The Stones of Kontias - A Lemnian Village and its Anzac Links

A restored traditional stone house in Kontias. Photograph: Jim Claven 2013

Australia's leading Hellenic newspaper, Neos Kosmos recently published an article by our Secretary on the Lemnian village of Kontias and its connection to the Anzac and Gallipoli story. It is a beautiful village, with many of its traditional houses and windmills lovingly restored, re-calling the history of the village in the early years of the 20th century.

A newly restored former windmill - now accommodation - in Kontias, many of which were photographed by the Anzacs in 1915. Photograph: Jim Claven 2013

Like many villages on Lemnos, their history includes visits from the hundreds - if not thousands - of Anzac soldiers and Australian nurses who wandered the Island in search of respite from the horrors of war. They wrote about their experiences and photographed the Island and its villagers, capturing a moment in time.

Anzac soldiers in the village of Kontias, 1915. Australian War Memorial Image

They are also villages connected to Australia through migration, with many Australian's of Hellenic descent coming from Lemnos, and who return to the Island to this day - as the land of their birth or of their ancestors.
Kontias like many Lemnian Islands stands testimony to the historical and on-going link between Australia and Lemnos - one that will be an important part of our commemorations in 2015.
 
The Stones of Kontias by Jim Claven - Neos Kosmos