from the Publisher

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WeLCOMe to our May issue, a historical issue as we witnessed what would be a once-in-a-lifetime event for many, the coronation; the last one was in June 1953; either you support the Monarchy or are of the Republican view, you cannot deny the fact that this was a momentous occasion. Many countries which have been former British colonies do not have such fond memories, and that is understandable. However, the British Government bore the massive cost of the coronation and received much flak from citizens who were finding it hard to make ends meet daily.

Well, let us look at this month in detail because this month has been hectic. We begin with the Government House morning walk, a fantastic event because it highlights the importance of healthy living and walking. And I must say that our governor is a swift Walker.

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Next up, we had the cities submit for Brisbane City Council, and it is once again a very important event, and the launch of that was very good. Last month being Ramadan, we were fortunate to attend many iftar dinners, BCC, Islamic Women's Association, and Iftar. Then we also attended the Iftar dinner by the International College of Brisbane, the Ahmadiyya one as well. So, it is perfect to see you know that the wider community is coming and taking part in the hardiness and also, you know, thanks go to Muslim brothers and sisters for inviting us. From the multicultural communities into their homes and institutions to share the meal and break bread together. What a fantastic gesture as well.

I must also Thank Tapas Mandal Kumar for the Bengali New Year celebration, which was organised in Clayfield. It was perfect. Now we also had the Arijit Singh Concert, s which rocked Brisbane and a show we have never seen before right here in Brisbane. After a long time, there was a music concert or Indian Bollywood music concert held at Brisbane Entertainment Centre because most of the functions and events occur either in the Sleeman complex or the Convention Centre. However, we only see a few processes taking place at the Brisbane entertainment centre in Boondall. Still, this one was a sold-out event, and what a fantastic concert this was, and Brisbane Indian Times in Australian Indian radio; we’re proud to have supported this. We also attended the Brisbane City Council’s Future of the Property. This event looked at what will happen in the residential accommodation in Brisbane. Now we know that with the coming of the Olympics, many people will be coming to Brisbane. They will all need a place to stay. So how do we tackle that? So, Brisbane City Council has devised a plan by not tackling all the green spaces, meaning retaining our green spaces, not invading our parklands, but re-looking at some of the industrial sites that have not been utilised. Transforming them into residential areas like Newstead and Tenerife, which we have seen, we have seen the redevelopment of the Howard Street Wolf quite nicely done and better utilised now. So those are some things that Brisbane City Council would be looking at. And Brisbane City Council held a grand function at the Normanby Hotel; the lord Mayor, deputy mayor and Councillor Allan Adams highlighted some of the areas and points Brisbane City Council is putting forward.

Congratulations to the ECCQ for the Berlasco opening, and what a fantastic, aged care facility they have redeveloped in Indooroopilly. Now, there is not new, it is an existing one, but it has been refurbished with funding from the government. And very well done. We were fortunate to attend the official opening of the facilities, and I was surprised by the high quality of all the fixtures and fittings and what it had to offer. I liked that wings are named after long-standing board members and people who have been associated with ECCQ for a long time, such as Agnes Whitten in the Xynias family, Serge Voloshenko, and others.

In May, we also witness the Labour Day March, located right in the city on Adelaide Street, and from here, we can always see the big march going past. Queensland Sangeet Mela Association held its AGM and a concert at The Grange Community Hall. The function was very well attended, the AGM was very well organised, and it went very well.

Om Positive, Congratulations on running your inaugural event, which is very good. We thank you very much for having us and having me as one of the VIP guests there to address all the gatherings congratulations on the job well done. Now for ISKCON Rath yatra, again another fantastic event right in the city though this year the actual chariot, the rath, was a smaller version of what we have every year, and this was done so that they would be easy taking the chariot without having to lower the top part of it, which in the bigger one had to be lowed hydraulically to go under the overpass and the footbridge. So again, lots of people came, which was very well attended.

Nimita Debroy, congratulations on running the Dhun concert this year. Once again, I was honoured to have been asked to open the event; It was good to see that you have come a long way. About twenty-three years on and well-organised function again at Acacia Ridge College. Now Cacoon SDA Care’s tenth anniversary, it is hard to believe that they have already come ten years down the track. It seems like Jaffar bhai had just come up with the idea yesterday because time really passes and what and well organised and attended the tenth anniversary at the Emporium Hotel. Very, very well done. Congratulations, and we hope to see many more anniversaries coming your way.

The skilled Migration seminar was once again well attended, and I was honoured to have been asked to be the MC for that event. Culture Verse organised the event in conjunction with Home Affairs, the event was well attended, and the question and answers session was very popular and engaging.

We were fortunate to have been invited to attend a very exclusive coronation dinner function at the prestigious Tattersalls Club; the event was run in conjunction with the Victoria League and Order of Australia Association; on Sunday, the seventh of May, we attended a Coronation thanksgiving service at St John’s Cathedral. It was beautiful to see the Cathedral operate in its full glory; the Church organ, the choir, and the entire service were very uplifting.

We also attended the Eid Festival as special guests. Rocklea Showgrounds is quite suited to that event, as it has many spaces that can be utilised for various activities, such as VIP reception, undercover eating area, festival space etc. This year with perfect weather, the number of attendees was high.

A big congratulations to the Varnam Cultural Society for hosting a mega event at the Robelle domain; this event is going from strength to strength. Every year it gets bigger and better. Rajarajan Thennavan and his team did a marvellous job of putting it all together.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all contributors for your submissions and advertisers for your continued support. Our press schedule has tightened our printing deadline, so thanks to everyone for working with us on this slight change; this will mean that the distribution could be earlier. And with this note, I must say goodbye, until next Month; Happy Reading!

—Umesh Chandra OAM Publisher