Category Archives: transport and communications

Filed under accountability, Australian culture, australian media, centre-periphery relations, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, life stories, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

September 28, 2025 · 7:43 pm

Nova Peris & Her Roots: Any Sri Lankan Links?

Michael Roberts

Since Nova Peris-Kneebone was one member of the Australian 4 x 100 relay team that secured a medal in the Olympic Games of 1996 ( ….. ), I raised the speculative question: does the name PERIS indicate that one of her grandparents was a Sinhalese merchant, worker or pearl-diver who was among the Sri Lankan personnel known to have particpated in trading, pearl-diving and labouring activities in the north-western, northern coastal areas of Australia from the early twentieth century and perhaps even earlier?

Australia’s gold medal team, (left-right) Sharon Cripps, N. Peris-Kneebone, Catherine Freeman and Tania Van Heer, celebrate their victory (Photo by Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images)

371732 05: Australian gold medalist Peris-Kneebone autographs the “Nova” watch she designed for Swatch Watches June 27, 2000 in Santa Monica, CA. Peris-Kneebone, the first Olympic torch bearer on Australian soil and a member of the Aboriginal Muran Clan was on hand to discuss her part in the 17,000-mile journey the olympic tourch will make. (Photo by Jason Kirk/Online USA)

Shape of Trincomalee, district of Sri Lanka, with its capital isolated on white background. Bilevel elevation map. 3D rendering Stock Photo – Alamy

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Filed under Aboriginality, Australian culture, australian media, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, transport and communications, unusual people, world events & processes

September 18, 2025 · 4:01 pm

Trincomalee: An Incentive for Western Imperial Intrusions

Francis P Welangoda, presenting an article entitled “Ceylon Then / Sri Lanka Now!”

HISTORY OF TRINCOMALEE.: Trincomalee had derived its name from the anglicized version of the old Tamil word,‘ Thiru- kona-malai ‘ meaning ‘Lord of the Sacred Hill’. it is apparent that over the ages Trincomalee had been closely associated with the historic Kovil of Koneswaram built around 1,580 BC.

During the Portuguese era in Sri Lanka, which saw them gain influence on the eastern coast by the late 16th century, the Portuguese estsblished Fort Fedrick in 1624, using the stone from the demolished Koneshwaram temple. The city was later occupied by other European powers, but the fort remained a crucial strategic point, changing hands between the Danish, Dutch, French, and finally the British by 1795.

Filed under British imperialism, ethnicity, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, military strategy, sea warfare, security, transport and communications, war reportage, world events & processes

September 18, 2025 · 3:04 am

Lankan Tamil Migration in Wintry Norway: “Working For Our Sisters”

Oivund Fugleruud in ???? where the the title runs thus: ‘ “Working for Sisters” — Tamil Life on the 71st Parallel’

The article discusses the phenomenon of migration of Sri Lankan Tamils to Finnmark, the northemmost part of Nonvay. While most other groups of immigrants in Nonvay tend to settle in the larger Cities, this particular group has a tradition of settlement in the fishing villages in Finnmark, facing the Barents Sem.

[t is argued fhat there is a continuity in this pattem from the early migration workers in the 1970s ro present•day asylum-seekers. The “ⁱmicrohistory” of Tamil migration to one particular village is presented and discussed. It shows an overlap from one type of migration to another.

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, demography, economic processes, education, Eelam, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, life stories, LTTE, migrant experiences, outmigration, politIcal discourse, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, transport and communications, travelogue, war reportage, working class conditions, world events & processes

September 8, 2025 · 2:05 am

AKD: ‘Palm Leaves’ For Tamils & Jaffna

Rajan Philips in 7 September 2025, where the title runs thus: “Crowded agenda includes Cricket but no visit to Chemmani” … wth highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The President goes to Jaffna! ... President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made yet another visit to Jaffna last week. With all good intentions, he may be on course to set a record for visiting Jaffna more times than all his predecessors combined. There is no Lyn Ludowyk among us to make a political satire of presidents going to Jaffna, reversing the time honoured old trope – “He Comes from Jaffna!”.

Foundation for Cricket Stadium

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, life stories, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, reconciliation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, Sri Lankan cricket, transport and communications, unusual people, world events & processes

September 7, 2025 · 2:57 pm

Indigenous ‘Touches’ within the British Colonial Era of Capitalist Expansion

Vinod Moonesinghe, IN Factum Perspectives March 3, 2025, where the title runs thus: “Tindals, Dhonis, and Sampans – The interconnectedness of historical Indian Ocean commerce” …. NB: the two photos & the map are insertions by The Editor, Thuppahi

In the days of the British Raj, bullock carts were used to transport goods inland and to bring coffee beans (and later tea) from the montane plantations down to Colombo, for shipment overseas.

The distance from the coffee plantations to the main seaport of Galle caused the colonial government to override the wishes of the British Admiralty and of the steamship lines (who all wished to operate from Galle, which was closer to the main sea route to the Orient) and to develop Colombo harbour at a considerable cost.

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Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, export issues, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, plantations, sri lankan society, transport and communications, unusual people, working class conditions

September 5, 2025 · 1:04 pm

Mahbubani’s Insightful Reading of Today’s World Order

Watch https://youtu.be/0HsAtrd8bNE?si=nUjZVm05W-67JStS

This is the lecture Australians should listen too, not the psychotic rubbish that the army of elite propaganda journalists publish each day in Australian newspapers and on TV. The lecture was given in Hong Kong. The speaker is the well known former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani who examines the changes taking place in the world today, and the implications from it.

He says “geopolitics is the most cruel game in the world”. Being a nice country is not enough. You need to be shrewd and cunning if you are going to survive. He affirms that “we live in amazing times of amazing changes around the world, and that we have an obligation to keep up with the changes and learn how to adapt to it.”

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, democratic measures, economic processes, education, ethnicity, historical interpretation, modernity & modernization, Pacific Ocean issues, Pacific Ocean politics, politIcal discourse, power politics, transport and communications, world affairs, world events & processes

August 29, 2025 · 5:14 pm

China and Lanka Today

Item in The Island, 22 August 2025, with this title: “China, SL promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation-Ambassador Zhenhong” .… with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Declaring that China and Sri Lanka share a time-honoured friendship, and the ancient Silk Road has long bound the two countries together, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong has said they are now working hand in hand to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The Chinese envoy said so at a reception held in Colombo to mark the 80th anniversary of their victory over Japan in WW Two..

Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said: “From the progress of the Hambantota Port to the rise of the Colombo Port City, and from infrastructure connectivity to the deepening of cultural exchanges, we are jointly writing a vivid chapter in the building of a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future through concrete actions. This epic new chapter of cooperation is the most vibrant tribute to history, the most solid foundation for peace, and will surely paint an even brighter picture for the future of Sri Lanka.”

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, historical interpretation, island economy, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, sri lankan society, transport and communications, world events & processes

August 29, 2025 · 1:30 pm

Sri Lanka’s Maritime Legacy: A Discerning Study … Many Revelations

Avishka Mario Senewiratne in The Island, 24 August 2025, where the title is “A Mirror to the Sea: Revisiting Sri Lanka’s Forgotten Maritime Legacy” …. Review of “Sri Lanka, Serendib & the Silk Road of the Sea” by Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha …. with the highlighting here being impositions by The Editor, Thuppahi

It is not often that a slim volume quietly arrives on the literary shore, only to awaken something dormant and forgotten within the national consciousness. Sri Lanka, Serendib & the Silk Road of the Sea, the latest work by Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha, is just such a book—a timely voyage through history’s less-traversed sea lanes, executed with scholarly rigour, personal charm, and a deep-rooted love for this resplendent isle.

Filed under ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian religions, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, migrant experiences, Muslims in Lanka, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes

August 24, 2025 · 2:03 pm

Reviving Australia’s Convict Past via AI

Tomos Morgan, BBC News, 19 August 2025, where the title runs thus: “Faces of Welsh convicts sent to Australia recreated by AI” ++

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has helped researchers generate what they believe could have been the faces of Welsh convicts sent to Australia in the 19th century. The lives of 60 criminals deported from Anglesey for crimes as small as stealing a handkerchief have been traced by a team of volunteers and researchers.

They have used detailed prisoner records from the time, historical sketches and, where possible, photos of the prisoners’ modern day descendants to create a profile of what they may have looked like.