Sri Lanka Consulate General - Sydney

The 64th Independence Day of Sri Lanka was commemorated by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in coordination with the Sri Lanka Associations based in city of Sydney at Roselea Community Centre, on Saturday 4th February 2012.  

A large gathering of over 1000, representing Sri Lankans from all communities attended this auspicious event.

The event was graced be the following dignitaries:

H.E. the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe.
Hon. Kevin Conolly, Member for Riverstone representing the Premier of New South Wales and the NSW Government.
Hon. Dominic Perrottet, Member for Castle Hill (NSW government)
Hon. Nick Berman, Mayor, Hornsby Shire Council.

H.E. The High Commissioner, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, hoisted the Sri Lankan flag, while the Hon. Kevin Conolly, representing the New South Wales Government, hoisted the Australian flag.

At the welcome speech, the High Commissioner gave a brief history of the background of this day of Independence.

The current peaceful environment that prevails on the Island in the post terrorist LTTE period and the firm political stability of the Nation were highlighted by him.  He conveyed the concerns of H.E. the President of Sri Lanka on the accountability of each and every Sri Lankan living in Australia and the accountability of the parents to teach their children either the Sinhala or Tamil language and convey to them the cultural values and environment in which their parents grew up.  

H.E. The High Commissioner further emphasised the strong historical relationship and firm bond of friendship which has always existed between Sri Lanka and Australia and continues to do so with close ties in Sports and culture.

Among other items on the agenda, the Sri Lankan Association presented certificates of award in recognition of the high achievers at the 2011 HSC examination in NSW.

In his speech, the Hon. Kevin Conolly said that he was impressed by the traditions observed and the very moving nature of the Independence Day programme. He also paid tribute to the the cultural performances of the day and showed his appreciation to the valuable contribution by the Sri Lankan born community in Australia. He noted that the Sri Lankan culture was rich in hertiage and was an important part of the multi-cultural society now domiciled in Australia.

The second section of the programme for the evening was the performance of Sri Lankan traditional dance and singing. The show depicted the multi ethnic culture of Sri Lanka as a Nation. The Sinhalese Cultural Forum with assistance of other Associations organised the cultural events for the day.

For the first time ever, the office of the Consulate General issued a full page Newspaper supplement on the day to commemorate the 64th Anniversary of our Independence.  The total cost of this full page supplement which will appear in the Cumberland Newspaper on 7th February 2012 was contributed by well wishers and the Sri Lankan born business community in Sydney.

Click here to enjoy an album of photos by Ranjith Wijayasekera