By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE year was 1976 when Sri Lankan-born Christopher Lawton migrated to Australia with his wife and two sons.
Almost 40 years later Chris, a resident of Narre Warren South for the last decade, has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) this month for his service to the Sri Lankan community.
Since moving to Australia with wife, Yolande Monica, and sons, Christopher and Michael, Mr Lawton has served in a myriad of Melbourne-based Sri Lankan Associations and been instrumental in their development.
These include the Australian Ceylon Fellowship, S. Thomas’ College Old Boys Association, The Ceylon Ex Servicemen’s Association and The Committee for Sri Lanka.
He has also been involved with the Ceylon Masons in Australia and the Combined Association of Sri Lankan Organisations, while also being a chartered engineer (retired) of the Institute of Chartered Engineers in London and an Honorary Member of the Institute of Marine and Power Engineers in Australia.
He said he was “pleasantly shocked” to receive the OAM and humbly pledged to continue with his community contribution.
“There are very rare occasions in life when both pride and humility stand side by side in one’s feelings.
“The public recognition of one’s service with honour is one of them,” he said.
“Although I am proud to receive this honour, I will still continue to serve with all humility.”
He was born in Green Hospital Manipay in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and received his primary education at The Marshall Preparatory School in Colpetty.
Mr Lawton completed his secondary schooling at S. Thomas College before working as an apprentice in marine engineering in the Royal Ceylon Navy, where he trained in the Colombo Harbour workshops and abroad, with the British Royal Navy.
The Tamil-speaking Chris retired from the Royal Ceylon Navy prematurely, at the age of 46, after the Sri Lankan government at the time enforced Sinhala as its official language.
Mr Lawton said he had been drawn to the Australia for several reasons where he immediately began working in the Port of Melbourne Authority as a marine engineer until he retired in 1992.
“We had good friends from Queensland who used to be in Sri Lanka and they recommended it to us.
“I had never been to Australia but I felt I would do better there,” he said.
“My Aussie friends told me all about Australia and I felt I had a better chance there than England or Canada.”
Since 2009, he has been a driving force in trying to establish an aged care facility for the Sri Lankan community in Keysborough.
