A personal connection to Australia’s Bob Hawke

Further to your article, The Call of Australia, in the Sunday Times Magazine last Sunday, my father, Nalaka Fernando, spent five years in Australia getting his dental degree in the 1950s. One of his best friends was Bob Hawke, who later became Prime Minister. Hawke later spent a few days at my grandparents’ home adjacent to the Vajirarama temple in Colombo. Hawke described his stay in a biography:

‘They were Buddhists, their house was in the grounds of a temple, and the atmosphere in the household was very peaceful and unbelievably gentle. I talked a lot about Buddhism with them and they took me up to a temple in the hills, in Kandy, where I met the monks and talked to a very old abbot, who explained more about Buddhism to me. I found Buddhism fascinating’.

Unfortunately my father did not stay in touch with Hawke but he always regarded Australia with great affection.

Dr R.P. Fernando

Epsom, UK