Panos and Erifili Coroneos - Western Australian Kytherians
- Amalia Samios
- Jul 16
- 4 min read
Panagiotis Korones (Belo) was born 5am on 5 November 1877 in Potamos, Kythera and was the 11th out of the 14 children of Konstantinos Koronoes (Belos) and Stavriani Megalokonomou. He was baptized on Thursday 15 November 1877 at Iperagias Theotokou Ilariotissa.
Panagiotis, or Panos, attended Potamos school in 1892, 1893 and 1894. He studied subjects such as Greek, French, mathematics, religion, history, geography and physics and he appears to be an above average student.
Like many Kytherians, Panos immigrated to Australia, arriving on Gera from Egypt in late March 1898.
It is unknown where he first settled, but in 1903 he was granted a license by the grand fraternity of fruiterers to open a business, probably in partnership with Nick Peter Aroney in Glen Innes, New South Wales
A year later, on 28 Jun 1904, Panos and Michael Megaloconomos register 2 firms in Glen Innes, J Peters & Company, and The Club Restaurant. These may have been trading out of the same building.
He stayed in Glen Innes until at least 1907 but some reports say he left Australia in 1906 to return to Kythera. No matter which, Panos did return to Kythera and on 12 January 1909 Panos married Erofili Dilaveri in the same church they were both baptised in.
Erofili was born 5pm on 10 January 1884, the third of six children of Haralambos Dilaveris and Erini Zantiotis. She was baptised 25 January the same year.
Panos and Erofli had a daughter, Stavroula on 4 January 1910 before returning to Australia not long later. This time they stayed in Western Australia where they would live for the rest of their lives. This is unusual as not many Kytherians went to Western Australia, even though it was the first port of call for many of them when their ships arrived in Australia.
In 1911 Panos bought an oyster saloon from Evangelo Demetrius Kalisperis at 507 Wellington Street, Perth. The wine and eating, boarding or lodging house license is transferred to Panos on 25 April 1911. He operated this business until about 1930.
In April 1911 Savos Lemonis transfered his right to Panos to occupy a portion of the foreshore for storage of oysters.
A lot of information can be found about Panos in local newspapers of the time. A lot of the stories are trivial, but it gives an indication of what it was like to be living in Perth in the early part of the 20th century.
In July 1914 Panos donated money to the Perth hospital.
In August 1914 Panos bought a yacht called “Millicent”. Panos lent the boat to a man named Miller who sold the boat with no authority to Charles Hawkins. The boat was ordered to be returned to Panos with costs.
Panos had his shop pillaged by civilians due to unrest in 1916. Greece did not choose a side in WWI, and the civilians pillaged Greek shops in Australia. The Western Australians put in a claim for compensation to Greece for damage done. Some shops never reopened, and the owners were put out of business. Panos claims £121:5:0. It is unsure whether this payment was ever received.
Panos and Erifili had many children in Western Australia –
Renee, (about 1912-1932)
Alice (1913),
Cleo Eve (1915-1991),
Constantine (1916-2014),
Harry (1918-2014),
Byron (also known as Venizelos Byron) (1921),
Aretmis (1923),
twins Hermione and Hermes 1925 (Hermes dies as a child in 1930),
female (1926),
Nita (year unknown). She died unmarried in 2002 in Sydney.
About 1924 Panos and Erifili buy a house at 80 Tower Street, Leederville. Panos is to live here until his death.
Erifili died 15 June 1927, leaving Panos with many young children. She was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery, Greek Orthodox section AA plot 288.
Panos remained unmarried for the rest of his life and bought up their children alone.
He arrived in Athens from Australia in about May 1931. He returned to Fremantle on 2 February 1932 from Port Said. It can be assumed he visited Kythera.
On 15 January 1938 Panos has a break in and theft in his house in Tower Street. Before he goes to bed, he put his pants on a chair in his bedroom. The next morning when he awoke, he found the pants in his kitchen and £17 missing.
Panos and his son Byron were injured in a car accident on 6 May 1940. It is not clear who was driving the car but there were 5 people in it. They were 25 miles from Perth when the driver lost control of the car and hit a tree. A lady motorist took them to an ambulance station. Panos suffered concussion but Byron was taken to Perth Hospital with suspected spinal injuries. He was released 5 days later.
Panos passed away in Perth Hospital on 9 December 1950. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery with his wife.
Select Bibliography
Family Search, Kythera council birth, death and marriage certificates
Registry of Births, Death and Marriages, Western Australia
Western Australia State Archives
National Library of Australia, Trove newspapers
