Four days out from the announcement of the Australia Day honours, Selliah Nalliah OAM still has no clue who nominated him.
But after 37 years of unpaid work with the Hindu Society of Victoria and the Tamil Senior Citizens Fellowship, there’s bound to be reams of people who see him as a deserving candidate.
“By nature I am helping people – I never thought of Order of Australia [Medal] when I started doing this,” Nalliah says.
Growing up in Sri Lanka, Nalliah trained as a gemmologist, working for customs until the civil war broke.
“I saw so many things with my eyes in the streets, what they do; they will stop the car, take out the key, put petrol and then they burn [it] like that – there’s so many things [that] happened. We thought it is not safe to stay there,” he remembers.
Migrating to Australia in 1985, Nalliah retrained as an accountant, coming to volunteering to help him settle in.
“Little by little, I came to know the environment and how to live here; so many things you had to study before you acclimatised to Australia, that is what took a bit of time,” he says.
Becoming a life member of the Hindu Society of Victoria in 1988, Nalliah spent all his free time volunteering at the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs. Over his time at the temple, he has done everything from booking Archanas to being the Society’s Vice President from 2018-2020, all out of a desire to preserve culture and promote understanding.
“We want the young generation to come to the temple and feel they are going to the temple in India,” he says of their mission.
Selliah Nalliah
After retiring from accounting in 2012, Nalliah has been a full-time volunteer for both the temple and the Tamil Senior Citizens Fellowship also based in the Monash area, advocating for seniors’ welfare and tackling isolation.
Since 2014, Nalliah has been President, Secretary and on the committee of the Fellowship, as well as helping run the Tamil Senior Citizens Saiva Funeral Services Association providing last rites as per the Hindu customs, giving back to communities in both their homelands.
“We were charging very [little], $200 or so [for a funeral]; but all that money, we never took it. We put it in a fund and sent that money for renovating houses damaged by the war in Sri Lanka,” he says.
Now in his senior years himself, Selliah Nalliah shows no signs of slowing down.
“I’m able to do [it]. With my age, I’m damn good; God has given me the energy, that is another thing I am thankful for…maybe I have the providence,” he laughs.
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