Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a tribute to Greek Australians on Saturday night, telling a packed ...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a tribute to Greek Australians on Saturday night, telling a packed gala in Sydney that the country would be unrecognizable without them. Speaking at the Hellenic Club's centenary ball at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, Albanese traced the club's origins to a small but determined group of Greek shopkeepers who founded it in 1926, when only about 1,000 to 1,500 Greeks lived in a city of a million people. He told the sold-out crowd that their foresight created something that would soften the landing for generations of new arrivals and pull Greeks deeper into Australian life. "The truth is that Australia without Greek Australians is simply beyond imagining," Albanese said. "Let's face it, even if you just took away the souvlaki, we would fall apart." He also noted that wherever you travel across Australia, "you are never far from a Greek touch." Albanese called the Hellenic Club part of "the great living bridge between Greece and Australia" and used the occasion to look ahead to Oxi Day on October 28, which marks 86 years since Greece refused a fascist ultimatum in 1940. He captured the moment plainly: "The people of Greece knew the odds were against them. And yet they said no." He added that in Greece's most desperate hour, Australians and other Allied forces joined the fight, describing the bond forged in that war as one of the most enduring between the two nations. Club president Nick Hazistergos was thanked by Albanese for the invitation to the milestone evening. Greek Ambassador Stavros Venizelos, businessman and Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis, and several NSW ministers were also among the guests. Greek singer Eleftheria Eleftheriou performed during the evening. #GreekAustralians #OxiDay #HellenicClub