Eventlist

Venue: The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street (click for map).

by Dr John Yiannakis.
Date:  Thursday 25 April 2013, 7pm
Entrance: Free Public Lecture

Despite the island of Lemnos being just 100 kilometres from the Gallipoli peninsula and having played a crucial role in the eight month Dardanelles campaign, the island is virtually unknown to most Australians.

While much has been written about Gallipoli, Lemnos is not included in this discourse having been marginalised over time.

As the Gallipoli centenary approaches, a research project seeking to demonstrate the importance of Lemnos to the entire venture and to contribute to the island’s (re)inclusion in the conceptualisation of the Anzac campaign at Gallipoli is proposed.

What social, political, economic and technological effect did the arrival of 20th century technologies have on the people and structures of a remote Greek island that still functioned as an 18th century rural subsistence community?

What sorts of relationships developed between the locals and the foreigners, notably the Anzacs?

Did the Australian presence disrupt Lemnian society?

Dr John Yiannakis was born and educated in Perth. For many years he lectured in Modern and Ancient History at Tuart College where, from 1998 to 2001, he was Head of the Social Sciences Department. More recently, Dr Yiannakis has worked as a Research Fellow at Curtin and Murdoch Universities. He is currently working on a funding proposal to investigate Lemnos as a counterworld to Gallipoli during the Anzac campaign of 1915.