Speaker background
Michael Diamond was born in Sydney in 1935 to parents from the island of Kastellorizo. He grew up in Surry Hills at a time when it was a hub for Greek migrants. After graduating from Sydney High School, he attended the University of Sydney, where he excelled academically and in sport. Michael had a distinguished legal career and was awarded an AM and MBE. He played a critical role in the expansion of various Greek associations and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
Interview summary
Michael provides a vivid description of his childhood in Surry Hills and Greek family life in the immediate post-war years. He recalls his sporting achievements and the relocation of his family from Surry Hills to Kingsford. The interview sheds light on the expansion of the Greek Archdiocese into the suburbs, for which Michael provided legal advice and services. The interview also covers Michael’s committee work for the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs (1979–1986) and his lengthy directorship of the Bell Shakespeare Company.
Interview highlights
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Michael recalls his earliest memories of Greek neighbourhood life in Surry Hills.
Michael: There were not less than ten or twelve houses within two blocks, who all knew each other. A lot of them were Kastellorizians and [other Greek] islanders. And they all had very friendly relationships. I remember my mother used to have visitors. Even the local Archbishop used to come over. And our life was walking up and down to the church, Agia Sophia, where I became an altar boy. I went to the local school, Crown Street High School, however, my earliest memory is being put on a big train at night with my mother and my two siblings and leaving because the Japanese were coming. My father, through his experiences in Russia [during the Revolution], didn’t want us here [in Sydney]. So we went to Gulgong, an old mining town near Mudgee, and we stayed there for little over a year until the War turned.
Timecode 06:53 - 07:57
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Having explained how he helped the Kastellorizian Club move to Kingsford, Michael describes how Greek associations and the parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia were formed.
Michael: [Many] other clubs […] were area clubs [regional fraternities or syllogoi]. Some family would set it up as a casual organisation, not even incorporated. Later on, we incorporated a lot of them. And they were social clubs; they had activities, they had dances, they would do Greek dancing and the kids would get to know other people from their area [Greek region] and their relatives. And whilst ours [the Kastellorizian Club] was far more advanced than that, they seemed to work as a [communal] focal point. And those people, the ones that wanted to, formed churches in their area. They [the parish communities] were separate organisations, because by the time I was there (and others) we were incorporating them very early because otherwise you’d have a terrible legal position. You’d have a common law partnership and you’d be liable for the debts. Do you follow? That’s why they [all Greek parishes] became companies, which wasn’t really contemplated by the Church in its early days, was it?
Timecode 41:03 - 42:10
