OUSV Speaker Lunch Wednesday 17 September 2025
The guest speaker for our September Lunch is Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha
SRI LANKA AND THE SILK ROAD OF THE SEA
Foreign trade has been a prominent feature of Sri Lanka’s economy since ancient times. The Tasmania-sized island, situated at the virtual mid-point of the Indian Ocean, was ideally located to become an important link in the maritime trade routes between East and West – and so developed into a major meeting place for sailors, traders and travellers from all over the known world. This channel of trade that linked the great historic cultures of Asia, Europe and Africa was in effect a channel of communication along which the two-way transport of commercial goods (like silk and spice and all that’s nice) took place – in addition to the transport of intangible riches such as religion, recipes, music and technology. Weaving together information about Sri Lanka’s ancient harbours, her connections to the lands around the Indian Ocean and the seagoing craft that plied these trade routes - plus lesser-known writings by travellers, historians and merchants who wrote about the island, Sanjiva’s illustrated talk will focus on the Sri Lanka’s important role as a link between East and West on the Maritime Silk Road.
Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha graduated from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka. He went up to University College, Oxford as a Commonwealth scholar and completed a research degree in paediatric immunology. He trained as a paediatric surgeon, working in both Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Sanjiva migrated to Australia in 1996 and worked as a family physician, a Monash University professor and a medical officer in the army reserve. His interest in the Silk Roads stemmed from his participation in the 1990 UNESCO Silk Routes expedition.
Lunch is at the Kelvin Club (www.kelvinclub.com) where we meet from 12-30 pm onwards. A two-course meal is served at 1 pm and the formal part of the proceedings will conclude around 2-15 pm.
The price for OUSV and CSV members and guests is $70.
For non-members the price is $80.
Drinks may be purchased at the bar in advance.
Queries: please contact secretary.ousv@gmail.com
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