About

Book Launch – Bound to Two Homelands – A Kytherian Odyssey – A/Prof Con Aroney

This free event is hosted by the publisher, the Kytherian World Heritage Fund. There will be a brief presentation and interview with the author, an opportunity for audience Q&A and book signing followed by light refreshments. The book will be on sale for $35 and all copies sold on the night or pre-ordered will be personally signed by the author.

We are delighted to present the much anticipated launch of Associate Professor Con Aroney AM’s second novel, Bound to Two Homelands - A Kytherian Odyssey on Thursday, 14th November 2024, 6:30PM at The Greek Centre.

This captivating book is based on the extraordinary lives of two Kytherian immigrants – one the author’s grandfather, Peter Aroney MBE, who bravely fought for his homeland and the other, Constantine Aroney BEM, who was the only Kytherian-born dual ANZAC. Constantine Aroney, unusually for a Kytherian, settled in Melbourne where he resided until his death. With the foreword by former Chief of Defence Force of Australia, Admiral Chris Barrie AC RAN (Retd) who shares ‘An indomitable spirit shines through…into a spellbinding narrative of the history of the twentieth century. I hope this book finds its place in people’s hearts’.

The Kytherian World Heritage Fund (KWHF) is the Kytherian Association of Australia's publishing arm and cultural foundation and is delighted to be presenting this important work in Melbourne. The KWHF's mission is to preserve and promote Kytherian and wider Hellenic heritage for the benefit of Kytherians worldwide through the publication and dissemination of books and other works in both the English and Greek languages.

The Book

This book is many things. It is a description of an incredible Greek Island and a portrayal of its brave and resilient people; a record of two of its outstanding sons – one an Evzone and one an ANZAC - who loved both their homelands, Greece and Australia and fought repeatedly to keep them free; a story of bravery, pathos and tragedy, but ultimately of triumph. It is also the story of the incredible cost paid by the people of Greece during the German occupation of the Second World War and the equally devastating effects of the civil war that followed. Finally, it is a testimony to the immigrants who transformed Australia into one of the finest nations in the world. This book is all of those things.

The story begins with two young Greek boys, both with the name Aroney, living on the island of Kythera who hear of a great southern land and dream of travelling there and fulfilling their dreams. Arriving in Australia without a knowledge of English and little or no support, they endured great hardship but never wavered in their determination to succeed. Strangely, their two paths were completely different. One travelled back to Greece on three occasions to defend his first homeland, proudly dressed as an Evzone of old. He served in the Great War with both the British Secret Service and the Greek army. He was involved with his uncle in creating the breakaway Autonomous Republic of Kythera in 1917, when the island declared war on the Axis Powers when the central Greek Government refused to act.

The other Aroney boy volunteered as an ANZAC fighting in both Gallipoli and the western front in the Great War. Twenty-five years later, and in his forties, he again volunteered for the Australian Army and fought in Greece, Crete and finally New Guinea. He received the British Empire Medal for bravery.

Returning to Australia, the two men again followed different paths. The first had a happy marriage with a wonderful Kytherian woman, had a large family, accomplished great things for his community, was bestowed with an MBE and lived to the age of 102. The other also strove to help his community but this exceptional former soldier died alone and in obscurity.

In this remarkable book, Associate Professor Aroney has brought both early twentieth century Kythera and Australia to life and introduced us to the lives of two outstanding men from a small but noteworthy island. Thus, Kythera, an island rarely mentioned on the world stage, speaks to us today through the remarkable people who have left its shores, that this is a place which has created greatness.

The Author

Associate Professor Con Aroney, AM, has been an interventional cardiologist, specializing in structural interventions and performing clinical research in Brisbane for 35 years.

In 1987, after qualifying as a cardiologist, he received a scholarship to Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, where he worked as a clinical and research fellow and completed research for a doctorate of medicine. He has published two hundred scientific research papers, was principal author of the national guidelines for the management of heart attack for 14 years and was the national chairman of the Clinical Issues Committee of the Heart Foundation.

He was named Queensland Whistleblower of the Year in 2007 for multiple revelations about inadequate cardiac services in the Prince Charles Hospital, where he was Director of the Coronary Care Unit. He revealed that twenty patients had died from delayed transfer from regional hospitals or whilst on surgical waiting lists, which triggered two inquiries. Following this he was repeatedly bullied by Queensland Health Department officials but his revelations were confirmed by a Royal Commission and changes were made to improve cardiac services.

His father’s parents both immigrated from Kythera over a hundred years ago. These grandparents, Peter Aroney and Irene Mavromatis, lived to 102 and 107 years of age and provided him with numerous stories of their early lives in Kythera and Australia. They inspired him to write this story, which also has chapters devoted to many important themes and principles of ancient Greek history, traditions and philosophy.

His mother’s parents were refugees from Asia Minor – Eugenia Girdis from Alatsata and Con Caris from Chesme – and he has previously published an historical novel on their involvement in the Asia Minor Catastrophe, Flames on the Water – Tears in the Sea.

He is married to Trish and they have four children and four grandchildren.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. If you would like to purchase a copy beforehand, they are available here: https://kytherianassociation.com.au/product/new-release-bound-to-two-homelands-a-kytherian-odyssey/

Location

The Greek Centre |Mezzanine
168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

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