Kary Onisforou | Greek-Australian Archive

State Library of New South Wales

Greek-Australian Archive

Kary Onisforou

Speaker Profile Προφίλ ηχείου

Kary Onisforou

| Language: English

Kary Onisforou

Speaker background

Occupation: Legal practice manager, Conveyancer

Kary Onisforou was born in Sydney in January 1956, not long after her parents arrived from Cyprus. She spent much of her youth working with her parents and siblings in the family’s delicatessen/fruit shop in Randwick, and went to primary and secondary school in the same suburb. After completing her schooling, Kary worked as a legal practice manager and conveyancer. She also spent much of her free time supporting various Greek organizations, including the Cypriot Club and the Young Matrons. She was also President of the Saint Spyridon Parish Church School Parents’ Association.

Place of birthPaddington, Sydney

Location in AustraliaDarlinghurst

Interview summary

In the interview Kary recalls the social constraints that were imposed on Greek girls in the 1960s, and the toil involved in running a seven-days-a-week family business. Kary describes her mother's predicament, who was isolated from her family in Cyprus, and her social interactions with other families from the same village.

Interview highlights

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Kary describes the circumstances that led to her father starting a fruit shop in Randwick

Kary: Dad and Mum opened the shop because Dad had polio, and he couldn’t work. He couldn’t work for two years, and that’s why they opened the shop. The choriani [people from same village] actually got together. The property [they helped to organise] was a commercial property. They all had fruit shops and cafes. Because he wasn’t working [they helped him get started].
Nick: So close family networks were important back then?
Kary: Absolutely. The Paskis family were the only family we had. The mother and father of all the siblings, Stavroula’s siblings, was called ‘Grambi’ [laughs]. We knew him as grandfather ‘Grambi’, and Grandmother ‘Pikou’. Grambi is the Cypriot word for cabbage. Because he had a round head, that is why they called him that. I don’t think I actually knew his [real] name until I was in my twenties. Nobody knew him by his [real] name. We were very close [with the Psakis family]. Always very close.
Timecode 03:42 - 05:21

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What was Easter like, the holidays?

Kary: There was no Easter for us. We did not close on [Greek] Easter. The shop was open on Easter. I think that after the shop [shut] we’d go to Stavroula’s house, Angelo’s house and all the other siblings [the Paskis family]. As long as we had the shop, I don’t think we went anywhere for Easter.
Nick: New Year's Day as well?
Kary: Oh no. Didn’t happen [laughs].
Nick: That’s life in a shop.
Kary: But they did well out of it. Considering it only happened because Dad had polio. He had been working at the Wentworth Hotel as a chef. [The shop] was pretty good. We were doing ok. Before we had the shop, we’d be at Hyde Park. On a Sunday, that’s where all the Greeks met.
Timecode 11:37 - 12:39

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