It gives me great pleasure to welcome members, their families and guests tonight’s function which combines our Annual General Meeting with a celebration of the tenth anniversary of the founding of our association in Victoria.

The Association which was inaugurated on 29 June 1991 was the fruit of many Hartleyites among whom special mention must be made of Mr. A. Maheswaran and Professor Eliezer, both of whom sadly are no more with us, Mr.C.Kathirgamanathan, Dr.K.Thirugnanasunderalingam and Dr.Radhan Subramaniam. Over the past ten years our membership has grown steadily and now stands at 92. A high percentage of Hartleyites in Victoria are members of the Association.

It was decided at the outset that the main objectives of the Association were to foster fellowship amongst the past pupils of Hartley College and to assist Hartley College to have sufficient facilities to maintain and improve the standards set in the past. I am proud to say that over the past ten years the Association has worked with enthusiasm to realise these twin objectives.

Since its inauguration, the Association has thrived on the support of the loyal Hartleyites in Victoria and on the hard work of successive management committees and their families. The Annual General Meetings followed by dinner have become a happy social occasion which loyal Hartleyites and their families make it a point to attend. Fellowship among Hartleyites and their families especially Hartleyites' children have great fun at our other annual function, the Summer Get-together complete with cricket match and lunch. We have in addition organised a picnic, benefit concerts and in addition a felicitation dinner for Prof. Eliezer when he was nationally honoured with an Order of Australia award.

Part of the funds raised from the concerts and dinner and donations from members amounting to a sum of A$4500 was sent in 1999 to HCPPA, Point Pedro to institute bursaries for deserving students in years 10 and 11, to award two annual prizes for Excellence in mathematics in the name of Professor Eliezer and $500 in 1999 and 2001 to purchase books and other items for the library. The bursaries and prizes are financed by the interest earned from a fixed deposit opened by the HCPPA, Point Pedro. The Principal has informed us that the prizes and bursary have already been awarded. Books bought for the library from our funds bear a seal “Donated by HCPPA Victoria Branch, Australia”. In 1993, a sum of A$1,500 was sent to HCPPA, Colombo.

From 1997, the Association started publishing a bi-annual newsletter "Hartley News - Victoria". The newsletter has appeared regularly and carries news about Hartley and Hartleyites and other branches of HCPPA. It contributes to the fellowship among Hartleyites in Victoria and enables contacts with members at interstate and overseas branches.

The Association has actively participated along with other organizations in events organised by and for the benefit of the Sri Lankan community living in Victoria. Since 1994, we have participated in an eight-a-side one day cricket tournament for the past pupils associations of Tamil Schools in Victoria.

We have explored the feasibility of having our own website. Unlike in America or Canada, there is an annual cost here in maintaining the website. We have now made arrangement with the Canadian Branch to share its website.

As part of our Tenth Anniversary of the founding of Victoria Branch, we will pay tributes to our Founder-President and a distinguished old boy, Professor Eliezer and two of our principals, Messrs. K.Pooaranampillai and K.Nadarajah all of whom passed away during the last twelve months.

I will conclude by taking this opportunity to thank those who have contributed to the success of tonight's function and to all our activities during the past ten years.

S.Anandaganeshan
President, HCPPA, Victoria Branch
18 August 2001