'Wild Colonial Greeks' reviewed by Yianni Cartledge, ‘Journal of Australian Colonial History’, UNE, vol. 23, 2021, pp 235-36.

 

'Wild Colonial Greeks' reviewed by Yianni Cartledge, ‘Journal of Australian Colonial History’, UNE, vol. 23, 2021, pp 235-36.

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Peter Prineas, Wild Colonial Greeks, Arcadia/Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2020, pbk, ISBN 9781922454133, vii + 322 pp, $34.95.

Australia's colonial period, lasting less than 115 years, was a turbulent, transitionary, and unsure time, where the lives of colonisers, convicts, First Nations people and immigrants intersected. Peter Prineas' book, Wild Colonial Greeks, explores this period through the lens of Australia's earliest Greek migrants, unravelling their stories and analysing their interactions with wider colonial Australia. Until this book, there have only been a handful of relevant studies on Greeks during this period, with few written in such an accessible and engaging manner. (Of note is Hugh Gilchrist, Australians and Greeks vol. 1: The Early Years, Sydney, 1992) This is due to scholars of Greek migration traditionally focusing on the large post-WWII immigration of the 1950s-60s. Prineas' study instantly fills a narrative void, making an important contribution to the histories of both Australian migration and colonial Australia.

Prineas lays out three aims: firstly, it is to give Greeks in colonial Australia 'their proper place, or niche at least, in Australian history'; secondly, it is to exemplify how Greeks were perceived in colonial Australia, especially by utilising primary sources; and thirdly, the author aims to update the narrative of who and how early the first Greek in Australia was, moving the date from 1829 to 1823. The book is further organised into a framing introduction, ten chapters, and an appendix. While Chapters 1 and 2 continue to frame the book, Chapters 3 to 9 deal with the individual stories of migrants during the period. Chapter 10 is an epilogue solely dealing with new information surrounding the first Greek in Australia. This layout is effective and helps aid the readable and narrative-like format of the book.

Prineas frames the book with a 'colonial view of the Greeks', positioning them firmly within the nineteenth-century world. In particular, the author sees the neo-classical and Christian ideologies of educated British elites, as well as British contact with the Ionian islands and the wider Mediterranean, as influencing perceptions of the Greeks during the century. The Greeks were essentially seen by the West as both fellow Christians and inheritors of classical history. This endeared the Greeks to Britons and Australians; and, at the same time, was a point of prejudice when they fell short of the stereotype.

This framing is also important in establishing the context of colonial Australia as part of the British imperial system. However, more could have been unravelled as to the nature of the system and how it enabled migration. Push and pull factors are discussed, albeit briefly. Prineas highlights that trade and mercantilism pushed Greek males onto ships, and work opportunities, most notably the goldfields, pulled Greeks towards Australia. These ideas are developed further in the individual stories of Greek immigrants, on which the book relies heavily .

Building on the solid framework, Chapter 2 interestingly deals with perceptions of Greek independence in Australian newspapers, particularly the Sydney Gazette and the Australian, among other early periodicals. Prineas notes that

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these papers were mostly sympathetic to the Greek cause, and oftentimes were philhellenic and critical of the British government's response to the conflict. This helps paint a clear picture of the world that nineteenth-century Greek emigrants were leaving, and the attitudes held in their land of arrival. Prineas uses this background to contextualise individual migrant stories, such as the well-known seven Greek pirates who were sentenced to Australia as convicts.

Chapter 3 begins by synthesising the push and pull factors further, especially the change in British shipping policy and the Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s-60s. It then explores the microhistories of the earliest Greek migrants, many of which practiced ship desertion with an aim of working in the goldfields. Prineas highlights that these Greeks continued their customs in colonial Australia, which at times caused cultural clashes and misunderstandings. They also frequently used the epithet 'the Greek', a slang nickname (sometimes endearing, sometimes pejorative) given to many Greeks, especially seamen and miners.

Following the theme of 'nicknames', the next chapter deals with the derogatory term 'dago'. Prineas then expands to discuss the broader racism experienced by Greeks in colonial Australia. This racism was openly portrayed in newspapers, amongst the public, in anti-immigrant pressure groups, and in government. Prineas' discussion of racism transitions neatly into important discourse detailing the shifting perceptions that Australians held towards the Greeks.

Chapters 5 to 9 all hinge on the biographies of five Greek emigrants — Nicholas Millar, Timoleon Vlasto, Eugenios Genatas, Andreas Lagogiannis and Spiridion Candiottis. These biographies encompass many of the key themes of Prineas' framework, as well as juggle the wider world of colonial Australia with the internal dilemmas and conflicts that they faced. While all paramount to the narrative and written with vividity, Chapter 7's story of Eugenios Genatas, a Corfiot and supposed 'relative' of Lady Diamantina Bowen, who served in Queensland's Native Mounted Police and was entangled in the murder-mystery of Fanny Briggs and vigilante reprisals following the Cullin-la-ringo Massacre, is a notable example. As are the compelling stories of ancient coin thief Timoleon Vlasto in Chapter 6 and goldfield doctor Spiridion Candiottis in the extended Chapter 9. Chapter 10 caps off this discussion of individuals with the search for Australia's earliest Greek emigrant — which Prineas successfully identifies in the person of George Manual, arriving in 1823, at least six years earlier than previous scholarship held.

In all, Prineas' study exceeds expectations. He has provided a readable and unique analysis of Greek settlers in colonial Australia, with an inspiring use of primary sources. While more could have been unravelled as to the juggling of identities, the extent of chain and return migration, the place of Greek migrants in the Asia-Pacific network, and early community building, this book still touches on most major themes of migration history. This thorough examination is the perfect starting point for any scholar seeking to delve into the nature of immigration into colonial Australia.

Yianni Cartledge