His Honour Mr John Anictomatis AO,
Administrator of the Northern Territory John Anictomatis was
born in Piraeus, Greece in 1945 and immigrated to Australia
with his parents and two brothers in 1955. After
finishing school at Darwin High School, he was
indentured as an apprentice mechanic and completed this
training in 1968. In the same year, Mr Anictomatis
commenced two years of National Service including active
service with the 9th Battalion, The Royal Australian
Regiment in Vietnam. After completing his National Service,
Mr Anictomatis returned to Darwin where he established a
successful family business centred on the design and
construction of residential, commercial and industrial
sites. In 1976 he became a director of a large global
franchise real estate company, an organisation which grew
from 5 to 40 employees in 14 years. During the same period
he also studied Business and Real Estate at the Northern
Territory University. In 1991 Mr Anictomatis became Honorary
Consul for Greece in the Northern Territory, a role in which
he provided dedicated service to the local Greek community.
He also worked with the Northern Territory Government to
promote sister-city relations between Darwin and Kalymnos, a
Greek island about 300km east south east of Athens. In the
early 1950s sponge divers came to the Northern Territory
from Kalymnos to work on the pearling luggers. They
encouraged their relatives to join them and there are now
over 7000 people of Kalymnian descent living in Darwin. Mr
Anictomatis's achievements as Honorary Consul were
recognised in 2000 with the award of the Medal of the Order
of Australia. A long-term Darwin resident and a devoted
Territorian, Mr Anictomatis has been active with many
community organisations including the Immigration Resource
and Settlement Centre of the Northern Territory, the
Northern Territory University Foundation, the Museum and Art
Gallery of the Northern Territory, St John Ambulance, Life
Education, Legacy, the Returned and Services League and many
groups within the Greek Community. Mr Anictomatis was sworn
in as the seventeenth Administrator of the Northern
Territory by the Governor General, His Excellency Sir
William Deane, in November
2000. Later in the year he presented the
Eric Johnston Lecture and made these closing remarks: "Like
many members of the Greek community, I am proud of their
achievements, but more proud to have been part of a process
that has encouraged mutual respect between men and women
from different nationalities- a process that means young
Australians growing up in Darwin today will value rather
than fear the cultural and religious differences that make
this city so special." John Anictomatis is married to
Jeanette. They have four sons all of whom have grown up and
been educated in Darwin. In August 2001, Mr Anictomatis was
appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of
Australia. Source Government House, Darwin Northern
Territory Library/ Site Map/ Occasional Paper 54 A Home Away
from Home- the Aegean to Australia, The Eric Johnston
Lecture 2000 The Legislative Assembly of the Northern
Territory