She began caring for her next-door neighbour,Billy,who suffered from scoliosis,but due to her poor eyesight,she was refused the small carer’s allowance usually provided by the government.
Eventually,Demetriou had to escape the steep and dangerous stairs of her Trinity Avenue house. In 2008,she agreed to move around the corner to Sirius. From there,she regularly travelled by bus on her own to attend lectures at the Mechanics Institute and State Library,and to shop for groceries,and regularly she walked to the local community centre and to church.
For 30 years,she was the volunteer curator of the Military and Historical Museum attached to the Church of the Holy Trinity,known as The Garrison Church for its close connection with the armed forces.
The Church of the Holy Trinity has been a pre-eminent venue for remembrance services for regiments associated with World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. The Military and Historical Museum was an important addition to these services.
During the period Demetriou ran the museum,she enlisted and organised a team of volunteers drawn from people attending these services. She was an active member of the Holy Trinity congregation for more than 50 years,has been a deaconess,and was secretary to Bishop Donald Cameron for seven years.
She was a member of the Labor Party for more than 30 years and,as recently as 2017,she was the senior vice-president of the Darling Harbour branch. She was an active member of Labor committees and was the final speaker at the 2017 NSW Labor Party Conference,where she received a standing ovation for calling on the government to retain diversity and social housing in the centre of Sydney.
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Although elderly,frail,in poor health and almost totally blind,Demetriou was inspiring in her support for others,in her unwillingness to accept limitations due to her disabilities,and in her determination to defend Sirius. At every opportunity she would ask reporters,“are we to live in the only major city in the world without social housing?”
In describing her role in the Save Our Sirius campaign,Shaun Carter said she reminded us that being good and decent and community minded makes a wonderful and meaningful life. Without Demetriou,SaveOurSirius would not have been as potent and as successful. She was the face of our campaign and the heart of Sirius.
She was a great Sydneysider,a much-loved member of her many communities and a fearless soul. We all loved Myra,and Myra loved us all. Vale Myra - we will certainly miss you.
John Dunn