Myra Demetrious: Fight to save Sirius building still on the boil
One year after being forced out of her home, the last remaining resident of the iconic Sirius building, Myra Demetrious now lives a much simpler life.
ONE year after being forced out of her home, the last remaining resident of the iconic Sirius building, Myra Demetrious now lives a much simpler life.
The 92-year-old is legally blind, but that hasn’t stopped her fight in saving the building.
One year ago, she fought hard to save the iconic Sirius building, her home for the last 21-years, from being sold to developers.
One year later, and the building remains empty.
Central Sydney Magazine inspected the building and no life can be found at the site, except for lights in the buildings staircase. which appear to have been left on.
The gates are padlocked and fenced off, weeds are overgrown, the mailbox is full of leaflets and the flower pots have well and truly been abandoned.
Ms Demetrious said the community hold meetings to discuss ways to save the building.
Although she can no longer attend herself, her friends are continuing her fight.
“I was the last woman standing there,” she said.
“They had no right pushing us around like that, and I let them know.
“I think I was interviewed by every television station, I was in every newspaper, what more can I do?
“It was a very good place to live, they make up a lovely community in Miller’s Point, it’s very sad.”
Ms Demetrios said she would like to see the building restored to its purpose and is “hoping it can be a mixture of people that own their own place and housing tenants,” she said.
“We’re putting that forward as a suggestion.
“I think it would work.
“I believe there have been people in there wanting to buy it; we’re hoping we can stop that.”
Ms Demetrios said there just isn’t enough affordable housing in the CBD.
“It makes me laugh, when you said you lived in the city they used to look down their nose at you, now everyone wants to live here.”
She says she misses her friends the most in the Sirius building, and cooking for her neighbours who would always smell her meals.
Ms Demetrious said she still keeps in touch with people, who regularly call her on her mobile.
“When you haven’t got your sight, you have to remember a lot of the phone numbers,” she said.
Ms Demetrious is a proud mother of two, grandmother of two, great grandmother to three and is due to become a great great grandmother to a baby boy next month.
Looking back on her life, she said her greatest achievement was marrying her Greek husband.
City of Sydney Deputy Mayor Linda Scott said she is proud to call long term resident of Millers Point, Myra a friend.
“It has been heartbreaking to watch Myra and hundreds of her neighbours be forcibly removed from their homes and community by the Liberal State Government, only to see the Sirius building then sit empty and become dilapitaed for over a year,” she said.
“As a Labour Deputy Lord Mayor, I’ll always fight for the public good, for affordable housing, and for people like Myra to continue to be part of our diverse and wonderful inner city community.”
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