Historical information

Speros Defteros is the fruiterer in the photograph. He arrived in Melbourne in 1938 to join his father in a Coburg fruit shop. During his working life he had fruit shops in Toorak Road in South Yarra, Centre Road in Bentleigh and Domain Road in South Yarra. He later supplied fruit to restaurants and hotels in Melbourne.
As a result of racial prejudice he experienced on his arrival, Spero took up boxing and later wrestling where he experienced success and was nominated to compete for Greece in the London Olympics of 1948. As he was unnaturalised at the time of the Melbourne Olympics he competed once again for Greece in 1956.

Significance

Spero is an example of many young Ithacans who left Greece between the war years to join relations in Melbourne and to work in a family business. They later went on to open their own business, mostly in food retailing businesses such as fruit, fish and chips, milk bars and restaurants.

Physical description

A black and white photograph of a man holding a box of cucumbers in his fruit shop.