| History/Origin |
Nicholas Liveris was born in Kastelorizo, Greece on the 28 February 1916. Nicholas was two years of age when he arrived in Darwin with his mother Maria Andrea Liveris in 1918. His parents Andreas and Maria Liveris are considered pioneers of Darwin and responsible for helping build the Darwin we all came to know and love pre-Tracy, a Darwin of neighbourhoods, diversity and inclusion. He started his company from scratch known as Progressive Builders that had a workshop in McMinn Street, and built such iconic Darwin structures as the first Courthouse, the first Parliament House and the Uniting Church on Smith Street. His building crew consisted of immigrants and aboriginals. He was everybody's mate and simply known as "Nick". He preceded the larger building companies that came to the Territory and Darwin post Tracy. He never finished primary school as he lost his father when he was barely 10 years old. He became an apprentice carpenter and earned money to help his two brothers finish school while his mother washed miner's clothes and did odd jobs to make ends meet. His brothers were Lazarus (Les) and George. Younger brother Lazarus rose to become one of the Northern Territory's early Immigration Ministers. Nick built Progressive Builders and in doing so helped build Darwin. Along the way, he married Evangelia Liveris (nee Fronis) when he was in his late 30's. His two daughters and eldest son Andrew were all born and bred in a middle class home in downtown Darwin (on McLachlan Street), and were all educated and had better lives because of his sacrifices, as did his workers and their families. Nicholas died aged 52 years on the 20 November 1968 and is buried in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. |