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When the late publisher of The Greek Herald, Theodore Skalkos sat down for an interview with the National Library of Australia in March 2000, he was asked how he wanted to be remembered. After a brief pause, Mr Skalkos’ answer was simple.
“As I am…” he replied. “As Theodore Skalkos.”
Even five years after his death on 19 February 2019 at the age of 87, Mr Skalkos’ name remains synonymous with Australia’s ethnic media and the ground-breaking printing reforms he championed.
Political, community and sport leaders who knew Mr Skalkos also remember him fondly, whilst admitting he could be a controversial figure.
“He was part of Australia’s transition, often boisterous and argumentative but there to help,” former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr once wrote about Mr Skalkos. “Someone like Theo took risks and produced a successful business model. In the process he gained the respect and affection of many people across Australian leadership.”
Former Australian Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos added, “Theo Skalkos was a larger-than-life character who lived life his way and never took a backward step. He could be the most generous of friends and the most unrelenting of adversaries.”
They weren’t wrong.
Skalkos’ entrepreneurial spirit:
Born in Skala, Laconia, Greece on 2 February 1932, Mr Skalkos was always a hard worker, helping his dad on the family farm whilst trying to get an education and fulfilling responsibilities for his local church on Sundays.
He finished high school in the Greek Air Force and left to join the Belgian airline, Sabena, which stationed him for a year in the Belgian Congo and then Australia.
Continue here: The Greek Herald
