The 69th National Day of Sri Lanka celebrated in Melbourne

Office of the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Melbourne celebrated the 69th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka on 4 February. The Official flag hoisting ceremony was held at the Office of the Consulate General. The flag hoisting was followed by the national anthem which was played both in Sinhala and Tamil.  National day messages of the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs were read at the event.

Following the official ceremony, the consulate General in Melbourne celebrated the 69th National Day with the participation of a large number of expatriate Sri Lankans living in Melbourne, at Box Hill Town Hall, Melbourne in the evening of 4 February.

The ceremony commenced with the singing of the national anthem followed by the lighting of the traditional oil lamp. Multi faith religious observances were conducted by the clergy while blessing Sri Lanka and its people.

Jude Perera, Member of the Legislative Assembly represented the Victorian Government and Robert Clark, Member of Legislative Assembly represented the Leader of the Opposition of the Victorian Parliament who conveyed greetings of the Premier and Leader of the Opposition of Victoria to Sri Lanka. Members of Parliament, Members of Academia Senior Government Officials, Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, members of the Consular Corps, Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors of number of City Councils attended the event.

An audience of approximately 600 witnessed a splendid cultural performance depicting rich cultural heritage of Sri Lanka by children of Sri Lankan origin in Melbourne.

One of the most significant aspects of the event was the felicitation of group of 23 brilliant students of Sri Lankan origin who achieved highest academic excellence during their Victoria Certificate of Education Examinations of last year. Jude Perera, Prof. David de Kretser, former Governor of Victoria, Robert Clark and Ms. Helen Kapalos, Chairperson of the Multicultural Commission of Victoria joined the Consul General in felicitating students.