Voice of Lanka for 45 years on Radio 4EB – By Sugee Kannangara
Source : Dæhæna – February 2025
A historic day dawned, on the 4th of February, in 1980 to the Sri Lankan migrant community in Brisbane.
Less than 2 months after the establishment of Radio 4EB Channel in 1979, some members of the Sri Lankan diaspora in Brisbane felt resourceful enough to form an ad-hoc group to present programs over
the newly formed radio station. Thus, the first ever Sri Lankan program was broadcast on 4 February 1980. In retrospect, it is touching to imagine the love of Sri Lanka felt by these early migrants to have selected 4th of February, to air a program as significant as the first-ever program, on the day marking the independence of Lanka from British colonial rule. In fact, 4th February celebrations acknowledge the freedom from colonial subjugation for over 500 years.
The evolution of Radio 4EB Sri Lankan Broadcasting Group is a story of change, volatility, expansion, and exponential growth – a picture of the vision, commitment and resilience of generations of migrants who volunteered their time over nearly half a century to bring ‘Home Thoughts from Abroad’ to the Sri Lankan migrant community.
(PS- The need for a dedicated radio channel for migrant communities to maintain links with their home country was mooted in the 1970s by the newly established Ethnic Communities Council of Qld. – ECCQ)
Sugee Kannangara
