not happen again.