George was one of fifty guests recently honoured as a Great Australian at the 2016 Great Australian Ball held at the Hyatt Melbourne among the fifty were all five Cross of Valour recipients and their patron Ray Martin.
Keith Payne VC with our special guest Aurelio Catalano at the Box Hill RSL presentation.
George congratulates Anthony Field (The Blue Wiggle) who was the successful bidder of the Joe Maxwell VC live auction painting at the recent Soldier On Black Tie function in Canberra.
On Saturday 25 July we were honoured to present our ‘Reflection of the Lost Diggers of Vignacourt’ exhibition to a very interested and special visitor to Australia.
Johnson Beharry, British VC recipient who has a special passion for all things WWI was very excited about viewing the WWI exhibition. He told us this is the reason he fought for his country, because of what these young diggers did 100 years’ ago.
Johnson was presented with a signed ‘Lost Diggers’ book presented by chairman Terry Paule from the Findex Group.
Some of you may be unaware that this year I entered the Archibald Portrait Prize with a portrait of Lambis Englezos who was largely responsible for the recovery of Australian soldiers buried at Fromelles on the Western Front. If you don’t know him, google him. He’s a very interesting man.
The portrait wasn’t shortlisted but was later entered in the Victorian version of the Archibalds called “The Hidden Faces of the Archibalds”, which is now showing at the Hilton Hotel South Wharf. My portrait is part of that exhibition.
Winner of the “People’s Choice Award”
Group Exhibition (Finalist)
The Hidden Faces of the Archibalds
Hilton Hotel South Wharf
18th June – 16th August 2012
© 2026 George Petrou.
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