Mareeno Lucas (nee Lekatsas)
| Town/City | Melbourne |
|---|---|
| First name | Mareeno |
| Last name | Lucas (nee Lekatsas) |
| Country of Origin | Ithaca, Greece |
| Date of Birth | 1869 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1888 |
| Submitted by | Lorraine Mack |
Story
MAREENO LUCAS (NEE LEKATSAS) Ð 1869-1931
Mareeno Lucas (Lekatsas) anglicized his name on arrival in Melbourne from the village of Exoghi, Ithaca in 1888 after his uncle Andreas has already investigated Australia, returning to Greece with tales of a new land.
This caused Mareeno and his brother Anthony to come to Melbourne.
Mareeno became an entrepreneur and his brother honorary Greek consul. Both of them built restaurants in Swanston Street Melbourne. Mareeno married Elizabeth Eutrope in 1985 and they had six children Ð Sylvia Mari, Anthony, Homer, Thelma, Alfred Ulysees and Anthony William.
In 1899 they decided to go to New Zealand. It was there that Thelma was born. Mareeno and Elizabeth established an oyster exporting business. Deciding to leave New Zealand they then travelled to Hobart Tasmania in 1907 where they led the Grand Tivoli Vaudeville Company entertaining workers on the west coast.
More was to come and so to Launceston where another theatre Ð the ‘Princess’ was completed in 1911. It too was a success and also of some beauty. Eventually selling these theatres Mareeno returned to Melbourne in 1913. Returning again to Tasmania their next venture in 1917 was to build a theatre in Hobart which they named ‘Majestic’. It created great interest as silent movies were just coming into vogue. Many articles were published of this great event. The architecture was spectacular and the fitting of the finest standard.
In East St Kilda he acquired the property ‘Fairholme’ Ð a large mansion of 20 rooms including a ballroom, tennis court and stables. There was also a wing for the property\’s staff. There was sufficient land to subdivide and build five houses, still leaving ‘Fairholme’ with huge private grounds.
Mareeno\’s next project was to build another theatre, the ‘Victory’, in Wattletree Road Malvern in 1919, to which he added five adjacent shops.
In 2009, all the buildings Mareeno constructed are still standing.
So it was an amazing life to come from a little island in Greece with no money. In the 1920s his two sons Ulysees and Anthony were tragically killed in accidents. The Great Depression hit in 1929 and with the pressure of life Mareeno died of heart failure on 28 September 1931. Almost everything was lost in the Depression. The violins he made and a Stradivarius violin he owned went missing.
So Mareeno and his brother made a great contribution to their adopted home. Anthony built the Capitol Theatre in Swanston Street Melbourne, having commissioned Walter Burley Griffin as Architect.
Mareeno was greatly respected by his employees who were devastated at his death. He was a true pioneer.