Basil’s Table is an interview series conducted by Basil Varghese, a well-known Melbourne- based community builder and advocate for social justice, who has long been committed to ‘bridging the gap between those that have and have not’. As a Patron of 888 Co-operative Causeway, Basil hosts these conversations with special guests at the Kelvin Club in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD on topics relevant to building a connected community across Victoria.

For this gathering we are ‘turning the tables’ on Basil (pronounced bay-sill)!

The interviewer becomes the interviewed … in convivial surrounds (finger food on arrival) …

Basil Noozhumurry Varghese has had an extraordinary life. He was born in Dar-es-salaam, that ancient port in East Africa. The eldest son in a large family of eight brothers and one sister; his parents had migrated to East Africa from their homeland Kerala in India, and in 1964 the family migrations finally ended when they arrived in Brisbane, Australia, to start their lives anew. Because the ‘white Australia’ policy was in force at the time of the arrival his family, they were granted a two-year temporary visa. When the white Australia policy was removed, they sought and were granted Australian citizenship.

Flag of Kenya (1921–1963)

Before that, growing up in Kenya he enjoyed his school years playing with children from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Celebrating, with friends, special religious holy days which included holy days for the Hindu, Moslem, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Sikh and Christian religions.

Basil began his working life Sydney in the textile industry for Bonds Industries and then in the emerging technology industry with Rand Corporation, and Olivetti. He entered the Society of Jesus as a Novice Jesuit Scholastic in 1969. After discerning that a vocation to the priesthood was not for him, he has nonetheless maintained a commitment to working with the poor; designing and delivering innovative education programs aimed at building awareness in the broader Australian community concerning the reality and impact of social disadvantage, and searching for the systemic causes of such disadvantage so as to make a contribution to the public policy debate in Australia.

After working with Aboriginal communities for some time, he joined the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) working on various community education projects for more than 20 years. He is now an active participant of the Melbourne Circle where he meets and discusses ideas about society.

There will be more than a few stories to tell … Basil will be interviewed by the Chair of 888 Co-operative Causeway, Antony McMullen.

Bookings essential – get your tickets here online (see below)
Where: Kelvin Club 14-30 Melbourne Pl, Melbourne
When: Tuesday, 22 June 2021 6:30-8:30pm
Catering: finger-food on arrival
Dress-ups: low-key smart-casual
Please note: audio-visual recording may be employed at this event and once registered we will occasionally send you information about future 888 Co-operative Causeway activity.

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Contact us at coopcauseway@gmail.com for any inquiries about waiving the ticket price for this event.