As of next Sunday, those crossing the historic city of Ballarat in Victoria, will see the majestic statue of George Treloar.
George Treloar is an Australian who assisted over 100,000 refugees from Asia Minor to settle in Northern Greece in the 1920s.
In an effort to honor him, the Hellenism of Australia will erect a statue for him in the historic city of Ballarat in Victoria.
This statue, will be 100 per cent life-size and will include a young refugee girl, will be unveiled on Sunday and is a result of an initiative by Australian Greeks to acknowledge the work of a philhellenic Australian, to say a 'thank you' and, above all, to keep the memory of his actions alive.
Speaking on the initiative and also on Treloar actions, the chair of the committee that have been created four years ago, Litsa Athanasiadis, stressed that it was the duty of the Greek community to honor the great Australian colonel.
“It has been a great privilege to have begun this journey of honouring George Treloar, on behalf of all the descendents who George assisted in northern Greece. They arrived on the shores of Greece, destitute and in need of help. Thankfully for them, they were assisted by this great humanitarian, but for whose work nearly one hundred years ago, many of us would not be here today,” Ms Athanasiadis said.
In his role as refugee helper, George Treloar, it is estimated that he assisted approximately 108,000 Christian refugees who had been forced to flee their home across Asia Minor during the catastrophe of the early 1920’s.
