Hindu Society of South Australia

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (15:29): Today, I rise to speak about the Hindu Society of South Australia and the welcoming, inclusive Shri Ganesh Temple situated in Oaklands Park. On the website, it says:

The Ganesha Temple is a unique jewel among the religious places in Adelaide - the beautiful multicultural city of churches.

I can verify that this is indeed true. It is a beautiful and glorious temple depicting the vibrantly colourful and rich gold religious architecture of India. Completed in 2001, it is a place of worship that serves the needs of over 20,000 of Hindu faith in South Australia—a population that I believe is steadily increasing. Hindus are from India, Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, Malaysia, South Africa and Sri Lanka, and choosing to make Adelaide home. This temple and centre serve to satisfy the needs of this group.

Last Sunday, I was privileged to be part of the ceremony, along with minister Bettison and the Hon. Grace Portolesi, Chair of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, and a great crowd represented by all supporting and complementary organisations and other guests. We were treated to some beautifully performed Indian dancing of colour, finesse and true grace. South Australia is indeed fortunate to have the community of the Hindu Society of South Australia in our state, as they forge pathways of peace and inclusiveness with outstretched arms of welcome and generosity of both spirit and action. They are agile in vision and direction, eagerly seeking to provide solutions to connect and build community.

The laying of the foundation stone for this community cultural centre signified the beginning, the start of the next chapter in the life of this most valuable and valued community. The significance of the event sealed intent, offering focus upon which to fix attention to attain this goal—a dream. All present were witness to a project that goes to the heart of welcome, speaking loudly of selflessness, beckoning involvement and demonstrating embrace of all people and what each and every one brings.

This new centre, to be built on a site next door to the temple, will offer an accessible and affordable community cultural centre. The centre will be able to host up to 300 people in its main auditorium, complete with a performance stage, greenrooms, sound and lighting systems, an office, a kitchen, library, dining area, and toilets. The Hindu Society seeks to fill the following objectives with this project, being provision of an affordable multipurpose venue for community members to gather and engage in various cultural and social activities.

The community cultural centre will also provide creative arts like music, dance, drama and visual arts exhibitions; be a place for training and learning; a venue for sharing business ideas and entrepreneurship; facilitate all-age-friendly physical and mental fitness activities like yoga and meditation; and promote and foster interage and intercultural learning, sharing and harmony. I know this is the Hindu Society of South Australia's dream project and the final addition to complete the Hindu Society complex.

I congratulate and applaud the activity by this particular group, and we should also celebrate their history. They have come so far from humble beginnings in 1985 when they purchased an old church building that, with love, persistence, and of course their financing, they have turned into a vibrant destination of an all-encompassing and welcoming temple. This temple is actually heritage listed and it is absolutely beautiful. If you have not seen it, I suggest that you take the time to go and have a look. They do have a community hall, but this community hall is growing smaller and smaller by the minute, as we saw on Sunday. The new community cultural centre is very much needed.

This present complex is being visited by thousands of local Hindu community members, and non-Hindus including schoolchildren on tours looking for a cultural experience. As I have said, all this was made possible by the financial contributions of members of this society. This final project will need some infrastructure funds from the state government. In closing, I thank and congratulate the Hindu Society of South Australia for their vision, foresight and generosity invested in this exciting project. I support their endeavours and wish them well on their journey as we share in the dream of strong and connected communities.