The program welcomed Chrysoula Melissinaki, president and founder of the Greek Museum of Adelaide. The interview focused on the museum’s current exhibition, which runs through 17 October 2026: “From the Phoenix to the Drachma and the Euro: The History of Money in Modern Greece.”
The exhibition features coins and banknotes, primarily from the collections of her husband, Panagiotis Mavraidis, and her father, both of whom collected coins. As she explained, while preparing the exhibition, they visited a similar exhibition at the Bank of Greece, as well as the Numismatic Museum of Athens.
The exhibition took approximately one year to prepare and offers visitors an insight into Greece’s history and politics from 1900 to the present day. Among the exhibits are original documents relating to loans taken out by the Greek state, including occupation loans and loans following the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the arrival of the refugees.
The Greek Museum of Adelaide was founded in 2019. Despite the founders’ efforts, it still does not have a permanent home.
