21 August 2007

DR. JOSE RIZAL'S NOLI ME TANGERE HITS THE SHELVES OF MAJOR AUSTRALIAN BOOKSTORES

The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the latest English translation of Dr. Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere published under the prestigious Penguin Classics title has now appeared at several major Australian bookstores in Sydney.

In an expression of appreciation, Consul General Maria Theresa Lazaro sent a letter of thanks to Penguin Books Australia for facilitating the publication and release of the work "for the Australian audience", adding that the Philippine government is "certain that this would be very much welcomed by the now 160,000 Filipino-Australians as a lasting tribute to the Philippine national hero."

Consul General Lazaro further remarked that "The availability of the Noli to the broader Australian audience grants Dr. Rizal with the long overdue recognition as a world-class writer alongside his contemporaries Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. The Noli provides a very helpful glimpse into a specific period of Philippine history, and is an invaluable piece of literature that I hope future generations of Filipino-Australians would be able to appreciate. I acknowledge the initiative made by the Sydney Chapter of the Order of the Knights of Rizal in requesting Penguin Books Australia to favorably look into the Noli's Australian release."

Translated by Harold Augenbraum, the 480-page Penguin Classics edition of the Noli was initially published in the United States in June 2006. The Penguin Classics website describes the Noli "as the great novel of the Philippines (and) was the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism." The website has also mentioned that it is the first piece of Philippine literature ever to be published under the Penguin Classics title.

There are now six landmarks named after the Philippine national hero in Australia. There are three Rizal Parks located in the cities of Campbelltown and Blacktown in the State of New South Wales as well as one in the City of Ballarat in the State of Victoria ; a Rizal bust located in Sydney 's Central Train Station; a Rizal statue in the town of Ashfield and a street (Rizal Place ) also in Campbelltown.