Ikarians in South Australia, 1900-1945

Examines the little-known Ikarian Greek diaspora, focusing on Ikarians’ emigration, settlement, community building and integration in South Australia between 1900 and 1945.

This book explores the migration of Greeks from the island of Ikaria to South Australia between 1900 and 1945. This little-researched diaspora is examined alongside the key themes of emigration, settlement, community building and integration.

This book looks at a little-researched diaspora, originating on the Greek Aegean Island of Ikaria. Ikaria, being a small, isolated island, close to the Turkish coast, had a long and independent history, with periods of autonomy, including the short-lived Free State of Ikaria in 1912, which was the outcome of the Ikarian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire. Ikarians remained quite insular until the nineteenth century, when they began emigrating to Ottoman port-cities and urban centres, as well as nearby Aegean islands. Eventually, they found themselves in growing hubs of migration such as Egypt and the United States. By 1910, the first Ikarians had arrived in Port Pirie, South Australia, beginning a long tradition of Ikarian migration and settlement in the state. This book explores the Ikarians in South Australia between 1900 and 1945 – an under-researched period, and a contrast from most studies on Greeks in Australia, which have focused on the mass migration post-World War II and post-Greek Civil War. The book positions itself around four key themes: emigration, settlement, community building and integration, with ideas such as localism and identity being explored as facets within those themes.