Theo Skalkos interviewed by Frank Heimans [sound recording]

Skalkos speaks of the Civil War in Greece following World War II; his father fighting for Greece against Turkey in World War I; emigrating to Australia with his father in 1960; his mother; his early childhood and education; witnessing some tragic events in World War II and the civil war which followed; joining the Air Force while completing his secondary education; the importance of religion to the family; emigrating through connections to Sabena Airlines, arriving in early 1955; Australian life for migrants in the 1950's included migrant camps and job discrimination; working as a cane cutter in North Queensland, Mt. Isa and Brisbane & Sydney; later working at Warragamba Dam and Dunlop Tyres; starting the first Greek driving school in 1956; using his driving school cars as hired wedding cars; his start in the printing business; opening a sewing school for migrant women; an altercation with the unions over union membership of his sewing school students; meeting his wife in 1959; buying a linotype printer and beginning to publish his own Greek newspaper "The New Country".

Skalkos talks about his beginnings as a newspaper publisher; buying half of his opposition "The Greek Herald"; his role as journalist, photographer, advertising manager and publisher for his newspaper; Rupert Murdoch; printing Murdoch's newspapers, The Australian, The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Mirror and The Observer, in Melbourne in 1972; his views about Murdoch and his business associations; the expansion into 70 publications in Sydney and Melbourne; buying up more ethnic newspapers; his association with Al Grassby then Minister for Immigration; how he lobbied Gough Whitlam to start up an ethnic radio station in Shepparton, Vic.; later in partnership with Peter Giorgiou lobbying Malcolm Fraser to set up ethnic television in Australia; the establishment of the SBS Television; his belief that Labor governments have been supportive of ethnic communities; starting the TV program "Let's Go Greek" on Channel 10, his initiative in starting the first nationally broadcast Greek language radio service.

Skalkos discusses how he runs his newspaper operations and the benefits to the community; his first marriage and children; his second marriage; being successful in business through hard work, quick decisions, and keeping up to date despite occasional wrong decisions; his admiration for Robert Menzies as he supported immigration and controlled the economy; his long admiration for Rupert Murdoch; how a fire in 1995 nearly destroyed his Broadway business; his disappointments with staff, family and unions in business matters; after 45 years in Australia sees himself as more Australian than Greek; feels that Australia of the 1950s greatly benefitted from the migrant experience enriching our impoverished culture and much improving our national diet; the great pace of change makes it hard to predict Australia's future but it should be good; he may eventually do his autobiography; his preparations for publishing a Greek Who's Who in Australia.