Greek?Australians: A question of survival in multicultural Australia

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Abstract
People of Greek ancestry have been part of Australia for over three generations, but their children are still often referred to as migrants rather than Greek‐Australians. The paper argues that Australians of different ethnic backgrounds and identities are not a threat to cohesion, as long as Australia develops overarching values that are shared by all Australians, such as parliamentary democracy, a modified free enterprise economy, the English language, and acceptance of cultural diversity in other areas of life. One of the cultural differences that have persisted among Greek‐Australians is the collectivist tradition of family life, which stands in sharp contrast to the more individualistic family patterns generally found among Anglo‐Australians. Responses given by Greek‐Australian and Anglo‐Australian secondary students to a questionnaire on family situations are discussed and compared. It is proposed that family structure, along with the Greek language and orthodox religion represent Greek core values, which seem necessary if authentic Greek ethnicity is to be preserved in Australia. The Greek‐Australian community has already made strenuous efforts to ensure the maintenance of Greek core values within the framework provided by overarching values in Australia.

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