People Australia

Nicholas John Xenodohos, also known as John Nicholas (1891-1964) café proprietor, political activist and Communist 

Birth: 19 June 1891 at Arachova, Boeotia, Greece, son of John Nicholas Xenodohos, vigneron and inn keeper, and Asimo, née Triantes. Marriage: from about 1914 was the de facto husband of native-born Agnes Rachel Rosetta, late Falconer, née Simpson (1893-1972), waitress and circus performer. They had three daughters and a son. Death: 4 August 1964 in his usual residence at Rowley Street, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales. 

• After arriving in Australia in 1910 he worked in the Queensland canefields, in Sydney then in fish and chips shops in Melbourne. Two of his brothers, Dimetrios [James] (d.1947) and George (1897-1980) also came to Australia.
• Met Agnes Falconer while she was working as a waitress. The pair went to Victoria about 1914. Influenced by Lazarus Myer, he and Agnes joined the Victorian Socialist Party about 1916.
• In 1919 Nicholas was a fishmonger living with Agnes at North Fitzroy, Melbourne, where his two elder daughters were born.
• The family moved to Sydney about 1921 and by 1925 was at Rowley Street, Camperdown [Annandale] where Xenodohos lived for the rest of his life. In 1926 he was proprietor of the Forum Café in George Street, Sydney, and another near Circular Quay. Forced to close the cafes during the Depression, he worked as a fish-cleaner in the Hotel Australia. In electoral rolls from 1930 he was described as a cook and on his death certificate as a fish buyer.
• According to his obituary, “He first became interested in the labor movement as a young man and joined the Victorian Socialist Party in Melbourne” as did his wife. During World War I he was active in the anti-conscription struggles.
• Xenodohos joined the Communist Party of Australia in Sydney in the early 1930s and was involved in the International Class War Prisoners’ Aid and International Labor Defense movements. He translated many Marxist classics into the Greek language.
• Prior to its amalgamation with the Liquor Trades Union, he was made a life member of the Hotel Club and Restaurant Workers’ Union. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party Executive 1940 (Hughes/Evans Labor Party).
• He remained devoted to Communist principles to his death.
• Cause of death: myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis and senility.
• His three daughters Kondelea, Merle and Sylvia, were also associated with CPA members. His son John was an artist.

Sources
Tribune (Sydney), 19 August 1964, p 8: Rowan Cahill, eulogy for Della Elliot, 3 November 2011, Maritime Union of Australia: https://www.mua.org.au/news/della-elliot-remembered