Denis Poulos (Dionysios Panayioti Anastassopoulos)

Born :    September 25^th 1936

               Perlayiannika, Kythera, Greece

Passed Away :   September 2^nd 2008

                              Sydney, Australia

It is with the most profound sadness to announce the passing of Denis Poulos JP, Joint Founder of Poulos Bros Seafoods and Founding Director of the Sydney Fish Market.

• Husband to Adrianna

• Father to Peter, Con and James

• Father In Law to Georgia, Elli and Eleni

• Grandfather to Adrienne, Daniel, Denny and Adriana

• Brother to Con, Anna, Bill (deceased), Helen and Manoli

• Brother In Law to Irene, Steve, Toula (deceased), Irene and John (deceased)

• Uncle to many

• Friend to all

Denis was born on September 25^th 1936 to Panayiotis and Varvara Anastassopoulos in the village of Perlayiannika on the island of Kythera Greece.

Arriving in Australia in 1951 as a fifteen year old boy, Dionysios Anastassopoulos became Denis Poulos and headed north to work in the banana plantations around Gympie in Queensland to seek a better life and his fortune. His travels took him back to Sydney when in 1956, in partnership with his brother Con, they purchased a fish & chips shop in Rydalmere NSW.  And so began one of the most successful business and family partnerships in the history of the Australian Seafood Industry.

Denis was a tough no-nonsense operator. Fair, straight and honest. Quick-tempered yet huge-of-heart, Denis always tried to do his best for all in every situation.

Denis’s success in business was a result of his extreme hard-work and a work ethic that put many to shame. Denis believed nothing was impossible, and he proved it daily. Arriving at the Fish Market at 3:30am every day, Denis was the first one there to commence the day’s trading. He was tough and loud but underneath beat a heart of gold that had compassion for all because of his humble beginnings in the village on Kythera.

Today, the business that he built with his brother Con has operations in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. The Group employs over 160 people and is still a proud family business with Denis’s three sons and four of his nephews working in the business together. Denis’s greatest joy was that his sons chose to work with him in the business and industry that he loved so passionately.

The proudest business achievement Denis claimed was being a Founding Director of the Sydney Fish Market Pty. Ltd.. The company was formed following the privatisation process undertaken by the NSW StateGovernment in 1994. Denis was an integral part to the process as an industry spokesman, skilled negotiator and significant investor. Denis’s vision for the Sydney Fish Market is there today for all to see and was his way of giving something back to the Seafood Industry, the industry that gave him so much. Denis leaves behind a vibrant thriving market environment that is a tourist icon and commercial centrepiece for the East Coast based fishing industry.

Vale Denis Poulos – You will be missed by all and the world is a sadder place for your passing.