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The Lathouras brothers—Jim, Jack, Mick, and Mark—opened the Café Royal and the Elite Café on the main street of Bundaberg in 1920. At that time, the Londy family’s Blue Bird Café and Harry Lewis’s Marble Café also traded in Bourbong Street. Greek shopkeeping was a widespread phenomenon. Greek cafés of the period were elegant shops with silky oak furniture, marble bars and mirrored back bars, monogrammed crockery, and gleaming soda fountains. Lathouras Bros sold icy-cold fruit drinks, sodas, and ice cream sundaes. In addition, they specialized in making confectionery for sale through both shops—rocky road, jellies, coconut rough, and a nougat and marshmallow creation called a Rocket—and Jim sold homemade ice cream from a horse-drawn cart. Beginning with light refreshments, the menu at the Royal and the Elite soon expanded to include roasts, mixed grills, fish dinners, steaks and the like. Everything was freshly made. If some Greek migrants spent a lifetime behind a counter in a country café, many of their descendants gravitated to Brisbane. Greek café stories now reside with people like Goldie Lathouras, whose father Mick came to Australia at the age of ten and ran the Elite Café until his death in 1957. Goldie vividly recalls the Easter eggs her father created. An enormous sugar egg had pride of place in the front window in the weeks leading up to Easter. It had a wristwatch on top—ladies’ one year, gents’ the next—and was raffled to raise money for the ambulance service. Mick also made personalized chocolate eggs and sugar eggs with the name of the lucky recipient on top. These eggs contained lollies, a toy, a watch, a necklace, or some other treat supplied by the customer. Source: greekcafesinbrisbane.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/lathouras-b... Under Goldie’s influence, the Lathouras family has been active throughout this project in documenting the Lathouras Bros story. On their behalf, Goldie lodged a significant collection of café artefacts with the John Oxley Library. Crockery emblazoned with café logos, silver teapots and coffeepots, docket books and photographs, sundae dishes and lolly packets help to tell the story of the Café Royal and the Elite Café. Along with an illustrated booklet, which was written by Goldie and designed by fourth-generation Lathourases, Theo and Melissa, these precious objects tell the story of the Lathouras family, who had cafés in the main street of Bundaberg from the early 1920s to the late 1970s.

The Aru Islands Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of 6,426.77 km2 (2,481.39 sq mi). At the 2011 Census the Regency had a population of 84,138;[2] the 2020 Census produced a total of 102,237,[3] and the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 103,860.[4] Some sources regard the archipelago as part of Asia, while others regard it as part of Melanesia. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aru_Islands_Regency

Pearling became the largest industry in far north Queensland in the 1890s and had a massive impact on coastal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It was the only industry ever exempted from the provisions of the White Australia policy because it was the economic pillar supporting the far north with cheap labour from the South Pacific and Asia. Its legacy is a history of mixed populations in the far north that defies the standard historical image of a white Australia. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/content/pearling

Description of Aru The Aru Islands consist of six main islands separated by narrow channels, which in the absence of a road network are the highways of Aru. Shipping is also protected by a line of small is-lands and reefs along the eastern shores, and one can travel in shel-tered waters. Only on the western shores are the villages exposed to the oceanic swells, and for part of the year these are suppressed by the southeast trade winds. The main commercial center is Dobo, on the west coast, with a population of 5500. The principal shell beds lie on the east coast backcountry (blakang-tanali). Source: www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/sampans-belangs-and-junkos/

Brilliant picture

I'm enjoying the cat. :)

grytlappar We all do!

In 1875 the local parish priest Father Geranimo Davadi originally from Le Marche Italy encouraged the tin miners to diversify as he could foresee problems when incomes from tin petered out. He even helped with cuttings from his own established nursery. His first vineyard being the horse paddock of the presbytery. Later planting a vineyard at the foot of Mt Marley. He is referred to as ‘ Father of the Fruit Industry ‘. Italian Influx After both world wars there was an influx of mainly Italian immigrants to the region many taking up land that Soldier settlers had abandoned. Some of them working and or farming on orchards and table grape vineyards. Local growers then making and providing bulk wine from excess ripe grapes to supply to their family and friends in the northern Queensland cane fields. A few vineyards today can trace their history back to this time with Bungawarra (Angelo Barbagallo 1920’s), Ballandean Estate (Salvatore Cardillo 1930) and Rumbalara (1928) all being established on older table grape vineyards. Source: granitebeltwine.info/history/

Italians know good vine and good food.