♦ The Newcastle Tamil Sangam (NTS) is a not for profit and was created in the early 80's by a few Tamil students from the Newcastle University who wanted to establish an association to foster Tamil culture and identity in the Hunter region. With the help of other Tamil people within Newcastle a small group gathered at the Jesmond Park and decided to form a Tamil association named 'The Newcastle Tamil Sangam (NTS)'. The membership in NTS was open for anyone of Tamil origin, and for those associated with Tamils. Invitation was also extended to non-Tamils, but with certain restrictions on voting rights.

♦ The Sangam had no funding and the membership fee was a bare minimum. Yet, the NTS organised many successful functions without charging an entry fee and these events often included sumptuous food prepared by the members. The consistent and generous contributions from a few members made all these activities possible. The first inaugural evening was the Cultural Night in 1984, and remarkably this event was attended by nearly 300 people.

♦ During the initial years Sangam members got together three to four times a year, but the Cultural Night (Kalai Villa) was the main attraction. As time marched on, the Sangam's activities dwindled for a few years, due to the falling number of Tamil speaking university students. In the 1990s, the Sangam's membership fluctuated around 40 families. Half of them were the original founding and senior members and the other half consisted of recent arrivals and a few 'temporary' members (those in transit). During this period, the Sangam typically organised four functions every year, which included the Annual General Meeting (AGM), a Picnic, Deepavali-Christmas Get-together and the Cricket-Thosai Party.

♦ The Sangam had a constitution from the early years. The committee takes pride in ensuring the integrity of the sangam by following the constitution.

♦ From the early 2000s, the Sangam started to go through gradual and progressive changes, which continue to-date. The Deepavali-Christmas Get-together has evolved into Annual Cultural Night, our showcase event for Tamil language, culture, customs and food. This event is now open to people from the wider Australian community, and typically attended by nearly 300 people. The venue has shifted to larger centres. The Lake Macquarie Performing Arts Centre has been the venue for the past few years. The variety and number of programs have steadily increased.  With the gradual arrival of many Tamil migrants to Newcastle the membership of the Sangam has also increased considerably through the years.

♦The Sangam also runs a Tamil School for children to learn the Tamil language and history. The Sangam has successfully applied and received several grants to help run the Tamil School and conduct cultural activities. The Tamil School continues to receive grants from the NSW government.

♦ The Sangam has taken part in many community memberships and activities. In the early 2000s we were a member of the Ethnic Communities Council (ECC) and took part in the Fiesta Multicultural events organised by the ECC. Over the recent years the tamil school has been part of HPTACLS, an organisation that promotes the learning of other languages.

♦ The Sangam has also made notable contributions to the welfare of the wider community. We are participating in the 'Learn for Life' educational program run by the Smith Family by sponsoring a child's education. Our members also took part in the 'Walk Against Want' organised by Oxfam in the early 2000s and helped to raise money towards overseas aid.

♦ In recent years the number of events organised by the Sangam has increased. Movie Night has become a new addition, with the intial screening of a Tamil movie in the Regal Cinema (Birmingham Gardens) in 2002. This was the first such show in Newcastle. Since then, a few more Tamil movies have been screened on various established cinema theatres. Variety Nights (either as part of the AGM or as separate events) and Australia Day Picnics are the other recent additions.

♦ Most of all the biggest achievement NTS has made is keeping the Sangam alive and running for about 30 years now. Taking another step forward NTS has ventured into the World Wide Web by the creation of this website.

Thank you for supporting NTS and visiting our website.

To make inquires please email us at ncthamilsangam@gmail.com