Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

NOU () (): I want to speak about a very important event that I attended last Tuesday at the Coburg Town Hall. It was the launch of the book Coburg Mosque: A Journey of Turkish Settlement, authored by my very good friend Nail Aykan. Nail Aykan arrived in Australia in 1973 as a migrant from Turkey, settling first in Brunswick and then moving to Broadmeadows, where he has lived ever since. Broadmeadows—as you would know, Deputy Speaker Chesters—in my seat of Calwell is an iconic suburb of settlement for Turkish migrants, because it is where the first waves of Turks came to settle following the abolition of the White Australia policy. Nail's family was amongst that first wave of migrants. In his long and distinguished career, Nail has worked in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Nail has been an active community leader, working with communities of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. He has also served as the executive director of the Islamic Council of Victoria and is the co-founder of the Turkish Heritage Society Australia.

In taking up the challenge of writing this book, Nail wanted to document the 50-year history of the Coburg mosque and highlight the very important role it has played in the settlement of Turkish migration here in Australia. To do so, he collected the many stories of Turkish migrants, giving voice to their experiences in the early years of their settlement. In his own words, Nail says:

I am neither a historian nor a storyteller. What drove me to write this book is a passionate interest in history and it took the 50th year milestone (1971-2021) achieved by Victoria's Turkish community to convince me that it was time to tell the story of the Coburg Mosque.

For Nail, this book was a journey of love. He was driven by his determination to give purpose and dignity to the lives of those early migrants but also, as Dr Bulent Hass Dellal writes in the foreword, 'to offer a thoroughly researched historical perspective of the major events that unfolded over the decades and influenced the course of the mosque from its beginnings to the present day. The author shines a bright light on the Turkish migrant pioneers, leaders, imams and youth who were inspired to create a place of worship and social gathering that would act as a bridge extending from their homeland to their new home, Australia'.

I want to congratulate Nail Aykan on his accomplishment. The book launch was very well attended by a large number of members of the local Turkish community. It's a beautiful book filled with the memories and journeys of senior members of the Turkish community, who as Nail says, 'willingly shared their memories not previously shared with anyone before because "no-one has ever asked me this question before, not even my children or grandchildren"'. Congratulations Nail, and I certainly look forward to the next edition.

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