46th Battalion Private Constantino Anastasiou ‘Con’ Passaris (by Deb Martin)

Constantino Anastasiou Passaris was born on the island of Castellorizo on 12 December 1889.

When Con was 10, his father Anastasios left his wife Evdokia and their four children and sailed to Australia. He arrived in Fremantle in 1901. By 1904, he had set up business as a fruiterer in remote Cue. 

Con followed his father in 1906, joining him to run the family shop. He was naturalised in 1911, listing his occupation as a fruiterer.  Father and son embraced their new life, returning to Perth and the growing community of immigrants from Castellorizo.

In 1913, Con's father opened the St Kilda Cafe, serving "First Class 3 course meals and grills". Imported wines were available, as well as tobacco products from the Michelides company, another family from Castellorizo. The popular cafe was located at 131 Barrack Street, only a few doors from Denis Dease’s Dease Studio where Con and hundreds of soldiers would have their photographs taken over the next six years.

It would seem Con joined the family restaurant as he listed his occupation as a waiter at the time of his enlistment in November 1916. As part of the 8th Reinforcements for the 46th Battalion, Private Passaris sailed from Fremantle on the A34 Persic on December 29 1916. After disembarking in Devonport in early March the following year, he joined the 12th Training Battalion in Codford, an establishment for the housing of British and Allied soldiers before deployment to France.

Several months later, Con was assessed by an ophthalmic surgeon as having myopic astigmatism, a condition he had had for some years. Eyeglasses were ordered. In May 1918, he was transferred to Weymouth's No: 2 Command Depot, a home by the sea for those soldiers not anticipated to be fit for service within six months. Marked for return to Australia, Con left England on HT "Carpentaria" on 8 August, arriving in Australia late in September. He was admitted to Fremantle Hospital and assessed as having "Defective Vision", permanently unfit for general service but fit for home service.

He was discharged from the AIF on November 4 1918. Curiously, his service record notes that Con's glasses were lost on the SS Barunga which, carrying 855 sick and wounded soldiers returning to Australia, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the English coast near the Scilly Isles on July 15. All lives were saved but the ship and all its contents were lost. His service record holds no entry as regards his being a passenger on that ship.

Perhaps it was fortunate that Con's poor eyesight spared him active duty in France. The 46th endured fighting in Bullecourt, Ypres, Messines and Passchendaele.

In the early 1920s, Con was reunited with the rest of his family, they too having sailed to Australia. Con and his younger brother Stavros worked as fruiterers and lived in West Perth, close to the old Metropolitan Markets. Besides operating a fruit barrow, Con also held the licence for the Swan Fish and Oyster Saloon in Northam. Forerunners to the modern day fish and chip shop, oyster saloons operated across the breadth of the country from the 1880s and were often run by European immigrants. In 1939 Con moved to Merredin and began a greengrocery business which he successfully operated until his death. Ironically, the shop was located in Merredin's own Barrack Street!

An active member of the Royal Ancient Order of Buffaloes, Con delighted in raising funds through the year to provide the children of the district with a gift from the Christmas tree and other treats. Described as generous of heart, no worthy cause escaped him.

In April 1953, he was struck down with illness suddenly and passed away several days later in St John of God Hospital in Perth, aged 63. He was so loved and appreciated by the Merredin community, the Roads Board flew its flag at half mast to honour his memory. Many from Merredin travelled to Perth to attend the large funeral, which was conducted in the Greek tradition. Close to his family, he was mourned by his brother and sister, nieces and nephews, and many friends. 

https://www.thesoldiersofbarrackstreet.com/private-passaris-constantine-anastasiou-46th-battalion?rq=passaris