Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to congratulate the member for Hindmarsh on this very timely motion, which draws to the House’s attention the recent 69th anniversary of the Battle of Crete. The anniversary commemorates the heroic efforts of the Australian Defence Force and the local Cretan community in defending the island from German invasion in this historical significant battle, which began on 20 May 1941. The battle took place three weeks after the Allies lost mainland Greece and consisted of Allied forces made up of three British battalions, two New Zealand brigades, eight Greek battalions and six Australian battalions. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered—as has been said—appalling casualties. The next day, events turned and the Maleme airfield in western Crete fell to the Germans, enabling them to fly in reinforcements and overwhelm the defenders.

The Battle of Crete is documented as an unprecedented battle in three respects. It was the first mainly airborne invasion, it was the first time that the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the deciphered German Enigma code and it was the first time that invading German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. During the battle, the Greeks and Australians sacrificed much and suffered terribly in unison and side by side in their defence of the island. The loss endured by the local population and the gallantry of the soldiers is something that has forged an eternal bond between our two countries.

Australian authors Dr Maria Hill and Peter Thompson, in their respective books Diggers and Greeks and Anzac Fury, point to the terrible price the Greek people paid for their support of and sympathy with the soldiers. It is well documented that after the defeat thousands of Allied troops were scrambling to avoid being captured. The Cretans risked all to hide, feed and look after the Australians left behind, particularly in the face of German reprisals. Perhaps it was the exposure to the horrors of the Nazi occupation or the unbreakable bond that can only be forged between people in times of war through which the relationship between Australia and Greece was tempered and strengthened. The courage shown by the Australians and Greeks is commemorated annually at many ceremonies around Australia, including my home state of Victoria.

In 2006, I was part of an Australian delegation that visited Crete, and I had the very special opportunity to meet a wonderful man, Mr Marcos Polioudakis, who, until his death a couple of years ago, was a tireless advocate of the need to elevate the Battle of Crete to an event of national significance. Marcos was more than an advocate for the cause that this motion speaks to. He dedicated his entire adult life to preserving and documenting every bit of information and memorabilia he could get his hands on that related to the local Cretans and to the Anzacs, producing a three-volume account of the Battle of Crete. The books are written in the Greek language. What a valuable addition to this nation’s war history it would be if these significant firsthand accounts could be translated into the English language. It certainly Marcos’s desire that this happen.

It was also Marcos’s desire to see a number of other happens. I remember having lunch with him in Crete together with the member for Indi. We were both very much impressed by the energy and passion of this man, who was born in Rethymnon in 1928 and was just 13 years old on 20 May 1941, the day ‘the Germans fell out of the sky’, as he put it. Those dramatic days were a nightmare for young Marcos and they left a lasting mark on him. His father was executed on 1 June by the German paratroopers for having taken part in the Battle of Stavromenos and his grandmother was killed on 3 June during an altercation with a German paratrooper, as was his grandfather, who sought to intervene and help his wife.

Marcos is credited with being instrumental in developing the Greek-Australian relationship and friendship. He was president of the committee that oversaw the dedication of the memorial for Greek and Australian soldiers in Rethymno. Marcos made it his life’s work to research and collect documents and material pertaining to the Battle of Crete. He felt that its importance, and the bravery and sacrifices of the locals, had been somewhat overlooked.

Marcos’s activities brought him to Australia on two occasions, and he was awarded the Order of Australia for his efforts. He was immensely proud of this award, and he genuinely loved Australia. We are, as he said, forever bonded to each other because of those events in Crete in 1941. I certainly feel honoured to have met him. I want to pay tribute to him this evening and to support the motion’s call for the commemoration of the Battle of Crete to be an event of national significance here in Australia. I am sure Marcos would have wanted this and I am sure that this chamber would also want this.

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