As the Ordination Hall Project moves closer to the construction phase, Phra Siphutthiwithet has appointed Khun Chearanai Tina Field to head the fund raising part of the project.

Khun Chearanai Tina Field, or Khun Tina, as she is more popularly known, is one of the leading figures in the Brisbane Thai community. Khun Tina has also been a part of the Brisbane Thai community since 1987. She is the founder of Brisbane’s first Thai restaurant, The Thai Orchid,  which has been a major part of the Brisbane Asian restaurant scene since 1987 and a multi-award winner, including many prestigious American Express Restaurant Awards.

Khun Tina is currently the Honorary Thai Consul Designate for Queensland and a past President of the Thai-Australian Association of Queensland. Her husband, Khun Ian, is also a prominent Queensland businessman and founder of the Q Automotive Group, which operates a large number of car dealerships Statewide.

In her role as Fund Raising Operations Manager, Khun Tina has assembled a highly motivated team of fund raisers, each one a specialist in their area of fund raising and accounting expertise.

The Fund Raising Team will interface with the Management Committee of Wat Thai Buddharam and handle all aspects of fund raining for the project.

Energy & Cost Saving Initiatives

It’s true! Over the past couple of years, a lot of innovative improvements have been happening at our Forestdale temple, assisted by the generosity of our congregation and wonderful, generous donors. Our “greening” commenced with the upgrading of our solar electricity generation system. For several years, the temple has operated a 5kW system. The system has now been supplemented with an additional 15kW of Singapore manufactured photovoltaic panels and a German inverter. Some of our wonderful volunteers organized fundraising events to support the project: THANK YOU for your support!

Kathina and Loy Krathong Festival 2021

This year, for the first time, we are combining both the Kathina Ceremony and the Loy Krathong Festival into a one day event at Wat Thai Buddharam’s Forestdale temple. The inaugural Brisbane Kathina & Loy Krathong Festival will commence with the traditional Kathina Ceremony. The Kathina Ceremony is a celebration of the end of Vassa (Buddhist Lent) and the rainy season in Thailand. At Kathina, Wat Thai Buddharam is presented with a monk’s robe, the Royal Robe, from His Majesty the King of Thailand, King Rama X. The lay people also offer new robes and gifts to the Buddhist monks, in appreciation of their spiritual guidance and support. During the ceremony, the monks give their blessings to the lay people.