The National Committee for the celebration of the Bicentenary of the Hellenic Revolution (1821-2021) will be celebrating the life of Ghikas Voulgaris (also known as Jigger Bulgary and Jekeir Boulgeires, (c. 1809-1874) in Nimmitabel on Sunday, December 6, 2020, from 17:00. The National Committee would especially like to make contact with members of the McKay, Cameron, Linnane, Silk, Kelly, Kiss, and Miller families, all of whom have ancestral ties to Voulgaris and his Irish-born wife Mary Lyons.
The event will commence with a prayer service at the grave of Ghikas Voulgaris in the Nimmitabel Pioneer Cemetery, led by Archbishop Makarios of Australia, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, from 17:00.
Ghikas Voulgaris was born on the Aegean island of Hydra, growing up to be a sailor-fighter in the Hellenic War of Independence (1821-1830). Along with his shipmates, Voulgaris was arrested by the Royal Navy and convicted of piracy in 1828. Initially sentenced to death by hanging, Voulgaris’ punishment was commuted to transportation for life to Sydney, arriving in 1829.
Receiving an Absolute Pardon in 1836, Voulgaris became one of Australia’s first two Hellene settlers, together with his shipmate Antonis Manolis. By the 1850s, Voulgaris had become a pioneer settler in the Monaro, where he lived the rest of his days.