Adelaide to Port Pirie: What we learnt about the town’s Greek community

The small South Australian town of Port Pirie, is very significant for the six generations of Greeks who still live there.

As of 2023, there are 209 people of Greek heritage living in Pirie.

It was there that in 1924 the first Greek immigrants established St George, the state’s first Greek Orthodox church, and a year later the first community organisation, the Castellorizian Brotherhood of Port Pirie.

On the weekend of February 11 and 12, members of the Castellorizian Association of SA travelled to the town and hosted a seminar to celebrate their history and walk in their ancestors’ footsteps.

In 2024, the St George Greek Orthodox Church and Community will celebrate a century from its founding, and a group of volunteers have taken on the task of gathering stories from community members to create a book.

“It will help keep an integral part of SA’s multicultural heritage alive,” President of the St George Greek Orthodox Church and Community, Fred (Fotis) Seindanis said.