Life Stories- Plomarites and Australia
Part 2: Doukas (Panagiotis) Trandallis (1935- )
I made the decision to settle in Sydney; after so many years in the country, I wanted something different; a different way of life where I could see many people and go out to different places. Not before long, I started working in a factory in Alexandria, which worked on train carriages. As my range of English had expanded over the years, I was often asked to interpret for the Greek workers there. Living in Sydney was like paradise; everything was so convenient and easy. There was a Greek cinema and grocery shops that sold Greek delicacies. And there was even a Greek radio program- with Poppy Paschalidou on 2KY. In 1962, I married Georgia Voutos (from Zakynthos); we lived in Enmore but moved to Earlwood, where we lived for ten years. At the time, there were very few Greeks living there. Over the years, I worked wherever I could- factories, shops and hotels- until I bought my own taxi. As a taxi-driver, I met all kinds of people- and I mean, all kinds. I always enjoyed picking a Greek passenger- there was always our mutual migrant experience that bound us together.

I went to my first Mytilenian Brotherhood function in the mid- sixties. I was happy enough to attend social events- whether they were dances or picnics. It was in 1975, however, that I became actively involved in the Brotherhood- when I was elected on the Committee- with President, Efstratios Onoufriades. I served on several Committees- under Dimitrios Gongolides, Andonios Kontellis and Dimitrios Psirras.

I would like to thank Doukas (Louie) for all his time and effort to complete this feature.
Vasilis Vasilas