The pear tree. A study of Greek-Australian families 50 years after migration

Abstract

The nation’s story of the migration of Greeks to Australia is immensely rich, but the everyday voices of migrant families are largely missing. Through the use of personal stories and case studies of families who originated from the region of Florina in Greece, my research examines the impacts of migration on Greek transnational families and how conflicting ideas of home and identity are mediated and transitioned over three generations. Central to my research is the idea that family is at the core of Greek life, and during the 1950s–1970s, when Australia experienced an immense wave of post-war migration from Greece, the tapestry of Greek family units and traditional way of life was profoundly changed. This paper forms part of a wider oral history research project examining intergenerational changes within Greek-Australian migrant families from the region of Florina, and how families narrate and mediate the complexities of identity.