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A half century of Sri Lankan prominence… fast fading? – By Aubrey Joachim Last evening the Sri Lanka Association of New South Wales (SLA) held its Annual Winter Ball at the plush Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney. It was also the formal celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Association. The premier black-tie Sri Lankan event in Sydney saw some 300 attendees including a number of past presidents and their ladies grace the occasion. The SLA was formed in 1973 when a small group of Sri Lankan professionals came up with the idea of forming a community of interest to foster and promote togetherness among Lankan diaspora in Australia. While Ceylonese had been migrating to Australia in reasonable numbers from the 1950’s –  even greater numbers chose to do so in the 1960’s following the socio-political changes and language / ethnic upheavals that ostracized some groups that made up the rich ...