Leah Christofides

Leah was my elder sister so I had known her all my life. She was an incredibly hard working, positive and energetic person and people who knew her saw these qualities in her. She was an absolute dynamo and it was not uncommon for her to work six days in a row and then come home in the evenings and cook full three course meals. When the family migrated to Australia in 1951, and moved to Wollongong we were poor and life was very hard, especially for mum. However, Leah with her energy and optimism worked hard and raised herself above that poverty, and with Akis, started and operated a number of very successful businesses.
The thing, however, that I remember and admire most about Leah was her generosity and support she gave both mum and the family in the early days when times were difficult. At age 15 Leah left school and was offered a job was a trainee with ANZ Bank. This gave mum enormous pride as well as giving the family some security. Leah was in fact the first one in the family to have a full-time and permanent job which was quite an achievement given that only 8 years before, when we arrived in Australia, she was a 7 year old girl.
When Leah first started working all her money went to mum and so we were better off. Leah was always buying gifts for her brothers. I received my first watch as did Tom. Prior to this, Christmas presents were a rarity and usually what mum could sew and make, a shirt for me, a Zorro outfit for Tom or a cowboy outfit for Louie. In many ways Leah made Christmas and birthdays better as we received presents like other children. This was a big responsibility for a young person to take on yet Leah did it without complaint. In fact pretty well everything Leah did she did with confidence, optimism and positivity.