The history of Greek culture, life, and family in Australia are inseparable from long hours of work and laughter in Greek-owned cafés scattered across our cities and countryside. Greek cafés and milk bars weren’t just a vogue, but a landscape that replicated evolving Greek experiences of life overseas, and a strong commitment to making it work by any means necessary. In this volume, documentary photographer Effy Alexakis and historian Leonard Janiszewski delve deeper into the relationship of people and place, adding more depth, more unforgettable photos, and more meaning to those that made the first book such a hit. ‘People and Place’ examines events aligned with Australian history, and the Greek’s navigation of migration, settlement, innovation, racism, war, and community and family life. Touching testimonies accompanied by phenomenal photography exemplify generational truths, encounters and dreams of the Greek cafés and milk bars of Australia.
Documentary photographer Effy Alexakis and historian Leonard Janiszewski have been researching the Greek-Australian historical and contemporary presence in both Australia and Greece since 1982.
Alexakis has been ranked in the top ten portrait photographers in Australia, and her photographs are held in public and private collections across the country. In 2001 Janiszewski was awarded the New South Wales History Fellowship to research a history of the 'Greek café'. Both Alexakis and Janiszewski are Research Fellows with the Department of Modern History, Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University. Janiszewski is also Curator with the Macquarie University Art Gallery. Together they have produced various national and international touring exhibitions, four major books, three significant exhibition catalogues, over 250 book chapters, articles, conference papers, and three film documentaries have been produced by Alexakis and Janiszewski from material in their archive.
Their project and archives, In Their Own Image:
Greek-Australians, encompasses visual, oral and literary material. Their archive is one of the most significant collections in the country on Greek-Australians.Now Greek Cafés and Milk Bars of Australia has become an SBS TV documentary.
* First volume has been re-printed three times: 2016, 2022, 2026.
* SBS documentary explores the lives and stories of individuals mentioned in the book.
* Both Effy and Leonard are recognised in their respective fields for the work they have done on Greek/Australian history and culture, there is nothing else like it available for purchase.
* The book tells both historical and modern accounts of businesses, enterprises and families, demonstrating the evolution of the cafés, milk bars, and families involved.
* Personal recounts as a result of interviews.
* Prominent advertisement of the new book in the current reprint of volume 1.
* Greek community newspaper and radio will be reporting on the book.
