Nick from Greece : 15 years old and sent alone to the other side of the world

Can you imagine being 15 years old and being put on a boat by your father going to the other side of the world to a place where you didn't speak a word of the language ? Many of us can barely conceive of this, but this is what happened to Nick when he arrived in Australia on a long journey from his birthplace on the island of Lesbos, Greece.  At the time there was fighting on Lesbos between rival political factions, and many young Greeks were sent away or fled to find a better future in America, Australia and elsewhere.   After a few years in NSW, Nick would eventually come to Hobart in his 20s to pursue a business opportunity and with a friend run a restaurant and club that serviced the many Greek Hydro workers in Tasmania in the 1960s.  He also became involved in the activities of the local Greek community, a migrant community that became one of the most successful and prominent of Tasmania's migrant communities and perhaps provides a model for other less established communities to learn from.