EPHEMERISTS LIKE TO COLLECT THE RECORDS OF EVENTS, PRODUCTS, OPINIONS
![Funeral programme for Leo Seemanpillai. Folded brochure. Full colour cover and colour border. In English and Tamil. 21 x 15 cm. June 2014. Collection of Mandy B.](https://ephemerasociety.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Funeral-programme-for-Leo-S.-June-2014.-Collection-of-Mandy-B.-e1404530766610-600x816.jpg)
Here is something I collected in 2014 – the funeral programme for Leo Seemanpillai. It is not a professional publication – no doubt colour copied and hand-folded by friends and supporters.
The image shows you exactly how handmade the programme was – not copied quite square.
Leo created a sad record for Australia – the death by suicide of an asylum seeker. I attended because his family were not granted urgent visas for the funeral. For the record here are some things about Leo mentioned at the funeral:
- He had been working here and was a hard worker;
- He wanted to donate his wages to people in Australia less fortunate than himself;
- Five priests presided over the mass.
Like many collectors I hung back and managed to scrounge a second funeral programme – I donated it to the National Library in Canberra. Here is some more material about refugees produced in 2014.
![Refugee Week Film Screening. Published by Yarra Settlement Forum. Postcard, 10 x 15 cm. June 2014. Collection of Mandy B.](https://ephemerasociety.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Refugee-Week-postcard.-2014.-Collection-of-Mandy-B.-e1404530939979-600x403.jpg)
![I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Australian Cathjolic Migrant & Refugee Office. Folded brochure, full colour. 21 x 10 cm. Circa 2014. Collection Mandy B.](https://ephemerasociety.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Catholic-Church-brochure-about-refugees.-2014.-Collection-of-Mandy-B.-582x1200.jpg)
From Mandy B.
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