The young people were attending an Ithacan Dinner Dance at 9 Darling Street, South Yarra in 1985. Standing L-R: Christina Doubaras, Kaylene Lucas, Nicholas Anagnostou, Aphrodite Metaxas, Dean Lucas, Anastasia Raftopoulos, John Raftopoulos. Seated L-R: Nick Spartels, Evelyn Spartels, Geremy Lucas, Julieanne Black, Robert Kellner.Dating back to its earliest years, the Ithacan Philanthropic Society has included a dinner dance or ball on its annual calendar attended, by members and friends from across the generations.A coloured photograph of six couples at a dinner dance. Five people are seated at the table while the remaining seven are standing behind them.

The men photographed were members of the Camperdown Football team some time in 1940-41. Camperdown in regional SW Victoria is an important centre for the surrounding cattle and sheep farms. Panayiotis Raftopoulos (pictured in a suit on the right next to the 'mascot' in white) owned the Leura Cafe in the town and involved himself in local social and sporting clubs. Panayiotis was the father of Yianniko Raftopoulos. Many Ithacans settled in regional Victoria and often owned and operated cafes in country towns. A black and white photograph of members of a sporting team with their coach and the team mascot. They are photographed in front of a corrugated iron shed.

The group were at an annual Ithacan Club picnic at a country location outside of Melbourne. The adults in the photograph are all from the village of Kioni. Most have been identified and they are: Standing at the back - Nick Vasilopoulos and Loula Ventouras. Back row kneeling L-R: Tatsi and Thalia Pappas, . ? . , Mando Raftopoulos Middle row L-R: Alkino Paizis, Poppy Vasilopoulos, Eleni Raftopoulos, ...?.., Vasili Raftopoulos, Hariklia Paizis (Dellas), ..?.., Kalypso Sofianos, Themistokli Paizis. Children in front row L-R: Tasia Paizis (Tsilimidos), Stella Karanges (Dimopoulos), Lula Vasilopoulos (Psiliakos), Nina Sofianos (MIlls)The Ithacan picnics were a popular annual event on the club's calendar and gave families and friends the chance to socialise and relax away from the arduous work of their shops and cafes. Attendees would gather with the fellow villages and share their picnic lunches. A black and white photograph of twenty people having a picnic in the country . A house and hills are visible in the background as well a some trees.

This is a photograph of the members of the 1993-94 Ithacan Philanthropic Committee. Back row from L-R: Spyridoula Digaletou-Coutsouvelis, George Coutsouvelis, Dennis Katsamas, Dennis Koutsouvelis, Chrissa Raftopoulos. Front row from L-R: Stathi Raftopoulos, Helen Vlass Treasurer, Peter Paxinos Vice-President, Anthony Drakopoulos President, Antoni Razos Secretary, Nick Lourantos. When this photograph was taken the Ithacan Philanthropic Society had been in existence for 78 years. A number of the committee members were second or third generation Australians of Ithacan descent.A coloured photograph of eleven people - three ladies and eight men - formally standing and seated in a room.

Stathi Raftopoulos (centre row, second from the right) is pictured together with young people (unknown) at a Greek picnic in Adelaide. A black and white photograph of group of young people at a picnic. There are six women and seven men and two young children in the group. There are trees growing in the background.

Georgia Raftopoulos and Michael Black (Mavrokefalos) pictured at a social function. Michael was president of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society 1981-1985.A black and white photograph of a lady and man chatting at a social function.

The photograph is taken at an annual Ithacan picnic, c1940s. Several of the individuals in the photograph are wearing the medallion badges which were given to all attendees on arrival at the picnic. L-R: Dionysus Lecatsas, ----- , -----, Andreas Paizis, Georgia Raftopoulos, Katerina Lucas (Spot Cafe), -----, Athanasis Raftopoulos (Klapatzoura). The annual picnic organized by the Ithacan Philanthropic Society continues to be a popular event on the club's social calendar.A mounted sepia photograph of a group standing in a picnic ground. There are six men dressed in suits and two smartly dressed ladies. There is a small shed in the background in an open playing field.

The photograph is of members of a local soccer team on the Greek island of Ithaca in 1951. Stathi Raftopoulos is pictured on the left to the right of the young children. Soccer is a very popular game both in Greece and amongst the Greek community in Australia.A scanned black and white photograph of men and boys posing for a soccer team photograph. Thirteen people are standing and five are kneeling in the front with the soccer ball.

The young couple standing outside the stone cottage in Kioni, Ithaca are Yianni Rafopoulos (Bourlotos) and Diamando (Manto) Raftopoulos nee Paizis. The house is typical of the traditional stone cottages built on Ithaca in times past. Although similar cottage are still standing, some of them lovingly restored, there are also many deserted and in disrepair or ruin as a result of migration over generations and inheritance issues. A black and white photograph of a lady and man photographed on a mound of rocks outside a stone cottage which has a tiled roof.

A group of Ithacans, all of whom had migrated to Melbourne before WW2, on board a ship farewelling Spiro Raftopoulos who was returning to Ithaca, Greece. Front row L-R: Spiro Raftopoulos, Peter Kallinikos (Peter Collins), Con Kallinikos, Gerasimos Dellaportas. Standing L-R: Unknown, Nicos (Nikoli) Moriatis, Spiros Kallinikos, unknown, Andreas Moraitis, Stathis Kavadeas, Peter Zapatos, unknown. A black and white photograph of eleven men and a boy standing on the deck of a ship. The men are dressed in suits and some are wearing overcoats and hats. Stamped on the back: ITHACAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCORPORATED/ 329 ELIZABETH STREET MELBOURNE/VICTORIA 3000 AUSTRALIA/ PO BOX 611D MELBOURNE 3001/ TELEPHONE (03) 670 0230greek diaspora

A group of family and friends at an Ithacan dinner dance function held on 12 October 1960 at the Rex function centre which was on the top floor of Ithaca House in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. Seated around the table from left to right: ...?... Evangelos Drakopoulos, Loula Anagnostatou, Kassiani Raftopoulos, Mihali Kostopoulos, ....?... , Antoni Servos, Poppy Kostopoulos, Andreas Anagnostatos, Stathis Raftopoulos, ....?... Katina Kostopulos, Omiros Dellaportas. Black & white photograph of a group of 9 men and 5 women seated around a table at a function, dressed in formal wear. Photo has white border.Written in Greek on the back; AFTER 46 YEARS.

Angelika Raftopoulos is the young woman wearing a traditional Greek costume. The costume is very much in the style of the Ithacan traditional dress, with apron and headscarf. A black and white studio photograph of a young woman seated on a settee in front of a curtain. She is dressed in a traditional Greek costume from the Ionian Islands.

Sia (Aspasia) Koutsouvelis pictured with her sons, Harry and George. Aspasia was the daughter of Ioulia and George Raftopoulos. Her sister was Effie Cominos.A coloured photograph of an elderly lady sitting in a wheel chair with two younger men standing behind her. There are Christmas decorations on the RHS of the photograph and a man is seated at a small table in the background.

Pictured attending a Grecian Ball are l-r John and Anastasia (Tasia, nee Karantgis) Raftopoulos (Patakias) with Tasia's brother John Karantgis. A photograph taken of a photograph of a lady and two men at a social function.social function

The family group photograph at the wedding of Nikolaos and Diamanto (nee Raftopoulos) Paizis in Melbourne 1926. They had two children, Spiro and Rita (Margarita).A black and white newspaper photograph of a wedding group of the bride and groom and their attendants. The caption about the photograph is written in Greek above the photograph.

Ithacan Naki Raftopoulos (centre) served in the Civilian Military Forces during WW 2 and is pictured with Arthur Pantatzis (left) and Theo Spirakos (Spirason). A number of Ithacan Greek men and Australian born men of Ithacan descent served in the Australian defence forces during World War 2. Some saw active service whilst those who had not become naturalised were recruited into the Civilian Military Forces as 'Allied Aliens' and served the war effort on the home front.A black and white head and shoulders photograph of three men in Australian army uniform, wearing peaked caps. army

Arthur Koutsouvelis and his wife Aspasia nee Raftopoulos at a social function in 1954 shortly after their wedding which took place in February 1954.A black and white photograph of a couple dressed in formal attire and sitting at a table at a social function.

The Committee of Ithacan Expatriates held an inaugural conference on Ithaca on 17 July 1976. Stathi Raftopoulos, pictured the microphone, was a delegate to the conference along with other expatriates.Organisations such as the Committee for Ithacan Expatriates are a means by which the diaspora Greeks of Ithacan background are be able to maintain the links with the island.A black and white photograph featuring a man standing in front of a microphone at a conference. Six other male participants, including a priest, are seated at a table either side of him. In the background is a curtained stage with a banner featuring the bust of Odysseus.ULYSSES KING OF ITHACA.australia

A young Kalypso Raftopoulos is pictured on the LHS of the photograph. The photograph was taken in Kioni, Ithaca the village where Kalypso grew up in. Kaypso migrated to Melbourne in 1936. A scanned sepia photograph of a lady holding a young child with a young girl on the LHS of the picture. There is a partial view of a stone cottage behind the group and a rough wooden structure which supports grape vines is also behind them.

The three soldiers, all from Ithaca, served with the Australian Civilian Military Forces during World War 2. They are pictured at Camp Pell, Royal Park Melbourne where a large military camp was located during World War 2. Naki Raftopoulos is the man being shaved. He migrated as a young boy in the early 1930. Initially the family settled in the Mildura area where other members of the Raftopoulos family were established. Eventually they moved to Melbourne.During the period of the second world war, Ithacans who were unnaturalised were recruited into the Civilian Military Forces as 'Allied Aliens' and served the war effort on the home front. Naturalised Ithacans saw active service. A black and white photograph of three soldiers standing around a fallen tree trunk in a camp. One man is shaving himself while the man in the middle is being shaved. A tent is visible in thew background.army

The photograph was taken at an Ithacan picnic held at Mentone Racecourse in 1935. Members of the IPS Committee are pictured with their families together with two official guests, Father Theophylaktos Papathanasopoulos from the Melbourne Orthodox Parish, and Father Timotheos Evangelimides, the Archbishop of the Greek Church in Australia, both pictured standing in the centre of the group. Vicki Raftopoulos(Black) is seated 3rd from the left and Arthur Raftopoulos is standing 3rd from right and Stathi Trohoulas is standing far right. Melbourne's first Greek Orthodox Church 'Evangelismos' in Victoria Parade East Melbourne was consecrated in 1901. Ithacans, as members of the Greek Orthodox Community, were directly involved in its establishment. A.J.Lucas the founding president of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society was one of a number of prominent Greeks who advanced funds to help with the purchase of the East Melbourne site upon which the church was built. The building of the church was financed through the contributions of funds from the local Greek community.A black and white photograph mounted on grey board of a picnic group sitting and standing around a table set out with food and drinks under trees. A bus is parked and just visible behind the group. Detail of the people in the photograph and other information is written in Greek on the back of the pghotograph.

The photograph of the all male committee of the IPS was taken at Ithaca House in 1976, sixty years after the establishment of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society. At the time, in accordance with the constitution, women were ineligible to be full members and therefore committee members. Pictured L-R, back: Petros Kouratos, Dennis Lourantos, J. Mavromatis, Dennis Katsamas, Naki Raftopoulos, Parry Gabriel; front: Michael Black, (Mavrokefalos) Evangelos Metaxas, Nick Varigos (Varvarigos), Sotiris Sikiotis, Stathy Raftopoulos. A black and white photograph of eleven men, members of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society Committee 1976. They are seated and standing in front of a wall which has a large photograph on it and coat hooks along the wall.

This a photo is taken in the early 1980s at the baptism of Anastasi (Stasi) Trikaliotis, the son of Lea and Con Trikaliotis. Stasi, pictured held by his godfather, is the grandson of the Naki and Golfa Raftopoulos. The baptism of a child into the Greek Orthodox Church is a very important important family, cultural and religious event within the Greek community. A coloured photograph with rounded corners of a priest blessing a baby during baptism ceremony. A man is holding the baby.baptisms, religious ceremonies

The leaflet encouraging members to re-elect Ithacan Konstantinos Raftopoulos (Ravinos) to the committee of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, describing him as a proven and experienced committee member. The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne was established in 1897 by some of the first Greek residents of Melbourne, including a number of Ithacans. It is the oldest Greek organisation in Australia and the second oldest Greek organisation of the diaspora after the Greek Community of Alexandria-Egypt. It has supported the Greeks who had settled in Melbourne and established many programs such as a Greek Language School and dance classes which has helped maintain Greek culture amongst Australians of Greek descent. A photograph of a leaflet for a candidate seeking election onto the committee of the Greek Community in Melbourne.

A view of the village of Kioni was taken by Diamanto (Manto) Raftopoulos in 1972. Kioni is a beautiful harbour village on the island of Ithaca. In the summer months it is a popular destination for tourists and for yachts sailing the Ionian.Man Ithacans from the village of Kioni migrated to Australia and settled in Melbourne. A black and white copy of a photograph of the harbour at Kioni taken from Rahi.

Elsie and Nick Varigos (left) pictured at the wedding of Harry Koutsouvelis and Kris Yaramanis together with Harry's mother, Aspasia (Sia) Raftopoulos Koutsouvelis. The reception was held at Lincoln Receptions in Toorak. A coloured photograph of two ladies and a man sitting at a table in a reception venue.

The young Paizis children dressed in various Greek traditional costumes as part of the 25th March celebration of Greek Independence. From l-r: Thalia (Papadopoulos), Diamanto (Raftopoulos), Maria (Kezos). Young children attending Greek school often dressed in traditional costumes for concerts and celebrations of Greek national days. A black and white photograph of three young girls in various Greek costumes - Grecian style and traditional.

The wedding took place in an Ithacan village some time in the 1920s. Possible location is the village of Exoghi. The bride is Sevasti Sofianou nee Varvarigou. She was the aunt of Niko, Penelope and Evanegelio Raftopoulos. A black and white photograph of a wedding group taken outdoors in hilly country.

The Merbein shops were originally owned by Spiros Raftopoulos (Levendi) who migrated from Kolieri, Ithaca, Greece. The family conducted a business in Merbein during the 1930s before relocating to Melbourne.Some Greeks who migrated to Australia during the first half of the twentieth century settled in larger country towns throughout regional Victoria.A coloured photograph of the exterior view of a group of single storey shops with a verandah across the front of the buildings. The words 'Beauty Salon' and 'The Family Shoe Store' are written across the top of the verandah awnings. A white sedan is angle-parked outside one of the shops.