Staff Reporter
Auckland, December 31, 2021
Three persons from our extended communities, one each of Sri Lankan, South African and Indian origin are featured in the Queen’s New Year Honours List announced today.
They are George Arulanantham (Sri Lanka) and Prodhumun (Pardu) Dayaram (South Africa) who were appointed as Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) and Venkat Raman (India), Editor of Indian Newslink, appointed as Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). A separate story on Venkat appeared earlier today and can be read here.
George Arulanantham
A champion of social and community causes, George Arulanantham takes his role in his profession and in society seriously. He has been involved with several Rotary Clubs in the Auckland and Taranaki regions since 2012 and has held positions including Programme Coordinator, helping organise street appeals.
He was a member of the Taranaki Multi-Ethnic Council between 2012 and 2015 and was instrumental in establishing the ‘Extravaganza’ event, celebrating different cultures through food and performance.
In 2017, he was elected as Honorary Treasurer for the Auckland Network of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, United Kingdom and two years later as a Voluntary Assessor promoting engineering to members in New Zealand.
A postgraduate (Masters) in Engineering and a Charter Member of Engineers New Zealand and a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK), George started working with Flotech Limited in 1998 with operations in Europe, North America and Asia. He has worked as an Engineer, Chief Engineer and Global Service Manager.
He has been connected with a number of organisations including Asian Social Services New Zealand, Auckland Regional Ethnic Council, Consortium of Tamil Associations, Ethnic Voice of New Zealand, New Zealand Refugee Council, New Zealand Tamil Society and Tamil Community Education.
Illustrious career
He was the Chairperson for the Taranaki region of Engineering New Zealand in 2014, organising seminars and professional development courses.
He became the Director of International Grants and Projects with the Onehunga and One Tree Hill Rotary Clubs, where he was responsible for three projects in Vanuatu.
As Director, George was involved with the successful renovation of Godden Memorial Hospital on Ambae Island in September 2020, with the Asanvari Village Water and Sanitation Project on Maewo Island and Enkul Village Water and Sanitation Project on Pentecost Island as ongoing projects.
George said that he accepts the honour with gratitude and humility.
“This is a very good encouragement for the volunteers to continue their work and also encourage other newcomers. This Honour is not only for me but also for those who worked with me in the background and the organisations in which I am involved,” he said and cited as an example, Auckland Local Network of Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK), which promotes technical awareness among students by building robots, preparing engineers who spend their time as volunteers.
Prodhumun (Pardu) Dayaram
Pradu Dayaram has been an Orthopaedic Surgeon on the West Coast for more than 35 years, being the sole Orthopaedic surgeon in the region for ten years.
His ten years as the sole Orthopaedic surgeon on the West Coast saw him on call on a 24-hour basis, during a time when drink driving, speeding and lack of safety around the wear of seatbelts was high, and injuries from accidents in the forestry and mining industries.
He has operated following major incidents including Cave Creek and Pike River. He spent hours training his own theatre staff and junior doctors around New Zealand to be detail-oriented and instructing the best procedures for patients.
His theatre was regarded as one of the best nationally with low infection rates, shortest hospital stays and best patient control due to his team’s dedication. He was the first Orthopaedic surgeon in New Zealand to become a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
He led the West Coast in many ‘first’ surgeries in New Zealand, including the first to use the technique of arthroscopy and the first of two surgeons to perform carpal tunnel surgery through keyhole surgery for faster recovery time. Mr Dayaram was the Lead Clinician of the newly built Te Nikau Grey Hospital in 2020.
