George Marcadonas – From Volos, Greece to Tin Can Bay
George doing what he loves to do
It’s Sunday and as I enter the front door of the Tin Can Bay RSL, I can smell the onions sizzling on the BBQ and can hear this week’s entertainment belting out a tune. George is manning the BBQ and the raffles front table this week. ‘Roscoe’, he hollers, ‘Did you hear what happened?’ George loves to chat and to tell a story and off he goes.
George Marcadonas was born in Volos, north of Athens, Greece, in 1946. He often tells me of his great childhood and remembers catching squid in small boats on the Mediterranean Sea; the stronger the swell, the more squid he caught.
In 1963 George joined the Greek Merchant Navy and spent the next 3 years patrolling the Greek Islands.
‘It was the best job in the world,’ he says. ‘I don’t know why I left hahahaha.’ George also loves to laugh. After the Merchant Navy George worked on cargo ships, distributing Greek produce from port to port around the world.
In 1971 George emigrated to Australia where he worked as a chef in Brisbane, Maryborough, Mackay, and Rainbow Beach before retiring to Tin Can Bay in 2007. He joined the Tin Can Bay RSL Sub Branch in 2008 and has worked as a volunteer since then, first helping in the kitchen and more recently on the door at the Sunday BBQ.
George still loves the water and likes nothing better than going out on my tinnie with me to fish and crab on the sparkling waters of Tin Can Bay. As a hobby he also sells second hand fishing gear from his home garage and can often be seen on his front verandah coaxing new life from a used rod and reel.
When asked what’s the best thing about the RSL he says, ‘I love the people and making new friends.’
Well, we love you too George. Thank you for your service!
Ross Carruthers
