Anton Swan’s Exemplary Service As Sri Lanka’s Honorary Consul Feted at FSOQ’s Gala Dinner – By Lawrence Heyn
Source : Qld Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – August 2023
A grateful community gathered in numbers at a gala dinner on July 15 to thank Anton Swan OAM, the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Queensland, who has stepped down from his official duties after a
tenure of 33 years.
More than 250 people attended the night organised by the Federation of Sri Lankan Organisations of Queensland to felicitate Anton and Bronwen Swan at the Souths Sports Club, Acacia Ridge.
The line-up of guests included representatives of the FSOQ and its member organisations, State Member for Mount Ommaney Jess Pugh, Brisbane City Councilor Angela Owen, Dean of Consular Corps Michael
Horvath, the Swan family and members of the Brisbane Sri Lankan community. Cultural performances were among the highlights.
Anton’s contribution to the community reached far beyond his official duties. He is a dynamic figure as patron of Sri Lankan organisations in Brisbane that have come together for many fundraising events to support local and overseas causes. He has been on the frontline as community leader, lending a hand, from loading containers of beds and packing aid, to generating support from government and businesses. The fundraising projects over the past two decades have been many and varied.
As Dean of the Consular Corps in Brisbane, Anton faced one of his biggest challenges when Covid-19 raged in 2020-21. He worked closely with consuls from 50 other countries to guide, advise and inform communities in Brisbane. Dean of the Consular Corps Michael Horvath praised Anton for his dedication and commitment in mitigating the effects of the pandemic.
FSOQ president Jay Weerawardena said the Brisbane community owed Anton a debt of gratitude, saying he had shown consistent leadership and hard work through the greatest times of need. Past president Jayantha Pathikirikorale also paid tribute to his abounding generosity and guidance.
Anton, in thanking the guests, said it had been a wonderful journey over 33 years. “In my position as a community leader, I have seen hundreds of good-hearted people come together to help in times of adversity, never more readily than in the past 20 years when Sri Lanka faced great distress through a devastating tsunami, extreme poverty, lack of medical supplies and hospital beds, and the pervasive destruction of terrorism,” he said.
Anton thanked his wife, Bronwen, and family for their love and support. “For more than 50 years, Bronwen has been in step with me during my rewarding journey in service of others,” he said.
“It’s been a pleasure working in my role as a representative of the country of my birth, and I will genuinely miss it. But I will always have the fond memories of a community that has enriched my life and left an impression on me.”
Lawrence Heyn
Lawrence Heyn, a journalist of more than 50 years, operates
HeynDesign in Brisbane with son Robert.
