The history of the Association of the Northern Municipalities of Sparta “Orea Eleni” began 50 years ago. The decades of the 50’s and 60’s were the beginning of the post-war period when many immigrants left Greece in search of a better life. In Australia, new migrants were looking for work and a higher standard of living.
Many planned to stay in their new country only long enough to earn enough money to return to their beloved homeland. The visions and aspirations of the majority of migrants have been realised. But the few years spent in a foreign country remained just a dream. As the years went by, more and more Voriodimotes continued to emigrate to Sydney and as a result of the influx of new blood, discussions began with the aim of establishing a Voriodimoton Association.
The purpose of the association was to allow the Voriodimotes to keep the flame of their love for their village and place of birth unquenched, to keep the ties between them unbreakable, to cultivate and develop respect for the roots in our history and traditions. So the immense love for the village of our first expatriates and the need to communicate with each other, to ask and learn the news, to live and experience our customs and traditions, the feelings of solidarity and mutual support, brought them closer together.
Οn the 25th April 1972 the Voriodimotes met at the Riviera Lounge at 283 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield, where it was decided to form an association and the first committee of the association was appointed. The club was called Vorion Dimon Spartis «Orea Eleni».
After its incorporation, the association started to organise events, dances, excursions, which had a double aim: on the one hand, the financial support of the association and, on the other hand, the most important one, to bring the members together and to give them the opportunity to develop and strengthen their interpersonal relations.
The Association’s journey continues, growing, not only in membership, but also in the events it hosts, which have become bigger and more successful year after year.
Our Association held its 1st Annual Ball on Saturday 18 June 1977 and its 2nd Annual Ball on Saturday 23 September 1978 at the Boulevard Hotel, 60 William Street, Sydney. The highlight of the evening was the crowning, of “Miss Vorion Dimon” and the competition which was held to raise funds, was a source of income for the association. The contestants were from the Northern Municipalities of Sparta.
After a period of time, with the support of all the members and the efforts of the Committee Management, our Association began to organise itself so that one day it could become financially independent.
The issue of buying an asset was discussed, many decisions were made, but implementation was difficult to achieve until 1994 when the then Committee, took the initiative in June 1994 and purchased a residential unit in Dulwich Hill.
The Association of Vorion Dimon Spartis «Orea Eleni» with its president Mr. George Dimos on 15 March 1998, pioneered the founding of the Pan-Laconian Association of Sydney.
Time passes and as we take value of the great and important work of the Association and the momentous dates that follow, we are excited and feel the need to celebrate. In March 1993, 20 years ago, a ball was held at the Red Rose Rockdale to celebrate the founding of the Association.
The 30th Anniversary was celebrated with a special event in the hall of St Euphemia’s Church in Bankstown, attended by our fellow Castaniotes from Melbourne. At this event all the Presidents were honoured for their services to the Association.
We celebrated the 35th Anniversary with a dance at the Panarcadian Club where all the Secretaries and Treasurers were honoured with special plaques for their service to the Association. At the same event the Board members were also honoured for their long and continuous service.
At the Annual General Meeting on November 13, 2005, the members voted on the proposal and proclaimed Mr. Dimitrios Papailiou the first Honorary member of our Association. Also, at the Annual General Meeting in November 2009, the members voted on the proposal and declared honorary members Mr. Nikolaos Alafogiannis for his thirty years of service offered to the association and Mr. Georgios Nikolopoulos, a member of the first board of directors and loyal member of the association.
A Dance was held on 26 June 2010, during which honorary members were presented with honorary awards.
The Committee Board prepared a programme of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Foundation. The first event was a Folk Art Exhibition on 4 March 2012 at the Zaraka Cultural Centre “Zarax”, 196 Liverpool Rd, Enfield, with a cocktail party and a lecture on “Folk Art and Culture” by a philologist and researcher Ms Anastasia Diasakou Anastasiadis.
The final event was the Formal Dance on 28 April 2012 at the Venus Reception Lounge, Kogarah, where all members of the first Board of Directors of the Association were honoured with Honorary Awards.
The activities of the Association continued in the following years. In 2013 the Committee Board organised a trip to Sassafras for chestnuts and Batemans Bay as well as the Annual Dance.
The year 2013, saw the launch of the Children’s Day with BBQ. Its purpose was to attract young families with their children from the Northern Municipalities of Sparta.
The Laconian Federation organised a cocktail party in honour of the Consul General, Mr. Stavros Kirimi. Our Association Orea Eleni gave a dynamic presence.
In 2014 the Committee Board organised the chestnut and cherry picking trips to Orange and the Annual Dance.
Our Association also supported the events of the Laconian Federation such as lectures, evening teas and the Leonidia.
In 2015, the Committee organised the Annual Dance.
In 2016, the Committee organised a trip to Albury. A Dance was held in the local Greek Community Hall with the Melbourne Kastaniotes Association. The friendly environment created a happy atmosphere for the attendees and the fun continued late into the night with music and dancing. The members had a memorable time with the Patriots. The visit to Bonegilla brought back memories for many migrants as it was the first place they were housed on arrival in Australia.
The Laconian Federation organised with great success a photo exhibition of Laconian pictures and the Museum exhibition «The Olive and Greek Olive Oil». Our Association helped with the organisation and gave its dynamic presence.
In 2017, the Committee Board organised a chestnut day trip and the Annual Dance.
The Laconian Federation also organised a very successful trip to Greece.
In 2018, the Committee Board organised a chestnut day trip and the successful Fund Raising Dance for Dementia Australia. With hard work and great effort the Committee was able to raise and present a cheque for $12,000 to Dementia Australia.
In 2019, the Committee organised the Annual Dance, but it was cancelled due to the many losses of members of our Association.
The Laconian Federation organised a trip to Greece and a cocktail party to celebrate its 10th Anniversary.
In 2020, the Laconian Federation organised the celebrations of the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis for the Leonidia, which was cancelled due to Covid-19.
In 2021, the Committee management was unable to organise any events due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Only the Name Day church service of the feast of St Theoklitos was celebrated.
The Laconian Federation organised an event to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution against the Turks in 1821. There was a re-enactment of the swearing in of the warriors in Areopolis Freedom or Death in 1821.
This was followed by speeches and traditional dances. The rest of the events were cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
In 2022, the Committee Management held the 50th Anniversary Dance in Kyle Bay with great success. It gave the Association an optimistic new start after a long period of no cultural activity due to the pandemic.
The longevity of an association depends not only on the purpose for which it was founded, but a great deal of the responsibility lies with the abilities of the presidents and directors. Honorary plaques were presented to these living founding members and to those who have served on the Committee Management of the Association over the past 50 years.
These were presented to:
Michalis Vourdousis, Maria Glekas, Konstantina Katsantonis, Georgios Koutrumbis, Konstantinos Laganas, Dimitra Lentros, Vasiliki Bakopoulos, Christos Selimniotis and Angelkiki Skiadopoulos.
With the help and support of members, friends and Committee Members, our association continues the vision of the founding members and strives to keep the dream alive. We thank the founders, past directors and those who came before us who have worked tirelessly since 1972 to preserve our heritage.
