Page 20 - Bulletin 12 2008

17

THE GREEK COMMUNITY OF KALK BAY: THE GOLES FAMILY

Judy Herbert

Introduction

The story of the Goles family of Kalk Bay starts in 1902 with the arrival of my

Grandfather, Athanase Goles, at the Cape. But first a little background.

I never knew my Greek grandfather and as children we were not brought up within a
traditional Greek family, although I had heard many of the Greek names and knew many of

the Greeks from the area. There will probably be people here who might wonder at the end

of this evening why their families were not mentioned. There are many stories to be told
and hopefully this is just the beginning. I would urge all those of Greek origin to get their

stories written down before it is too late and those stories are lost to us forever.

In 2000 the Hellenic Community celebrated its centenary as an Association and produced a

book on the Hellenic Community of Cape Town from 1900-2000. The book gives a
fascinating insight into the lives of the pioneer immigrants, many of whom arrived from all

parts of Greece after the Greco-Turkish war of 1897. They came, most of them, with only
the shirts on their backs but brought with them their culture, their historical traditions, their

customs and Orthodox religion. The concept of Hellenism cannot be understood without

reference to the importance of the role of the Orthodox Church. The first elected executive
of the Hellenic Community in 1900 was expected to build a church as a matter of priority.

Father Artemios was the first priest and arrived from Crete in 1901 to help mobilize people
and resources to build what became the first Greek Orthodox Church in South Africa. It

was completed in April 1904 and together with the adjoining house cost £2,200. The
Cathedral of Agios Georgios, or St George, stands in Mountain Road Woodstock and is

well worth a visit. (Fig. 2.1).