It was sad to learn that Mr. Kandiah Nadarajah, one of the talented teachers and excellent Principals of our time, passed away on 30 September 2000.
It is unquestionably a tremendous loss particularly to Point Pedro where he rendered a fantastic service at Hartley College first as a teacher for twenty two years and later as principal for three and a half years.

The part he played in the restoration of the library services, the replenishment of the laboratories and the rehabilitation of the students' unions should be recorded in gold letters. He virtually sponsored a renaissance in the history of the College.
It was the College's good fortune that he opted to become her Principal in October 1993 eschewing the prospects of added benefits that came with his success at the SLEAS examination. Though his tenure ended in March 1997 he served the College with outstanding distinction and, in spite of terrible war conditions, made her shine as bright as ever.
Among the many projects he organized to foster and maintain the heritage and tradition of this globally famous institution the publication of the College Miscellany, after an inevitable dormancy of a decade, will ever remain a testament to his service.

May God bless his Soul!

REMEMBERING OLD TEACHERS

Mr. J.C.Kumaradas
Mr. Kumaradas passed away on Friday, 10 November 2000 in Toronto Canada. Mr.Kumaradas was a teacher at Hartley during the mid fifties. He taught mathematics and served as coach for the first eleven cricket and soccer teams.
Mr. Kumaradas had his entire school education at Hartley.

Mr. Mark
Hartley's famous art master, Mr.A. Mark, passed away in Mannar recently.
Mr. Mark was born in Gurunagar in
1933. After obtaining a Diploma in visual art, he joined Hartley College as an art teacher. He brought a revolutionary philosophy into educational aspirations of the time. Education, to him, was something that encompassed an all around concept of development to which an appreciation of art was essential. He served the school and community with total dedication.

Our deepest sympathies to the families of Messrs Mark and Kumaradas.

VICTORIA BRANCH NEWS

Annual General Meeting
The annual General Meeting of the Association was held on 19 August 2000 at the Highvale Primary School. After the adoption of the annual and financial reports, the office bearers were elected.
President: K.S.Anandaganeshan ( 61 3 9560 2575)
Vice President: M.Shanthikumar (61 3 8802 7785)
Secretary: K.Palasubramaniam (61 3 9457 5068)
Treasurer: N.Nandakumaran (61 3 9802 7270)

Committee Members: S.Nadarajah (61 3 9457 2542)
S.Parameswaran (61 3 9803 9256)
Dr.S.V.Kasynathan (61 3 9806 0516)
S Muraledaran (61 3 9560 7010)
Auditor: T.Prabhakaran (61 3 9841 0525)
The meeting was then followed by dinner for members and their families and guests

Proposed Amendment to Constitution

On the question of membership, our Constitution states that the membership shall be open to all past students and teachers of Hartley College now resident in Victoria. The annual fee for membership shall be $10.00 per member and the fee may be varied from time to time by the Committee of Management.

It was decided at the last Annual General Meeting that the next Management Committee should consider the merits of allowing members' spouses and children as members and having life membership category. The Management Committee has asked Mr. M Shanthikumar to look into and report on these two issues. The Committee may then propose any amendment to the Constitution, if necessary. Members are requested to communicate their views by writing or speaking to Shanthikumar, at 646 Highbury Road or on 8802 7270.

HCPPA branches in New South Wales and Canada already have life membership plans. HCPPA- NSW has 32 life members. HCPPA Canada had 80 life members at the last count. Life membership fees are placed on term deposit and provide these branches with useful revenue.

Welcome to New Member
Mr. V. Pakeerathan (1987 to 1994)

Married
Mr.M Suntharamoorthy, who was a member of the Management Committee 1999-2000, got married to Sharmili Joseph on 28 October 2000. Our congratulations and best wishes to the couple.

Movement of Member
Mr.R.Muhunthan has left Australia after obtaining an engineering degree from the University of Melbourne.

Mr.Muhunthan was here on a scholarship.

Members Corner

Dear Members,
I like to write this letter for I feel that the time has come to breathe some new life, some fresh sense of dynamism and vitality into the Victorian Branch of the HCPPA. It was not very long ago - only nine years and six months now - that our association was born.
I think, now and again, it is good to ask ourselves why the HCPPA was formed, and what are some of its cherished goals and ideals. As many of you know, our association was intended to promote a sense of collegiality as well as social interaction among its members. Primarily it was set up to develop active links with our Alma Mater and help it to tide over its problems.

There are a lot of things our association has done over the last nine years that should make all of us proud. To live in an alien culture and keep alive our ties with our old school is not always easy. Thanks to a small core of dedicated members we have been able to liaise with our old school and maintain those traditions, norms and values that are so dear to all Hartleyites.

Much as we can pat ourselves on our backs for all the good work we have done so far, we cannot rest on our past laurels alone. At the last Annual General Meeting held on 19 August 2000, it was brought to our attention that not many past pupils show enough enthusiasm and interest in the activities of our association. This is indeed a matter for regret. We need not be like the Indian

Communists who Jawaharlal Nehru once pilloried as those who wouldn't hesitate to hold up their umbrellas in New Delhi, when it rained in Moscow! Surely we are not urging our members to show this kind of loyalty! What we can and should do is to identify ourselves with our school culture, attend as many HCPPA's functions as possible, and share those warm memories of Hartley with others.
It would not be wrong to say that the last two decades have been traumatic for Hartley in more ways than one. The long civil war in the North of Sri Lanka cast an ominous pall of gloom over the school making it move back and forth in search of sanctuary. The school library along with a number of its key buildings were pummeled by a barrage of artillery fire and slit to pieces. Strange as it may seem, these tragic events haven't adversely harmed the academic fortunes of Hartley. When I think of all this, I am reminded of the closing lines of Matthew Arnold's celebrated poem " Dover Beach".
" And we are here on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
All of us wish this clash of arms would cease, and these " ignorant armies" can be driven away. I have often heard of the saying " Parliament is a people's palace." For me Hartley college has been a palace of a different kind. In fact, for generations of students from Vadamaradchy, it has served as a palace of learning. As past students of Hartley let us rally round this palace and hold the marauding hordes of "ignorant armies" at bay.
Yours sincerely
S. Nadarajah

POINT PEDRO NEWS

According to a newsletter from HCPPA, Canada, Mr. Gunaseelan has taken the post of Assistant Director of Education, Vadamaradchy and is succeeded as principal by Mr.M. Sripathy, We have not heard anything from the HCPPA, Point Pedro, possibly because of the prevailing political situation. All of us are anxious to know what action has been taken to award the bursaries and prizes.another old boy of Hartley.

FORMATION OF HCPPA - NEW SOUTH WALES BRANCH
On 21 September 1991, an exploratory meeting was held at Denistone Public School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was attended by 22 Hartleyites. In that meeting it was unanimously decided that a branch of HCPPA should be formed. An interim committee was elected.
The first AGM was held at the Carrington Uniting Church, Strathfield on 14 December 1991. Following the adoption of the constitution, the interim committee was elected as the first management committee.

Annual Family Get Together and Cricket Match

The above event for this year was held on the 4th of Feb in Mount View Primary School Glenwaverley.The organisers believe that this event had provided an opportunity to meet old Hartleyites, their spouses, and children and had a social gathering and fun.

A newsletter from Hartley College (Point Pedro) Past Pupils Association Victoria Branch, Australia Issue No. 5 June 2000.

SANGEETHA NAATYA EVENING: a successful fund raiser

Hartley College Past Pupils Association Victoria Branch and Higher Education Assistance Scheme - Eastern Province (HEASEP) organized a Sangeetha Naatya Evening as a benefit concert on 26 March 2000 at the Huntingtower School Auditorium, Mount Waverley. This was the second such concert since HCPPA was established in 1991. It turned out to be a well planned delightful program of Indian classical dancing and vocal and instrumental music. All the tickets were sold out.

HCPPA thanks all artistes and their teachers for the success of this event and especially to HEASEP for its help in setting up and making the arrangements

Obituary - Mr. C.Gnanathikam
Mr.C.Gnanathikam, a founder member of the Victoria Branch and father in law of another member Dr. Sathianathan, died on 9 June 2000 at the age of 80. He studied at Hartley in the nineteen thirties. After retiring from the Ceylon Railways, he served as a Councilor of the Sri Lankan Sumitrayo until he migrated to Australia in 1984.
Mr. Gnanathikam leaves behind his sons Kasinathan, Geevanathan (Israel), Amirthanathan (Sri Lanka) and daughters Nalayeni and Nirmala. We extend our deepest sympathy to them and their families.

Academic Performance at Hartley

G.C.E (O/L) December 1998
Of the 115 students who sat, 111 qualified to follow the G.C.E (A/L). R.Gajanathan and S.Srinilananthan obtained 8 distinctions. Altogether 44 students got distinctions in more than 3 subjects.

G.C.E (A/L) August 1999
In the G.C.E (A/L) examination, 130 out of the 197 who sat qualified to enter the University

International Competition
The University of New South Wales conducts competition in mathematics, science and English internationally. In 1998, the College participated in this competition for the first time and produced excellent results.
Shanmuganathan Janakan of Grade 10A won the Medal for the Best Performance in Sri Lanka. The award ceremony was held on 10 May 1999 at the Ball Room of the Hotel International Colombo. The Australian High Commissioner was the chief guest.

Launch of New Magazine
The Science Association of Hartley College has started a new magazine titled Thedal. At the launching ceremony held on 15 June 1999, the Chief Guest was Dr. S. Srisatkunarajah, a renowned alumnus and Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics University of Jaffna.

Tragic Death
On 17 October 1999 when the Bio students from some schools in Vadamaradchy were carrying out a field survey at Inpauddy Beach, four Hartleyites died under tragic circumstances. All of them were excellent students and senior prefects of the College. They were Sivanathan Ravishankar, Balakrishnan Pratheepan, Pooranamoorthy Kantharvan and Suntharalingam Sivothaman. Our heartfelt condolences to their parents, families and friends.

CANADA NEWS
The new committee for the year 2000 is as follows:
President: M.Atpuhanthan

Vice Presidents: S.Ponnuchamy S.Sabapathipillai
Secretary: R.Rajeswaran
Asst. Secretary: M.Ananthakrishnan
Treasurer: K.Rajaratnam
Asst. Treasurer: T.Thiruchelvam
Editor: Dr.S.Shanthikumar
Dr. A. Sivasithamparam, a well known Dental Surgeon and Hartleyite, passed away on 14 January 2000. He left the College in 1966. Our deepest sympathy to his wife and children.

NEW SOUTH WALES NEWS
The office bearers of the New South Wales Branch are as follows:
President: N.Karunakaran
Vice Presidents: M.Jegarajasingam
Secretary: V.Sugumar
Joint Secretary: V.Sivakumaran
Treasurer: S.Skandakumar
Social Secretary: S.Gopinath
The Branch launched its newsletter Palmyra last year. We extend our congratulations and best wishes to the committee.

Prof. Thurairajah Memorial Meeting
To mark the fifth death anniversary of the late Professor A.Thurairajah, a meeting was held on 11 June 1999 at the Church Hall. Mr. K.Balasubramaium District Manager Bank of Ceylon, delivered the main address.

Launch of New Magazine
The Science Association of Hartley College has started a new magazine titled Thedal. At the launching ceremony held on 15 June 1999, the Chief Guest was Dr. S. Srisatkunarajah, a renowned alumnus and Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics University of Jaffna.

©All Rights Reserved to Hartley College Past Pupil Association Victoria