Thursday, 28 October 2021

 Ms HALL (Footscray) (10:03): I rise to farewell a Footscray legend. Nick Tsiligiris passed away last week aged 86. Footscray residents and visitors might not recognise that name off the top of their heads, but if I say Olympic Nick or Olympic Doughnuts, they will. For nearly 40 years he was a fixture at Footscray train station serving up the best hot jam doughnuts in Victoria. I cannot say how iconically Footscray his caravan was. In my office hanging pride of place in the meeting room is a giant picture of his van, a gift to me from the member for Burwood. As Footscray changed around the van, his smile was a constant as the train station was redeveloped. When I posted about his passing on Facebook a community member shared their story, which I think shows how much of an impact he had:

His jam donuts were my first western treats ever. I came from Vietnam in 1982. We settled in footscray, my mum and I would walk to footscray market every Saturday morning. I still remember the smell of the donuts everytime we walked past his caravan. We were poor and never had enough money for treats. But on one occasion my mother bought me a donut from Olympic donuts. It was my very first donut and from then on began my love of jam donuts.

Footscray has lost a very important and much-loved community member. Our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones. Thank you for sharing him with us.