Documenting change

Angelo Frelingos, better known as Andy, was born in Parramatta in 1958 to parents originally from the Greek Island of Kythira. His first residence was the back of his family’s milk bar on the corner of Macquarie and Smith Streets ‒ where the Western Sydney University Parramatta City campus now stands.

Andy’s early years were spent in the heart of Parramatta, visiting the Roxy Theatre with his brother Michael and watching the night sky above Leigh Memorial Church. After school, he remained in the Parramatta area, often visiting his yiayia and other family on Marsden Street. On Sundays, Andy and his family would attend services at St Ioannis Greek Orthodox Church on Hassall Street. Later, he would marry his wife Kathy at that same church and a few years later baptise their three children there.

Fast forward two decades, Andy lives in Merrylands and has a career as a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer for Cathay Pacific. Since 2015, he has enjoyed a hobby rooted in his connections to the area: documenting the construction and development of prominent Parramatta buildings and construction projects with his iPhone camera.

At his home, Andy greets me at the front door, ushering me in quickly to prevent one of the dogs escaping out of excitement. Guided down the corridor with an entourage of two tail-wagging furry friends, Andy sits me down at his kitchen table and in proper Greek fashion, offers me a coffee and something to eat. His abode is adorned with photographs of family members, friends and days of travel. Displayed on the mantelpiece among the photos are model aeroplanes from different airlines.

Andy’s almost decade-long hobby of taking photographs of Parramatta reflects a love for his place of birth. ‘I feel like it’s my backyard,’ he says. ‘I always knew it was going to be a city, and I was happy to see the new developments and that they had plans to build Parramatta Square.’ Andy has followed the slow evolution of the Square through its different incarnations. ‘It just fascinated me … I want Parramatta to evolve well,’ he says. ‘Even if I had to move to another city, I’d still have a fondness for this place and be happy for its progress and development.’ Andy has also documented Western Sydney Stadium, Meriton buildings, and other high-rise apartments.

A typical afternoon documenting the construction of the up-and-coming buildings starts with Andy parking his car at Parramatta Park then going for a walk with his dog Christos. ‘I’d say I walk an average of 2 hours, taking photos.’ These walks often trace Parramatta’s arteries, alongside the stadium, across the river, down Macquarie Street and through Parramatta Square, with some detours to see more sites under construction, before grabbing a coffee and returning home.

Having taken more than 1000 photos since 2015, Andy says his three favourite sites are ‘Parramatta Square as a whole because it’s a complete package … the stadium, and the Meriton Suites on Church Street near Lennox Bridge.’ Meriton recently completed construction on Altitude, the highest apartment building in Parramatta, and Andy says observing this and the company’s other high-rise developments fuelled his fascination for photographing construction.

Once new building projects are complete, he ‘might take a photo here or there’, but his focus is those still in progress.

Andy moves to a nook that houses a small desk strewn with Greek flags, paperclips, Post-it notes, and an Apple computer. He opens the Photos application and clicks on the ‘Parramatta’ album. The first photo is of a residential building near the railway line. After looking through a few photos, he lands on one of a deep construction hole.

‘These are the foundations of our church and the hole in the ground from where it was,’​ he says.​ ‘I guess it’s quite insignificant to anybody else, but my church was right there. I was married on that spot and my kids were christened there. It holds special value to me.’ Andy is referring to St Ioannis Greek Orthodox Church in Parramatta. He mentions the church was started in a quaint house in Harris Park, later moving to a larger property on Hassall Street, before relocating to its current home on George Street, Parramatta.

Andy looks at the photo of the hole with fondness, reminiscing about the community and faith that took place among the gravel and dirt. ‘I’ve known this church from its inception, right to the point where it got destroyed,’ he says. ‘I was there pulling the iconography off. We were very careful. Then they were put away.’ When asked how he felt about removing the iconography, he simply stated it ‘had to be done’, noting some pieces were usable, whereas some were not, but the priest didn’t feel it was right to have the iconography demolished along with the building, so it felt meaningful to volunteer to help remove each icon with reverence.

Clicking through the album, Andy lands on a photo of an apartment building with a plaque at its entrance. It’s beautiful, made of granite with ceramic photographs of the church that used to reside on the land on Hassall Street where the apartment now stands. It includes a brief history of the demolished church from its inception and some honourable mentions of committee members, priests and the church community. On the significance of the plaque, Andy says the church community ‘wanted it there so it didn’t seem like we just threw the church away. As a way of saying this place was special.

Shortly after its construction, Andy stopped by to see the plaque and reflect on the changing times, snapping a photo while there. ‘Very nice, very beautiful!’ he comments, giving his stamp of approval for the new apartment building.

‘These photos [of the new building’s construction and completion] are my way of remembering that special place for all of us’, he says. Andy’s profound connection to the construction of the apartment block at 11 Hassall Street recalls the Portuguese word saudade ‒ an emotional state of profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone.

All of Andy’s photographs are a way of holding onto precious moments in time that, though he can never revisit in life, he can revisit in memory. This is seen throughout the photographs as we continue with the rest of the album showing various construction sites throughout the area. As Parramatta locals, we reminisce about Parramatta the way it was and agree it has changed completely. What was once a dirt pile is now a place where people eat, live and work.

It is a poignant reminder for us both that time passes and facades change but each memory we hold, either in mind or photograph, is a special souvenir of a time and place no longer here. ‘I’m proud of Parramatta,’ Andy says. ‘My photographs are to document the place I was born, where all my greatest memories of family and friends growing up occurred. I want to see it grow into a fantastic place and these photos are my little time capsule of the place I love.’

Elyssa Vickers is a postgraduate research student at Western Sydney University writing her thesis on Love and St Augustine’s Confessions. She serves as the co-chair of the 16th Annual Interventions and Intersections HDR Conference at WSU. Hailing from Western Sydney, Vickers is committed to giving back to her community by exploring themes of love for place, friendships and the fostering of meaningful connections.

Parramatta Profiles is a writing and photographic series that profiles individuals across Parramatta communities. Drawing on art, music, religion, activism and sport, each snapshot captures life in this dynamic city. A collaboration between Powerhouse and the Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University, this project supports the development of student writers by providing an opportunity to work with professional editors and be published by Powerhouse online.