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PERFECTFIT MULTICULTURAL ENTREPRENEURS

OF THE GOLD COAST

LESLEY JENKINS

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CONTENTS

04 INTRODUCTION

06 BACKGROUND

08 JEWISH CONNECTIONS

25 CHINESE CONNECTIONS

32 GREEK CONNECTIONS

38 ITALIAN CONNECTIONS

46 CONCLUSION

50 END NOTES

4 5

05 INTRODUCTION

City of Gold Coast is proud of its rich cultural and linguistic diversity.

Over 27 per cent of residents were born overseas and 10 per cent of residents speak a language

other than English at home. This booklet explores the beginnings of cultural diversity on

the Gold Coast by looking at a few of our first multicultural entrepreneurs.

SURFERS PARADISE WAS GROWING QUICKLY, AND IT OFFERED MANY OPPORTUNITIES

Directors and Wives of Chevron Queensland Ltd at Margot Kelly’s Hibiscus Room, Surfers Paradise, 1957. A McRobbie photo

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06 BACKGROUND

When Joe Battaglia arrived on the Gold Coast he didn’t

know he was part of the largest wave in Australia’s

immigration history. Between 1945 and 1978 more than

3.5 million immigrants entered Australia, the majority

with assisted passages, with the largest proportion from

Britain followed by people from Italy and Greece.

But this only tells part of the story for the Gold Coast as most new

immigrants moved to the Gold Coast after first arriving and working

in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. When they came to the Gold

Coast they were already skilled and most spoke good English. In

the 50s, 60s and 70s the Gold Coast was a series of small towns,

with Surfers Paradise as the centre of tourist development. It was

growing quickly, and it offered many opportunities for those with

entrepreneurial vision.

The new arrivals were also able to embrace a network of alliances

that their predecessors had developed with existing members of

their own and other ethnic communities. For example, the Greek

Orthodox Church hall was built before The Italo Australian Club

so it was made available to them for fundraising events. Fashion

entrepreneur, Geulah Korman, embraced this network of alliances

when she employed skilled European labour, including German,

Hillmer Weller, to make bikinis, a Russian tailor called Nina, and

George Slade an Englishman, to help put her fashion collections

together.1

Jewish visitors rented apartments from an entrepreneurial Italian

family – the Aguggia and Moro family who were linked by marriage.

Here they could cook kosher food and socialise with members

of their faith. This information spread to others in the Jewish

community who were planning to visit and to stay.

These links assisted them to put down roots, establish clubs,

churches, food outlets and their own businesses. Many of the

places they established are now important cultural and historic

markers to the diversity of our community and the richness of the

Gold Coast identity.

This brief history touches on a small number of the multicultural

entrepreneurs who sprang from these and other non-English

speaking communities. It is a big story with multiple layers that

will be revealed with further research over time.

MOST JEWISH RESIDENTS CAME TO THE GOLD COAST AS TOURISTS SEARCHING FOR THE SUN

Image opposite: Reuben Pelerman on board ship (2nd from right). Once on the Gold Coast Reuben loved nothing better than to have a daily dose of the sun! Information and photo courtesy of R Pelerman.

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08 JEWISH CONNECTIONS

Thousands of American forces had

only just left the rest and recuperation

sites at Surfers Paradise, Southport

and Coolangatta following the end

of World War II when the first of the

new multicultural settlers arrived.

In 1947 a few Jewish families arrived on

the Gold Coast to live.2 Although it is not

known where these families came from,

an early connection had developed with

members of the Jewish community in

Melbourne. Many came from German

occupied countries, mostly Poland, as

refugees but once in Melbourne they

established businesses and followed an

orthodox Jewish life linked closely to the

synagogue in Carlton. Once established

they actively supported the migration of

other Polish refugees. Their arrival in

Australia was not welcomed, with the

editor of the Truth newspaper commenting

about refugees in a way that has a familiar

ring to it today:

We do not want Jewish refugees! Not

because we do not sympathise with their

plight; but because we cannot possibly

allow them to undermine our life and

economic fabric. As a racial unit they are a

menace to our nationhood and standards.

As an inflow of migrants, they are a

menace to employment. It is a problem of

self-preservation.3

Most Jewish residents came to the Gold

Coast as tourists searching for the sun

after the chill of Melbourne winters and

deciding to stay, settled at Southport

and Surfers Paradise. One of their first

concerns was to provide a Hebrew

education for their children. 4

They were assisted by the Brisbane

Hebrew Congregation which had members

who visited the coast regularly before

they established their own businesses

or holiday homes. Dr Rudi Levy, a doctor

on the Coast for many decades and the

namesake for Rudi Levy Park in Southport,

offered his home to Mr Goldman, a

guesthouse owner, who offered the first

Hebrew classes.

“WHEN JANUARY COMES ROUND WE PACK OUR BAGS AND HEAD FOR THE NORTH - AND ARE GLAD TO BE THERE!”Margaret GutmanThe Australian

Jewish News, 12 February 1965

10 11

One of Stanley’s early jobs was as a presser in a Brunswick hosiery mill. He

set up a small hosiery business named Centenary Woollen Mills Pty Ltd. In

1935-39 he brought his father and other family members to Australia. His

firm moved to a larger mill at Bentleigh in 1939 and in World War II enjoyed

profitable Defence contracts. In 1945 he formed a family company, Stanhill

Pty Ltd, its name deriving from a combination of his own name and that of his

brother Hilel.

In 1952 Stanley visited Miami, Florida and was impressed by the artificial

island developments and the international standard hotels.5 The following

year the Korman family made several investments in Melbourne before

Stanley turned his attention to Surfers Paradise. He developed the heritage-

listed 10 storey apartment building called Kinkabool, the Gold Coast’s first

high rise block, which now stands dwarfed by the buildings around it.

The Paradise Island canal estate was followed by Chevron Island. He built the first

stage of the Chevron Hotel in 1958 with its 83 rooms, pools, bars and cabaret.

By 1960 he presided over a group of 150 companies with interlocking share

holdings and board memberships. He was described in the press of the time

as a dapper dresser and successful entrepreneur but his risk taking coincided

with the 1960 credit squeeze. Shareholders lost money and he was charged

with issuing a false prospectus and ended up serving four and half months in

prison. On his release he started afresh in the United States before returning

to Queensland where he was hailed as the person who had put Surfers

Paradise on the map. Adverse publicity saw his return to America where he

died in 1986. The cardiovascular diagnostic centre at the Alfred Hospital,

Melbourne, which he funded in 1959, and the Korman wing of the Mount

Scopus (War Memorial) College, Burwood, was named after him.6

He was far sighted in picturing the Gold Coast as a sophisticated city offering

an international standard of holiday resorts and restaurants.

STANLEY KORMAN

Stanley Korman, often described as

the father of the Gold Coast, was the

first developer to introduce high rise

buildings and canal development.

He was a Polish Jew who was born

at Radom, a manufacturing town in

Poland in 1904. The family moved

to Palestine before Stanley Korman

moved to Melbourne in 1927 where he

shed his birth name of Shaja and took

on Stanley, no doubt to assist him to fit

in with his new community.

STANLEY DEVELOPED KINKABOOL THE HERTAGE -LISTED 10 STOREY APARTMENT BUILDING

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KINKABOOL, SURFERS PARADISE, CIRCA 1960 Photographer Unknown

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STANLEY KORMAN, OFTEN DESCRIBED AS THE FATHER OF THE GOLD COAST

Official opening of the Chevron Island Bridge.

Invited guests, officials and members of the Chevron Hotel Group at the opening of the Chevron Island

Bridge and estate, Surfers Paradise, 12 March 1960. Photographer Alexander McRobbie. Stanley Korman (centre) making introductions at the reception following the opening of the Chevron Island Bridge and Estate, 1960, photographer Alexander McRobbie.

Stanley Korman opening the Chevron Bridge

Ald Peak, Mayor Harley, Stanley Korman

Sylvia Korman at the opening ceremony

Mayor Ern Harley Chevron Island 1960

Stanley Korman opening the Chevron Bridge

Silvia Korman and other guests

Eric Gaven attending the opening ceremony

Stanley Korman speaking

Chevron Island Bridge opening ceremony

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Dorothy Jackson was a receptionist at the Chevron Hotel for

decades and she remembers Melbourne business families taking

annual holidays there:

When Stanley Korman took it over, it was predominantly Jewish

for many years – business migrants and their families from the rag

trade holidayed there. Sometimes they would come up two or three

times a year for two week periods. Then of course they eventually

got their own units at Allunga and Ballah. That’s where they mostly

finished up.

Jewish people would bring their own frypans and cooking utensils.

Being kosher they had to have their own utensils and then the

housekeeper or someone would be walking down the corridor

and they’d smell food and think “that’s funny, where’s that coming

from?” They’d go in and they’d find these people cooking and the

manager would have to tell them, “I’m sorry, there’s no cooking in

the rooms. You don’t cook or you’ll have to leave the hotel.” That’s

why a lot of them would get apartments. 7

Apart from Allunga and Ballah they also stayed at The Lido, a

holiday apartment and arcade in Surfers Paradise, built by Italian

new arrival Joe Aguggia.

Stanley Korman’s nephew, Leon Korman , along with many resident

Jewish businessmen, established the Jewish Congregation at the

Gold Coast on 16 September 1958. Without a synagogue they met

in the home of Harry Samuels who had moved up from Melbourne

to operate a pharmacy in Cavill Avenue while becoming an

Alderman of City of Gold Coast and Chairman of its finance

committee. They also met at Ocean Court guesthouse which was

run by the resident owner Jack Hansky from Melbourne. In 1959 a

special Sabbath morning service was held in the Surfers Paradise

Hotel owned by Stanley Korman and a supper party was held at

another of his enterprises, the Chevron hotel, for visiting Israeli

minister, Moshe Yuval.

Leon’s wife, Geulah Korman, became Vice President of the newly

formed Ladies Guild. One of the first jobs of the congregation was

to find suitable land for a synagogue.

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Dorothy Jackson, on right, was a wonderful observer of life at the Chevron Paradise Hotel. Photo courtesy of Dorothy Jackson.

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The Chevron Hotel , Pacific Highway, Surfers Paradise, showing the distinctive roofline, circa 1960s. Photographer George Barnes.

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THE CHEVRON HOTEL

Dorothy Jackson kept a brochure of the hotel (featured) as a memento of her many happy and extremely busy years spent working there as a receptionist. She has remained in contact with many people who worked and stayed there over the years.

18 19

GEULAH KORMAN

Geulah Korman was born in Poland

but left for Western Australia with her

family as a baby. She met and married

Leon on a trip to Melbourne and settled

there. Every year from 1950 Geulah

travelled with her young children Irving

and Helen and a nanny from Melbourne

to Surfers Paradise for three months to

escape the cold. They rented a flat in

Orchid Avenue, and her husband joined

them for the last two weeks before

returning together to Melbourne. In

1956 she and her family relocated to

Surfers Paradise permanently.8

CHEVRON PARADISE HOTEL, SURFERS PARADISE, NOVEMBER 1972Hot Rod and vintage winner at the seventh annual Concurs d’Elegance Photographer Bob Avery.

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Her uncle by marriage, Stanley Korman, assisted her to fulfil her own

entrepreneurial dreams. He was building shops in Cavill Avenue and offered

one to Geulah9. This shop was called ‘Calypso Casuals’.10 She opened the

Riviera Casuals dress shop which was the sixth boutique to open at Surfers

Paradise. Geulah had no experience and initially she stocked men’s, women’s

and children’s wear, gifts and accessories. As her confidence and business

ability grew she began to design resort wear.

Her combinations were prize winning and she entered them in the glamorous

Concours d’ Elegance competition winning five times between 1969 and 1972.

This event was initiated by another well-known entrepreneur, Keith Williams,

to marry the best cars of the day with the most stylish fashions. In keeping

with the up-market nature of the event there were always lavish prizes, such

as overseas trips. The event was held in the Corroborree Room of the Chevron

Hotel, where Chevron Renaissance is now.

Kathy Ford was a model and appeared in a number of promotions for Geulah

and other well-known fashion designers such as Ivy Hassard and Paula

Stafford. She recalls this event:

It was held in the Chevron Hotel which had a ballroom and a stage. They had

a ramp set up with a catwalk coming out of the middle and the cars would

drive up on to the ramp. The models would get out and parade up and down

the catwalk and get back into the cars and the cars would drive off and all the

people there were at tables wining and dining while this was going on. It was

a pretty gorgeous night because everybody would get really dressed up and it

was a bit of fun.

20 21

The Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation

and the Pelerman Community Hall.

Reuben Pelerman was a major benefactor

of the construction of the hall. He also

established The Reuben Pelerman Benevolent

Foundation for chartiable purposes.

The Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation- photo Kyla Stephan

In the late 1960s Geulah exported her designs to New Zealand.

She eventually sold her shop and some years later she re-opened

another called ‘Geulahs’.

Her faith and charity work were always important to her and she

worked diligently at both. Geulah was awarded an OAM in 1992 in

recognition of her charity work. The following year Korman Family

Park at Chevron Island was named for the contributions of both

Stanley and Geulah to the Gold Coast community.

Land for a synagogue was donated by Alfred Grant, a real estate

developer, who was planning the Miami Keys estate. Knowing of

the large numbers of tourists of the Jewish faith, Alfred sent two

representatives to Melbourne to advertise this new scheme.

Bruce Small, former Gold Coast Mayor and entrepreneur, was

developing the Isle of Capri. He provided free land for religious

purposes, including land for a synagogue. Both the land at Miami

Keys and at the Isle of Capri proved unsuitable because an orthodox

Jew doesn’t drive on the Sabbath and it was considered too far to

walk. Both blocks were sold, the Miami Keys land to pay unpaid

rates and the land at the Isle of Capri to assist in the purchase of the

current site in Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise. In a statement

to the Australian Jewish Times the first President, Harry M Samuel,

of the Surfers Paradise Hebrew Congregation expressed his regret

at receiving no donations for the building program, in spite of the

call going out. He said: “Jews, many of whom holidayed on the Gold

Coast and wanted communal facilities in the locality, were not

prepared to help”11

The Melbourne Jewish community at the Carlton Synagogue had

raised funds for the Surfers Paradise Hebrew Congregation and in

1961 Jack Hansky returned from Carlton with the loan of a Torah

scroll. The same year the growth of the local Jewish community

was reflected in a name change to the Gold Coast Hebrew

Congregation12.

22 23

By the 1970s Surfers Paradise was a well-established haven for Melbourne’s

Jewish community fleeing the cold and Eddie could see a ready market for

his most ambitious project. He had bought the historic Surfers Paradise

Hotel (formerly owned by Stanley Korman) and the five acre block it stood

on in 1975. He built two accommodation towers, Allunga and Ballah and the

shopping complex the Paradise Centre, which he later sold to a Japanese

company in the mid 1980s.13 In 1991 he was charged with offering bribes

to Russ Hinze, dubbed at the time as ‘the minister for everything’, in the Joh

Bjelke Petersen government, but was found not guilty.

Eddie worshipped daily and became an active life member of the Gold Coast

Hebrew Congregation. Israel’s Haifa University honoured him by presenting

him with an honorary Doctor of Philosophy and made him an honorary

Governor of the university. One of the university’s faculty of law buildings is

named after him. The Eddie Kornhauser Recreational Reserve at Elanora is

also named in his honour.

The Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation paid tribute to him at a memorial

service when he died at 87. He was buried in Melbourne in the family plot.14

One of his children, orthodox Jew, Eliezer (Eric) Kornhauser, is also a developer

on the Gold Coast and elsewhere.

EDDIE (EMIL) KORNHAUSER

Eddie Kornhauser was born in Krakow,

Poland in 1919. He fled the approaching

holocaust with his brother Jack in 1939

travelling to Melbourne where their

sisters resided. Jack was a furrier so

the brothers went into the fur business

together first in Melbourne and later in

Sydney.

EDDIE BUILT TWO ACCOMMODATION TOWERS, ALLUNGA AND BALLAH AND THE SHOPPING COMPLEX THE PARADISE CENTRE

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ACCOMMODATION TOWERS, ALLUNGA AND BALLAH . SURFERS PARADISE, CIRCA 1975 Dany Weus photo

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REUBEN PELERMAN

Reuben Pelerman may be remembered

for saving the Brisbane Bears football

team, forerunners of the Lions, but the

development of the Allamanda Private

Hospital was the basis of his success.

In the mid 1980s, when developer

Christopher Skase’s Quintex group

collapsed it looked like the Bears would

go down with him. Reuben famously

bought the team which proved to be a

huge financial drain on his resources.15

Reuben was born of a Polish father in the

impoverished east end of London to a large

Jewish family. He left in 1939 and worked in

the rag-trade in Sydney in manufacturing and

sales. He invested the profits he made from

IN 1978 REUBEN DEVELOPED THE ALLAMANDA PRIVATE HOSPITAL AT SOUTHPORT selling his wares to factory staff into a small hospital in the eastern suburbs

of Sydney. He built the hospital up from eight beds to 78. After this success

Reuben travelled north to the Gold Coast for the sun where he bought the

Pacific Hotel in Southport in 1970 selling it in 1977.

Ultimately this investment was followed by a chain of hotels and bottle shops

as part of The Pelerman Group which also included a flower farm, motels and

restaurants. Reuben developed the Allamanda Private Hospital at Southport

which opened in 1978. When he sold it in 1997 he had developed it from a 72

bed hospital into a 214 bed hospital with nine theatres.

He established the Reuben Pelerman Benevolent Foundation. This still

operates and supports everything from medical scholarships for indigenous

students to Jewish groups, including the Maccabi sporting organisation. A

board of trustees meets four to five times a year to determine where the funds

will be allocated, however there is no formal application process. 16

Reuben died at 89 and his funeral was held at the Gold Coast Hebrew

Congregation, of which he was a major benefactor.

The Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation is an orthodox congregation located

at 34 Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise. When the congregation formed it

represented an upsurge in the Jewish population outside Brisbane. Since it

was established it has been joined by Temple Shalom, a reform temple, (now

known as Beit Knesset Shalom) on the Isle of Capri. In 1987 the City of the

Gold Coast had a sister city relationship with the Israeli resort city of Netanya

which is currently inactive. There are now approximately 5000 Jews residing

on the Gold Coast.17

25 CHINESE CONNECTIONS

During the first half of the 20th century non-European

immigration was severely curtailed by the White

Australia Policy, which was introduced by the Australian

Federal Government to restrict non whites from settling

in the country.

From 1949 the White Australia Policy was progressively dismantled

until finally being repealed in 1973 thus opening the way for Asian

and other migration.

Asian involvement with the Gold Coast has occurred from the

late 19th century. Asian settlers and visitors have contributed

substantially in many ways to the building of the city. The main

groups have been Chinese and Japanese, with smaller numbers of

people from other parts of Asia. In the 19th century the number

of Asian residents was small, reflecting the district’s lightly

settled nature and rural beginnings. During these times a small

number of Asian families and individuals lived on the Gold Coast

and successfully participated in local business, with Chinese

entrepreneurs being notable contributors to the city’s development

as a tourist destination.

When the White Australia Policy was dismantled the way was open

for increasing visitation and investment from Asia, culminating in

the Japanese investment boom of the 1980s by Japanese companies

rather than individual entrepreneurs. This dramatically changed

the nature and urban fabric of the city. The Japanese investment

bubble collapsed in the 1990s, but since then the number of visitors,

settlers and investors from Asia, particularly China and Southeast

Asia, have continued to grow.

After World War II, Chinese business activity on the Gold Coast

increased markedly, despite the racist conditions within the country.

This activity was largely driven by a number of Chinese restaurant

owners and business people who helped pioneer the Gold Coast’s

post-war tourism and building boom. Most members of the Chinese

community belonged to old Chinese Australian families founded

during the gold rush days, or were new immigrants with connections

to these families. By the 1950s attitudes towards, and restrictions

on, Asians were easing, with many able to stay on 15 year visas

before becoming permanent residents. However this meant that

there were very few Chinese families or Chinese women on the Gold

Coast as visa restrictions meant that there were only available to

single or married men. Their wives and children remained at home

in China or other parts of Asia as they were unable to get visas of

any kind to join their menfolk.

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TED FONG

Ted Fong has a story typical of many

from the post war boom period on the

Gold Coast. Born Tat Yin Fong in Hong

Kong in 1936, he belonged to a family

with a long tradition of venturing

overseas. His paternal grandfather had come to Australia in the 1880s seeking gold, and

many of his paternal uncles had also done the same. That early connection

encouraged Ted’s maternal uncle, Chan Quan Wong, to immigrate and help

set up the Cafe Cathay in Surfers Paradise in partnership with Tommy Wong

Young during the early post-war years. On visiting his uncle while on holidays

with his mother and older brother in 1956, Ted liked the Gold Coast and was

invited to stay and work with his uncle in the restaurant. With the help of his

father who ran an import, export and manufacturing business in Hong Kong,

Ted also set up a Chinese grocery shop in Surfers Paradise. After the Cafe

Cathay was demolished in 1965, Ted started his own small restaurant, but due

to constant problems finding permanent staff, he soon decided to lease it out

and moved into property investment. The restaurant was run successfully by

Don Cho for over 20 years. In 1977 Ted’s business interests led him to join the

Rotary Club and he became a very active member involved in youth and Third

World aid projects.

Although conscious of the White Australia Policy, Ted says he never

experienced overt racism or discrimination. Being born in Hong Kong, he had

a British passport, which gave him an advantage when dealing with officials

and fitting into Australian society.

TED ALSO SET UP A CHINESE GROCERY SHOP IN SURFERS PARADISE

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CATHAY SQUARE, SURFERS PARADISE, CIRCA 1958P. Bracken photo

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TOMMY WONG YOUNG

Tommy Wong Young ran the Chinese

restaurant, Café Cathay, in Fortitude

Valley before establishing a restaurant

of the same name at Surfers Paradise in

1952. He did this by spending £15,000

to buy and convert an old house on the

Gold Coast Highway.

In 1953 a further £40,000 was spent on the

site next door to create the Cathay Square

complex, which included a shopping arcade,

tropical gardens with pools and a bridge, and

the Cathay Chalet flats. The restaurant had

a huge neon sign in the form of two dragons

– at the time it was the largest neon sign in

Queensland – and became one of the most

popular photographic spots for tourists.18

Tommy was also part of a syndicate that

owned La Ronda, a bbq restaurant near Café

Cathay, and for a short time the island that

became Paradise Waters19.

TOMMY BENEFITTED THE CHINESE COMMUNITY BY RAISING FUNDS UNAVAILABLE FROM BANKS

He also had interests in the NSW towns of Inverell, Texas, Quirindi, Tingha and

Ashford where there were Chinese families and businesses. It was among the

Chinese members of these towns that Tommy met May Lun and her family. He

offered her shares in Cathay Café but May Lun ended up pursuing her own

business interests once she was on the Gold Coast. Part of his skill came from

his links with the Chinese community, which in the face of institutionalised

racism, benefitted them all by raising funds unavailable from banks. He also

had a gregarious and hospitable personality which enabled him to develop

and sustain friendly links with people from the broader Australian community

which also assisted his business ventures. He was able to side step the

restrictions of the White Australia Policy by offering skilled restaurant work

to Chinese men who were able to come to Australia under restricted visa

conditions if they had guaranteed work with him. He provided them with food

and lodging and the ability to make a start. Their low wages and obligation to

remain also created some business certainty for him.

One employee was Vince Phun who originally worked for Tommy before

establishing the Oriental Restaurant in Queen Street, Southport, before he

went on to purchase approximately 12 rental houses. 20

The Café Cathay was a popular destination for visitors and locals with a preference for the ‘exotic’.

In an era with limited food choices the restaurant provided a taste and feel of Asia in central Surfers Paradise.

It colourful signage and façade expressed the playful holiday atmosphere of its seaside location.

CAFÉ CATHAY

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MAY LUN

May Lun and her children moved to

the Gold Coast in 1952. She bought a

little business of her own on the corner

of Railway Street and Marine Parade,

Southport.21 Initially it was just a small

milk bar called the Susie Ann Cafe that

sold drinks and a few delicatessen

items. But she expanded it until it

resembled a mini-supermarket, known

then as Lun’s Supermarket, and it

became the first one outside of the

main street.

May Lun was born in China and brought up in

a traditional Chinese manner which included

her arranged marriage to Ernest Lun. She

was unusual for a woman of any race at that

MAY EXPANDED A SMALL MILK BAR UNTIL IT RESEMBLED A MINI-SUPERMARKET, KNOWN THEN AS LUN’S SUPERMARKET

time as she faced female discrimination along with racism. This imposed restrictions on

her and limited her access to many things, including the ability to borrow money which

was normally essential for an entrepreneur. However, she followed her cultural traditions

which enabled her to rely on the almost full time labour of some of her many children in

the shop which made the enterprise viable. Her husband had elected to stay in Inverell

where he was a partner in his brother’s large cash and carry store rather than move to the

Gold Coast. May Lun bought the adjoining land in Southport expanded the shop and built

a chemist shop next door. She had the shop until her retirement in about 1974.

Once established on the Gold Coast her entrepreneurial endeavours turned towards the

acquisition of further property, including the purchase of three shops and three flats on

Marine Parade.

Eventually, managing her children, the supermarket business, and one she still had in

Texas, along with all the other side projects she had such as running the Texas taxi, making

dresses and ice blocks for the shops, did take a toll and May Lun’s health suffered. She

regained her strength however, and funneled her prodigious energy into charity work and

the Salvation Army. This was recognised when she was awarded a City of Gold Coast 1995

Australia Day Citizen of the Year Award.

Estate agent Maurice Chegg was notable

for building the first shopping centre

on Chevron Island in 1964. The complex

included a self-service grocery store,

butcher’s shop, hairdressers, seafood shop

and a real estate office. Maurice and his

family were overseas Chinese from Papua

New Guinea.

By the 1990s the Gold Coast had a large,

strong Chinese community. There were

many second, third and fourth generations

born in Australia. In terms of settlement

patterns, while some families such as Ted

Fong’s remained in the heart of Surfers

Paradise and other business centres, most

of the community was attracted to quiet

areas close to good schools and other

amenities in Robina, Benowa, Ashmore

and other outer suburbs. Chinese cultural

organisations such as the Chinese Church

and the Gold Coast Chinese Club (founded

1984) emerged, and events such as dragon

boat racing began. The Chinese Club

and dragon boat racing attracted mixed

membership, with many non-Chinese also

participating.Photo courtesy of the Lun family

May holding her City of Gold Coast 1995 Australia Day Citizen of the Year Award

32 33

32 GREEK CONNECTIONS

STYLED IN ART DECO, THE DINING ROOM HAD LINEN TABLE CLOTHS AND SILVER SERVICE

MICK THEODORE

When Mick Theodore died in 1961 the

Greek community on the Gold Coast was

in its infancy, with only seven families

recorded by 1963. 22

Mick Theodore, a Greek immigrant, established

the Southport Café later known as Theodores

Café in Nerang Street in 1923 and he ran it until

1961.23

It fitted the classic style of the Greek Café

of the period featuring a milk bar equipped

with soda fountains and modern electrical

machines, an elaborate front confectionary

counter with a glass showcase, boxed

chocolates and jars of sweets, and a dining

room that included linen table cloths and

silver service. All this was styled in art deco,

the international architectural and decorative

style that developed as a celebration of the

machine age in the 1920s.24

It was one of the first restaurants on the

coast and Mick had taken a gamble on its

success at a time when Southport was a sleepy seaside resort and the Jubilee

Bridge linking the town with Elston, later to become Surfers Paradise, had not

yet been constructed. But like all Greek cafes then, they did not serve Greek

food which would have been an unfamiliar cuisine to Australians at that time.

They served commonplace food which included mixed grills, roasts, fish and

chips, toasted sandwiches and English style desserts.

Mick had gained some experience in Brisbane before moving to Southport

to rented premises which he bought five years later when the lease expired.

Over the years he extended his floor space so that it was four times larger.

In 1938 he returned to his homeland but became enmeshed in the Second

World War and was unable to return until 1942. He was active in the Southport

Chamber of Commerce and when the Southport Rotary Club was formed their

first meetings were held in the café. It was well known as a venue for bridal

breakfasts which were a commonplace and relatively inexpensive way to

celebrate a marriage, especially during the Second World War when rationing

was in place.

Mick became a Gold Coast personality and host to many politicians, actors

and businessmen who frequented his café. He sponsored two of his nephews,

Jim and Theo Fouras, to come to Australia and he became their guardian.

He educated them at The Southport School and Jim later became a Member

of Parliament. Mick died in 1968 and bequeathed most of his paintings and

books to the City of Gold Coast. Former MP Jim Fouras said of Theodores Cafe:

“at its peak it had four or five cooks and 30 waitresses, extensive refrigeration

and automatic cleaners. My uncle was a very progressive businessman”.25

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34 35

PETER VAGGELAS

Entrepreneur Peter Vaggelas made

land available at Bundall for the

construction of a church. The Greek

community built a hall which included

the first Greek Orthodox Church of St

Anna. This fulfilled a lifelong pledge

Peter’s wife, Betty, had made to St

Anna when her daughter’s life was

saved during a difficult birth.

PETER UNDERTOOK THE DREDGING OPERATIONS TO CREATE THE ISLE OF CAPRI AND LATER DEVELOPED BIGGERA WATERS

Another Greek entrepreneur, Jim Raptis, was President of the Greek

Community for 16 years and he donated the land on which the Greek Orthodox

Church of St Anna now stands. He was also a major source of funding for its

construction.

At different times both Peter and Jim were awarded the Cross of St Andrew,

the highest honour given by the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia.

Peter Vaggelas was a second generation Greek who was born in 1922 and

grew up near Rockhampton.28 Betty Vaggelas, his wife, was the one to point

out the notice in the Brisbane Courier Mail put there by entrepreneur and

former Mayor, Sir Bruce Small, advertising for heavy earthmoving machinery

and an operator. This was the beginning of Bruce’s grand plan to dredge

the Nerang River and move the spoil to build up swamp land to create the

Isle of Capri. Peter undertook the dredging operations over two years before

moving on to create Biggera Waters on land he had purchased. Peter now had

dredging in his blood and undertook a similar project in Port Macquarie before

returning to the Gold Coast. He went on to develop a number of other projects

in Queensland.

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FIRST CHURCH OF ST ANNA, BUNDALL CIRCA 1978 B Vaggelas photo

The original church built in 1978 at Bundall. It was the first Greek Orthodox Church on the Gold Coast. It stands adjacent to the new church.

36 37

Faith has always played an important role in the identity

of the Greek community because orthodoxy is a national

religion of historic significance.26 Therefore one of the

first expressions of their devotion to the church was

the formation of the Greek Orthodox Community of St

Anna (Gold Coast and Districts) in 1965 with the goal of

establishing their own church. 27

The church is central to community life and many aspects

of Greek culture and tradition flow from this association.

The Greek language is promoted through classes, Greek

dancing is featured and Greek food is important to

maintaining traditional life. The Gold Coast community

has been the recipient of all things ‘Greek’ through the

popular Gold Coast Greek Festival. The Greek community,

through the church, also addresses the ethno-specific

welfare and social needs of its members.

A PLACE TO WORSHIP

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Memorial to fallen Greek Cypriots and Greeks, Patricia Baillie photo

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH. BUNDALL, CIRCA 2008 Patricia Baillie photo

38 39

JIM RAPTIS

Jim Raptis was born in Greece and

migrated to Australia with his family

in 1954. Once established in Sydney

they bought a fruit shop in 1962. Five

years later Jim started developing and

building flats there and his career as

an entrepreneur began. In 1973, Jim

and his brother John moved to the

Gold Coast and completed a number of

successful projects

JIM SET UP HIS OWN COMPANY IN 1981 AND DEVELOPED MANY LANDMARK PROJECTSJim set up his own company in 1981 and developed many landmark projects.

In 1986 he floated The Raptis Group as a public company. The company has

won numerous awards. In 1987 it was named Australian Developer of the Year

by Business Review Weekly Magazine.

In 2000, the Raptis Group designed and developed the Towers of Chevron

Renaissance built on the historic site previously occupied by the iconic

Chevron Hotel. This development played an integral role in the revitalisation

of Surfers Paradise.

Like many entrepreneurs Jim has had his ups and downs and the company was

affected by the recession in 2008. Jim continues in the development business

and has built more apartments than any other developer on the Gold Coast.

During EXPO 1988 in Brisbane, Jim was Deputy Commissioner for Greece. In

1989 Jim was awarded the Order of the British Empire and in 2003 he received

the Centenary Medal. In 2004 Jim was appointed Honorary Consul for Greece

in Queensland.

In 1987 a sister city relationship was established between Gold Coast City and

Corfu in Greece but this relationship is currently inactive.

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CHEVRON RENAISSANCE. SURFERS PARADISE, CIRCA 2010 C Mackinnon Photo

40 41

Although there was a large influx of Italian immigrants to Australia

during the 1950s and 1960s most came to the Gold Coast via a capital

city where they established themselves first with the help of contacts

who provided accommodation and often work opportunities. When

they knew the country better they could see opportunities in other

places and some made the move to the Gold Coast.

Ermis Moro comments on the makeup of the community in the

following excerpt from his oral history interview:

In 1961 when we came here, it took us a few years to make friends

and it probably took us about three years before we started to see

that there were a lot of Italians here and they were mainly in the

building trade and they were all in small business, employed small

groups of people and all successful. There were a few restaurants

that had started in the early 50s, not very many, but they all more or

less started in that period between the 50s and 60s.

40 ITALIAN CONNECTIONSTHE LIDO. SURFERS PARADISE, CIRCA 1960

Ermis Moro (far left), Joe Aguggia (centre), Leo Aguggia (right)

Photo courtesy Ermis Moro

The Lido, facing the Gold Coast Highway.Brochure image courtesy Leo Aguggia

Brochure image courtesy Leo Aguggia

42 43

morning at the long bar of the Chevron Hotel in Surfers Paradise.

Unfortunately only six people turned up so this meeting was

followed by a second one which was attended by 27 people and a

committee was formed to establish an Italo Australian Club.

The group decided to hold some fundraising dinner dances and

barbecues. The community hall which was part of the Greek

Orthodox Church of St Anna was built before the Italo Australian

Club so it was used for some fundraising functions.

That year the club started looking for land and paid Cambridge

Credit subsidiary Group Housing $70,000 for 28 acres at Merrimac.

The land was subdivided, parcels sold off, and the club was left

with 7.7 hectares. A club headquarters, including tennis and bocce

courts, was built in 1979 with mostly volunteer labour. A soccer

field was also located at the club which was run independently. In

1998 the club sold a four-hectare portion of the site and used the

money to construct a new clubhouse. This was completed in 2002.30

When use of the old club ceased, the premises were leased to

the Dante Alighieri Society, an Italian language and cultural

organisation, and to an Italian aged care facility called COASIT.

the arcade was a gondola as the Lido was named after Lido Island in Venice and its watery

similarities with Surfers Paradise. After the heritage-listed Kinkabool apartment block,

the Lido was the second largest development in Surfers Paradise at the time.

Ermis Moro was Joe’s son-in-law and he worked on the management of the Lido. He migrated

with his mother to Australia to join his father in 1930. Ermis became an entrepreneur in

his own right when he developed four unit blocks in Southport. Ermis and Joe were both

founding members of the Gold Coast Italo Australian Club.

The Italian community needed a meeting place to call their own but it wasn’t until

1976 that the first meeting was held to establish one.29 This was convened one Sunday

JOE AGUGGIA

Joe Aguggia was an Italian born small

goods manufacturer from Sydney who

had holidayed on the Gold Coast before

settling in the area. In 1961 he developed

a long thin block of vacant land in

Surfers Paradise that he’d purchased the

previous year. The land had two street

frontages: the Gold Coast Highway and

Orchid Avenue. He pioneered shopping

arcade development by connecting the

two streets.

Prior to this arcades in Surfers Paradise

ended in dead ends. He built the Lido Arcade

which had 12 shops at ground level and

a walk-up to the two floors of 22 serviced

apartments above. The signature graphic for

“THE LIDO WAS THE FIRST ARCADE TO CONNECT THE HIGHWAY SHOPPING CENTRE WITH THE THEN RESIDENTIAL BACKWATER OF ORCHID AVENUE”

Ermis Moro behind the desk at The Lido, photo Courtesy Ermis Moro

The Lido, facing Orchid Avenue, photo Courtesy Ermis Moro

Alexander McRobbie

44

The Italo Australian Club

Members of the Italian community commence work on the dream: the construction

of The Italo Australian Club at Clear Island Waters, Gold Coast.

45

JOE BATTAGLIA

Joe Battaglia was born in Satriano in

the province of Catanzaro in Italy. In

1962, at the age of 15 he travelled alone

to join his father who was working in

rural NSW erecting electricity poles.

His father joined him in Sydney for a while,

before returning to his former work. Joe

SINCE 1976 JOE HAS BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THE ITALO AUSTRALIAN CLUB, HE IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT

finished his schooling before learning painting and finishing, including the

plastering trade. He joined his father in the risky high rise work before his

father returned to Italy in 1965 leaving Joe in Australia, where he preferred

to stay. In 1970 he moved to the Gold Coast and worked as a plasterer.

Italian connections in Lismore gave him the opportunity to work on a motel

construction project, where he was responsible for completing the plastering

and painting. On his return to the Gold Coast he branched out and in 1974

he established G&G Battaglia. In 1974 he was responsible for the internal

and external plaster work for the Gold Coast’s first super high rise building,

Golden Gate, which has 33 floors31 and 192 apartments.

In 1978 Joe’s business grew and he created Joe Battaglia Plastering Pty Ltd.32

His business continued to take on large projects and he worked on the Surf

International, the Chevron Hotel, the Golden Sands, Hibiscus, and in the mid-

80s the three stages of the Gold Coast Hospital, Royal Children’s Hospital in

Brisbane, the Queensland Museum and the Arts Centre Gold Coast.

Since 1976 Joe has been actively involved with The Italo Australian Club.

He is the current President.

The religious needs of the Italian community were met by the existing Catholic

Church. Following the arrival of the Scalabrinian Fathers (a missionary order

for Italian migrants) to Brisbane in 1981 a regular monthly service in Italian

commenced in 1989 at the Sacred Heart Church in Clear Island Waters. In

1991 a weekly service was held at the Stella Maris Church in Broadbeach and it

continues today. Most of the parishioners are elderly Italians.33

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Left to right: Livio Soligo, Peter Ulliana, Maurice Liussi, Ermis Moro, Remo Bos, and unknown.

46 47

The immigrants featured in this booklet have links in

common with others who have arrived on our shores

seeking better lives. They are driven to work hard, to

create something lasting for themselves and for their

children. There is a sense of urgency to make up for what

was not available to them in their birth countries, and for

their lack of resources as new arrivals. This has led to long

hours of work and the expenditure of prodigious amounts

of energy. It has often involved immediate family, other

kin and fellow countrymen who have been extended a hand

up. Links between them have provided an overarching

umbrella of support, cultural and religious understanding

and business networks.

The multicultural entrepreneurs all have a strong sense of

obligation to their community and to the broader public.

This has been expressed in their community service which

has left enduring legacies in the form of philanthropic

trusts, community infrastructure and the extension of

expertise and support to a broad range of community

projects and individuals. It has been a Perfect Fit.

46 CONCLUSION

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Disclaimer

The materials presented are made available by City of Gold Coast as

an information source only. City of Gold Coast makes no statement,

representation, or warranty about the accuracy, completeness or

suitability for any purpose of any information contained. Any use of

this information is at the user’s own risk.

City of Gold Coast disclaims all responsibility and all liability

(including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses,

losses, damages and costs that might be incurred as a result of the

information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way for any reason.

City of Gold Coast disclaims all liability for any damages arising from

your access to , use of, or downloading of any material or part thereof

from their publication or Internet site.

Acknowledgements

Researched and written by Lesley Jenkins, a contractor with the

Office of City Architect and Heritage, City of Gold Coast. Valuable

information and assistance have been provided by: Father Angelo

Cagna, (CS,Italian Chaplain in Brisbane), Ermis and Armanda Moro,

Leo and Frances Aguggia, Geoff and Dianna Lun, David Fung, Ted (Tat

Yin) Fong, Mrs Vaso Kyriakou (Greek Orthodox Church, Gold Coast),

Helen and Jim Raptis, Joe Battaglia and the committee of The Italo

Australian Club, Clear Island Waters, Betty Vaggelas, Colleen Yuke,

Dorothy Jackson, Kathy Bullock (Ford), Dr Irving Korman, Geulah

Korman, Martin Goldstein, Gerald Moses, Rosalind Pelerman,

Kath Laws, Kevin Rains and Lily Chan (Office of City Architect and

Heritage), City of Gold Coast Local Studies Library.

Opposite page top left to right: Joe Battaglia’s father, photo courtesy J Battaglia; LS-LSP-CD1035-IMG0011 Poolside Chevron Paradise Hotel 1966 David Beal photo; LS-LSP-CD707-IMG0003 Chevron Hotel Bowling Alley 1960 George Barnes photo; middle left to right: LS-LSP-CD461-IMG0010 The American Bar entrance 1958 A McRobbie photo; LS-LSP-CD509-IMG0001 Cathay Cafe at night Arthur Leebold photo; bottom left to right: LS-LSP-CD959-IMG0006 Archways at Greek Church 2008 Patricia Baillie photo; Gates of The Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation- photo courtesy Kyla Stephan; Betty Vaggelas, Santorini, photo courtesy of B Vaggelas; LS-LSP-CD707-IMG0003 Chevron Hotel Bowling Alley 1960 George Barnes photo

50 51

50 END NOTES

1 Gold Coast Bulletin, 22 July 1993.

2 Rabbi A Fabian, From School to “Shul” The Early History of the

Gold Coast (Queensland) Hebrew congregation (1954-1962),

Hebrew congregation Journal of Proceedings (Australian Jewish

Historical Society), v.9, no.pt.2, Nov 1981, page 97.

3 Reprinted in Suzanne D. Rutland, Edge of the Diaspora, two

centuries of Jewish settlement in Australia, William Collins,

Sydney, 1988, page189.

4 Rabbi A Fabian, From School to “Shul” The Early History of the

Gold Coast (Queensland) Hebrew congregation (1954-1962),

Hebrew congregation Journal of Proceedings (Australian Jewish

Historical Society), v.9, no.pt.2, Nov 1981, page 97.

5 Peter Spearitt, Australian Dictionary of Biography, http://adb.

anu.edu.au/biogrpahy/korman-stanley-12755.

6 Ibid.

7 Transcribed and edited Oral History Interview with Dorothy

Jackson, 23 March 2007, Local Studies Library, City of Gold

Coast.

8 Information provided by Dr Irving Korman, Geulah Korman’s

son, on 20 February 2014.

9 Gold Coast Bulletin, Weekend Review 28-29 Jan, 1995, pages

4-5.

10 Transcribed and edited Oral History Interview with Kathy Ford,

13 December 2006, Local Studies Library, City of Gold Coast.

11 Rabbi A Fabian, From School to “Shul” The Early History of the

Gold Coast (Queensland) Hebrew congregation (1954-1962),

Hebrew congregation Journal of Proceedings (Australian Jewish

Historical Society), v.9, no.pt.2, Nov 1981 page 101. Today the

Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation does receive donations from

interstate Jewish visitors.

12 Ibid, page 106.

13 Alexander McRobbie, Gold Coast Heritage – a multicultural

triumph, Surfers Paradise: Pan News Pty Ltd, 1991, page 68.

14 Gold Coast Bulletin, Weekend 11-12 March 2006, page 155.

15 The Courier Mail, 3 February 2004.

16 Ibid and conversation with Gerald Moses, a trustee of The

Pelerman Group on 25 February 2014.

17 http://www.jewishnews.net.au/in-fighting-plagues-gold-coast-

shuls/22488.

18 Alexander McRobbie, 1991, Gold Coast Heritage: A multicultural

triumph, Surfers Paradise: Pan News Pty Ltd, page 96.

19 Transcribed and edited Oral History Interview with Geoff &

Dianna Lun, 24 September 2013, Local Studies Library, City of

Gold Coast.

20 Ibid, page 22.

21 The street location details changed after the road was widened

and the current location is provided.

22 Betty Vaggelas, A Promise to St Anna, self published, 2006.

23 Gold Coast Bulletin, 2 July 1968, page 2.

24 Toni Risson, Aphrodite and The Mixed Grill – Greek Cafes in the

Twentieth-Century Australia, Kytherian Publishing and Media,

2007, page 12.

25 Video, Southport – Memories of Yesteryear, Commissioned by

Dawn Crtichlow Division 6, City of Gold Coast 2006.

26 Steve Karas and the Rev. Fr Gregory Sakellarious, Greeks

in Queensland, page 172, in Multicultural Queensland, ed

Maximillian Brandle and Steve Karas, Ethnic Communities

Council of Queensland, edition 2001.

27 Steve Karas and the Rev. Fr Gregory Sakellarious, Greeks

in Queensland, page 84, in Multicultural Queensland, ed

Maximillian Brandle and Steve Karas, Ethnic Communities

Council of Queensland, edition 1988.

28 Information provided by Betty Vaggelas by phone on 16 January

2014.

29 Transcribed and edited Oral History Interview with Ermis Moro,

14 November 2013, Local Studies Library, City of Gold Coast.

30 Gold Coast Bulletin, 3 May 2002, page 31.

31 http://www.haysongroup.com.au/history.aspx.

32 Protagonisti Italiani nel Mondo, Ed Claudio Guerra, self

published, Italy, 1990, page 115.

33 Email from Fr Angelo Cagna, CS, 10 and 14 January 2014.

Design by:

PERFECTFIT MULTICULTURAL ENTREPRENEURS

OF THE GOLD COAST

The Perfect Fit – Multicultural Entrepreneurs of the Gold Coast

has been produced to extend our knowledge of the contribution

made by multicultural business men and women to the Gold

Coast. Their stories had not been well documented and this was

recognised by the Australian Government- Department of Sustainability,

Environment, Water, Population and Communities when this research

and documentation project was awarded a grant in 2013. The Office of

City Architect and Heritage, City of Gold Coast has been researching

aspects of our multicultural heritage for some time and this

publication is a valuable addition to this work.

heritage.goldcoast.qld.gov.au

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