On Sunday 22 April 2018, Mrs. Nantana Sivakua, Ambassador of Thailand to Australia, together with Mr. Andrew Park, Honourary Consul-General of Thailand to Queensland and Mr. Pawat Ruangvichatron, Counsellor, Royal Thai Embassy attended the Songkran Festival 2018 at Wat Thai Buddharam in Brisbane (Logan). This particular Thai temple is the largest Thai Buddhist temple in Queensland and serves as the religious and spiritual centre for the strong 10,000 plus Thai community members in Brisbane and nearby towns and cities. It has been on the current site since 1995 and has organised the Songkran Festival since its establishment with the objective to showcasing and conserving this important tradition that is arguably the most important event for the Thai people. This year, the temple was blessed to have a number of local politicians and high-level civil servants attending the ceremony such as the Hon. Leanne Enoch, Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, the Hon. John Paul Langbroek MP, Shadow Minister for Sport and Racing and Multicultural Affairs and Mr. Ian Stewart, Queensland Police Commissioner, just to name a few. There were approximately 8,000 people attending this year’s Festival.

          There were various activities at the Festival, all of which signified the traditional Thai way of life. These included the merit making ceremony, water pouring and various Thai cultural performances. In addition, there were plenty of booths selling Thai handicrafts and memorabilia, Thai foods and also Thai-owned companies with a business focus on the property market and travel agencies/visa advice. This year, the local immigration authority kindly opened a booth giving advice to the festival-goers valuable information about different types and visas and the related conditions, which is a very useful initiative. On this occasion, the Ambassador also gave a short remarks and met with the Thai community and business owners at the Festival.

           Songkran or Thai New Year is also a festival of unity. It allows Thai community in Brisbane and the surrounding towns and cities to come together in the spirit of joy, harmony and unity. It provides a meeting place for the members of the community to create a network of spirited friendship, enhance business contacts, to celebrate the cultural significance of the event which is an important aspect of the Thai way of life and to foster a sense of pride within the Thai community in Australia and to enhance closer ties between Thailand and Australia.

           Wat Thai Buddharam is commencing a grand project of building the Uposatha Hall (Vipassana Meditation Retreat Centre) and would welcome any donations to assist with the project. Donations can be made directly to the temple.

Wat Thai Buddharam
1 Paradise Road, Forestdale, QLD 4118
07 3806 8900

http://www.watthaibrisbane.com.au