Tuesday, 18 March 2025

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (13:37): It was a pleasure to attend the Sikh New Year celebrations in Melton on the weekend. Despite the very hot weather, Sikh Victorians and members of the broader community headed along to this event to enjoy some delicious food, drinks and social connection. It was an opportunity to learn more about Sikh history and culture from visual representations of significant past events as well as chatting to different stallholders, I learned about the significance of the turban and its importance in religious expression and about handcrafts and how they have evolved with industrialisation and colonisation in India, and I had the opportunity to have some great conversations with a range of people from the community. The Sikh community’s contribution to the fabric of Victoria is immense, and their generosity was once again exemplified recently by the food assistance they provided to bushfire-affected communities in Gariwerd, or the Grampians. Thank you once again for the invitation to attend this event on the weekend and happy Sikh New Year.